For the past few years now, I have been curating novel adventures with my rapidly growing Meetup book club: The Novel Tourists of Philadelphia. I’ve met new friends, explored fascinating places in the city, expanded my culinary taste buds, and learned interesting new hobbies. All with my fellow bookworms! Do you want to start your own active and adventurous book club? It’s not hard and I’m here to help!
Why start an adventurous book club?
Because you love to read and you love to explore! And, you want to do both with friends! An adventurous book club like The Novel Tourist book club is not a sit in someone’s living room…sip wine…pick at appetizers book club. No, no, no. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that format!).
The Novel Tourist book clubs are for adventurers! For instance, here in Philadelphia we read a murder-mystery novel set in the Eastern State Penitentiary and then we went and toured the penitentiary itself! At night (gulp!!). It was awesome, creepy and unique — and we discussed the book sitting smack dab in the middle of that ancient ruin while sipping on beers from the pop-up beer garden. That’s a Novel Tourist book club.
Another time, we read Barkskins, a novel about the lives of French indentured servants and their progeny who make their living and their fortune wielding axes. What did we pair that with? A night of Axe Throwing of course! It’s all about pairing a book with a related activity and then having fun while discussing the book.
Recently, people who do not live in the Philadelphia area have begun to ask me, “How can I start my own adventurous book club like The Novel Tourist book club?” I love my book club and I know you will love yours, too. So, I put this post together to share my tips, secrets, and ideas for curating great literary adventure parings to take your own book club experience off the couch and out into the world!
Starting an adventurous book club
1. Finding your peeps
Your group can be as big or little as you like. It can be limited to friends and family or you can invite the whole town! Concerns applicable to “normal” book clubs that meet in member homes, like cleaning, space issues, and general security of one’s home, don’t exist with Novel Tourist book clubs! Here a few ways to find members for your new adventurous book club:
Friends and family
You may already have some friends or family members that like to read. Reel them in and tell them to invite their friends! Maybe you also have some friends that like adventures, but aren’t the most avid of readers. That’s okay! The pairing of an adventure to a book might just encourage them to become a bibliophile! If you are new to an area or your current set of friends hate reading and despise adventures, do not despair! There are more options.
Social Media
I moved to Philadelphia not knowing a soul. That was rough! But, as always, book clubs came to my rescue and I quickly got to know my nearby bibliophile neighbors. But, I wanted to enlarge my social circle and find people to explore my new town with me. I turned to Meetup and created The Novel Tourists of Philadelphia. Within days 30 people had joined! Now, nearly three years later we are over 700 members strong and growing!
You could also try Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. to encourage members to join! There are so many options! What’s important is that you have some way of communicating with the group and keeping track of who’s coming to what activity. (I’ll discuss that below).
Word of Mouth
Once your group really gets going, don’t be surprised when members start bragging about how their Novel Tourist book club is the best book club in town! It will happen! Whether you start with two people or 30, your group will grow! (And if you want to limit it to just a few, that’s okay! Just share this post and the envious onlookers can create their own adventurous book club!)
2. Pick your adventure/Choose a book!
Okay, this is where it gets fun -which comes first – the book or the adventure? Let me tell you a secret…It does not matter! Sometimes you will be inspired by an interest in exploring a location, seeing a particular play or musical, visiting a certain landmark or just trying a new activity. Other times you’ll read a novel about Picasso’s “blue period” and decide you simply must go see the master’s art in person. There are no hard and fast rules. An easy way to get started is by meeting at a restaurant that serves food from the culture that is the subject of the book.
To get you started, here are a few examples of activities I have done with The Novel Tourists of Philadelphia:
- The Life List by Lori Nelson and watching improve at a local theater (the protagonist has to perform on stage to fulfill her life list)
- Geek Love and a trip to the Mütter Museum (or, if you are not near Philadelphia – a traveling circus show works, too!)
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and a visit to a real underground railroad location, museum or other similar location.
- Read Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods and go for a hike.
- The Taste of Ginger and then meet for dinner a local Indian restaurant.
- The Glassblower of Murano and then take a glassblowing class together!
Are any genres better suited for pairing with an activity?
Not all! Frankly, your imagination alone is the only limit to how you can pair up books and inspired activities. You and your book club could choose to focus your adventures on activities inspired by new releases! Or go a different route and explore classic books like pairing The Light in the Forest with an activity learning more about Native Americans. Or maybe your local theater is stating a production of a classic like The Wizard of Oz? Read and discover how different the book(s) are from the play. (What color are Dorothy’s slippers, really? hmmmm. I know!)
