WespoketoMayowaOmogbenigun,thefounderofWomen’sGroup Lagos,abookclubinLagos,abouttheimportantrolebookclubsplayin theliteraryecosystem: Whataresomeofthebenefitsofjoiningabookclub? ThegreatestbenefitisthefeelingofcommunityInabookclub,youare abletobondwithotherpeopleoverasharedloveofliterature In discussingliteratureandthelivesofthecharactersweread,wearealso abletogettoknoweachotherinameaningfulwayWediscussour experiencesandalsodiscussourideasandbeliefs I’veseenbeautiful friendshipsformedinWomen’sGroupLagosforthisreason Another benefitistheexperienceofsharedreading Youaremoremotivatedto readabookwhenthereisadeadlineandwhenyouwanttobeinvolved intheconversationThelastbenefitthatcomestomindistheexposure yougetfrom discussingbookswithothers Youlearnaboutnewgenres andwritersandalsolearnhowdiverseperspectives,interpretationsand opinionscanbe How canbookclubshelppeopleenjoyreadingmoreandbuild betterreadinghabits?How cantheyhelpreadersbetterimmerse themselvesinstories? Whenthere’sadatesetforabookclubmeeting,youhavetohaveread thebooktoparticipate Naturally,peopledon’twanttobeleftoutofthe discussion Afterafewmeetings,youfindthatyoumagicallyhavethe timetoreadconsistentlybecauseyouhaveformedahabitTreatreading asjustthat,ahabitYouneedtodosomethingoverandoveragain,and intime,thataction,routineorritualbecomesahabit Theexperienceofsharedreadingallowsreaderstoimmersethemselves inbooksbecauseofthefeelingthatyouarereadingasacommunityand becauseyouwanttopaycloseattentiontothenovelsothatyoucan discussitingreatdetailWhenwediscussbooks,itgivespeoplethe opportunitytorevisitthenovelInpreparationforabookclubmeeting, researchingthebookandthewriterandhighlightingparagraphsand sentencesthatyoufeelconnectedtohelpsyoubetterimmerseyourself inwhatyouread How canbookclubshelpreadersdiscovernew authorsandcreatea platform forauthorswhoaretypicallyunderrepresented? Moreoftenthannot,youreadbooksyouhaven’treadbeforewhenyou’re inabookclub Thisisbecauseeveryonedecideswhatbooksshouldbe discussedandinevitably,therewillbesomethingnew,nomatterhow wellreadyouare Agreatwaytodothisistodecidetofocusonwriters from aparticularpartoftheworld,genre,gender,sexuality,etc When youdothis,youcanexplorewritersthatfitwhatevercategoryyou’ve decidedon Focusingonwritersthatfitwithinaparticularcategorycan alsocreateaplatform forunderrepresentedwriters Forexample,African queerwritersareoftenunderrepresented Ifyoudecidetofocusonthese writers,youintroducenewreaderstotheirworkandalsosupportthem by buyingtheirbooks How dospaceslikeyourscreatespacesforpeoplewithdiverse interestsorbackgrounds? Women’sGroupLagospridesitselfonbeinganaccessibleandsafe spaceforwomeninLagos Ican’tspeakforotherbookrelatedgroups, butIfocusheavilyonmakingsurealloureventsarefreeandonly choosebooksthatareeasilyaccessibletopeoplethatliveinLagos This meansnotselectingbooksthatareexpensivehardbacksorbooksthat aren’treadilyavailableinlocalbookshops Wealsoensurethatall membersfeelcomfortablesharingtheiropinions,ideasandbeliefs withoutjudgementorfearofbeingattacked Ultimately,youhavetomake anintentionaldecisiontoensuresafety Whydoyouthinkthespaceyou'vecreatedintheWomen'sGroupis important? InNigeria,womenareveryrarelyencouragedtospeakoutandforge theirownpaths Weareforcedtoconform andaregivenveryfewsafety netswhenwestrayfrom whatisexpected Literatureisanimportant supportforwomenbecauseitallowsustoshareexperiences,reflecton ourexperiences,oursocietyandcultures,andalsogiveswomena frameworkthroughwhichtounderstandtheworldaroundthem
