I’ve never actually belonged to a book club in the traditional sense. Yes, I do belong to some great ones like the Rave Reviews Book Club (#RRBC), the Fantasy and Science Fiction Network (#FSFNet), and eNovel Authors At Work (#eNovAaW), but these are online book clubs. I’m not saying this to belittle them (indeed, some of my online friends are closer to me than most family), just to point out that we can’t hang out in person for an evening of drinking, gossiping, and generally having a good time.

Cause this, it turns out, is what book clubs have traditionally been about. Depending on the percentage of the group that has actually read the book, it may be discussed, or it may not. For centuries, the book has been the excuse, not necessarily the point.

The Early Days

The precursor to book clubs were parties where playwrights like Moliere…