Reading groups are a perfect way for book lovers to enjoy reading and the pleasure of each other's company. To get started:

Ask the people you know or see regularly — friends from work, your street, or community groups — if they would like to meet once or twice a month for a book discussion. Talk to your local bookseller, post a sign-up sheet in your local bookstore or find a newsgroup (or set up your own), to find people who share your interests. You'll probably want to have at least five participants.

Choose books that appeal to the interest of the group as a whole, and that can be easily read between meetings. Your selections can focus on almost anything: literature of a particular century; history; current events; travel writing; poetry; or any topic that fires your imagination.

Designate a leader for each meeting to help the flow of the discussion. The leader of each meeting can guide conversation, helping to place the book in a broader context by exploring related materials and by providing insights into the author's life, the events behind the writing of the book, and approaches to similar topics.

Questions, critiques, even complaints about the featured book are the unassailable right of all members — and at the heart of the best reading group discussions!