You just picked up a stack of books from your favorite indie bookstore - and now you want to be held accountable to actually read them all. How to do that? Join a book club or start a buddy read. Buddy reading means choosing a pal either in person (IRL) or online to read the book side-by-side, and to share your experience, thoughts, and comments with them. It’s like a book club, but one-on-one. Book clubs aren’t just for your mom’s gossip circle anymore. They’re hip, they’re happening, and they’re a great way to broaden your friend-circle horizons. You can find book clubs in many places. It all depends on your comfort level and what you want to get out of it. Starting from the most in-person options to fully online options, here are 10 places to find a book club that’s right for you. 

Local Library - Your local library branch normally has events and activities, and usually they will have at least one book club. If you’re lucky, they have multiple covering a wide range of titles and genres so everyone can find their niche. 

Indie Bookstores - Another reason why indie bookstores are better than the big box store corporations - you can attend book clubs at them! Normally they’ll have signage on a community board, but if you can’t find that, ask the cashier or a worker. I’m sure they’ll be able to hook you up!

Meetup - This is a website and app that virtually organizes IRL hangouts. You can meet new friends in your area, and try new places to read. Depending on the size of the population of your area will correlate to how varied the choices of book club genre may be, but typically there are more than one book club for certain areas. 

Bumble for Friends - Bumble for Friends is, well, Bumble…for friends! You swipe and choose people who you feel like you will jive with to be your friends. They also have a group function. It goes by distance, so you can find some IRL ones in your town or city, but they also have worldwide ones that support book lovers from all over the world. So it’s up to you whether you meet in person or keep things entirely virtually. 
Social Media Like Facebook and Instagram - Search “book clubs” to find groups that meet in person for your area or find some that meet online. You may also be able to invite your friends to the groups so you know people going in! Anyone can run them, from your favorite celebrity to your bestie.

Reddit - Places like Reddit can even help you find book clubs either by advertising in  your town’s subreddit, or by using the r/bookclub subreddit for an online experience. 

Fable - A book tracking app that focuses on the book club experience. It divides the book discussion into chapters so people can chat away with each other in a group-text like vibe while not providing any spoilers for those who don’t want them! 

Bookclubs.com - A website devoted entirely to finding the book club that is perfect for you. Or even helping you start one if you so desire!
Other Book Apps and Sites - Places like Storygraph and Goodreads also have book clubs, but they’re harder to find. If you search for them on Google or have a link to one, they’re wonderful places to track and discuss your reading. 

Discord - An online chatting site that is a great way to discuss with friends all over the globe the absolutely bonkers plot twist you just read. 

…Or start your own! If you can’t find a book club that is right for you, pick one of these sites and start advertising your own to the internet or local community pinboard. Or pitch the idea to a few friends and make it a besties bookclub. Either way, I hope you have an amazing time choosing books, reading them, and sharing your thoughts with the world. Happy reading!