With each new moon, a group of flabby, unshowered men emerge from their mothers' basements and skulk off to a local bookstore to discuss such engaging topics as what the proper ranking structure of the Grand Army of Republic should be, the total volume of a Super Star Destroyer in meters, and just how deep a Mon Calamarian can dive.

They spend two hours togther. No one appears to have social intelligence beyond that of your average 13 year old.

At the conclusion, they shabbily trod to a nearby establishment, where copious amount of grease and fat are consumed.

At least that's what I THOUGHT my first Star Wars Book Club would be like. It turned out to be fantastic fun. My two hours were filled with thought-provoking discussion, humorous observation, and a wonderful feeling of community. Yes, there were people who loved Star Wars stories as much as I did. They turned out to be a diverse group of fun and interesting men and women. My monthly book club meeting (we call ourselves The Errant Venture Book Club) is one of my favorite diversions.

We do tend to eat a bunch of greasy food after our meeting, however.

I'm sure there are other Star Wars fans out there who wish they could get together with their fellow fans and discuss the latest novel they are in to. This blog will give you some helpful hints on how to get your own Star Wars Book Club started and what you need to do to keep it running smoothly.

FINDING YOUR FELLOW FAN:
The age of the internet has made this a whole lot easier. You can check out the boards right here at starwars.com to find other fans in your area. You should also search the boards over at theforce.net or other fan sites. General SciFi sites are also a good tool. Also, a successful group doesn't require a whole lot of people. Even with only 4 or 5 folks, you can have a really good time talking about an EU novel.

CHOOSING A NOVEL:
Pretty straight forward. Just make sure that it is a novel that everyone wants to read and then talk about.

PICKING A SPOT:
The primary concern here is in finding a spot that everyone in your book club can get to. You can use public libraries, parks (weather permitting), restaurants, even the occasional cantina. I would recommend a bookstore. There are new Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores going up all the time. Most of these stores have a cafe or even an area designated for special events which are perfect for your group. Get to know the manager and ask them about using the space. Most will only be too happy to provide you with a location as they know you are bringing customers in to the store on a regular basis. Ask them about getting your book club added to the store's monthly event calenday for even more publicity.

READING THE NOVEL:
I know what you're thinking. "Well duh! Of course you have to read it to have a discussion." Not so fast there Padawan. Your discussion will be so much more fun if the people reading spend a tiny amount of time thinking about what they want to discuss. What did they like about the book? What did they despise? Where were they surprised? Where were they bored? Which characters did they find interesting? And so on and so on. By coming to the discussion with some idea of what you want to say about the novel, you ensure a better time for everyone.

PICKING A LEADER:
We found in our group that it helps immensely if there is someone guiding the conversation. This is a little tricky. First of all, this person should not act like a teacher who has people raise their hands and calls on them. They certainly shouldn't be bossing around the other participants. On the other hand, even though you want to err on the side of not interfering, sometimes it's important to make sure that everyone in your group (especially the shy ones) gets a chance to speak. Also, while conversations that are off-topic can be fun here and there, it's good to have someone get things back on track when you stray too far afield. Having a good leader can really add to everyone's enjoyment of the discussion. However, if your group works better without one, you don't need it.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
My final suggestion on having a great book club is having someone generate specific discussion questions on the novel. This goes beyond merely thinking about what you want to talk about to forcing everyone to examine specific ideas and opinions on the story. Of course, everyone who comes can do this, but it is a good idea to have at least one person work on a few. Not sure how to write discussion questions? Check out my next blog entry!