Why reading parties and book clubs are on the rise

It is perhaps the most surprising cultural phenomenon of the past year: twentysomethings paying good money to get into hip venues where they sit down and… read books.

The concept of a reading party might sound strange at first. But it’s just a new way for people to satisfy an age-old desire to congregate and share experiences. Whether it turns out to be a fleeting fad or the wheel reinvented (one wag snarkily remarked that with these events “hipsters have invented… libraries”) is beside the point. What’s interesting is that reading parties show how humans are always finding new and intriguing ways to interact and socialise. And that the quintessential printed product – the book – still has a role to play in this.

But what is a reading party? How do you organise one? And what else is leading people (especially gen Z and millennials) to get together in person and rediscover the joys of the printed page?

Reading Rhythms: the original reading parties?

The reading partybuzz began in earnest in December 2023. That month, Molly Young, a book critic for The New York Times, published a piece in the paper recounting how she had spent a night out not dancing in a club or chatting in a pub, but reading books in the company of others.

She had in fact been to a Reading Rhythms evening – one of a series of events that has been running since the summer of 2023.

So, how does a reading party work, exactly? It’s actually pretty simple: you sign up beforehand (paying about 20 dollars for the privilege), then you take your book and head to the venue, where you make yourself comfortable – perhaps with a drink to sip – and read for an hour or so. Then you put your book down and chat about what you just read – or anything else – with the other people there. That’s all there is to it.

Or pretty much. There may be chilled music – say, a specially curated playlist or some gentle piano; there will likely be a comfortable setting; and there will probably be a few rules and guidelines: the evening will be timed (two half-hour reading sessions with a break between each), post-reading conversations cues will be provided and phones will usually be banned (or at least frowned upon).

Reading parties: the origin story

In the best tradition of great American ideas, reading parties were invented by a bunch of housemates with a shared passion: books. One evening, hoping to make the experience of reading a little less solitary, they invited some friends over, and asked them to bring a book to read. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience, so they decided to start a company  that organises similar events. They called it Reading Rhythms.

It should be said that this type of gathering – where people meet in a physical space to read (different) books together – is not entirely new. Way back in 2012, American blogger Neville Medhora  posted about a similar experience, complete with tips on how to organise a reading party.

In any case, you can now attend official Reading Rhythms events in Brooklyn and Manhattan, with some held in spectacular surroundings like the top of skyscrapers, as well as special locations around the world. These gatherings have become hugely popular: the evening described by Molly Young in The New York Times saw over 200 people turned away from the venue, which could only accommodate about 60 people. And tickets are even harder to come by today.

The Silent Book Club: no phones please, we’re bookish!

There’s some truth to the criticism that reading parties have simply reinvented the wheel. Events and communities dedicated to sharing in the pleasure of reading physical books have been around for years.

One of these is the Silent Book Club®. Since 2012, this community of readers have been holding free get-togethers in public spaces – bars, pubs, bookshops, libraries – where people quietly bury themselves in a book for an hour and then chat about what they have just read (if they want to). Having begun life in San Francisco, The Silent Book Club now has chapters in more than 50 countries around the world, and all are run by volunteers.

Just like at reading parties, smartphone use is discouraged  at Silent Book Club gatherings. These events are about sustained, focused reading followed by face-to-face socialising. And nothing beats paper books for this.

The book-club revival

Talking of books and socialising, we’d be remiss not to mention the book-club boom currently sweeping the world. Also known as reading groups or book groups, book clubs are regular get-togethers where members talk about a specific book.

Unlike the other events that we’ve touched on, in a book club everyone reads the same title, which is agreed upon in advance. Meetings are usually held every month or two.

Book clubs allow people to dig deeper into the plot, characters and themes of a book – something that is usually a solitary experience – in the company of other literature lovers.

Books are usually written alone and read alone, yet they also possess a magical power to bring readers together in communities with a shared passion. Some even argue that by going to reading parties and book clubs we can improve our mental well-being and cognitive performance.

So what are you reading at the moment? And have you ever been to a book event?