Hi, I’m Obsessed With Online Book Clubs RN

Crystal Patriarche
·10 min read
Photo credit: Khadija Horton
Photo credit: Khadija Horton

From Cosmopolitan

If social distancing is making you miss humans (same), may I suggest an online book club? Grab a glass of wine, snuggle up with a good book, and then take to Zoom or Instagram Live to chat with other book lovers, friends, authors, and even celebrities. Book clubs are back and popping up like virtual little fires everywhere (sorry, I had to!). Here are the 10 you can join that will make your isolation time so much better.

The Girly Book Club

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I’m paying for it now! What book did you read last that kept you awake half the night? #books #upatnightreading #readinglateintothenight

A post shared by The Girly Book Club (@girlybookclub) on Apr 27, 2020 at 10:59am PDT

The Girly Book Club is one of the widest-reaching book clubs with chapters all over the world and more than 100,000 members. A simple way to meet new friends and connect through books, The Girly Book Club features a range of book selections voted on by members and is an inspiring outlet for female book lovers. Follow along and join @GirlyBookClub.

Rebel Women Lit

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#RebelWomenLit Books Jan - Sep 📚 Not to brag but we pick amazing books 💁🏾♀️ and if you read with us you'll complete our 2020 #ReadDeliberately challenge ⭐ We're still waiting on customs to leggo the Oct - Dec books (#ThirdWorldReaderProblems) but decided it'd be a nice day to take a stack photo before some of these go out for a library loan. Jan - #GirlWomanOther by Bernardine Evaristo Feb - #TheConfessionsofFrannieLangton by Sara Collins Mar - #Crossfire: A Litany of Survival 🇯🇲 by Staceyann Chin Apr - #ATallHistoryofSugar by Curdella Forbes May - #TheStarsAndTheBlacknessBetweenThem by Juanita Petrus Jun - #TheStarSideOfBirdHill by Naomi Jackson Jul - #ComeLetUsSingAnyway by Leone Ross Aug - #OverTheRoofsoftheWorld #GardeningInTheTropics by Olive Senior Sep - #TheFifthSeason by N.K. Jemisin #RebelWomenLit #BookStack #DiverseSpines #ReadCaribbean

A post shared by Rebel Women Lit (@rebelwomenlit) on Apr 8, 2020 at 4:40pm PDT

Rebel Women Lit focuses its monthly book picks on narratives of women and black and queer people. Creating space for diverse writers, this virtual book club encourages its participants to read books that look at our world through a critical lens and highlight what it means to be human. A safe space for women, nonbinary, and genderqueer readers, it hosts both in-person (when safe!) and virtual meetups for its participants as well as a podcast where they chat with their featured authors. Follow along and join @RebelWomenLit.

Reese’s Book Club

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[⚠️Spoilers⚠️] Finished the series, but can’t get enough #LittleFiresEverywhere? We’re giving away 10 gift packs to keep that 🔥 burning. ⠀⁠ ⁠ To Enter:⠀⁠ 1. Like this post.⁠ 2. Follow @reesesbookclub and @littlefireshulu.⁠ 3. Comment with your favorite moment from the show.⁠ ⁠ Giveaway ends 4/23 at 11:59pm PDT. U.S. residents only.⁠ 📸: @bookcasebeauty

A post shared by Reese’s Book Club (@reesesbookclub) on Apr 22, 2020 at 5:05pm PDT

Hello Sunshine founder and queen of book-to-screen adaptions Reese Witherspoon and her book club continue to be must-visits for those who love realistic female characters. Perhaps you’ve recently binged Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, a former pick that Witherspoon helped bring to the screen? Follow along and join @ReesesBookClub.

BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge

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It’s time to “book” your stay at Camp BookSparks this summer. Our annual online Summer Reading Challenge is taking us way back to long summer camp days, nights by the bonfire and reading breaks at your bunk. The best part?Camp BookSparks is open to everyone and we’re adding more ways to participate virtually and put the social in social distancing!☀️☀️ — There are tons of ways to get involved, share your book pics (and picks!), participate in fun social challenges, earn badges and more. Get ready to relax, read and recharge all summer with BookSparks. #LinkInBio #CampBookSparks #SRC2020 #SummerReadingCamp 🏕📖🌊🌈💫

A post shared by BookSparks (@booksparks) on Apr 22, 2020 at 7:30am PDT

Every summer, BookSparks hosts a virtual Summer Reading Challenge, giving readers the chance to bond over the best beach reads coming out from May through August. This year’s features more than 30 highly anticipated summer releases, including this year’s Sex and Vanity (the newest book from Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan) and Jennifer Weiner’s Big Summer. Follow along and join @BookSparks with the hashtag #SRC2020.

Once Upon a Book Club

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Stepping back in time to our YA February 2019 selection, Enchantee by Gita Trelease. An elegant tale with twists and magic paired with gifts that left us breathless! . Stunning photo by @booksandacupofjoee . 🤓 #onceuponabookclubbox #onceuponabookclub #bookish #bookbox

A post shared by Once Upon A Book Club (@onceuponabookclubbox) on Apr 27, 2020 at 12:02pm PDT

Once Upon a Book Club takes a unique approach to its book club by providing a monthly subscription box that brings its featured books to life. In addition to the monthly reading pick, this subscription box gives readers gifts to open as they read along. The gifts bring the books to life and pertain to what is happening in the book. Once you’ve finished the selected book of the month, you can chat with fellow book club members in a private Facebook group. Follow along and join @OnceUponABookClubBox.

