The One Surprising Person You Need to Invite to Book Club

If more than half your members have to scramble for childcare every time you have a meeting or even skip the discussion due to last-minute complications (e.g., Dad had to work late), consider bringing in extra help. The whole group wins if everybody not only shows up but also feels relaxed knowing that their offspring have not been left with the old, blind, muttering lady down the street at the last minute because the real sitter bailed. The one caveat? The host needs a backyard, basement or a very large playroom. (You can't shove those children in front of at TV—not during book club!) And just in case any young ones wander into the gathering, consider reading a grown-up novel with a teenage narrator, like the wise, brilliant, ache-inducing The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker.