in

D.C. Book Clubs: Spaces for More Than Reading

[ad_1]

If New York is known as the city that never sleeps, D.C. might be the city that never stops reading. Despite being a place where people get paid to read endless memos, reports, policies, and bills, D.C.’s parks, cafes, Metro cars, and bars, it seems, always include someone with a book in their hands. The Library of Congress and its annual National Book Festival, the DC Public Library’s 26 branches, numerous independent bookstores, and venues that regularly host star-studded author events and book talks ensure reading is ingrained in our city’s culture. In these places, book-lovers come together for communal experiences around reading, s it’s no wonder that the District is home to many eclectic book clubs. From general interest spaces that exist solely for readers to gather (sometimes even in silence) to the most niche of reading groups, there is—literally—something for everyone in the local book club scene. The scene is so popular, in fact, that interest and attendance have not only remained consistent, but surged over the past couple of years.

The rise in local book club attendance can be traced back to a number of factors, including the onset of mass loneliness and isolation during the pandemic. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans spent more time reading recreationally during the pandemic than ever before. Spending on recreational reading rose 22.9 percent in 2020 and another 1.8 percent in 2021, reaching $15.2 billion. As COVID-19 safety protocols were lifted and vaccines were made available, book clubs became a common starting point for socializing in person again.

Just like the city itself, D.C.’s book club scene is a bit of a choose your own adventure. In January, local social media influencer, Jade Womack of ClockoutDC, created a guide of book clubs across the city. Spanning 56 options, Womack’s roundup features everything from Reading with Rory: The Gilmore Girls Canon, which will read the 339 books Rory Gilmore reads throughout Gilmore Girls, to Bipartisan, a group for people from different political backgrounds attempting to use books to find common ground across the aisle. Meanwhile, Black-owned bookstore and self-proclaimed “sanctuary for Pan-African Culture” Sankofa Video Books & Cafe hosts the local chapter of the national Noname Book Club. Created by the singer and activist Noname in 2019, the club is both an online and in-person community dedicated to uplifting voices of color. 

Unsurprisingly, the most popular sites for such clubs are bookstores and public libraries, spaces dedicated to and resourced for encouraging reading and building community. As Grace Burke, the manager of Eastern Market’s recently expanded Little District Books, which opened in 2022, tells City Paper, “the independent bookstore community in D.C. is really strong.” That strength is reflected in the diversity of clubs available. Each shop offers reading groups unique to their store’s specific focus and clientele. As a queer-owned, independent bookstore that celebrates LGBTQIA authors, Little District Books currently has four recurring book clubs: Queer Escapism, Seminal Works, Found Family, and Real Queer Stories. According to Burke, Queer Escapism was created to provide LGBTQIA readers a respite from living in a world full of queer trauma. The club started last year in the face of ongoing state legislative and violent attacks on queer and trans people. In that time, it has proven to be a necessary space for its participants to come together and find community. “It’s been an active move on our part to celebrate queer joy,” says Burke. After each meeting, participants often go to As You Are, the nearby queer bar, together. 

More general-interest independent bookstores, such as Adams Morgan’s Lost City Books and H Street NE’s Solid State Books, host a wider range of clubs that cater to their booksellers’ interests and their clientele’s needs. Jacinta Allee, a bookseller at Lost City, hosts the wildly popular Meet Cute book club, a monthly gathering that aims to “read all the best (and diverse—everyone deserves a good love story!) tropes and romcoms,” according to the event page. Allee started the club last September because she wanted to get more involved in the neighborhood and local book community. “I’m just a girl who likes to read romances and I want to meet other people who like to read romances and who generally enjoy books,” Allee explains. 



[ad_2]

Source link

What do you think?

Written by enovate

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings

DCHA Says It Can’t Spend More Money on Public Housing Repairs, Even if the Council Found Extra Cash

Peter Pan & Wendy Frames an Old Tale Through a Beautiful and Diverse Lens