Newcomers always ask the same thing at their first meeting: who decides? The honest answer is that everyone does, twice, and that the process has been argued over longer than most of the books.
If you have ever lost a vote by a single hand and been quietly pleased about the winner anyway, this is for you. If you are thinking of joining the club, it is the nearest thing we have to a rulebook.
Five rules, one ballot
- Anyone can nominate. One book each, with one sentence on why.
- Nothing we have read before. Not even if it was a long time ago and we have all forgotten the ending.
- Under 450 pages, unless it is summer.
- A shortlist of four. The committee trims the nominations; it may not add anything.
- Two ballots. The first picks two books, the second picks one.
I came for the cake and stayed because someone talked me into Hamnet. I would never have picked it myself.
That is the idea. The vote is there so that nobody has to be the person who chose the book everyone disliked.
What the last four months looked like
Here is the record, because someone always asks. Votes is the winner’s share of the second ballot.
| Month | Shortlist | Winner | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| June | Hamnet, Beloved, Dune, Normal People | Hamnet | 14 |
| July | Wolf Hall, Jane Eyre, Sapiens, The Hobbit | Jane Eyre | 11 |
| August | Middlemarch, Frankenstein, The Big Sleep, Hawk | H is for Hawk | 9 |
| September | Wolf Hall, Beloved, The Remains of the Day, Dune | The Remains of the Day | 12 |
Reading the table
Two things stand out. The winners are rarely the longest books, and the margin is smallest when the shortlist is full of classics: nobody wants to be the one who voted against Middlemarch, and nobody wants to read it in August.
Why we vote twice
One ballot rewards the loudest nomination. Two lets the quiet books catch up: the second round is held a week later, after people have had time to read the first few pages of each.
Questions we get asked
Do I have to vote?
No. Plenty of members only turn up for the discussion. But you can’t complain about the book if you skipped the ballot.
What happens in a tie?
The shorter book wins. It has been the rule for three years and nobody has found a better one.
Can guests nominate?
Yes, from their second visit. Everyone is welcome at the first one, but we like to hear a few opinions on the book before we hear your nomination.
Still curious? Come to the next meeting and watch a vote happen. Tea is provided; arguments are free.
