book club Archives

December 26, 2018October 6, 2023

6 Best Book Clubs in Los Angeles

If you long to discuss books you love — in real life, outside the confines of Amazon reviews and Goodreads comments — join a local book club. Here are six to check out:

For diverse literary reads: PEN America Los Angeles Book Club

Formerly known as The Edison Book Club, the literary nonprofit PEN America used to hold this book club in a dark and cozy nook of The Edison in downtown L.A. over specialty cocktails inspired by the featured book! That’s changing in 2019. PEN America’s website has yet to be updated, but the series is making the move to Blu Elefant Café, with the January event featuring Ingrid Rojas Contreras’ Fruit of the Drunken Tree. The speakeasy vibe of The Edison will be no longer, but but there’ll still be food and drinks available for order — and good discussions led by a different member of the literary community in L.A. Cost: Free, BYOB (buy your own book).

More: The Edison Book Club: Bittersweet cocktails over Sweetbitter

For girls who brunch: L.A. Girly Book Club

With most of the regulars in their twenties and thirties, this book club usually reads novels by female authors, ranging from the more literary to chick-lit-ish to thrillers. The L.A. chapter’s organized by Allison, who picks out a different bar or restaurant for each meeting. Expect a lively conversation over appies and drinks, a raffle for a copy of the following month’s book, and lots of fun post-discussion socializing. Cost: $5 a month, BYOB.

More: L.A. Girly Book Club: Fiction, food, and fun excursions

For the deep-thinking activist: Current Events Reading Group

Hosted by Skylight Books, this club is for “reading and discussing works of nonfiction pertinent to the pressing issues of our day” — like race, gender, politics, and more. The conversation at this club are wide-ranging, passionate, and smart! And in fact, this book club doesn’t stop at just discussing things. Late last year, the group actually had a bake sale to benefit the Fronterizo Fianza Fund, dedicated to winning the release of detained migrants in far west Texas and New Mexico. Meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:30 pm, and future books are selected by attendees’ vote. Cost: Free, BYOB.

More: Current Events Reading Group: Passionate discussions over complex books

For library-loving women: The West Hollywood Women’s Book Club

If you visit the West Hollywood Library, you’ll see flyers for this book club all over the place. Co-sponsored by the City of West Hollywood’s Women’s Advisory Board, this book club meets at the library on the first Tuesday of every month to discuss books by local authors and internationally renowned author — while providing a space for women to connect with other women.

The crowd skews older — I’d say about half the women are at or past retirement age — but there are always younger women there too. A WeHo librarian keeps things organized, sending out polls on Meetup to determine the next group’s read. Cost: Free, BYOB.

More: West Hollywood Women’s Book Club: Women connect over books by women.

For themed reading: Book Clubs at The Last Bookstore

Last spring, The Last Bookstore started about a dozen different book clubs on different themes, ranging from poetry to true crime. These fun events featured snacks and libations, local writers and other literary figures as moderators, and other cool extras — The horror book club, for example, was held after hours under the light of one scary bare bulb!

The one holdback: You had to buy a ticket to get into these book clubs, and though the cost included the price of the book itself, not all readers were willing to pay to club. Thus, some clubs died out (goodbye L.A. Lit Fic!). But some are still going strong, including the Feminist Book Club, We’re All Gonna Die! (dystopian), The Thing in the Labyrinth (horror), and more. My writer friend Dan Lopez runs Ficción en Español if you’d like to improve your Spanish by talking about books! Cost: $31-42, depending on the club, including the book plus snacks and drinks.

For literary podcast fans: The TNB Book Club

Too lazy to go buy the book — or to make your way to a book club meeting? Then this is the club for you. TNB stands for The Nervous Breakdown (so yes, the book club is The The Nervous Breakdown Book Club), a literary website founded by L.A.-based Brad Listi, with a book club that for $9.99 a month, will send you a fantastic new book in the mail.

Book picks range from Jonathan Safron Foer’s much anticipated novel Here I Am to The Reactive by Masande Ntshanga, out of a small indie press called Two Dollar Radio. And though there’s no meeting to discuss the book, TNB features a book review on the website and Otherppl a podcast chat with the author. Cost: $9.99 a month for the book.