Books are a great escape no matter the situation. Are you and some friends invited to a Superbowl party and just not that into the team? No worries, suggest a book from this list of must read novels about football and pass the time before and after the half time show delightfully engaged in a book club discussion! Or even better, head to a local high school football game to cheer on the home team while reliving your high school days together!
Children’s books and YA should not be dismissed!
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimon, was one of my book club’s favorite books, especially because we paired it with a trip to a local cemetery. (Did you know that some cemeteries, like Laurel Hill in Philadelphia, were actually designed to be places to gather, picnic and enjoy the presence of the spirits among us?). The Novel Tourists of Philadelphia also joined up with some adventure book club friends in NYC and read From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler before we jumped on a bus and headed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
3. But, what if I can’t think of any ideas!
Don’t worry, you will! You’ll be surprised how ideas literally will flow off the page! Even if you find yourself struggling, you aren’t alone! I’ve been pairing books and activities together for a few years now and trying to get them posted here on the website. Take a look around! I also definitely recommend signing up for my The Novel Tourist newsletter. You’ll get mostly monthly curated pairings, tips on managing your book club, and book recommendations from normal everyday people. Finally, feel free to join The Novel Tourists of Philadelphia book club through Meetup. You may not be local enough to join us, but our adventures may inspire your own literary exploration close to home!
Let the novel inspire you!
My favorite novels are those that suck me into the fictional world so much so that when I turn the last page and close the book it takes me a second or two to recognize my own living room. The kind of book that transports me somewhere other than where I am. Or, makes me want feel like it would be fun to experience something the fictional heroine experienced. For instance, reading The Giver of Stars made me want to jump in my car and head west to Kentucky to try my hand at being a horseback librarian. Of course, that’s not a realistic notion – that job ended in 1943! However, there’s nothing stopping me from booking a trail ride at a nearby stable. So, that’s easily became one of my book club’s most fun adventures!
Don’t be afraid to be creative
Sometimes it takes some creativity, but the end result is almost always so unique! For instance, I was inspired to be a volunteer “hider” after reading Sing, Unburied Sing. The story is a character-driven drama of a contemporary, bi-racial family living in rural Mississippi. The main character is 13-year-old Jojo, whose mother has a serious drug problem and whose father is in the Mississippi State Penitentiary, Parchman. Jojo and his sister live primarily with their grandparents, Pop and Mam. When I contemplated what activity to pair with Sing, I quickly ruled out experimenting with hallucinogenics, snorting cocaine or taking a toke or two! I thought about visiting a prison, but found the idea too depressing. And then, inspiration hit! I thought about Pop/River’s responsibility with the tracking dogs at Parchman. I couldn’t help but think about how amazing it is that dogs can track a scent on command. I simply had to learn more about it. That’s how I ended up hiding for a bloodhound in training named Ethel. It was an incredible experience!
Activity identified?
Let’s say you want your book club to attend a piano concert, a big band show, a jazz night out or something else musical. No worries, just Google something like “fictional books for music lovers” or “novels about music” or “piano fiction.” You’ll find something to pair with your activity! The number of novels out there that you can pair with an activity are endless! Recently, I wanted to go kayaking with my The Novel Tourists of Philadelphia book club. So, I googled “kayaking novels.” Well, that gave me a whole bunch of books on “how to kayak.” That’s not what I wanted. I wanted a story! So, I googled “fiction kayak adventure novel rafting river” and then just started scrolling. Eventually, I landed on This Tender Land, a novel about children who escaped a school for Native Americans by raft. It was an incredible book and such a joy to discuss when we pulled ashore for lunch!
If you’re so busy adventuring…when do you discuss the book?
That’s the best part! Whenever and however you want! Sometimes you can plan to meet at a restaurant or tavern before the activity, sometimes you can go to one after. Other times, the activity lends itself to discussion periods during the activity, such as picnicking during a hike after reading A Walk in the Woods or, as mentioned above, while grabbing a beverage during a tour of the penitentiary. One time, while exploring the zoo, The Novel Tourists of Philadelphia stopped to discuss West with Giraffes while standing in front of the real life giraffes!
Whether you decide to only invite friends or family or you decide to open up your adventurous book club to a whole new set of future friends you can’t go wrong. I have found, however, that the commonality of being a reader who likes to explore makes strangers quickly become friends.
What do you think?