The page you wish you had filled out last month.

Make it your own

Use one meeting to learn what your journal needs.

Print the sheet once. Circle the sections you actually used and cross out the ones that felt forced. That is a better buying brief than a generic list of journal features.

A simple way to fill it out

Write the title, author, host, and date before the meeting. During the first few minutes, mark your own rating without asking the group to agree. Add only the passage or character choice you genuinely want to discuss; empty space is fine. Near the end, capture the question the book left unresolved and the practical details for next month.

The “group temperature” line is deliberately informal. It records the shape of the conversation without flattening everyone into an average score. A divided room can produce a much better meeting than a universally liked book.

For hosts and facilitators

Keep one copy beside you instead of giving the whole group worksheets. The page works as a light agenda when the discussion wanders, but it should not become minutes. If a member raises something worth returning to, jot down a few words and stay in the conversation.

After the meeting, send only the next title, reading deadline, host, and location. Personal reactions can remain on the paper. For clubs that rotate facilitators, a fresh sheet gives each host the same quiet structure without forcing a single discussion style.