We’re All In This Together – Readalongs and Buddy Reads

Did ya get the High School Musical song stuck in your head from that title? I’m not sorry if you did! Mostly as I did too, and I don’t even rate the song so, ya know.

But it’s a title that fits perfectly with what I want to talk about today; which is readalongs and buddy reads!

You’ve already seen this month that I have a readalong book club going currently. And I’m also a member of the Faes and Gays book club, I just don’t read the book every month unless it’s one I wanted to read anyway. Which is what generally works best for me. I like being part of these online book clubs. Being able to read a book knowing lots of other people are at the same time. And being able to discuss the book… It just adds something to the whole experience.

I like buddy reads too for the same reason. But I don’t tend to do those very often. Mostly as I tend to speed ahead in books, finish it before the other person and then kind of feel bad about that? But I want to do more of them. It wasn’t an official 2021 goal, but I definitely want to do more buddy reads this year.

And that got me thinking about how reading really can be social?

Not necessarily the act itself. Unless you’re reading to someone, the time you’re actually focused on the book you’re being anti-social. But if you can find people who want to read the same book as you, it can add a new level of fun to reading and it can encourage you to socialise. It can be scary at first if you’re looking online for people to read with or clubs to join. I definitely get that as I’m an anxious mess and don’t request buddy reads with anyone other than close friends for that very reason.

But it really can be a good way to make new friends, and you get to enjoy reading. It’s like a win/win. Even if you don’t like the book, you can still talk about why and maybe enjoy bitching about the book whilst you’re at it.

really love the aspect of talking about what I read. That’s the whole reason I started this blog. I might not review every book I read, in fact, I rarely review books that aren’t ARCs. It’s something I’m trying to work on. But I still talk about the books I’m reading. Friends get me shouting about scenes and characters and ships at them even if they’re not really readers. So it’s even better when the person is reading the book with me, and we both get the feels and ahhhhh.

It’s just such an enjoyable experience.

Do you like reading with others? Are you in any book clubs or doing any buddy reads? Would you like to buddy read something with me in the future? Let me know down below!