Dear Book Lover,
Today is specially set aside to celebrate you, the activity you enjoy doing the most, and the fantasy you lose yourself in. Hence, you can celebrate it whichever way you want. We would recommend you read books but isn’t that what everyone would say? We have a new suggestion, Nigerian book clubs! But first….
Reading is fun but as you grow older, you hardly have time for it. Regardless, you’d read because of the benefits involved. Benefits such as:
- Knowledge expansion
Reading expands knowledge in a great way. Whether fiction or non-fiction, there is always something to grasp and lessons to learn.
- Vocabulary building
Reading is the best way to build your vocabulary. Many book Lovers attribute their use of vocabulary to reading. As it is said, read far and wide. The farther you read, the wider your vocabulary.
There are other medical benefits of reading such as stress reduction and blood pressure regulation. Thus, all of these benefits point toward how important reading is.
However, reading requires discipline and determination, especially in this era where social media has taken over hobbies. Instead of reading, sometimes you find yourself watching TikTok videos. So, how do you discipline yourself? This is where book clubs come in.
What book clubs?
Book clubs are communities built to foster discipline among book lovers. Depending on the club’s rules, books are selected for regular reading and discussion either monthly or weekly. In order to join a book club, you have to be determined to follow their rules and participate actively. Some Nigerian book clubs we recommend are:
The Reading Cafe
Blessing Okwuofu is a voracious reader. Sometimes, more than twenty books in a month. She is also a mum of two so it is, therefore, a surprise that she has the time to read a lot. But Blessing knows this ability of hers is not common so she set up a book club to embrace other readers and show how they could inculcate discipline into their reading lifestyle.
The Reading Cafe has 1,215 members and the goal is to promote a reading culture. About two books are selected each month and a schedule is created to discuss them on Telegram.
Happy Noisemaker
Created by Jola Ayeye, the I Said What I Said Podcaster, Happy Noisemaker is a lifestyle book blog and club.
Asides from being a founding member of the Feminist Coalition and a Podcaster, Ayeye loves reading. Prior to starting the club, she talked about it a lot and perhaps it can be attributed to her being a scriptwriter as well.
All kinds of books are selected monthly and Happy Noisemaker also has a website; and a regular newsletter you can subscribe to, to get juicy news and updates about books.
The Readers Hut
The Readers hut is an active WhatsApp community of 244 book lovers. It is also a book shop and a book blog on Instagram. The club reviews two books monthly and each reader is assigned an accountability partner. What this means is that your partner ensures you read the books for the month and vice versa.
This article was written by Sola Tales.