I have this fantasy of what I want a book club experience to be like, but I have yet to find that perfect experience. You know, the way book clubs are presented in books and movies, where a group of people come together and chat and maybe talk about the book. For me it’s been either people that don’t really talk or engage, or groups that pick books that don’t interest me.

I think some people believe book clubs need to be kind of high brow, and they pick classics or intense literature as their book picks. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these books, but they just aren’t fun for me. And I want reading to be fun. (Of course, my definition of fun does include books that rip my heart out and leave me sobbing on occasion). I can’t seem to find groups that read what I want to read, especially locally.

Lately I’ve been searching online resources for bookish communities and online book clubs have come up a lot. I even started exploring bookclubs.org to see if there are any clubs listed there that might work for me, but I didn’t find very many. There are a few I might check out.

Part of me is considering creating my own book club, maybe more than one. I want a book club that focuses on diverse reads (LGBTQIA+, Neurodiversity, chronic illness, all cultures), especially romance & YA. Am I the only one, or would other people be interested in a club like this? If there’s interest, I might put something together.