Summer is on it’s way. Vacations, longer days, a little more relaxed time. Now is the time to organize a book club (or revitalize the one you do belong to) – and a tea to go with it. It might just be for summer reading or you might enjoy each other’s company so much you carry through to the rest of the year.
If your book club is not already established, to make sure you have a solid group at every meeting, try to recruit at least six readers. Remember the old adage of intimate is never more than eight. Need help finding those members? Try co-workers or friends of friends.
Clubs tend to meet once a month for an hour and a half during the school season, but the summer may find you meeting a little more often or for a little longer. Sometimes the club meeting occurs as a rotation at each members home. Others meet at a tea room or café. Both are OK. You might even want to try a pot luck picnic.
For each meeting a member should make a dished inspired by that month’s book selection. Cooking novices should not be intimidated. A lot of chick lit, memoirs and cozy mysteries have easy recipes.
But, wait. The title of the blog post is organize a book club TEA. If you are just starting the club, then you supply the food and tea for the first meeting. If it is an established group, each person brings a portion of a menu.
You know I love Laura Childs books so I’ll use hers as an example. In both her Cackleberry Club series and in her Tea Shop series, menus abound. Just read. In the later tea shop books she has ideas for teas in the back of the book. Cackleberry books require a little more reading to find the menu. But somewhere in the books there is an afternoon tea of some sort. Sometimes the book has the recipe. Other times it will take a little research. Other suggested authors include Leslie Meier, Laurie Gwen Shapiro, Jessica Beck, Brian O’Reilly and Diane Mott Davidson.
Select your book, read it and gather ideas. Keep it simple. Don’t intimidate the other members by having a high tea the first time. Scones or cookies and tea with the accompaniments will be fine.
A couple of weeks before your meeting, decide when and where to meet and invite the members. Remind them of the book selected and print out a list of other food-themed titles for the future.
A day or two before the meeting check your pantry to see you have all you need for the food, make sure you have enough china, cups, napkins, etc. Shop and prepare any item that can be done ahead. The day of prepare the food, arrange your furniture for conversation and be sure to allow yourself twice the time you thought it would take. (Mishaps happen.)
It’s time to gather. Set aside the first fifteen to twenty minutes for social time and serving so everyone can focus on the book the remaining hour. If you’re stumped for things to say when discussing the book, start by exploring the character’s relationships to food.
Before the end of the session establish a rotation of hostesses and the next book to read. Set parameters for food costs and the formality of the event. Decide the months you want to meet. Do you want to skip the December meeting as things are so busy or does a member really want to show off her home and have a holiday tea?
Also, decide whether you will stick with one genre or whether you will rotate that, too. Perhaps it’s chick lit, or cozy mysteries or something deeper. Maybe you want to stick with an era – Downton Abbey/Edwardian, Victorian, 70’s, etc. If you choose Edwardian you could always dress the part and have a party to watch the season opener together.
Fix yourself a cup of tea, gather your tablet, find a cozy chair and let your imagination organize the event. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. Have fun and enjoy.
Tea at the Unicorn Wine Guild 