More: The TNB Book Club: Get literary gems delivered to your door for under $10

This list is an incomplete and idiosyncratic one. There are many more open-to-the-public book clubs in town, as a casual peruse through Meetup will reveal. L.A.’s many indie bookstores also host additional book clubs, and many local libraries have their own too. There are also endless cool online ones, like Belletrist. And of course, you can always start your own.

Is there a great open-to-the-public book club you think I’d like? Let me know and I’ll drop by the next meeting.

Originally posted 12/23/16; Last updated 12/26/18

Second photo by Libby Flores

March 24, 2018October 5, 2023

Chat L.A. fiction with me and Scott O’Connor at LA Lit Fic book club 4/17

Thanks to everyone who came to the very first LA Lit Fic — a new book club on L.A. fiction hosted by The Last Bookstore and moderated by me. We talked about Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki, who came by at the end to answer questions, mingle over wine and cheese, and sign books.

Sad you missed it? Then get your ticket now for the next LA Lit Fic — so you have time to read the book! We’re reading Scott O’Connor‘s fantastic short story collection, A Perfect Universe. Published just a couple months go, A Perfect Universe tells ten L.A. stories, starring a teenage bicycle thief, an aging actor, coffee shop regulars, and other very L.A. types.

There will be wine and an equally festive non-alcoholic drink, plus cheese, crackers, cookies, and crudite. And yes, Scott himself will drop at the end to answer burning questions, sign books, and hang out with the fans!

____

LA Lit Fic with Siel Ju
(Facebook event page)
Our April read: Scott O’Connor’s A Perfect Universe
Tuesday, March 20 at 7:30 pm – 9 pm (Edan arrives 8:30 pm)
The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles
Tickets: $35.95 (includes a copy of the book, party, and more)
___

Be there! Feel free to email or tweet me with any questions.

Earlier:
* 6 best book clubs in Los Angeles
* 11 best bookstores in Los Angeles for writers

February 26, 2018October 5, 2023

LA Lit Fic: A new monthly book club party at The Last Bookstore

LA Lit Fic with Siel Ju book club at The Last Bookstore

After blogging about all the great book clubs in L.A., I’m now taking the only logical next step. I’ve teamed up with The Last Bookstore to start a brand new book club on L.A. fiction!

Called LA Lit Fic, this book club will read novels by L.A. writers, or from L.A. presses, or featuring L.A. in a big way. The goal is to get L.A. people reading L.A. fiction — and meeting L.A. writers too!

At each monthly book club party, I hope to have the author her or himself drop at the end to answer burning questions, sign books, and hang out with the fans. Yes, I said book club party (not meeting). There will be wine and an equally festive non-alcoholic drink, plus cheese, crackers, cookies, and crudite.

Get your ticket now! Your $35.95 party ticket includes the month’s book, party eats and libations, entree to a cool off-limits nook of The Last Book Store, a chance to meet the author and get your book signed — plus good times with fellow L.A. book lovers, including me!

We’ll kick off our inaugural book club party with Edan Lepucki’s Woman No. 17 — a fun, snarky, and emotionally-charged read starring a recently-separated memoir writer and her nanny — who’s really a performance artist playing the part of a nanny. There’s intrigue, illicit romance, estranged mothers, and lots of SoCal sun — basically all the things you might look for in a good L.A. novel.
___

LA Lit Fic with Siel Ju
(Facebook event page)
Our March read: Edan Lepucki’s Woman No. 17
Tuesday, March 20 at 7:30 pm – 9 pm (Edan arrives 8:30 pm)
The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles
Tickets: $35.95 (includes a copy of the book, party, and more)
___

I hope to see you there! Feel free to email or tweet me with any questions. And if you’re an L.A. novelist with a book that’s just out or about to come out — and you’re game for a future book club party — get in touch with me.

Earlier:
* 6 best book clubs in Los Angeles
* 11 best bookstores in Los Angeles for writers

July 13, 2017October 5, 2023

L.A. Girly Book Club: Fiction, food, and fun excursions

What is a book club without appies and drinks? Well, I guess it would still be a book club, technically. But if you prefer your literary discussions to take place over wine and cheese plates at a fun spot in the city, join the L.A. Girly Book Club.

The Girly Book Club’s actually a global group, with groups meeting from Seattle to Singapore, all discussing the same book. Most of the novels are by female authors, ranging from the more literary to chick-lit-ish to thrillers like Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot.

