Online Book Clubs
ARE YOU PART OF THIS BOOKISH TREND?
The trend in the bookish community right now is online book clubs, more specifically on social media platforms. It seems that book clubs are making a comeback, and what better way to know why than to read this article all about ONLINE clubs in the bookish community?
ONLINE BOOK CLUBS
Book clubs are communities that bring people together over mutual interests relating to books. They were mainly known for being in-person clubs. But this is a post-Covid world now, so the norm has switched to being more virtual.
Book clubs went from people getting together over coffee, brunch, dinner or drinks and discussing the book that they decided to read to online. And also just being a time of the week or month when friends could get together to catch up and gossip.
If you are an introvert like most of us readers, then joining an online book club seems like the best way to go. I have learned that most clubs have diversity and, most importantly, they are organized chaos.
Online book clubs, mainly those on Instagram, have made a huge impact on social media. When researching for a club in the bookish community, you want to be able to find your tribe. By “tribe” I mean the people who have the same passion for reading that you do.
POPULAR BOOK CLUBS
I have researched the top 10 book clubs on Instagram and decided to share them with you!
It didn’t really state why these were the top ten clubs on Instagram, but it seems that they offer a variety of genres and themes depending on what you’re looking for. For instance, if you like books that you can read on the beach on vacation, ones that won’t take very long to read, then Salt Water Reads is going to be the book club for you!
- Salt Water Reads
- Pure Wow Book Club
- Ladies Lit Squad
- Rebel Book Club
- Belletrist
- Once Upon a Book Club
- Our Shared Shelf
- Reese’s Book Club
- Barne’s and Noble Book Club
- Between Two Books
How to Find Your Bookish Tribe
While searching for a book club in the bookish community, you want to do your research on the clubs that are looking for new readers. When you find a book club that seems interesting to you, you should message them asking questions about their book club.
For instance, some book clubs have age restrictions, so if you want an adult-only book club then you’re going to have to message the book club and get all the information you are looking for or just look at the post for the requirements.
We all know that Facebook has a group for everything! That includes book clubs!
So, if you’re not using Instagram, you may want to investigate Facebook. And if you don’t like the book clubs on Facebook you could always create your own. I believe that is why we love the internet – because if there is not a club that fits with what you’re looking for, you can create your own and find your bookish family that way.
For me personally, I spend all my time on Instagram instead of Facebook, but that’s only because I find my people on Instagram being in the bookish world.
Celebrity Run Book Clubs
So not only is Instagram huge with online book clubs, but celebrities have also created their own tribes of book lovers. A lot of the time, the books they read are more fiction and nonfiction reads. So, if you love celebrity-run book clubs then you will definity want to research the best fit for you.
The first celebrity-run book club started with Ophrah Winfrey back in 1996 and has made a huge comeback as of 2012.
Ophrah picks between 1-4 books a year for her club and some of those titles include Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Reece Witherspoon also has a book club and hers is one that has more diversity when it comes to books.
Her book club reads a mixture of Romance, Thriller, YA, Historical fiction, non-fiction, and even modern fiction. From research, it looks like Reece Witherspoon’s book club has been more relevant than any other celebrity book club. No matter what kind of reader you are, you will have a book to read and enjoy with Reece Witherspoons Book Club.
Some past reads they have done include The Last Thing He Told Me b: Laura Dave, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel to name a few.
Looking into the twitter-verse, it seems that celebrities mainly use Twitter to showcase what they are reading. So, if you’re looking to join a celebrity book club, I would create a Twitter account and make sure to follow the book club so that you stay in the know!
It seems that Twitter is not used by the younger generations when it comes to book clubs or the bookish community. The 40+ aged group tend to be more on Twitter and Facebook, while the 30 and under crowd lean more towards Instagram and TikTok.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BOOK CLUBS?
Many readers are not into book clubs. Maybe you are slow readers and can’t always keep up with the pace set forth by the book club’s standards. Maybe you are a speed reader – the type who finishes a book in a day, and waiting until the end of the month to talk about it is not for you. Or maybe you just don’t like people and would prefer to read in peace.
Book clubs are not for everyone, but if that is something that you enjoy, then tell us which book club you are part of on Instagram! We would love to hear about more book clubs, and more book recommendations!
Check out the Books 4 Movies Instagram page HERE!