by Korina Moss, first published on writerswhokill.blogspot.com, reprinted with permission
Isn’t it funny that the solitary act of reading can offer so much connection? If you see someone on the subway reading a book you couldn’t put down or someone at a party who’s raving about a novel you loved, don’t you feel almost compelled to say something to them? When you’ve finished a great book, don’t you want to find someone to talk about it with? Or at least post about it on Facebook or Instagram?
If you think about it, we’re just continuing what our parents started when we bonded over a shared emotional connection to stories they read us as babies. It’s no wonder book clubs have stood the test of time. You can join Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club or connect closer to home through your library or bookstore, or with friends or family. You can even find virtual reading sprints, readalongs, and buddy reads on BookTube, which are the bookish channels on YouTube. Some of my favorite BookTube channels include: The Beachbum Bookworm, Books with Amy Marie, Sonia With an I, and Laura Reads.
Some book clubs are genre-specific, others aren’t. In the early 2000s, I joined a fun book club with friends with varied reading interests. I read many great books through that book club that I wouldn’t have picked up on my own. In later years, when I focused on reading and writing cozy mysteries, I joined a well-established library book club focused on cozies called the Christie Capers (named after Agatha Christie). I not only read a lot of good books but some of the friends I made there have managed to outlast the long-running book club.
Now that I’m a published mystery writer, books from my Cheese Shop Mystery series have been chosen for several monthly book clubs, where I participated virtually. It’s a wonderful experience from the author’s side too! I’ve been the featured author at Katy Budget Books in Houston, Texas; the Gatesville (Texas) Public Library book club, run by Luci Hannson Zahray (also known as the Poison Lady); and The Killer Coffee Club, led by Nikki Bonanni at the Barnes & Noble in Rochester, New York.
My Cheese Shop mysteries were also chosen for many online book clubs, such as Facebook’s Cozy Mystery Once a Month Book Club, Instagram’s Little Bites Culinary Cozy Mystery Book Club, and YouTube’s Cozy Escape Book Club. It’s always fun to feel their enthusiasm about my books, hear their opinions, and answer their insightful questions.
I’m looking forward to my next book club event in just two weeks. My first Cheese Shop Mystery, Cheddar Off Dead, has been chosen by the Barnes & Noble in Enfield, Connecticut, as their June book club pick. Since I live in Connecticut, I’ll join them in person for a casual get-together, snacking on cheese, sipping special beverages, and chatting about the book. I’ll also sign all four books in my series afterward.
This is how Barnes & Noble advertised the event:
Korina Moss is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series including the Agatha Award winner for Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead, and the Agatha Award finalist for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Her books have been featured in USA Today, PARADE magazine, Woman’s World, AARP, and Fresh Fiction.
