Reddit Book Club Offers Readers a Chance to Share Thoughts on Books
Allyson Floridia ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
Reddit is an online community in which users post stories, links and other media news. It was founded in 2005 and has grown to house a total of eight billion pages. In the last month alone, it had more than 195 million visitors. Reddit’s overall goal is to produce an online community that caters to its viewers. Users vote on the most popular stories, which then appear at the top of the page. People can comment on any story and viewers can create subreddits, a sub-community independently moderated by a team of volunteers. It is in this way that Reddit’s book club was created.
The Reddit book club made its first appearance about seven years ago. It is a page that promotes the discussion of any and all books. It also suggests other book clubs users may want to join. These clubs are more specific. For example, there is a fantasy book club, a club for Stephen King fans, and another for history novels. For the main book club, users read two books per month, with each month having an alternating category. The category details what type of book users read. Categories include genre, theme, source the novel comes from and if it has won an award. Users can also comment and propose other category ideas or recommendations for future reading. The novels chosen are often easily accessible, whether they are available in a local library or on Gutenberg, a public domain that offers free ebooks.
However, just because a novel isn’t chosen as the month’s read, doesn’t mean readers can’t talk about it. Because users instigate threads, there may be multiple threads for one novel or a thread for another novel someone is reading independently. Some warn of spoilers; others introduce book news. This open community introduces new novels to people as well as fosters an environment in which people can share their passion of literature in thoughtful analysis.
Book clubs have long since been around. Reddit’s book club unique is because the club is online. There are no face-to-face meetings. This lack of physical presence is both inhibiting and liberating. Users have more freedom for when they want to read and when they want to discuss. There is less anxiety about expressing opinions because of the anonymity of a username. People are exposed to a host of ideas and opinions, opening the doors to further critical thinking. At the same time, without a regimented meeting time, some readers may fall back on reading, never quite completing the novel. The sheer number of subscribers to the club might turn others away. With so many voices, it may be easy for one person to become lost. A small, personal group ensures that everyone is heard. Also, since there are so many threads, it’s possible a reader can find it overwhelming and have no idea where to begin.
As for the future success of Reddit’s book club, the club has more than twenty thousand subscribed readers, which doesn’t account for visitors who haven’t subscribed. This number is continuously growing. Add in the rising popularity of social media sites, Reddit’s book club is sure to gain more notice. There are also many other directions the club can go, either promoting specific authors or hosting contests. While the club is lacking structure, as it continues to fine-tune and publicize, readers will turn to it. Here is the link to check it out: http://www.reddit.com/r/bookclub/