Reading is a favored pastime by many, offering an escape into new worlds and allowing readers to think about reality in a different context. With the rise of BookTok, a literature-focused subcommunity on TikTok, reading is trendier than ever.
Sruthika Gangisetty, sophomore psychology major, and Shriya Naraya, sophomore mathematics major, frequently shared TikToks and Instagram Reels about their favorite books.
Then, it sparked an idea.
“I saw one with this group of people who had a book club, and they had a night where they were making book-themed drinks and snacks,” Naraya said. “They showed what kind of things they made about one of our favorite fantasy books. And I went to her room, and I told Sruthika, ‘Hey, this sounds like something really fun. What do you think about if we started a book club and did something like that?’”
After talking logistics, Naraya and Gangisetty determined they could get together a group of people who would enjoy a book club.
“We needed at least five members to start the group on campus,” Gangisetty said. “And we have five friends in our group who like to read or at least would want to be part of the club.”
Medha Krishnan, sophomore psychology major, is one of Naraya and Gangisetty’s friends who joined the group. She serves as Book Brewers’ graphic designer and designed the group’s logo, helped set up their Instagram and made flyers for their call-out meeting Oct. 31.
“It was a good turnout,” Krishnan said.
Gangisetty said about 25 people came to their call-out meeting.
Naraya said she hopes the group will sustain a large number of members.
“We had a bigger turnout than we expected,” she said. “And I’m really glad to see a lot of people who like to read and would like to join a book club because I’ve never officially been a part of one. So I love the idea of having a larger group of people to talk about the same thing.”
Although Book Brewers hasn’t had an official meeting yet, Naraya said they plan on having a set agenda for each meeting, including discussion topics and time for open discussion.
In addition to aiming for an enriching discussion, each meeting will include themed drinks and snacks that will go along with the book the group is currently reading.
Krishnan said all flyers and Instagram posts for each meeting will be themed around their current book’s aesthetic.
Attendees at the call-out event wrote book titles on pieces of paper suggesting what the club should read, and a form was sent out with all the suggestions to everyone interested in the club.
Naraya said Book Brewers’ first book will be announced at their meeting Nov. 21, along with what the club will look like.
Book Brewers is already gaining a positive reputation around campus.
“A book club could impact campus by giving readers a space to discuss something they care about,” said MonteLee Norton, junior creative writing major and president of the Student Writers Union. “I’ve seen and experienced a similar impact with the Student Writers Union. SWU gives writers a space to discuss their work with people that not only share their passion but will also take what they have to say seriously. A book club will definitely have the same effect on readers who wish to discuss books that they love.”
Norton joined SWU as a freshman. She said the organization helped her gain a sense of belonging on campus and made the transition to college much easier.
She hopes Book Brewers will help establish a sense of identity for students among like-minded communities and motivate writers on campus to read more.
“I find reading important because it gives you a sense of escapism and entertainment,” Norton said. “Reading of any kind also opens you up to new perspectives and ideas you likely wouldn’t have access to otherwise. It becomes even more important if you’re a writer. Not only do you gain new perspectives, but you also learn different craft techniques that you can incorporate into your own writing. Reading will always work to supplement your writing, even if you don’t realize it.”
Charles Conaway, professor of English, is the faculty advisor for Book Brewers. He said reading is important in understanding how people perceive the world, and a book club is a great opportunity to build lasting relationships.
“I hope the book club will offer students the opportunity to build lasting friendships — a sense of community arising from a shared love for reading,” he said.
He said he thinks reading is important “because it can do so many things for us.”
“There is great pleasure that comes from our imaginative engagement with literature, but there is also the opportunity to learn about different cultures and different times,” he said. “Great writers offer us the opportunity to identify sympathetically with others who might seem different from us, who live in different places under different circumstances but nevertheless have the same kind of hopes, dreams and desires that we do and suffer under the same sort of sleights, social pressures and more profound trials and tribulations that we sometimes face.”
Gangisetty and Krishnan said they enjoy reading because it immerses them in another world.
“I just love the fact that it’s kind of a way to dissociate from reality, and it’s like it feels like you’re in a whole other world,” Gangisetty said. “You are that character in a book, and you can just kind of forget about your stress and homework and everything that you have for a little bit while you’re reading.”
“Coming up with an idea for my own type of character or what I would be like in that world is kind of fun. It’s different to everyday life — it’s imagination,” Krishnan said.
A wide variety of books from different genres were suggested for Book Brewers, including “Love, Theoretically,” by Ali Hazelwood, “The Phoenix King” by Aparna Verma, “Powerless” by Lauren Roberts, “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo, as well as some crime and mystery books. Naraya personally suggested “Carrie Soto Is Back” by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
“I tell people about it because I think it’s a book that everyone should read,” she said. “It’s a book about perfectionism and learning and how to take a step back and breathe a little bit, how to not get so caught up in winning that you lose sight of everything else around you. And I just think there’s a lot of great lessons to dissect from that book.”
Gangisetty said “Six of Crows” is her favorite book.
Krishnan said her favorite books include “The Percy Jackson” series by Rick Riordan and “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson.
Norton said she’s “a sucker for fantasy books,” and “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien is one of her favorites. She also recommends “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller because it was the first and only book that made her cry.
“Reading can reveal to us the ways in which writers past and present explore and dramatize the concerns of their own time and place, even when they’re writing about alien civilizations or alternate universes,” Conaway said. “We can learn a lot about how people think about their world, how they imagine solutions to complex social problems, and how we, in turn, might then approach similar concerns in our own time and place.”
Those interested in joining Book Brewers are not required to follow strict guidelines or meet a specific reading goal to be a part of the club. Krishnan said anyone is welcome to join if they’re interested in the idea of the club.
“I certainly don’t read as often as Sruthika and Shriya do, but I’m hoping that this meeting will encourage me to read more and open my eyes to what kind of genres and categories exist,” Krishnan said.
“We just want people to come by and hang out,” Gangisetty said.
Anyone interested in helping make snacks or drinks for a meeting can email the organization at [email protected].
