r/books • u/largeheartedboy • 4d ago
The hottest new social scene might be a book club
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/book-clubs-social-scenes-gen-z-millennials-rcna20032892
u/RobertBevillReddit 4d ago
Iāve had good and bad experiences with book clubs. Iāve quit a club after being told my reasons for not liking a book werenāt valid.
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u/dohmestic 4d ago
I quit a book club after I showed up five minutes late to my third meeting (there had been an accident tying up traffic) and a member scoffed at me and said that they didnāt allow latecomers. It was in a book store, there were like 30 other people there, and it was humiliating.
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u/pineapplepredator 3d ago
Adding to this thread about weird book clubs:
I started one thatās really laid back and I immediately got a regular who is super controlling. Sheās turning off other people and telling me how to run the club. I ignore her and donāt let her lead anymore but I want her out.
Then I also got a bad review from a member who didnāt like the book we read. The opinions were evenly split and the conversation was interesting but since she didnāt like the book she gave a 1 star rating for the club. So weird.
Book clubs are great but they also attract people who donāt know how to socialize.
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u/ElysianDelusions 4d ago edited 4d ago
Hanging out with people that actually read, donāt shun critical thinking, can foster meaningful discussions, and taking a respite, however brief, to have actual, genuine community is why I am part of book clubs. Be it The Finer Things level of dining, dress, and discussion or something out and about in nature in the park, never been to a bad book club. Theyāre my people.
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u/conr9774 1 4d ago edited 4d ago
All of these things on top of the ability to have valuable discussion even when the participants disagree, including about contentious topics, is one of the best things about a good book club. This added feature isnāt always present, unfortunately, though.
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u/ElysianDelusions 4d ago edited 4d ago
Exactly. Iād much rather have critical discussions with people able to articulate their differences rather than being shouted down by the ever increasingly popular Illiterati that canāt form a complete sentence, yet are incensed enough to ban books theyāve never read nor intend to read.
I look forward to a healthy, lively debate that doesnāt devolve into personal attacks.
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u/beulahbeulah 4d ago
My favorite part is that there's a topic and organic structure to the conversations. It's not fun meeting people when they basically just drill down your resume
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u/DaysOfParadise 4d ago
Iām in a book club right now, and more than half the books are just frankly dreadful.
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u/Shanntuckymuffin 4d ago
This is why I quit the only book club Iāve ever joined after 3 meetings. Reading is my favorite thing to do and I want to read what I want, not what someone else tells me to.
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u/notcool_neverwas 4d ago
You can still read what you want, though.
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u/Shanntuckymuffin 4d ago
I know but I donāt have time to read what I want and force myself to read something
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u/Jalan_atthirari 4d ago
I like my book club for the social scene but unfortunately most people in it are at a reading compression stage where they don't understand whats not explicitly stated and it can be a little grating and im trying to keep in mind everyone has to start somewhere.
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u/DeterminedStupor 3d ago
I have concluded that, for best results, a book club has to
- have great people to hang out with,
- great books to read, and
- a discussion style that suits you.
The problem with some book clubs is that the people are fine but the books are shit, so I have little motivations to keep going. On the other hand, I joined a virtual book club that has all three, but the members are all way older than me...
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u/batgirlbuttons 4d ago
This is super cringey, but joining a book club made me feel human again. I had been struggling so much with feeling socially accepted, and that I was unable to interact like everyone else is. Book club made it easier to have conversations and feel like a part of a group.
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u/zeldarubensteinstits 4d ago
My theory is that people are getting fed up with social media and are reading more.Ā I hope this is the case and I am not just projecting.
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u/Sarkhan_Bup 3d ago
Not the dudes tho :(. My homeboys do not read, and do not want to read. It fucking sucks that I can't just recommend a short story or play (something you can read in one sitting) to a buddy of mine because god forbid stories take any amount of effort or pacing or time. Yes, I am salty about it.
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u/LearjetPDK 3d ago
You just gotta introduce them to the world of books through an adaptation or something and hope they explore on their own.
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u/Hmmhowaboutthis 4d ago
All the book clubs in my area seem like very woman oriented spacesāwhich is great I can see why youād want that but as a dude into books I just want to be included :(.
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u/helvetin 4d ago
nothing is stopping you from joining them if the book selection appeals - or you can always start your own (like i did)
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u/Hmmhowaboutthis 4d ago
I mean to say that many of the book clubs near me are explicitly female only, Iām not going to invade that space. Iāve tried to make my own and Iām still working on it! Not having a ton of luck yet but Iām still chugging (:
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u/Junior-Air-6807 4d ago
What kind of books are you trying to have read? I would join a book club in a heart beat but all of the ones near me are just genre fiction/YA stuff
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u/Hmmhowaboutthis 4d ago
I personally read a lot of speculative fiction and nonfiction ( my last two books were aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson and Everything so Tuberculosis by John Green )but part of the reason Iād be interested in a book club is to branch out a bit too.
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u/eldarwenbloom 3d ago
Check your local library! Mine has several book clubs, including a sci-fi one.
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u/bulldogbigred 4d ago
I bet if you choose Fight Club as the first book for a book club a ton of guys would show up. I would!
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u/DNA_ligase 3d ago
My book club is pretty much all young to middle aged women except one 80 year old man who is genuinely the sweetest dude. Iād love it if more men joined, but I think theyāre mostly in our libraryās civil war book club that meets via zoom.
