Good company, good books, and plenty of personal development opportunities – as well as great fun. Truly, there are many good reasons why you should join a book club!

The many benefits of joining a book club are diverse and wonderful. In this article, the Business Optimizer team takes a look at some of the reasons why you should consider joining a book club.

#1. Meet new people

Joining a book club is a great way to meet new people. It’s a low-stress way to interact with people while conversation flows freely about something you all have in common: the latest book you’ve read.

#2. You’ll read more books

In the face of all the pressures of everyday life, making time to sit down and lose yourself in a good book can be a difficult thing to make time for. Having a weekly or monthly deadline to finish reading a book is a great excuse to prioritize your reading activity.

#3. Reading is good for your brain

Researchers have found that reading helps to build our ability to focus and to grasp complex ideas, reports Inc magazine. Conversely, the less you read (and reading from your phone doesn’t count, either) the more these abilities wither.

#4. Enhance your debating skills

Reading groups are a great way to enhance your debating skills. It can help you become more confident and comfortable in group discussions – skills and confidence that can be readily transferred into your professional life.

#5. Become a better conversationalist

The Harvard Business Review (HBR) makes the point that “the best and surest way to be a good conversationalist is to practice. Book clubs offer a safe space outside your professional environment to engage on content in discussion and learn to converse more productively with others.”

#6. Better understand diverse perspectives

The HBR article goes on to argue that a book club can help you think outside your own narrow tramlines. It says, “Engaging with diverse content – fiction, history, biography, social science – can pull you out of your day-to-day routine and help you make connections between ideas from other fields that might be relevant to your work of life. Further, discussing these books with a diverse group of friends or colleagues can expand the way you think.”

#7. Discover books you might otherwise not read

A book club is a great way to expand your literary horizons. Because each member takes turn to recommend books to read and discuss, you’ll be exposed to new genres and books. Plus, you get to share your favorite books with others.

#8. It can help you to live longer

Researchers have found that joining a book club can help to extend your life. For those who have retired from working life, the social activity that being in a book club fosters can make it less likely for you to die in the six years after retirement, reports the Guardian.

#9. You get to talk about the books you love

A book club is a safe space in which to talk about the books that matter to you. You can turn to your book club for emotional support as you talk through the plot twists from which your favorite characters are reeling. Share the highs and lows and gain new perspectives. You can be as quirky or as nerdy as you want to be.

#10. It’s fun!

Finally and, perhaps, most importantly, book clubs are a lot of fun. You can use the books you read as an excuse to theme your evenings: dress up as your favorite characters, bring snacks, wine or cocktails. Catcher in the Rye, anyone? Or Tequila Mockingbird?

What now?

Find further reading about our favorite books and authors elsewhere on our blog: