AVID READERS rejoice! Book clubs are on the rise, and they’re not the stuffy ones of years past. Instead, these newfangled gatherings are hosted by trendy independent bookstores around the Circle City and in other locales. Below we round up some of the best Indianapolis book clubs for every type of bookworm. A few book clubs outside Indy are also included for those willing to travel for good bookish conversation.
Dope Diaspora Book Club
Hosted by Whitney Turientine, this club featuring African diaspora authors meets on the third Wednesday of the month at Tomorrow Books in Bottleworks. Members enjoy 10 percent off book club purchases. While this month’s title If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery and other selections can pose challenging subject matter, the book club host is knowledgeable and passionate about the genre. The club is an approachable but deep dive for a community of people interested in “meeting and learning from other readers with similar interests but different perspectives,” says Jake Budler, Tomorrow Bookstore co-owner.
We Learn Good Book Club
Bibliophiles who prefer true stories should look no further than this book club, also held at Tomorrow Books. The group features nonfiction reads and is hosted by Nathan Shuherk on the second Wednesday of the month. This month’s book is Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. It’s just one example of the level of reading this club offers, with interesting explorations of a wide range of subjects. As one of the shop’s more popular clubs, its members are asked to attend at least 75 percent of meetings.
Queery Book Club
Queery is an LGBTQ assembly that meets every third Tuesday of the month at Irvington Vinyl and Books. The club reads classic queer canon works of literature like Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. But some 2024 highlights delved into more recent works like the essay collection ¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer.
“Some of our fun ‘weird picks’ have been Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier and Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett,” says Ally Muterspaw, Queery’s social media manager.
Members are passionate, and anyone wanting to explore a wide breadth of LGBTQ experiences should check out this club. “Quite a few of our book selections are works that readers might not pick up on their own,” says Muterspaw.
Romance Book Clubs
For all the romance novel enthusiasts out there, Turn the Page Books and Gifts in Westfield has two great book clubs worth checking out. These include a rom-com group that meets the last Wednesday of every month and the Romantasy Book Club, which meets the first Wednesday of each month. Both offer easy romance novel reads, but readers can pick whether they want their stories with a side of laughs or an infusion of fantasy. For example, this month’s book for Romantasy is A Court of Sugar and Spice: A Nutcracker Romance Retelling by Rebecca F. Kenney. Both clubs meet at the store, and no advanced sign-up is required. All members receive 15 percent off the purchase of book club titles.
Weird Fiction Book Club
Weird fiction is a blend of different genres, from science fiction to horror and fantasy—with doses of Gothic literature and magical realism. One of the best book clubs for weird fiction is a gathering held by Morgenstern’s Books in Bloomington, which meets every third Wednesday of the month. While the drive down to the college town may be a trek, the club is worth it, as the titles selected approach the genre in different ways. Some picks embrace a sense of unease by leaning into horror, while others, like this month’s The Divorce by César Aira, find the absurd lurking in what would otherwise be a typical romance novel.
Wednesday Murder Book Club
Fans of classic whodunit tales should check out the club hosted by Naughty Dog Books in Nashville. This month’s pick, Kill Show: A True Crime Novel by Daniel Sweren-Becker, is a genre-bending novel that pulls from typical tropes in true crime dramas and mixes in the surprising twists of a mystery. The bookstore, which used to be a bank, still has its old vault and has named it the “True Crime Vault.” Those not willing to make the journey down to Brown County every month can subscribe to the store’s mystery book subscription box, which features a surprise thriller and on-theme items collected from around Nashville four times a year.
