1946 began as a banner year for book clubs. The two largest and oldest, the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Literary Guild, celebrated twentieth anniversaries. Now that paper rationing no longer limited their ability to grow, the existing clubs were aggressively seeking new members and 17 new clubs had started. Cumulatively book clubs had an estimated 3.5-million members in the US and Canada according the a story in The New York Times on March 31. New York City was a prime target for members. The large clubs took ads in the city's major newspapers and sold memberships in some department stores and bookshops. BOMC and the Literary Guild sponsored radio shows.
Book clubs were a German innovation that had first appeared soon after the end of the First World War to counter the decline in door-to-door book subscription sales. By 1946, there were dozens of book clubs in America. The publisher Doubleday, which ran the Literary Guild, had four of them, including the Dollar Book Club, which printed low-cost editions mostly of not-quite-current bestsellers, Book League of America, which mailed out classics along with the current monthly selection and the Junior Literary Guild aimed at young readers. Sears Roebuck, the nation’s second largest retailer after the A&P, had started a book club, the People's Book Club, after merchandise shortages hurt its catalog sales. The club was so successful that the Literary Guild began offering memberships through the Montgomery Ward catalog. In January 1946, the Religious Book Club, which had been distributing books to Protestant ministers since the 1920s, appointed a new editorial board and launched an ad campaign to attract the general public. The Book Find Club offered books of interest to left-leaning readers. In 1946, you could also join the Children’s Book Club, the Science Book Club, the Catholic Book Club, the Catholic Children’s Book Club, the Detective Book Club, the Unicorn Mystery Club, the Classic Club, the Progressive Book Club, the Negro Book Club, the Heritage Book Club or the Limited Editions Club.
Book clubs in 1946 operated differently than their modern day successors. Each month they offered a new selection. To fulfill your commitment, you had to buy a set number of the monthly selections, usually four, during the year rather than being free to choose from a catalog of titles. A five-member editorial board chose the BOMC selections while a single editor picked titles for the Literary Guild. The People's Book Club offered the monthly "Peoples Choice," selected by panels of readers. Book club members were obligated to buy a preset number of books a year, usually four. On average, about half the members took the selection each month. The large clubs sent out a monthly newsletter that often reviewed and recommended other new books. Free bonus books were sent to new members or to existing members who purchased a set number of titles during the course of the year. BOMC estimated that it gave away 75 cents in books for every $1 it took in. .
While 1946 turned out to be a record year for the established clubs, they saw a sharp drop off as the decade progressed. By 1949, BOMC had about half the membership it had at its 1946 peak. Book club memberships exploded again in the 1950s, thanks to the growth of the suburbs where there were few, if any, bookstores, and the Baby Boom. However, the growth was due mostly to new clubs like Readers Digest Condensed Books and book clubs for children.The older clubs held steady in membership in the 1950s, losing about as many members each year as they added.
There is more about these book clubs and the the titles they offered in 1946 here: