Young people are combating loneliness by bonding over books IRL
In years gone by, the phrase “book club” might have conjured up images of middle-aged women congregating in dusty, musty rooms, swigging sauv blanc and giggling over Fifty Shades of Grey, but times are changing. Book clubs are currently having a revival, with young people driving their renaissance. Gen-Z-friendly book clubs are popping up all over the world, while celebs like Kaia Gerber and Dua Lipa have jumped on the bandwagon and formed book clubs of their own too.
Young people famously love books: on TikTok, #BookTok has racked up over 220 billion views and there have been many recent reports of us flocking to libraries in search of a third space. Plus, in our increasingly isolating and online world, we’re all in desperate need of a little tangible human connection. It’s no secret we are online too much, spending an average nine hours a day looking at a screen. In addition, research published by the Prince’s Trust in 2022 found that one-third of young people say they don’t know how to make new friends while 35 per cent say they’ve never felt more alone. With this in mind, it tracks that we’re feeling drawn to in-person meet ups such as book clubs which offer us a chance to share our love of books and foster genuine connections offline.
Usually, there are no prerequisites for entry to a book club, apart from usually needing to read the book. They provide low-cost, fun third spaces without the need to fork out for another £4 flat white or overpriced pint which plunges you deeper into your overdraft. “I wanted to connect with my friends in a context that didn’t rely on spending money and the book club offers at least one inexpensive social opportunity per month,” one book club regular tells me. “It’s also a good opportunity to step outside our little lives and discuss topics that don’t directly relate to us. It’s a chance to chat about things other than how we’re doing or who we’re dating and discover new and diverse perspectives.”
Organisations like the Soho Reading Series are a testament to our growing desire to connect more intentionally. “From the start, every event has been oversubscribed,” founders Tom Willis and Maia Béar explain. “It’s easy, fun, and free. Plus, it’s a good place for people to meet, hang out. People wanted this. Writers want to read. It’s a nice party, primarily. It’s kind of glamorous.”
Inspired by the literary scene of downtown New York, the duo started the reading club as a response to outdated perceptions of traditional reading groups as stuffy and pretentious. “People have been hanging out and listening to people read and shit-talk writers since ancient Athens. I’m not so sure it’s a new thing, it’s just the latest thing,” Willis continues. In any case, a large part of the interest in book clubs and reading groups is heavily laced with nostalgia for a pre-internet world, and the desire to revisit the more glamorous, analogue moments of yesteryear is evident through all these tastefully curated gatherings cropping up all over the globe.
Many book clubs also double up as a means of meeting politically like-minded people, too. The Hothouse Book Club offers a place for environmentalists to come together and discuss issues in a communal and collaborative setting. “I had been quite burnt out and stopped reading as many articles and books about the environment, but thought I’d like to start again maybe in a social setting because there’s nothing like social pressure to get you reading,” Issey Gladston, half of the duo behind Hothouse explains. What began as a small, intimate gathering among friends quickly transformed into a larger community-driven initiative with over 200 interested participants.
Co-run with writer and editor Diyora Shadijanova, the club prides itself on curating diverse perspectives on the climate crisis and highlights the importance of inclusivity. “We curate the books because we’re trying to create a balance of perspectives discussing the climate crisis, and we want to include as many diverse voices as we can,” Gladston explains. Plus, when it comes to a topic as loaded and anxiety-inducing as the environment, organisations like this are a comforting and necessary antidote to incessant doomscrolling, offering an educational and informative space while fostering a sense of community.
Literary Worms Magazine also runs a monthly book club which brings together like-minded souls to discuss everything from socopolitical and economic issues, to Julia Fox and the plights of superstardom. Following the success of the book club, Worms has recently introduced the Compost Library, an open-access social enterprise focused around literary workshops and creative expression.
“We’re trying to disarm that traditional lineage before us with the belief that literary clubs can be for anyone and everyone” – Pierce Eldridge
Born out of a shared commitment to writing and self-discovery, co-founders Pierce Eldridge and Clem MacLeod started the initiative after sharing a back-and-forth string of journal entries via email. “We’re really motivated by the idea of helping people find their writing voice so we decided to build our own little literary circle that could be an intimate space for people to gather, share their stories, and collectively explore literary futures,” Eldridge explains.
“People crave connection that has its textures rooted in real life experiences and by joining a course hosted in person, you become familiar with other people and the way they think,” she continues. “These powerful exchanges lead to growth and learning. Literary circles can be very exclusive, academic, or so experimental that it creates a barrier to entry. We’re trying to disarm that traditional lineage before us with the belief that literary clubs can be for anyone and everyone.”
As literary clubs like these gain popularity, they reflect a broader societal shift towards intentional and meaningful socialising. The chance to chit-chat about Britney’s biopic or some esoteric Russian prose offers us a welcome respite from another evening of being sucked into the TikTok algorithm or, God forbid, Instagram reels. Although books and topics of discussion may vary from group to group, all these book clubs share a sense of community – and don’t we all need a little more connection in this cold and lonely world?