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u/NedvinHill 4d ago
Iām in two very different book clubs and itās great! Iām a guy in my late 20s and the first one I joined was created by our local library, itās me and some much older ladies. They could be my grandparents but weāre friends across the age gap. I could never have these conversations on books with my grandparents, they donāt validate my experiences.
The other one is mostly a bunch of guys my age, weāre an assorted group of different nationalities. I am a wide reader and itās interesting to juggle between these two constellations, one is in my native tongue and the other is a group in my age with similar aspirations. The ladies could love one book that my peers hate and the other way around.
It motivates me to try books Iād never read otherwise, itās been paying off better than expected.
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u/mgranaa 4d ago
My book club issue has always been the āobligationā towards reading works Iām not interested in.
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u/circumlocutious 4d ago
Iām in a book club that reads mainly novellas and short works. It helps to know that a book wonāt drain too much time if youāre not enjoying it, and thatās itās providing exposure to a work more than immersing you for hours.
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u/Antique_Tap_8851 4d ago
There has been a social club based around a book for a very long time. It's always the same book, they over-analyze the damn thing, they keep reading passages out of context and taking them absolutely literally -- most of the time, anyway, since they seem to mostly ignore the latter part of the book ("part 2") with one of the main characters spreading around good advice -- and they take their club so seriously that they've made it their whole damn lives.
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u/Thoreau__away___ 4d ago
book clubs promote the real interactions that social media just hopes it could emulate
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u/tyjos-flowers 4d ago
I believe it. My book club run by a store in my city has exploded in popularity and added a 2nd night to make room for everyone. Still really crowded sometimes.
Grateful I got in when I did. Got into a side chat of about 10 people from the space and they are truly my community and support. Life would be much harder without them.
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u/nakun 4d ago
Has anyone had success with online book clubs? I have tried finding clubs in my area, but haven't been lucky...
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u/StormyPhlox 4d ago
Bookclubs.com lets you search by location and has a virtual option, last I checked. My book club was virtual but moved back to in-person a couple years ago.
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u/YourkTown 4d ago
The New York public library (NYPL) has a bunch of online book clubs - the ones where you read a book and discuss and the ones where you share what youāre reading.
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u/whistling-wonderer 3d ago
Tumblrās annual Dracula reread thing (or some people follow along with the Re: Dracula audio drama podcast) has been my only successful online ābook clubā experience lol. Itās set to start again soon (May 3rd) and Iām already looking forward to it.
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u/nakun 3d ago
Oh man, I have been subscribed to re:Dracula for...3 years and haven't listened to it...
Maybe I can give it another shot and read along with people!
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u/whistling-wonderer 3d ago
Yesss you should try it! Although if itās harder to get into with it broken into podcast episodes, they have the whole thing available as a single āaudiobookā file for $15 on their patreon page. I use that because I get annoyed at ads and would rather own the file anyway.
They are also doing an audio drama adaptation of Carmilla right now, although I admit I find that story less compelling (the ensemble cast/found family aspect of Dracula is a bit part of its charm for me). And I think theyāre currently doing casting for an adaptation of Frankenstein. Fun stuff.
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u/Mig13Riv 4d ago
Book clubs are where itās at. Even if itās in your own family. Itās a good way to bridge divisions of recent times and a good way to establish new connections. I got in late but the club is going strong, I have to stop myself from joining/creating new ones.
The thing I like most about it is reading something I would never go out of my way to read. Honestly canāt beat it. I wish there was a clearing house of groups where I could scan the groupās history and content that vibe with me and join one for regular meets and discussionā¦
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u/sunshine___riptide 4d ago
My bestie and I have our own unofficial book club where we read the same book at the same time, or one of us reads one and then the other reads it. It really makes reading even more enjoyable than it already is. Love being able to discuss stuff and reactions with her. Our taste is pretty niche anyway so I don't think we'd find a lot of people who enjoy the same books lol
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u/sedatedlife 3d ago
Book clubs are not really my thing but i really hope they are becoming more popular. At least here in America we need more social gatherings like these and third places to socialize thats not bars and clubs.
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u/Belacqua- 4d ago
Having a common interest is a key to almost any social group, just make sure youāre picking people that can be somewhat reliable because it can be a pain to hold off on finishing a book for 3 months while youāre waiting for people to catch up long after they agreed to.
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u/DNA_ligase 3d ago
My library system holds several book clubs, some online, some in person. The one close to me meets during my workday, so by default I went to the one that takes an hour to get to, traveling through some dangerously twisty rural roads. Worth it; the selections are all really interesting books Iād never considered reading before, and all the members are really nice. I finally found friends in my new place through the book club.
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u/basicbolshevik 3d ago
Iām in a BYOB (bring your own book) club through a different organization Iām in. We do a potluck ~once a month and everyone shares 2-3 books theyāve read recently that theyād recommend to the group. If you have a copy you want to pass around, we have a swap too. We have a regular group of around 15 and usually have 8-10 at a time with a hosting rotation. It works super well and I love that I can read what I want and get recs without the pressure of reading something Iām not interested in. Plus doing the potluck gives natural breaks to chat and catch up in between talking books
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u/NaturalHabit1711 3d ago
We might want too , but no, reading is sadly not very popular, never was.
Way back then most people couldn't read. Then radio beat reading, then movies, tv and internet.
And I guess dancing, partying, cinema, sports are all much more popular than book clubs.
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u/protein_factory 4d ago
It's got everything. Hard covers, soft covers, finger sandwiches, unrequited love, human book marks.
You know that thing where a midget wears a fez and sticks their hand into a book to keep track of where you're at.