Yann Martel, the best-selling author of The Life of Pi, once opined: ‘Books are something social – a writer speaking to a reader – so I think making the reading of a book the centre of a social event, the meeting of a book club, is a brilliant idea.’
With such stirring words in mind, ArtsHub surveyed a selection of book groups to see how people are drawn to such gatherings with like-minded literary folk. There’s no doubt book groups can alleviate the loneliness of reading all by yourself and not having anyone available to discuss the work after you’ve finished the last page, but what kind of titles are chosen and do the books even get discussed? Or are the meetings merely an excuse for gossip, nibbles and alcohol?
Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian.
Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025.
Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy
