Book clubs! They are a great way to get social with your
reading, add a little more motivation if you're feeling slumpy or just catch up
with friends (with wine of course!). Although the idea of a book club is very
basic at its core: you read a book with a group of people and then talk about
it. There are so many different ways and social functions that this structure
can fit. Currently, I am part of 4 different book clubs (excessive, I know, but
it keeps me reading for sure!) and I realize that each one serves a very
distinct purpose in my reading/social life and that there are pros and cons for
each one.
1. The Friend Group book club
This is your basic group of friends or friends of friends
getting together to chat about a book. This usually happens monthly, bi-monthly
or quarterly and may include comestibles and/or alcohol. I've been in a couple
which have been organized around a particular theme (e.g. we would only read
books by women of color) or just a general get together where people rotate
choosing books they want to read, either way you get to spend time catching up
with friends.
- Pros: The social atmosphere of getting together with friends on a fixed schedule with wine!
- Cons: Depending on the dedication of the group it can be difficult to keep the conversation centered around the book and lack of consistency can also lead to the dissolution of the group.
2. The Long Distance book club
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I am very lucky to be part of a family that is full of book
nerds. Every time we get together we talk about our favorite books and give each
other recommendation. Unfortunately since we are scattered all over the world
this does not happen as frequently as we would like. One way in which my mother
and I keep in touch is by reading a book at the same time and then discussing
it via Skype when we finish.
- Pros: Keeping in touch and sharing bookish time with a loved one/family/friend who lives far away. Beats sending a postcard!
- Cons: Generally works better with a smaller group of people unless you want to start a...
3. The Online book club
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Online book clubs come in all forms of organizational platforms
on a variety of social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads
and Litsy are some that I've seen just to name a few) They can be just for a
private group of friends that are scattered geographically or open to for
anyone to join.
- Pros: Finding a group of people interested in reading the same book or types of books as you who are interested in having conversations about said book.
- Cons: Not meeting in person (or this might be a pro too?)
4. The Work book club
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This can be a great way to get to know your colleagues and network
across departments in a more casual way or to talk about books at work (yay!).
- Pros: Bringing a little fun into your work life/potential workplace friendships
- Cons: Having to bite your tongue sometimes/watch your alcohol consumption, they are still colleagues after all and the last thing you want
Are you part of any book clubs? What do your book clubs look
like?
Also throwing out there the library book club - to me they seem a little too impersonal and out of my control though, so I never joined one. I think I'd prefer the in-person friend one the most.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! I prefer the in-person friends ones too. I feel like you can relax and have the most fun. Good point about the library book clubs too, I've never joined one either.
DeleteI've always wanted to be in an in-person book club! Theoretically, I feel like I'd make reading an in-person group's book a higher priority than I often do in online situations. So easy to drift in and out of online things.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I feel like it also depends on the dedication and size of the group. I tried following a large open online bookclub a couple of years ago and felt unmotivated: it felt easy to get lost in the shuffle. Currently the online bookclub I follow is on IG and a smaller group of people which works much better.
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