ulkopuolinen t1_j9ehba4 wrote on February 21, 2023 at 9:28 AM

I used to go to a bookclub at the local library, and as a fellow social anxiety sufferer I can relate to stressing about it. In my case, I found this to be a pretty good set up. There was a clear "discussion leader" who kept the conversation going with questions and prompts, and I could eiter take part or just quietly observe if I had nothing to contribute.

Personally I found this a much less anxiety inducing situation than a less structured acquaintance based group, because there was less pressure for small talk and "normal" social interaction :D

scarybirds00 t1_j9isaza wrote on February 22, 2023 at 7:08 AM

My local book club has a leader for each month. It’s the month that they recommended the book and is usually hosted at their home. If they cannot host, someone else hosts the actual physical space but the leader picked the book and therefore helps run the discussion by bringing discussion questions/topics.

I usually prepared by reading the book (duh) and then reading online book club questions in anticipation of questions or discussion topics so I could be helpful in keeping conversations flowing