Moving towards IRL Connection
On why I’m starting a Horror themed Book Club…
I can’t be the only one experiencing screen fatigue. Even virtual meetings (Zoom, Teams, and the like) or chatting via texts and DMs sometimes leave me feeling empty. I spend most of my day staring at screens for work, writing projects, to text, to like a post, to make a post, and to see family on a video call. I don’t know about you, but my eye’s are killing me.
As a writer, I’m often locked away, focusing intently and staring into a computer as I type away for hours. It’s a solitary task, and when I’m not writing, I’m reading, which is also a solitary task. But what if it doesn’t have to be?
What if we read a book and got together in person to talk about it? Here’s another wild idea—what if we sometimes hung out and read together? And another one—what if we read something that made us feel out of the ordinary like shock, terror, grief, or disgusted? We’re way too comfortable with our little screens and with things that make us feel good. What if we allowed ourselves to get uncomfortable?
This is why I’m starting an in real life horror themed book club—the Spine Chillers Society—that meets once a month at a local cafe in my town of Fort Lee, NJ to discuss that month’s read over coffee and pastries using guided prompts. Occasionally, we’ll also host casual reading meetups where members can bring their current book and simply enjoy reading together. Right now, the goal is to build a small in person community in North Jersey, and depending on the response from non-Jerseyans, I’ll consider extending the club to NYC, but one step at a time.
If you’re reading this and thinking that you’re no where close to NJ or NYC but would like to read along, you can join the Spine Chillers Society Substack which is open to everyone. There, you will find the month’s selection, discussion prompts if you’d like to reflect on your own, and the occasional horror recommendation, or you can join the book club group chat at the paid tier.
If you’re curious in learning more, sharing with folks that live nearby, or if you’re in the area and want to read something chilling with us, click here.
I’m so excited about this new chapter. Pun intended.