I've enjoyed reading this because I want to join a book club here in Copenhagen and your piece is making me think what do I actually want from this group? I haven't been a member of book club for about 17 years so I'm looking forward to finding connection and community with one!
There's a famous ex pat run bookshop and they seem to have about 8 bookclubs attached to the book store so I could join that. I need to do a bit of research. Will keep you posted! x
I briefly joined a book club - in suburban south London! - in the 80's; I loved the idea, but the other members were all married women with children and I felt a complete misfit with my single, freelance life. I love the idea of a book club and would have liked to join one when I moved to Northumberland, but there wasn't one attached to my local bookshop at the time so I joined my university alumni online one for a while. That felt too restrictive although did introduce me to books I wouldn't have necessarily read otherwise. One day....
It’s important to feel like a good fit, I left one because it was quite boozy and I don’t drink anymore. I don’t mind others drinking at all but there was less talking about the books xx
This is why I started a book club, a film club and a book festival—reading as a route to connection to the outer world but also to our local community or our online community. Spot on!
I have dropped out of so many bookclubs because I don't want to be told what to read at what time ha. But I am a part of one that is regularly meeting online now, and I think it helps that it's all 1) fantasy books and 2) series so if I want to go ahead and be a chaos gremlin, I can read the full series off schedule and then go and talk with the group later.
It is totally about finding the book group that works for you. I am at the stage I want to read books that aren't on my radar, I get heavily influenced by Bookstagram, so it is good to discover books away from that.
I'm about to go to my first ever book group at our local bookshop, Cogito Bookshop here in Hexham. North Woods by Daniel Mason is the book being discussed and coincidentally is the same book Santa brought me for Christmas. I'm looking forward to it.
I have seen that book a lot on social media, I am very tempted to get it. Let me know what you think! And enjoy the book group. I have my first bookshop group coming up, we are going to be talking about 'How I Won The Nobel Prize' by Julius Taranto. I haven't started it yet x
I loved North Woods so much - the surprises, the rich characters portrayed in short snatches of prose, the imagery which has seen me copy sentences into a notebook. It was one of those books you want to start all over again as soon as its read. Really looking forward to the discussions tonight. But you’ve got me thinking on another level, Nicola - how getting sober has helped me read again and have the courage to join a book group! I feel a Substack post coming on….
I keep toying with the idea of joining a book club, but haven't found one yet that's appealed and so stopped looking. I love your frame on this, clubs can be for a time, so maybe this is the sign I should look again, I may get a different answer.
I tried a bookclub but I found the timing was a little onerous - I was trying to start a new job, it meant staying in the city after work quite late and it felt like "pressure" to get the book read. I might try again though when we move, especially if I dont start a new job straight away. It would be a nice way to meet likeminded people. :)
I've enjoyed reading this because I want to join a book club here in Copenhagen and your piece is making me think what do I actually want from this group? I haven't been a member of book club for about 17 years so I'm looking forward to finding connection and community with one!
Let me know how you get on, it would be interesting know if there is the same approach to book clubs there! X
There's a famous ex pat run bookshop and they seem to have about 8 bookclubs attached to the book store so I could join that. I need to do a bit of research. Will keep you posted! x
I briefly joined a book club - in suburban south London! - in the 80's; I loved the idea, but the other members were all married women with children and I felt a complete misfit with my single, freelance life. I love the idea of a book club and would have liked to join one when I moved to Northumberland, but there wasn't one attached to my local bookshop at the time so I joined my university alumni online one for a while. That felt too restrictive although did introduce me to books I wouldn't have necessarily read otherwise. One day....
It’s important to feel like a good fit, I left one because it was quite boozy and I don’t drink anymore. I don’t mind others drinking at all but there was less talking about the books xx
This is why I started a book club, a film club and a book festival—reading as a route to connection to the outer world but also to our local community or our online community. Spot on!
You are so great at creating community online too Suzy! I hope I can get to your book festival 🤞🏻
I had no idea you had a film club Suzy. I was trying to talk about The Substance vs Anora with my husband the other day and he isn't a film buff!
I have dropped out of so many bookclubs because I don't want to be told what to read at what time ha. But I am a part of one that is regularly meeting online now, and I think it helps that it's all 1) fantasy books and 2) series so if I want to go ahead and be a chaos gremlin, I can read the full series off schedule and then go and talk with the group later.
It is totally about finding the book group that works for you. I am at the stage I want to read books that aren't on my radar, I get heavily influenced by Bookstagram, so it is good to discover books away from that.
I'm about to go to my first ever book group at our local bookshop, Cogito Bookshop here in Hexham. North Woods by Daniel Mason is the book being discussed and coincidentally is the same book Santa brought me for Christmas. I'm looking forward to it.
I have seen that book a lot on social media, I am very tempted to get it. Let me know what you think! And enjoy the book group. I have my first bookshop group coming up, we are going to be talking about 'How I Won The Nobel Prize' by Julius Taranto. I haven't started it yet x
I loved North Woods so much - the surprises, the rich characters portrayed in short snatches of prose, the imagery which has seen me copy sentences into a notebook. It was one of those books you want to start all over again as soon as its read. Really looking forward to the discussions tonight. But you’ve got me thinking on another level, Nicola - how getting sober has helped me read again and have the courage to join a book group! I feel a Substack post coming on….
My reading has definitely increased over the last 3 years since I became sober. I hadn’t made the link either, thank you 🙏🏻
I definitely need to write more on this! Too pissed or stoned to read for decades, me!
I keep toying with the idea of joining a book club, but haven't found one yet that's appealed and so stopped looking. I love your frame on this, clubs can be for a time, so maybe this is the sign I should look again, I may get a different answer.
I hope you find one that fits for you! 🤞🏻
I tried a bookclub but I found the timing was a little onerous - I was trying to start a new job, it meant staying in the city after work quite late and it felt like "pressure" to get the book read. I might try again though when we move, especially if I dont start a new job straight away. It would be a nice way to meet likeminded people. :)