What is Open Book Club?

It’s a book club and a weekly newsletter where members and guests share book recommendations.

Want to join the club?

I host book club meetings in-person in nyc and post the digital copies of meeting materials on the paid tier of the Substack.

Sometimes I struggle with asking people for money, but I’ve realized the more you put more into Open Book Club, the you get more out of it, so investing (the price of a coffee) into the community keeps people here who show up.

Here’s everything you get access to in the paid tier:

1. The meetings.

You’ll get access to the in-person book club meetings in nyc or a digital copy of the meeting materials if you’re outside of nyc. I’ll do something creative like print, scan, and upload the digital materials to maintain the physical feeling.

2. The author interviews.

You’ll get access to the in-person author interviews and to livestreams or recordings of the interviews. I’ll livestream the events and then post a recording that expires a few days after it’s posted. I want the events to be exclusive and off-the-record. I’ll limit the digital footprint, so that we can be candid.

3. The group chat.

You know what this is.

4. The book lists.

You’ll get a weekly book list from an interesting and well-read member or guest. You’ll also be able to nominate guests.

5. The perks.

You’ll get fun perks like free or discounted books. The past few months I’ve gotten free copies of the book club books from publishers. I’m also looking into bulk ordering books so that we can get a discount. And we don’t always need to read an entire book to hang out. I’ll keep planning monthly socials events (like the holiday party in December or book swap birthday party in January).

If you’re sold, you can subscribe here:

When you join the paid tier you’ll get a welcome email with more on how to join that the events for the month.

I also mail out copies of the discussion guides I make for the book club meetings I host!

I call it the mailing club. This Instagram reel talking about the idea went kinda viral and talks a bit more about the idea, but basically I love physical media, like books and mail. The idea of different book clubs in different places reading the same book and answering the same questions is literally so cool to me.

Your mailing club envelope will include:

• A pack of 3 book club discussion guides 📝 with prompts for self-reflection and group discussion. You should aim to have one sheet per person

• A note and a discussion question from the author, Alexandra Tanner 💌

• A note from me 💌

You can join the mailing club here.

Much love,

Liz