About Lapwing Book Club
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this?
Most websites aren't designed specifically for book clubs. We built Lapwing Book Club for our own reading group, focusing on the things that actually matter: picking a book everyone agrees on and finding a time everyone can meet.
The tools here are built around the group experience — making it easy to select a book, coordinate dates, and spend less time organising and more time discussing great reads.
Why "Lapwing"?
Our name comes from the Northern Lapwing — a distinctive bird known for its bold crest and loud, unmistakable call. They're a common sight across the UK and one of those birds that, once you know the name, you start noticing everywhere.
The name stuck. It felt right for something that started small and local, built around a group of people who actually know each other.
What features do you offer?
The platform includes several features designed specifically for book clubs:
- Book Management: Add, track, and organise books for your club
- Meeting Scheduling: Find the best meeting times that work for everyone
- Group Management: Invite members and manage your book club
- Smart Book Selection: Vote democratically, use our intelligent recommendation system, or let fate decide with weighted random selection
- Book Recommendations: Discover new books from curated lists
How does your book selection system work?
Three ways to pick your next book:
- Manual Selection: Choose any book from your collection with complete control
- Smart Random Selection: Uses ratings and votes to give popular books a higher chance of selection while keeping things a little unpredictable
- Top-Rated Selection: Automatically picks the highest-rated book using Bayesian statistical methods that balance popularity with quality
The top-rated selection uses Bayesian statistics to weigh both the number of votes and star ratings, so books with more data points have more influence on the result.
Do you use AI?
Yes, in a few specific places:
- Discussion Questions: AI-generated questions to spark meaningful conversations about your books
- Book Recommendations: Personalised suggestions based on your club's reading history
- Instant Summaries: Two-sentence summaries of any book with one click
- Book Information: Enhanced book details pulled from multiple sources
Will it always be free?
For our first groups to join, they will always be free. We believe in supporting early adopters who help us grow and improve.
At some point in the future, we may introduce a small annual fee (around £5/$10 per year) for group administrators to help cover costs. This would be per group, not per member — keeping it very affordable.
How can I provide feedback or request features?
We love hearing from users. Email us at:
We aim to respond to all enquiries within 48 hours and really appreciate your input.
If you're interested in starting your own book club group, please visit our Request a Group page to get started.