In my efforts to find like-minded people and to expand my network, I decided to join various book clubs online. It's also my way of finding emotional support in reading through books, have people to discuss them with, and also just to bond together with our common interest of books. In my search for this avenue of interest, I found two places wherein I can discuss books and be each other's sounding board on our theories about books!
Reddit's /r/bookclub Community
Apparently, I have been already a member of this subreddit for a while now, but I guess I was just not really paying that much attention. It's cool because the community is very much alive and thriving, having a monthly list of books in different genres for discussion. They even have a calendar of activities. For their September schedule, I participated in reading Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass novels. I read the unannotated versions, so I was just so lost with how chaotic the stories were. Well fortunately through the book discussions, I learned that there were a lot of inside jokes and cultural references in the story that could only be fully understood and appreciated by the era when it was published. I really got to appreciate the explanations and ideas presented during the discussions.
For October, they are picking up Diana Wynne Jones' House of Many Ways, which is the third book of the series. However, it's been a while since I read book one of the series so I decided to reread Howl's Moving Castle again. I just finished the book a few days ago and I'm now onto the second book Castle In the Air and I'm just enjoying the stories again. I might not be reading the same book alongside my bookclub subreddit members, but I think that is the beauty of the platform -- you can read a book at your own pace and go back to the older posts and participate with the discussion there. That's what I have been doing so far and I'm really enjoying reading other people's ideas and opinions about the books. It gives my reading experience additional layers and depth of understanding.
Bookclubs.com
I discovered this website through ChatGPT and I'm so happy I did! I have been wanting to join a book club that meets regularly in real life or online. I couldn't find an active book club near me but that didn't stop me from finding alternative ways. Thanks to ChatGPT, I stumbled upon this website! There were tons of clubs there focusing on different genres of books. Not all of them are actively doing regular meetings though, but I was lucky to find a few that still do monthly schedules for their book discussion meetings. I joined one club that focused on self-help books. I have attended one of their Zoom sessions and they even had the author join the meeting! It was so cool. As much as possible, I want to read books that are already available under Kindle Unlimited where I'm currently subscribed to, so I'm always watching out for the featured books for each of the book clubs.
I'm so happy that I have access to these resources and that I get the most out of them to feed my interests on books. My next goal is to find a book club that meets in person, but for now I'm sticking with these two platforms to find my next read and to meet new fellow bookworms. 🤓📚
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