A few months ago I started a book club with my coworker. She had mentioned years ago that she used to belong to a queer book club and we had briefly flirted with the idea of starting one of our own. It’s taken a while to get our act together.
I did a work-related book club for about a year (where we read books like The Lean Start-Up and Daring Greatly), but I haven’t belonged to a fiction book club before. My tangential friend group has included me in one though I only attended two meetings two years ago, one of which was for
I’ll answer that:
- Book Clubs, beyond the books, are a great way to get to know people and develop new friendships
- Reading books outside your comfort zone and worldview expands your life, challenges your perceptions, and opens you up to new ideas and experiences
- You might really like a book you never would have picked up on your own
Yet, I wasn’t showing up for this book club. I wanted to read queer young adult books that ended happily. Yep. That was pretty much it. A decade, or even five years, ago, this would be slim pickings. Today the young adult genre is leading the way for more diverse and inclusive literature. Limited, but expanding. Since I also aspire to write within the genre I want to keep up with the landscape.
My coworker and I finally had a beer and planned out our book club: a group that would read queer young adult or sci-fi/fantasy books that ended happily. We invited a few friends, keeping it small to start, and are starting our fourth book this month. Here were our picks so far:
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz: The perfect first pick about friendship, coming
out, and coming of age set in 1980’s El Paso. - Confession of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg: An adult fiction (that slipped in) re-imagining of the life of thief and jailbreaker, Jack Sheppard, set in the eighteenth century London underworld.
- What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera: A young adult meet-cute about a summer romance in New York City. We decided it doesn’t really qualify as a happy ending.
- Next Up: The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding: A young adult female romance set in Los Angeles. I texted a friend who’s read it to make sure the story does have a happy ending this time.
Starting this book club in the fall helped jumped start my reading this year. I’d been out of touch with new books and the growing library of queer young adult literature. I can’t seem to read fast enough.
And of course 1) I’m getting to know the people in the group better 2) We’re sharing other books/podcasts information 3) It gets me out of the house on a Sunday evening for a few hours to talk about something I love.
The lesson for me was not waiting for the right book club, but starting the right one. I was surprised by how many people were immediately game and shared my interests. After all, who doesn’t love a happy ending?
With Love,
Natalie