Reading is awesome as a solo activity. There’s nothing like opening up a book to shut out the world and ignore the people around you. Literary critic Harold Bloom admits, “The pleasures of reading indeed are selfish rather than social.” However, books can also bring people closer together.
Reading can also be a very social activity—because we can share our interest in and love of books with other people. This happens most often in the form of Book Clubs.
Most book clubs (about 80%) meet in person. The remaining fifth of groups congregate online; but that number of digital groups is also increasing. The groups that meet in person tend to be smaller—about 5-10 people in size. While the online groups tend to be much bigger, usually over 40.
Most groups tend to read about 8-12 books per year, so typically about a book per month. But that all depends on the size of the selected books and the size of the group discussing them.
One of the best places to look for a book club is your local library. They often organize groups of different sizes and interests. Occasionally, the authors of books will organize reading clubs themselves around their own or related works.
“Reading groups provide more of what millions of readers get informally from friends and relatives: the fellowship of books,” says Steven Leveen, in his book The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life.