Book Club Benefits
Reading a good book has always been a favourite pastime. It’s the perfect activity to while away an afternoon, the best companion for a beach vacation, or a relaxing end to a long day. With our busy lifestyles and dependence on electronics, reading doesn’t always make the priority list anymore. Joining or starting a community Book Club is a great way to make a habit of reading, and can offer us many other benefits as well.
Social benefits
Book Club is an easy and affordable way to get social for just about anyone. Nowadays, technology has made it even easier to take part, with options such as E-readers, and audio books. Gathering with others to engage in conversation and spend time enjoying a great read, or even having some lively debates over the current book, can boost your mood and your circle of friends! Feeling a sense of community and a connection with others is an important factor in maintaining good mental health, and a lot of Book Clubs are real social events, with food and drink and interesting conversations. The friends you make at Book Club can wind up spilling over into your every day and open up other new experiences and lifelong relationships.
Mental benefits
Aside from giving you the opportunity to make new friends and engage with others, reading regularly keeps your mind active and stimulates your brain. Having a routine social engagement to look forward to helps elevate your mood, and being accountable to the group will be the motivation some need to keep up with their reading. Intellectual stimulation keeps your mind more focused and sharp, especially as we age. Enjoying a good book offers an occasional escape, can be a good way to relieve stress, and can even contribute to falling asleep more easily. For many, having a task set out can offer something to work towards and also lead to a sense of accomplishment, by keeping up with the reading list. Book Club will also expand your horizons by introducing you to books you may not have chosen for yourself.
A fun twist to typical Book Clubs can be to incorporate theme months, where both the book and the meeting follow a specific time period or genre. For example, one month you can enjoy “The Great Gatsby” and have everyone come to the event dressed for the 1920’s, with Mint Juleps and lemon cakes on the menu. The next, you could try “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern, and go with a magic/fantasy theme for your event. Even if you don’t want to get that involved for every book, it’s definitely a fun way to mix it up now and then! Another great way to keep Book Club fresh and exciting is to have each member throw their favourite book title into the pot. Then, rather than a predetermined reading list, at each meeting, you randomly pick one out to read for the next meeting, giving every member a chance to share their top titles.
Treeview has an ever-growing monthly book club amongst other fun clubs and activities.
Your local library branch or bookstore is another great place to start, they will often host community book clubs. For anyone with mobility issues, there are even virtual Book Clubs available online. Get in contact with the Treeview team if you’re interested in join up our book club.