CONNECTING THROUGH BOOK CLUBS by Korina Moss

Sonia with an i & Laura Reads sharing books

Isn't it funny that the solitary act of reading can offer so much connection? If you see someone on the subway reading a book you couldn’t put down, or someone at a party who's raving about a novel you loved, don’t you feel almost compelled to say something to them? When you’ve finished a great book, don’t you want to find someone to talk about it with? Or at least post about it on Facebook or Instagram? 

If you think about it, we're just continuing what our parents started when we bonded over a shared emotional connection to stories they read to us as babies and toddlers. So it’s no wonder book clubs have stood the test of time. You can join Reese Witherspoon's Book Club or connect closer to home through your library, bookstore, or with friends or family. You can even find virtual reading sprints, readalongs, and buddy reads on booktube, which are the bookish channels on Youtube. Some of my favorites booktube channels are: The Beachbum Bookworm, Books with Amy Marie, Sonia with an i, and Laura Reads. 

Christie Capers co-founders,
Janet Lomba & Eileen Pearce

Some book clubs are genre-specific, others aren’t. In the early 2000s, I was in a fun book club with friends with varied reading interests. I read many great books through that book club that I wouldn’t have picked up on my own. In later years when I was focused on reading and writing cozy mysteries, I joined a well-established library book club focused on cozies called The Christie Capers (named after Agatha Christie). I not only read a lot of good books, some of the friends I made there have managed to outlast the long-running book club.   

Now that I'm a published mystery writer, books from my Cheese Shop Mystery series have been chosen for several monthly book clubs, where I participated virtually. It's a wonderful experience from the author's side too! I've been the featured author at Katy Budget Books in Houston, Texas; the Gatesville, TX Public Library book club run by Luci Hannson Zahray (also known as the Poison Lady); and  The Killer Coffee Club, led by Nikki Bonanni at the Barnes & Noble in Rochester, New York. 

My Cheese Shop mysteries were also chosen for many online book clubs, such as Facebook's The Cozy Mystery Once a Month Book Club, Instagram's Little Bites Book Club, and YouTube's Cozy Escape. It's always fun to feel their enthusiasm about my books, hear their opinions, and answer their insightful questions. 

Adrienne, B&N Enfield staff member

I'm looking forward to my next book club event in just two weeks. My first Cheese Shop Mystery, Cheddar Off Dead, has been chosen by the Barnes & Noble in Enfield, Connecticut as their June book club pick. Since I live in CT, I’ll be joining them in person for a casual get together snacking on cheese, sipping special beverages, and chatting about the book. I’ll also be signing all four books in my series afterward. If you’re near Enfield, I hope you’ll join us on Thursday June 27th at 7:00 PM in the B&N café. 

Have you ever belonged to a book club? 

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series set in the Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner for Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead and the Agatha Award finalist for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Her books have been featured in USA Today, PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World, AARP, and Fresh Fiction. To learn more, visit her website korinamossauthor.com.