Quiz
This works best for groups of 8 or more. Give each person a copy of the quiz and a pencil; and about 15 minutes to find a person that fits each description, or knows the answer to the question. When the time is up, reconvene the group and have fun sharing the answers.
These questions are ones that I thought up in a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon - I'm sure you can do much better. Aim for about 10 to 20 questions. Use double spacing so that there's room to write down an answer.
For added interest, you could telephone each person in advance and ask them for one interesting fact about themselves - then incorporate these into the questionnaire - see below for examples:
This game can be tailored to virtually any gathering with almost any number of people - for example, a 40th birthday party quiz would ask questions about the birthday girl/boy (e.g. find somebody who can name her favorite color, knows the name of her elementary school, knows her favorite author etc.).
Example Quiz
Find somebody who
1. Has read a book of poetry in the last year.
2. Likes to read in the bath
3. Has fallen asleep with a book in their hands recently.
4. Reads more than one book at a time.
5. Likes to listen to audio books.
6. Has been in a book group before.
7. Has children.
8. Has been married for more than 5 years.
9. Will admit to being nervous to be here.
10. Moved house in the past 2 years.
11. Can quote at least 2 lines from Shakespeare.
12. Knows the heroine's name in Wuthering Heights.
13. Knows the name of one member of staff at the local library.
14. Knows the name of Barbara Kingsolver's first book.
15. Can recite a tongue twister (e.g. She sells sea shells on the sea shore.....).
16. Drives a red car.
Examples of questions specific to one group member. Obviously you need to create questions relevant to your members...
17. Was born in South Africa.
18. Plays saxophone in a local band.
19. Has a dachshund named Lilly.
20. Whose favorite book of all time is The Phantom Tollbooth.
21. Etc, etc, etc!