Between the Covers Mission

“Welcome to Between the Covers Book Club, where we dive headfirst into literary unknowns, fearlessly exploring the uncharted realms of reading. Our mission? To embrace the intriguing, sometimes bewildering, and downright incredible tales that exist between the pages. We’ll journey through all genres, from meditative memoirs, spontaneous combustion science fiction, romance novels featuring five sisters in 19th century England who must cope with the pressures to marry while protecting themselves from a growing population of zombies, and so much more. Pack your sense of adventure, leave your reading comfort zone at the door, and prepare for a wild ride of unexpected plot twists, laughter-induced page flipping, and the occasional existential crisis. Together, we’ll conquer unexplored written territories, one extraordinary book at a time!”

By-Laws

Read/listen or attempt to read/listen to the book before we meet.
Don’t forget that everyone reads at their own pace – life happens – but know that the book discussion will cover the book from start to finish.
BE RESPECTFUL. Everyone’s opinion & perspective matters – everyone should have a chance to share and be heard. We can all be polite as listeners and speakers.
Bring your questions, thoughts, ideas, and favorite quotes.
Anyone is welcome to host outside celebrations and/or get-togethers
- Will be held at your discretion and expense

No birthday parties, baby showers, weddings showers etc. DURING Book Club meetings – but please invite us to them!

Membership

ACTIVE Members: an Active Member is defined by one’s attendance of monthly meetings. To be considered active, you must attend at least half of all scheduled meetings.
Inviting new members: anyone can invite new trial members
- Members are welcome to invite new trial participants. If an invitee does not align with the group, the member who invited them will be responsible for addressing the situation and asking them not to return. We encourage everyone to be mindful when extending invitations.
- Founding board reserves the right to “disinvite” problematic members
Must attend 2 meetings to be added to group messages and must pay dues by the 3rd meeting to be considered Active.
Membership will be capped at 18 participants.
Blackout Membership Dates SEPT-DEC
No new members allowed
Will help with planning of special meetings
JANUARY 2026 Membership is currently OPEN

Book clubs are the best thing that has happened to the world of publishing.

-Adriana Trigiani

Communication

Download and utilize the Bookclubs app for meeting information here
Website
- Utilized for October and December selection voting
- Awards Voting
- History of Books read
WhatsApp – Only ACTIVE members are allowed to be a part of the text thread
Facebook Group
- Anyone can be invited, including new members
Membership in ALL platforms will be revisited quarterly and members will be removed if necessary

Dues

$50 annual dues
- To be collected in January of each year
- Paid via website
  - *Prorated $25 for 2023; due in July
To cover:
- Membership
- Book Club gear: bookmarks, t-shirts, etc
- Annual literary philanthropy project
- End-of-year celebration
No refunds for those who decide to leave the Club
Open to discretionary changes

Hosting

Each month will be hosted by a different person. The host will choose the book – of any genre, date and time of the meeting.
- Feel free to use your home or select a public place to meet.
- Keep in mind that we will have to be able to HEAR each other when selecting a restaurant or public place to meet.
HOST SELECTION – Sign up will occur in December for the following year.
- The Master Librarian will organize the sign up.
- Those with the highest attendance will have first pick, and the longest membership will break any ties.
  - Newer active members are encouraged to reach out for hosting
  - There may be a waiting list, or another member who is willing to give up their month to host
- Members must have been an ACTIVE participant in meetings for one year to be eligible to host.

Meeting Dates MUST be held within the month you sign up for.
- Weekends are suggested but not mandatory. Weekdays are open for meeting dates as well.
- You may choose to get input from the club for when the majority is available to meet but you don’t have to. Choose what works for you to host.
- Do NOT go into the next month to hold your meeting, you are then interfering with the next month’s hosting.
  - i.e. if you are hosting April – you cannot hold your meeting the first weekend of May
No KIDS allowed.
- There are adult conversations happening and 9 times out of 10 they are inappropriate for little ears and spousal ears!
- If meeting is in your home, kids/partners are not invited to be a part of the conversation
- No book club member is expected to censor themselves in these settings
*See next section on hosting Special Meetings

Special Meetings

To be hosted by the group as a whole
Open to Active members volunteer hosting
- Must have been a member for 2 years to qualify to host one of these meetings
If no hostess, location will be decided upon by governing board
October Meetings
- We will vote on and read a horror selection
- What defines a horror selection?
  - “Horror is a genre of literature, film, and television that is meant to scare, startle, shock, and even repulse audiences. The key focus of a horror novel, horror film, or horror TV show is to elicit a sense of dread in the reader through frightening images, themes, and situations.”
- Examples of what is NOT horror – mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, psychological thrillers.

Special Meetings

Held October and December
- Can also occur if we do not have a host for the month.
To be organized by an individual volunteer host or special committee
Volunteer hosting is open to Active members who have been a member for two years.
In the event of not having a host for the month, the location will be decided upon by the Founding board

Voting & Nominations

Books for Special Meetings will be nominated and voted upon by Active members.
A specific genre is not required for book nominations of meetings where we do not have a host.
October and December meetings will have a required genre for book nominations.
Nominations that do not fit the below definitions for each month of voting will be removed from the polls.

October Meetings
- We will vote on and read a horror selection.
- What defines a horror selection?
  - “Horror is a genre of literature, film, and television that is meant to scare, startle, shock, and even repulse audiences. The key focus of a horror novel, horror film, or horror TV show is to elicit a sense of dread in the reader through frightening images, themes, and situations.” <https://westportlibrary.libguides.com/Whatishorror>
- Examples of what is NOT horror – mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, psychological thrillers.
December Meetings
- We will vote on and read a classic selection.
- What defines a classic selection:
  - “Classic literature is not the same as classical literature. Classic literature is not limited to books published during ancient times. It can be any piece of literature that has defined literature and never tires as time goes on. It remains relevant throughout the ages and remains open to interpretation even centuries after publication. There are plenty of modern classic novels that fall under the category of classic works. However, authors of classical literature still fall under this umbrella. <https://www.becomeawritertoday.com/what-is-classic-literature/>
- Every December we will host an Awards ceremony for the following categories for books read between January – December of each year:
  - Best Book
  - Book Bomb
  - Best Rabbit Hole
  - Honorable Mention
- White Elephant Book Exchange
  - Each participant will bring a new, wrapped book to contribute to a common pool
  - The book should not be a previous years title or previously gifted title – check the website
  - No series books
  - No gift cards and/or credits
  - Participation is NOT required

*Of course, there will be horror/classic selections that include various elements of all genres, however, if you are unsure about your nomination, feel free to ask about it for clarification!

Chapters

Any member is invited to create an extended chapter of our book club!
- can follow established BtC by-laws and rules
ALL members of every chapter will collectively vote on special meeting books and can nominate on October + December Book Club selections

Founding Board - The Volturi

Master Librarian – Angela

Organizes Voting for October meetings
Coordinates annual hostess calendar
Write an annual blog entry for website
Founding member

Literary Detective – Crystal

Organizes Voting for December meetings
Coordinates End of Year Voting for awards
Philanthropist
Founding member

Master of Coin and Quills – Angela AF

Historian – maintains records of books read, attendance and notes.
Treasurer – manages all expenses and dues

Pagemaster – Alexis

Creates and maintains official book club website: www.betweenthecoversbookclub.com
Past Reads

Literary Curator – Rosalie, est. January 2026

Manages event calendar
Social Coordinator
Task Manager
Maintains record of meeting notes

Literary Liaison – Erica

Lead of Austin sister book club
Founding member

Support Committees – headed by our Literary Curator

Additional Committees include but not limited to:
Philanthropy
Travel
Party Planning
Social Events