Alli the Book Giraffe

Hello readers! It’s time for an LTB post. Buddy reading and group reading are something I didn’t really get into until I joined the book community. Here are my opinions on reading books as a group.

Do you love it or hate it? Don’t be afraid to drop your opinions or posts below!

Check out my Let’s Talk Bookish Masterlist for every post I’ve done.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originated by Eternity Books and is currently hosted by Book Nook Bits and Dinipandareads. The accompanying thumbnail was also designed by Book Nook Bits. Each Friday, bloggers craft posts where they engage in discussions centered around the designated topic for the week.

Prompts: Do you enjoy buddy reading or participating in group reads? If you do, what do you like most about them? Do you prefer reading 1-1 or in a big group? For those who might not have access to in-person group reads, do you have a recommendation about where to join online reading groups?

I didn’t know buddy reading was something I’d enjoy until I joined the book community. Most of what I saw of book clubs were on TV, and they never looked that fun to me.

I love buddy reading and joining book clubs. I swear, every time I find an online book club I really love, it eventually takes a break or ends, which is always a little disappointing.

I especially enjoy buddy reads where specific chapters are assigned each day. Having that loose structure keeps me motivated without making reading feel like homework. One of my favorite parts is seeing how differently people interpret the same scenes. During Instagram buddy reads, someone will point out a detail or theme I completely missed, and it always deepens my appreciation for the book.

Another bonus of this format is that it’s easy to fall a little behind without feeling stressed. If I skip a day or two, I can simply avoid opening the Instagram chat until I catch up, which takes a lot of pressure off.

I’ve mostly buddy read thrillers and romances. I read the entire Dreamland Billionaires series with a group, and I also participated in a monthly thriller book club for nearly a year, where we voted on and read a new book together each month.

On Instagram, I usually find them from stories of the people I’m following. Once you find someone starting one, they will tend to do many more in the future.

One thing I’ve learned is that I don’t enjoy book clubs, read-alongs, or readathons that use Discord. I don’t love the format, and every time I join a Discord-based group, I tend to forget about it after a few days.

Another spot I check is YouTube. Every couple of weeks, I search for book clubs, read-alongs, and readathons. It takes some digging, but it can be a good way to discover groups outside of Instagram.

Before 2026, I would filter my searches by upload date, but that is now gone. So, I now filter it by upload date: this week. This makes it a little bit harder to find things.

Another spot I check is YouTube. Every couple of weeks, I search for book clubs, read-alongs, and readathons. I usually use searches like “read along announcement,” “book club announcement,” and “read athon announcement.” I make sure to keep a space between read and along or athon because some creators don’t include the word read at all, using names like Fantasyathon or Sandersonalong.

I made a LONG book club Masterlist post once, but it was many years ago. Book clubs were a big trend online during COVID, but they are hard to find now. Many of the book clubs on that list no longer exist.

There is one place I know that exists to find year-long buddy reads, and that is Reddit. There is a Year of Book Hub Reddit and Book Club Reddit. Most of the buddy reads I’ve seen there tend to focus on classics, but it’s still worth checking out.

It’s also always worth seeing if your local library offers book clubs. My library has two different ones, and both have Facebook pages where members can share their thoughts and ask questions. That setup makes them more accessible for people who can’t always travel or attend in-person meetups, which they also host.

I’ve been searching far and wide for a middle-grade book club for a while now! I used to follow one that I really loved, but it ended. Let me know if you know of any! Honestly, if anyone would be interested in starting one with me, I’d love to do that.

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Happy blogging and bookish adventures! 📚🦒✨

This post was created by Allison Wolfe for www.allithebookgiraffe.com and is not permitted to be posted anywhere else.

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