Ever fancied starting your own book club? Stylist's Jamie Klingler did just that, setting up London Book Club with @blonde_m after chatting on Twitter, and starting with Margaret Atwood's classic, The Handmaid’s Tale.

Over three years later and the group have read over 30 books together, have their own hashtag and learnt some valuable lessons along the way. Read on for Jamie's golden rules of book clubbing, and if you're interested in joining rather than starting one of your own, scroll to the bottom of the page for details on how to get involved.

1. Set up an easy way to communicate

We formed a secret group on Facebook. It’s a great way to invite people to all of the events and keep a record of recommendations and other fun book chatter. We moved the club from a mailing list on Outlook, which was difficult to keep up and maintain, and Facebook has been much more efficient.

2. Figure out a method of book selection

We find that varying our shortlist between fiction and non-fiction, classic and contemporary work has worked for us. Make sure you are really seeking out a wide array of titles. Selecting is difficult, but this is the most important part. Our rules are that it has to be available in paperback, no more than five people present can have read it previously and it should be under 500 pages. The people in attendance at the monthly meeting vote on the next book, and anyone can suggest titles for the shortlist.

We’ve had wonderful successes (notably The Interestings, Hons and Rebels, and The Art of Fielding) and meetings where everyone really, really hated the book chosen. The trickiest are those that are good or even great books, but don’t lend much in terms of a discussion. Look for complex characters or plots that the group will find relatable, frustrating or fascinating. The worst book clubs are the ones where no-one has anything to say. I’d rather hate it and want to throw it at the wall than have nothing to say!

Sate your literary appetite: the seven golden rules of setting up a book club