From Dua Lipa to “silent” book clubs, Millennials and Gen Z are joining book clubs as a way to socialize.

Book club event listings grew 24% in the United States in 2023 from the previous year, according to ticketing platform Eventbrite. Meetup saw a 10% increase in book club listings.

Many of these book clubs are not the stodgy ones of old, however, featuring wine and crackers in a host’s living room. Book club organizers and members are creating new gatherings to talk about books at dating events, breweries and on group runs. Social media is also helping lead younger readers to new genres and in-person communities built around reading.

Of more than 1000 official chapters of Silent Book Club worldwide, almost 400 have registered since January. Silent Book Clubs offer an introvert-friendly space to read and socialize with like-minded individuals.

At Silent Book Club there's no assigned reading. Silent Book Club members gather in bars, cafés, bookstores, libraries, and online to read together in quiet camaraderie. All readers are welcome—ebooks or audiobooks, poetry or prose, fiction or non-fiction... it's BYOBook.

Chapters get the word out through Instagram and Facebook groups, and some hold fundraisers or special programs to support the places where they meet.

Source: CNN / Silent Book Club

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/23/business/book-club-growth/index.html https://silentbook.club/