I might have missed this idea, but with contemporary books, what about having their authors join as "Special Guests" when possible? For example, I'm already in discussions with the author of the book I reviewed here — https://steemit.com/science/@freeradical/the-moral-case-for-fossil-fuels-an-unabashedly-biased-book-review — and could probably talk him into "appearing."
RE: THE STEEMIT BOOK CLUB PLAN (V1.0)