Black Girls With Magic & Books

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Missing bookshops and libraries right now. Being able to smell books and touch their covers and disappear into the stacks. Made a little stack; a tiny bookstore display to sit beside on a rainy day. ⁣ ⁣ What’s everyone reading (aside from the amazing #APhoenixFirstMustBurn)?⁣ What independent bookstores do you miss? ⁣ Titles featured:⁣ ⁣ The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson 🧙🏽♀️⁣ ⁣ A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow 🧜🏾♀️⁣ ⁣ Pet by Akwaeke Emezi 🌟⁣ ⁣ A Song of Wraiths & Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown ❤️⁣ ⁣ Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron 🖤⁣ ⁣ Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron 👸🏾⁣ ⁣ Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron 🐍⁣ ⁣ The Belles and The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton ⁣🌹🥀🌹🐘 ⁣ 💫⁣ 💫⁣ 💫⁣ ⁣ #blackgirlswithmagicbooks #blackgirlswithmagic #blackgirlmagic #alexishenderson #theyearofthewitching #bethanycmorrow #asongbelowwater #pet #akwaekeemezi #asongofwraithsandruin #roseannebrown #mayaandtherisingdark #kingdomofsouls #renabarron #dhonielleclayton #thebelles #theeverlastingrose #yafantasy

A post shared by Black Girls With Magic & Books (@blackgirlswithmagicbooks) on Apr 27, 2020 at 2:19pm PDT

Beloved young adult author Dhonielle Clayton recently began a new digital book club (in the COVID-19 era) celebrating science fiction, fantasy, and speculative work by black women and nonbinary creators. Black Girls With Magic & Books promises readers a safe space to discuss the monthly book pick as well as the art of writing. Clayton’s mission with this new community is to foster both readers and writers. Follow along and join @BlackGirlsWithMagicBooks.

Read With Jenna

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Thrilled to announce that April’s #ReadWithJenna pick is “Valentine” by Elizabeth Wetmore. I discovered “Valentine” when the owners of @bluewillowbooks in Houston, Texas recommended it to me. The owner, Valerie Koeher knows my taste in books and my heritage growing up in West Texas— this fierce debut novel combines both perfectly . In a time when we all need an escape, fall into the lives of Corrnine and Debra Ann and Mary Rose and Glory. Valentine is a beautiful story of justice and redemption, grace and strength. Go to today.com/readwithjenna to get the book and for some ways you can help indie book stores. ❤️

A post shared by Jenna Bush Hager (@jennabhager) on Mar 31, 2020 at 7:09am PDT

Today’s Jenna Bush Hager runs a super-popular book club that sends its picks straight to the New York Times’ best-seller list. She often goes for contemporary, plot-heavy picks like Lily King’s Writers & Lovers, all of which are perfect to get lost in. Follow along @ReadWithJenna.

Spivey’s Book Club

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On Tuesday, April 28th, @liandolan will be taking over @spiveysbookclub to give you a sneak peek into her new book, THE SWEENEY SISTERS (out 4/28). Tune into stories for more about the novel, to ask Lian questions, and for your chance to win a FREE copy!⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣👩🏻🦰👩🏻🦰Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother’s death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren’t quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature.⁣ ⁣ But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she too is a Sweeney sister.⁣ ⁣ When Washington, DC based journalist Serena Tucker had her DNA tested on a whim a few weeks earlier, she learned she had a 50% genetic match with a childhood neighbor—Maggie Sweeney of Southport, Connecticut. It seems Serena’s chilly WASP mother, Birdie, had a history with Bill Sweeney—one that has remained totally secret until now.⁣ ⁣ Once the shock wears off, questions abound. What does this mean for William’s literary legacy? Where is the unfinished memoir he’s stashed away, and what will it reveal? And how will a fourth Sweeney sister—a blond among redheads—fit into their story?👩🏻🦰👩🏼⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣#Giveaway Rules:⁣⁣ ⁣ 1. Like this post!⁣⁣⁣ 2. Make sure you are following @spiveysbookclub @liandolan and @wunderbookspr ⁣⁣⁣ 3. Tag a friend that would love to read this!⁣ (Extra entry if you share this post to your stories and tag @spiveysbookclub)

A post shared by Spivey’s Book Club (@spiveysbookclub) on Apr 27, 2020 at 7:28pm PDT

Former The Bachelor contestant Ashley Spivey has launched a whole new book club on Instagram. With new book picks each month and tons of Instagram Lives with authors, Spivey’s crew has put a special focus on sharing several recent authors whose book tours have been canceled due to the coronavirus. Spivey is fast becoming a fairy book mother on social. And yes, she still tweets her opinions on The Bachelor. Follow along and join @SpiveysBookClub.

Kaia Gerber

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book club enthusiasts, i changed the time tomorrow to 12pm PST. also super excited that @normalpeoplehulu stars @daisyedgarjones and @paul.mescal will be joining me! leave questions below if you want me to include them in the talk tomorrow 🤍 i’m so excited

A post shared by Kaia (@kaiagerber) on Apr 2, 2020 at 3:26pm PDT


Recently, Kaia Gerber launched her own IG book club, shouting out Sally Rooney’s Normal People. (The TV adaptation hits Hulu this month.) Gerber hosts chats to discuss the read on IG Live. Follow along @KaiaGerber.

Belletrist

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Mood

A post shared by Belletrist (@belletrist) on Apr 12, 2020 at 9:48am PDT


Emma Roberts’ Belletrist has been around since 2017 and consistently picks on-trend reads written by women. Recently, as readers began social distancing, it started rolling out virtual book tours in the form of recorded interviews with authors. Follow along @Belletrist.

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