Last month, the pick was Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (my microreview here)! The L.A. chapter’s organized by Janie, who picks out a different fun bar or restaurant for each meeting. I joined eight other girls at Vinoteque in West Hollywood for a lively conversation about identity and singing and feminism and work. At the end of the meeting was a raffle for a copy of the following month’s book — then we chatted and socialized over more drinks before calling it a night.

With most of the girls in their twenties and thirties, this book club skews much younger than say, the West Hollywood Women’s Book Club. And — thanks to a $5 fee per meeting, paid in advance via Meetup — the girls RSVP and show up!

One extra fun aspect of the Girly Book Club is the followup event planned between the book club meetings. Often, the events tie in to the latest book. All the cookies in My Grandmother Asked me to Tell You She’s Sorry, for example, inspired a cookie snack break at the Milk Jar. The followup for Homegoing — a girly brunch at The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker — was less related to the book but fun nonetheless —

I got the vegan grain bowl, with lentils and quinoa, marinated tofu, avocado, alfalfa, carrot salad, and bright summer citrus —

Want to join the next meeting? July’s Girly Book Club Meeting happens Wed., July 19 at Mardi Restaurant. We’ll be chatting about The Unseen World by Liz Moore. See you there!

L.A. Girly Book Club. Different locations around the city. Third Wednesday of every month at 7 pm.

Earlier:
6 Book Clubs in Los Angeles to join in 2017
7 Best public libraries in Los Angeles for writers

February 14, 2017October 6, 2023

Current Events Reading Group: Passionate discussions over complex books

If recent political developments have made you want to tackle deep, heavy books and engage in meaningful dialogue with other concerned citizens, come join Skylight Books’s Current Events Reading Group.

I made a new year’s resolution to be more politically engaged — which is why I decided to go to my first meeting of this book club last month. And I’m so glad I did! The conversation at this event was one of the most wide-ranging, passionate, and smart discussions I’d had about socio-political issues in a long time!
Continue reading “Current Events Reading Group: Passionate discussions over complex books”

January 24, 2017October 6, 2023

West Hollywood Women’s Book Club: Women connect over books by women

It’s a well-known fact that women read more books than men. Go to any book club or author event, and chances are, women will far outnumber men. One public book club in the L.A.-area has wholly embraced this phenomenon — by going women-exclusive. The West Hollywood Women’s Book Club is dedicated to bringing women together — to discuss books by women!

Co-sponsored by the City of West Hollywood’s Women’s Advisory Board, this book club meets at the West Hollywood Library once a month to discuss books by both local and internationally renowned authors — while providing a space for women to connect with other women.

I went to my first book club meeting earlier this month, walking into the modern, spacious community meeting room right at start time. A couple dozen women already sat chatting at white desks — arranged into a large square for easy group discussion. Everyone had a handwritten table name card; the librarian in charge gave me a blank one to fill out. At side tables were coffee, cookies, and advance review copies of various novels, free for the taking!

January’s book pick was The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman. Soon after 7 pm, the discussion began! One of the club members kicked off the discussion by asking what everyone thought about the book, and we actually went around the circle, each of us sharing our general impressions of the novel.

Then the real discussion started. A lot of people really seemed to have enjoyed the book. Others, like me, found it rather predictable and formulaic. But the talk was overall enthusiastic and lively, with many women sharing tidbits from their own lives as they related to the plot and characters. Basically, I found the discussion more riveting than the book!

I loved a lot of things about this library book club. While different club members take turns leading the discussion each month, the librarian in charge helps facilitate things by sending out the Meetup event announcements and taking suggestions and setting up polls to figure out future book club reads. The librarian also collects the name cards for reuse — and makes sure library copies of next month’s picks are available!

I also met some lovely women, and after the official meeting ended, had some nice conversations about coffee shops, walking in LA, and, well, book clubs. The crowd here skewed slightly older — There were a good number of well-read retirees — but the group really included women of all ages.

I’ll definitely be at the next book club meeting because the February book is Grace by L.A.’s own Natasha Deon. Even better, Natasha will be at the book club herself! I’m not sure how the author’s presence will affect the discussion of the book, but I’m looking forward to it.

Want to come to the next book club meeting? Join the Meetup group, and show up Feb. 7. See you there!

West Hollywood Women’s Book Club. West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood. First Tuesday of every month at 7 pm.