Online and off it Bengaluru-based Harsh Snehanshu has launched a dating app which matches users based on their reading history and preferences. “Your profile pictures remain hidden until after ten messages are exchanged, ensuring that the initial connection is built purely on shared literary interests,” says Harsh, adding, “Here, books serve as the ice breaker.”
There are other clubs that encourage you to switch off, such as the Saturday Adda in Pune. “Here, you are supposed to keep your phone aside for 90 minutes while fully focusing on the task at hand – reading, writing or knitting – and later discussing your experience,” says the organiser Aditya Rajawade. Aditya also started book swaps back in January, and the members do 10-11 swaps per session once every two months. They bring in a book, wrapped with a note in it. For the first 30 minutes, everyone speaks for a minute or two about the book they brought, without naming it.
A book swap section at a boutique in Bengaluru (L) and a glimpse of a session of Bandra Reads
Feasts & quizzesBroke Bibliophiles of Delhi makes reading as interactive as possible, with quizzes, story writing, zine making, meme-making and more. Monthly meets are centred around a theme or a genre, held at bookstores or heritage sites. Similarly, in Kolkata, the Kalam Club aims to offer regulars at the Kolkata Literary Meet a premium reading experience. “Through thematic interpretations, we bring to life characters and stories. We have also hosted luminaries like Arundhati Roy and Amitav Ghosh and paired these sessions very often with meals that were themed around the books. We have also presented plays under this banner,” says Malavika Banerjee, founder of the club.
B3D’s monthly meets are centred around a theme or genre and the community not only discusses books but movies and video games too.
Read more, read betterDelhi’s Project Bibliotherapy aims to nudge people to “read more and read better”. “We launched curated zines in 2021, featuring 42 diverse articles by 42 authors, encouraging readers to scroll less and read more. All those who join these programmes have one thing in common, they all want to enhance their reading habits. We also conduct readathons, where people read for 14 days a month, to build or re-build their reading habit and bring accountability to their reading. Such events attract people of all age groups. Our aim is to bring people together to experience the magic of reading,” says Nandini Swaminathan and Nitin Goel, founders of the initiative. Guided reading meditations are also conducted to encourage reading.
A guided reading meditation by Project Bibliotherapy
“Unlike any other reading club, our focus is not just on books, characters or plotlines but on discussions about what reading the book made the reader feel and how the text plays in the current context – politics, social and cultural beliefs etc. As a community-forward group, we do book exchanges (where a person brings in a pre-loved book and takes one home too), conduct literary tours, where people connect with the on-ground culture of reading in the capital by visiting Mahila Haat, old bookstores in the city and meet booksellers too. The group meets once a month – sometimes in open spaces like Sunder Nursery, Lodhi Garden, but given the weather, we meet at bookstores and cafes. Once they experience such a community-oriented book club, they understand that it is possible to have a judgement-free space,” say, Molina Singh and Paridhi Puri, founders of Delhi Reads.
Delhi Reads meet outdoors as well as at cafes
