Beth Anne’s Online Book Club

At the start of lockdown whenever I saw or heard people talking about using isolation to better themselves, I MAY have rolled my eyes. Learn a new language? Do an online course? Get fitter? No thanks. I just want to get out of this damn thing alive. I was frustrated that people seemed to be peddling productivity on social media like some new sort of craze. I was frustrated on behalf of all the people who wouldn’t or couldn’t cope with doing these things and who might then potentially feel badly about it. I personally spent much of those first few weeks simply resting. My brain was frantically working overtime on survival strategies and how to keep my son safe and this just left me feeling exhausted. As a way to try and reduce my anxiety I turned to one of my greatest loves – books. I have always found reading to be so relaxing. In fact one of my favourite things in the world is being in a bubble bath with a cup of tea and a good book. Finding a little bit of peace in reading is really where the idea to organise an online book club came about. After posting on my Instagram stories to see if anyone would be interested in joining, I got a great response and right away I felt excited, which was a welcome alternative to the fear and numbness that lockdown had been serving up.

How does an Online book club work?

An online book club essentially works in the exact same way as a regular book club. A community of readers choose a book (usually they will take turns or take a vote from a selection) and then set a date to discuss it. I’ve never actually been a member of a book club before and due to my lifestyle, committing to attend a meeting in person once or twice a month probably wouldn’t work all that well for me. The benefit of having an online book club is that location suddenly becomes irrelevant. The internet and platforms such as Zoom, Google rooms, Facebook groups, Goodreads etc means that anyone, anywhere can be a member. Due to the fact that the discussions and meetings will be taking place in cyberspace, the amount of people who can join really has no limit. You could create an entire book loving community online if you wanted to, providing you had the time and means to organise it.

Can I still access books in lockdown?

Absolutely. In fact many independent bookshops will be so very grateful of your business right now. I’ve had books delivered from Blackwells and Big Green Bookshop during lockdown. I also featured Scarthin Books in Cromford on my Instagram recently. If you’d like to support small, you should absolutely contact your local book shops to see if they are still able to accommodate orders. Amazon have also resumed non essential shipments to the UK so books are back on the menu there too. If you aren’t able to obtain a physical copy of a book you still have several options. Technology has made “reading” accessible to so many people. We now have several reading apps – Amazon Kindle and Apple Books for example. For those who are visually impaired or don’t like to physically read, there are a whole bunch of audio book platforms available. You can even borrow e-books from selected libraries or you can download the BorrowBox library app.

What are we reading?

We’re only a couple of books in over on Beth Anne’s Online Book Club but we are off to a great start. We kicked things off with The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister and we’re currently reading Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race. The recent horrific events in America and the Black Lives Matter Movement have been the topic of many discussions within our group. We are all dedicated to diversifying our reading and to supporting and amplifying black voices and authors. We actually were extremely lucky to have our first guest author on our Zoom call in June. Jayne Allen spoke to us about her book Black Girls Must Die Exhausted and how difficult it can be to get publishers to take on stories with a black female protagonist. This is actually going to be our July read for the online book club and after hearing Jayne speak, we absolutely can’t wait to get stuck in. If you would like to join us then please head over to my Instagram and send me a DM or comment below. We would love to have you.

There are also some pretty high profile online book clubs out there that you could join or simply gain inspiration from, should you wish to start your own online group. To name a couple – Richard and Judy have been running their bookclub since 2008 and it’s been hugely successful. They currently have six books for you to choose from. Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club can be found over on Instagram and on her dedicated Book Club website. Every month Reese chooses a book with a woman at the centre of the story. This club has a huge following and it’s very own hashtag – #ReadWithReese.

However and whichever online bookclub you decide to join or even create, the aim of course, is to enjoy it. I hope you’re feeling inspired and I hope you can also find some peace and joy in reading during these uncertain times.

Stay Safe

Beth Anne xoxo