5 Reasons You Should Be Reading Books With Other People

The case for book clubs

Of Books and Sins by William Sharp

I’ve been involved in two book clubs for many years—one online and one in person with close friends. I can easily say that those experiences are among the most enjoyable and memorable of my reading life, even if the books themselves don’t always end up on my favorites list. 

There’s an energizing, magnetic type of magic that happens when people—even as few as two—get together to read a book and then talk about it. 

If you’re anything like me, you can be absolutely certain of your opinion after finishing a book on your own, but then end up somewhere rather different after talking about it in a group. 

The ecumenical beauty of reading is on full display when you see how others bring their own brew of life experiences to a story. There’s no denying that our view of a book is as much a product of our own narrative as it is the words found between the pages.

I cannot advocate strongly enough for group reading. Here are five specific reasons you should join a book club. 

5 Reasons to Read in Groups 

1) You’ll encounter fresh perspectives 

Reading a book on your own can, of course, be a powerful experience, but reading in a group allows you to encounter an even broader range of perspectives that have the power to completely transform your understanding of a story.

Even in outwardly homogenous groups, people have varied backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. You may have completely missed a certain theme that another reader zeroed in on. 

And it’s not just about seeing things in a new light. You’ll also gain a broader appreciation for the range of interpretations that can come from a single book. These differing perspectives will challenge your own assumptions and ultimately enrich your reading experiences. 

2) You’ll gain a deeper understanding of what you read

Let’s be honest: sometimes it takes a group to simply figure out what’s going on in a book. One person noticed this particular thread, another noticed that missing piece of the puzzle. With tough-to-read and/or long books, the power of numbers can help immensely in understanding the surface level of a story. 

But group discussions go beyond that and almost always lead to insights that hover below the surface. When people come together to discuss a book, they naturally dig deeper. There’s a collective analysis that often reveals layers and nuances that would be easy to overlook when reading alone. 

Reading in a group fundamentally deepens your relationship with the text itself.

3) Group reading fosters community and connection 

Reading in a group fosters a sense of community and belonging that’s hard to replicate. When people come together around a shared book, it creates an immediate bond, encouraging meaningful emotional and intellectual connection. 

Reading, in its earliest forms, was a social activity. From oral storytelling traditions to the wildly popular public readings of the 19th and early 20th century, the social aspect was just as important as the story being told. 

Book clubs today often get poked fun at for being excuses to sit around and drink wine—so what! If that’s what ya’ll want to do, go for it. Literally anything that brings people together in our increasingly isolated and lonely society is a win. 

Whether the book is discussed or not, book clubs can be a vital and fulfilling pillar of your social life. 

4) Group reading provides motivation and accountability 

Don’t we all sometimes need a little push to pick up a book or just finish a chapter? Even when we’re enjoying what we’re reading, it can be hard to pick it back up after a particularly tough day or week . . . which can snowball into multiple weeks or months of not reading. 

Reading in a group offers built-in accountability, even when the stakes are low. Knowing that you should have some kind of opinion on the book by discussion time encourages you to stay engaged. 

Beyond just prodding you to turn pages, the group setting also motivates you to read more critically and attentively. Group reading of any kind is a gentle and highly effective way to keep your reading goals on track. 

5) You’ll (probably) be exposed to books and genres you wouldn’t normally read

Depending on the group, reading in a book club is likely to expose you to a wider range of genres than you might choose for yourself. This kind of reading diversity broadens your literary horizons and challenges you to explore stories outside your comfort zone. 

That’s happened over at The Big Read numerous times. From Lonesome Dove to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, I’ve had readers around the world tell me they discovered a new lifelong favorite—which they never would have tried without the group setting.  

As a reader, few things are more delightful than finding a great new book that you had low (or no) expectations for.  

How to Get Started 

Here are a few paths to getting started reading in groups. 

Online options 

The Big Read (started and operated by me) offers classic/challenge, fiction, and non-fiction options for reading each month. For $5/month, you get reading schedules, weekly recaps, access to discussions, and a bit of accountability to read great books. Join hundreds of members worldwide. 

Footnotes & Tangents is run by Simon Haisell and features well-known classics that you perhaps feel like you should have read, but haven’t yet (War & Peace, Wolf Hall, etc.). Simon also has a marvelous directory of other reading groups on Substack. 

Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club, by Anne Bogel, is a stellar community that dives into a new contemporary fiction title each month. She also offers other fun goodies for members, like exclusive author chats, live events, and more.   

In-person options 

Local libraries and bookstores. Most local library systems offer book clubs, sometimes run by librarians and other times by pioneering patrons. In my (admittedly limited) experience, these groups are incredibly welcoming and offer a great way to get to know fellow readers in your community. 

Local bookstores also often run book clubs, frequently coinciding with author events and book signings. 

Your friends and family! Our in-person book club started with a simple email from one friend to a handful of other friends asking if anyone wanted to get together to talk about books. Everyone responded positively, and nearly seven years later we’re still meeting every month. It’s that easy! Take a risk, send a text or an email, and get some people together to enjoy the delights of reading together. 

Buddy reads 

“Buddy reads,” as coined by the internet, are miniature book clubs, typically involving just one other person besides yourself. This is a great way to dip your toes into group reading without committing to a whole group. See a book you want to read? Text a friend and see if they’ll read it along with you. When you’re done, hop on the phone or grab a coffee to talk about it. 

Casual buddy reads are always fun—I love it when my pal Jonny, a pastor in Iowa, sends me something about basketball or werewolf lawyers for us to read together. 

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Thanks so much for reading, as always.