Reasons to join a book club
One of the best things I’ve done for myself this year is join a book club. It’s one of those things that I’ve always wanted to do, but never found one that worked for me. Until this year. Now I’m part of a really lovely online book club, and wanted to share why I think you should be part of a book club too.
I’m part of the @thatmamaclub book club which picks a monthly book to read and we then discuss at the end of the month, via an Instagram post, zoom chat and generally in our Whatsapp group.
So why should you be a part of a book club?
Bookish Friends
In real life, my friends aren’t particularly bookish, and certainly not to the extent that I am. Which is fine. I’m obviously not friends them based on their preferred hobbies. But sometimes I felt like I was missing out on sharing one of the key parts of my own personality, my love for books.
Being in a book club instantly put me in touch with bookish people, on a more personal level than my bookish community of Instagram. We do talk about other things, but we talk books. Likes, dislikes, recommended books, book deals and of course, our book of the month.
It’s nice having people to discuss tropes, and who we like and dislike in a book. It’s great having like minded people in my phone that discuss something other than our kids, although they do come up too.
New reading genres
My book club has really pushed me into reading genres that I almost definitely would not pick myself, and books that I likely would not have read off my own back. I know what types of books I love and what I get the most pleasure from, but I’m also very much happy to push into new and different genres, and diversify my reading as much as I can. SO far I’ve read two rom-coms and a thriller with my book club. I’ve liked thrillers in the past but it isn’t something I’d pick up on my own nowadays. So book club has definitely broadened my reading.
Push you to read when you otherwise wouldn’t find the time
If you’re not a big reader, but want to read more, a book club is excellent for accountability. Even if it’s one book a month, that’s 12 books in a year, which is progress. And the thing with reading is it’s addictive. Once you start getting into a routine, you’ll want to read, and maybe even read more.
So this is your push to join a book club. Whether it’s a local one that meets in person, or a virtual online one like @thatmamaclub which is free to join, or a paid subscription bookclub with extras like @bethsbookclub, a book club could be exactly the thing you need to get you reading or pushing your bookish boundaries.