Meet the Ladies from the Book Club, Beyond the Book

We love hearing about your book clubs. All across Australia, fellow book lovers meet regularly at countless different clubs. Every one is different. Here, one fabulous book club shares their story.

Founding member, Sonia shares some details about the book club, Beyond the Book…

Tell us about your book club

We are a group of like-minded ladies, similar age, similar stage of life, similar interests AND we all found ourselves with no time to read anymore! This is when our fearless leader, Amie – who is the common link for all of us, created our book club in 2015. Beyond the Book, as a name was chosen because we do read our books, but we go beyond and socialise and support each other in our everyday lives as well.

How many members do you have?

Well, there is a core group of about 8 who attend most meetings. We have some friends who are silent partners, we have extras who are currently reading along at home as they have had babies, we have one who has moved interstate but still contributes to conversations, we have recently had 3 new members come along with friends so hopefully, they end up staying. We are a friendly group and pretty laid back so I can’t see it being a problem – it’s more about their confidence in attending if their friend isn’t there as well. Officially the group is currently at 17 but it ebs and flows.

What type of books do you read?

We have tried to diversify ourselves into all types of genres but we just found either no one read the book or no one enjoyed it so now we tend to stick to books that have been recommended or that are on a member’s ‘to read’ wishlist. We generally create a poll and decide as a group what the next book is going to be, that way there is no pressure on one person to decide. We tend to find ourselves in drama fiction and have an incredible knack of choosing books that get turned into movies! Obviously, this means a visit to a cinema as a group as well 🙂

How often do you meet?

Well… this can vary! Sometimes we are really good and it’s around the 5-6 week mark, sometimes it can be 5-6 months because, let’s face it, getting a group of mums together at a time that suits everyone can be next to impossible! How does 2023 sound for the next date??? haha

Where do you meet?

We have a handful of favourite restaurants that tend to be on rotation! It’s a great meal, great company, a few drinks and YES we do print out questions and have discussions about the book! At first the print out was to prove to Amie’s hubby that it was a ‘legit’ book club and not a synonym for a Wine Club! In all seriousness, we actually really enjoy listening to each other and seeing what every member has taken from the book and sometimes it starts up some healthy debates if we do/don’t agree with characters actions!

Beyond the Book has personally helped get me back into reading and I will be eternally grateful. There is nothing better than laying in the hammock on a Sunday afternoon with a good book, knowing that I will later be discussing it with friends because they are doing the same thing.

Tell us about your book club at [email protected]