Reading is cool again.
An ode to book clubs
Reading as a hobby has been making a resurgence the last few years. Seemingly out of nowhere, people are coming back to reading, binging everything from Sarah J. Maas to Emily Henry. They’re rediscovering the joy of a library card. Indie bookstores are opening and thriving. People I know are literally users of a Limewire-esque site (that keeps getting shut down by the FBI!!) where you can download books illegally. People are willing to BREAK THE LAW to read a good book! What a time to be alive!
As a lifelong book nerd and enneagram 9, I could not be more on board with this. Well, maybe not the illegal downloading—I’m an anxious rule follower haha.
I think my favorite thing with all this is the book clubs. Book clubs aren’t new by any means, but suddenly they’re cool to be part of. Bookstagram accounts are rampant. Bonafide influencers are starting book clubs and cranking out YouTube content about books. BookTok is a thing (that I’ve heard about but not experienced because I’m an uncool 33-year-old haha). Whether it was the isolation of the pandemic or the subsequent culture of returning to simplicity (or, let’s be honest, Reese Witherspoon!), book club culture is here and I’m all in.
I’ve been in unofficial book clubs since elementary school when they’d give us a day to read under self-made forts under our desks and my best friend and I would talk about our Brian Jacques books. We spent our summers doing the summer reading program at the library and trying to stump the librarian. And now I have a years-long group chat with my ride-or-die book friends. (When I had missed out on Harry Potter because 90s Christian culture said it was evil, they all but made a PowerPoint presentation about why I had to read them. One of them lent me all the books which I devoured in my mid-twenties!)
So when one of my friends posted an Instagram story that said, “If I started a book club, who would want to join?” I immediately responded with 🙋♀️. Within a month or so, five of us starting meeting monthly (with some in other states on Zoom!).
When our second meeting was coming up (for Lessons in Chemistry), a girl from work invited me to a book club she was starting at a local bookshop. I told her I was already in one and couldn’t commit to another one. But plot twist: for their first meeting they were also doing Lessons in Chemistry. So I was in for the first meeting! I didn’t have to commit to more than that, but you can probably already see where this is going. The conversation was a blast, and now I have two assigned books a month haha. Somehow the stars aligned and book club #1 meets early in the month while book club #2 is at the end of the month, so it all works out.
Being in two book clubs is the ultimate adult summer reading program. I obviously already knew I loved reading and talking about books, but it was still such a surprise how much I’ve enjoyed being part of these book clubs. I LOVE having assigned reading and an excuse to meet up with friends to talk books!
Why Book Clubs Are the Best:
Reading is solitary, but book clubs make it about connection. Bonding over an introverted activity is the ULTIMATE for me personally. Also conversation with a purpose is my jam. You can dive right into, “OMG did you haaaaate the main character as much as I did?!” instead of having to fumble through small talk.
They expand your reading horizons. I was in a years-long love affair with YA fantasy and have been forced to read historical fiction, mystery, general fiction, philosophical fiction, and more; and I’ve loved it! Most of these books I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen, which is the beauty of a book club.
Having a deadline means you read more books. I’ve experienced this with checking out from the library too—having a due date pushes me to choose reading over mindless scrolling.
I don’t know how long this book club trend will last, but I’m here for the long haul. Are you in a book club (official or unofficial)? What are some of your favorite things about having book friends?
LOVE talking books with you!