4 Benefits of a Book Club

I recently became part of a book club. It has already been beneficial. I also asked my sister, a long-time “book cluber,” for her perspective. She, in turn, phoned her book club friends and they shared their thoughts too. Below are the 4 benefits of a book club that especially stuck out. 

Accountability & Encouragement 

Reading is important. There is much to gain from reading but we have to read to get those gains. And what we get from reading is not tangible. We can see a book but it’s difficult to see the impact a book has. Reading also takes concentrated effort. Reading is difficult in our age of distraction, especially if we’re out of practice. 

With anything difficult, positive peer pressure is helpful. Atomic Habits, one of our book club books, says this:

One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior. New habits seem achievable when you see others doing them every day… Your culture sets your expectation for what is “normal.” Surround yourself with people who have the habits you want to have yourself. You’ll rise together.¹

Discovery & Expansion

There are some books I would never choose to read. I used to only read nonfiction books but now I read about every genre. In fact, and I feel embarrassed to admit this now, there was a time when I didn’t want to read the Harry Potter book series. I told people that when I’m sitting in a nursing home then I’ll start them.² Thankfully my son convinced me. I have the last book to finish but it’s been really good. 

C.S. Lewis talks about the importance of reading old books “because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction.” Reading widely gives us a perspective we would not otherwise have. Reading can also help us “walk in someone else’s shoes.” Thus, reading widely can help us obtain wisdom and empathy. Getting out of our reading “comfort zone” might just help us see something we would otherwise be blind to. Of course, we must always be discerning readers.

Diverse Perspective

To misappropriate “A Whole New World” from Aladdin:

Books show you the world
shining, shimmering, splendid
books can open your eyes
take you wonder by wonder
over, sideways, and under
on a magic book ride
a whole new world
a new fantastic point of view

Or as Peter Kreeft has said, “There’s a real place you can go where you can really find magic. You can get into other worlds there… Like getting into Narnia through the wardrobe. There are thousands of other worlds there, and holes to get into each one… It’s called a library.”³

A book club is like a magic boost. One of the great things about book club is you not only read books that you otherwise might not read but you have conversations with people and perspectives that you otherwise wouldn’t have. When echo chambers are in vogue, it’s important to seek out real conversation and even, perish the thought, disagreement. If we are to learn to be patient with people with different perspectives, it’s helpful to sit across from those people, to hear them and not just soundbites. 

Seeking out diversity in book clubs, both in books read and people reading, is important because “even as we live with increasing diversity, it’s easier than ever to restrict our contact, both online and off, to people who resemble us in appearance, views, and interests. That makes it easy to dismiss people for their beliefs or affiliations when we don’t know them as human beings. The result is a spiral of disconnection that’s contributing to the unraveling of civil society today.”⁴

Social Connection

Social connection is vital. In fact, in Vivek H. Murthy’s book, Together, he says, “People with strong social relationships are 50 percent less likely to die prematurely than people with weak social relationships… weak social connections can be a significant danger to our health.”⁵ So not trying to oversell this, but being part of a book club can help you live longer!

One mother said one of the benefits of book club is “guaranteed grown-up conversation once a month.” In my observation, “grown-up conversation” is sadly lacking in many people’s lives. We might talk with people a little or a lot, but is our talk deep and meaningful? A book club can help people have not only relationships but also meaningful relationships through the important themes discussed in the books that are read. Many books, as one respondent said, “show us the depths and height of the human heart.” A book club also allows deep and meaningful conversations for introverts and extroverts without it being too awkward. 

If you’re not part of a book club, you should join one. You will reap a bunch of benefits. You might even live longer. 

1. James Clear, Atomic Habits, p. 117. ↩︎
2. I now say this about the Wheel of Time series. Although, I have enjoyed a Wheel of Time graphic novel as well as the Wheel of Time TV show. Most of my nine siblings get angry at me for talking about their cherished book series in this way.  ↩︎
3. Peter Kreeft, Making Sense of Suffering. ↩︎
4. Vivek H. Murthy, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, p. 134. ↩︎
5. Vivek H. Murthy, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, p.13. ↩︎