I listened to The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker for my work book club and I learned so much about hosting gatherings of all varieties! I don’t host a lot of events, but this book was still really useful and applicable. I learned about the importance of purpose in any type of event, from dinner party to Zoom meeting. Something I thought was really interesting was that it can be important to exclude some in order to have an event that is actually inclusive in the way it is meant to be.

I read this at the perfect time for an event in my personal life, too - we were planning my dad’s 60th birthday while I was reading this. It inspired me to come up with creative games that got different friend groups talking to each other at his surprise party. We made a bingo game where the attendees had to find someone who met a certain criteria, and get them to sign the bingo board. It was a hit! And I probably wouldn’t have had any games ready to go if I hadn’t been listening to this book.

Even if you just occasionally host gatherings, I’d definitely recommend this one. It’s an easy listen with lots of actionable suggestions and anecdotes that will give you concrete ideas for how to host more successful gatherings. The audiobook was great, too.