--- title: "Book club pick poll template for Slack" url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/book-club-pick/" description: "Run your workplace book club in Slack. Templates to collect nominations, pick the next book with a ranked vote and check reading pace." --- # Book club pick poll for Slack When to use it: When your book club needs to choose its next read and wants everyone to have a say, not just the person who always suggests first. How often: Once per book Book clubs stall on two questions: what to read next, and whether anyone finished it. Two polls handle both. Collect nominations, vote with a ranked poll, then check in halfway so the meeting date matches the reading pace. ## Example polls Paste any of these into the message box in Slack. ```text /poll "Book club nominations. What should we read next? Add title and author." ``` No options, so everyone adds their own pick. *Free.* ```text /poll "Which book should we read next?" "The Overstory, Richard Powers" "Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir" "Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman" "Piranesi, Susanna Clarke" ranked close after 3 days ``` The shortlist, ranked, closing after three days. *Premium: closing automatically.* ```text /poll "Halfway check. How far are you?" "Not started" "Under a third" "About half" "Nearly done" "Finished" limit 1 anonymous ``` The pace check. Anonymous, so the honest answers come in. *Premium: vote limits.* ```text /poll "How did you rate this book?" "Did not like it" "Not for me" "It was fine" "Liked it" "Loved it" scale ``` A 1 to 5 rating after the meeting. *Free.* ## Collect nominations Post a question with no options. Everyone adds their own pick, and people can vote on others' picks while the poll is open, so you see early favourites. Ask people to add the author too: "The Overstory, Richard Powers". Give a rule or two so the shortlist is readable: a page limit, a theme, or "available as an audiobook". ## Vote with a ranked poll Take the top four or five nominations into a ranked poll. Ranking is the right shape for book picks: people often love one book and are fine with two others, and instant-runoff picks the book with the broadest support rather than the one with three passionate fans. Close it after a few days (`close after 3 days`, Premium). Voters in a ranked poll see results only once it closes, so nobody switches to the front-runner. ## Check the pace Halfway to the meeting, ask where people are. If most of the club is behind, move the meeting a week rather than meeting with three people who finished. Make it `anonymous`; nobody wants to admit to page 12 by name. ## After the meeting A quick rating of the book, plus one open question for the next theme, gives you material for the next round of nominations. ## FAQ ### How does the ranked vote pick a winner? With instant-runoff voting. If no book has a majority of first choices, the one with the fewest is eliminated and those votes go to each voter's next choice, round by round, until one book has a majority. ### Can people add books after the poll is posted? Yes. A poll with no options lets everyone add their own, and `allow-options` does the same for a poll that starts with a list. ### How many books can go in the final vote? Up to 5 on Free and up to 45 on Premium. Four or five is a good shortlist. ## Used by - [Polls for Slack communities](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/slack-communities/) ## Related - [Project name poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/project-name/): When a project, team, channel or internal tool needs a name and you want ideas from more people than the ones in the room. - [Icebreaker question polls for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/icebreaker-questions/): When a channel is all work and no chatter, a new team is forming, or remote teammates need an easy way to get to know each other. - [How to create a ranked choice poll in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-ranked-choice-poll-in-slack/): In a ranked choice poll, each person puts the options in order of preference instead of picking one. Simple Poll counts the result with instant-runoff voting, so the winner is the option with the broadest support, not just the most first choices. Ranked polls work on every plan. - [How to let people add options to a Slack poll](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-let-people-add-options-to-a-slack-poll/): Sometimes you don't know all the options yet: the best venue, a name for the new team, the topic everyone actually wants. Turn on adding options and voters get an Add option button. Anything they add becomes an option everyone can vote on. It's free on every plan. - [Polls for Slack communities](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/slack-communities/): A Slack community is not a company. Nobody has to answer you, half the members are lurkers, and a careless @channel reaches thousands of people who did not ask for it. Polls work well here because they are the lowest-effort way for a quiet member to take part: one click, no message to write. ## Sources - [How are the rankings calculated when using rank options?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/119-how-are-the-rankings-calculated-when-using-rank-options) - [Can I create a poll that starts with no options?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/92-can-i-create-a-poll-that-starts-with-no-options) --- Simple Poll is the #1 polls and surveys app for Slack. Add it to Slack: https://simplepoll.rocks/. Pricing: https://simplepoll.rocks/pricing/.