Virtual Bookclub
Keep friendships alive & strong even over distance!
We will post a review each month 😊
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Life Balance
Moving long distances can drastically change our social lives. Life balance requires the proper mix of social, family, work, and spiritual activities. How do we do that when we move?
“ A virtual book club is a great way to keep friendships alive and strong over long distances.”
The Start Of Our Virtual Book Club
In July of 2020, I and two of my close friends (I’ll call them G and K) decided to start a book club together. The problem was, I lived in Washington, they lived in Arizona, and we were still in the middle of a pandemic. Because of the pandemic, socializing was taking new forms. However, and to be honest, I was now in contact with my friends more than I had been before COVID hit. We were FaceTiming more, texting more, and sending cards and letters via snail mail. Covid was a wake up call, I believe, to stay in touch with friends and family more.
We wanted to add something new to the mix. Starting a book club seemed like a great idea, as we all loved to read - and share what we were reading with one other. We also loved the idea of getting out of our comfort zones regarding our usual reading genres. Due to the distance between us, the book club would be virtual. A virtual book club is a great way to keep friendships alive and strong over distance.
We decided on one book per month, rotating who would choose each month. K shared the PopSugar reading prompts with us, and we decided to use those to choose our books from.
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2020
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2021
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2022
Extra Benefits Of Our Virtual Book Club
Besides getting to share in the experience of reading the books we chose together, we knew that at least once per month we would all be on a video call together. That face time was so needed, and was so precious. It’s hard living in another state from friends, especially as people get older, and life just seems to get busier and busier. But now we have a minimum of a once-a-month book date. And, of course, we don’t just talk about our book from that month; it is also an opportunity to check in on one another, and catch up on life – work, kids, significant others, etc. On occasion, we do have to postpone, or merge two months together, and that is okay. The point is staying connected with friends and doing something together that we all enjoy.
Still Together!
Two and a half years later, we are still going strong! We are still using the PopSugar prompts and are currently making our way through our February book pick from G.
Below is a list of all the books we read together from July 2020-December 2022.
For 2023 and beyond we will create a new post for each year including each book, the prompt, and the post will be updated monthly with our average rating once we have finished the book and our book club has met!
Pro tip: Goodreads is a fantastic resource to track the books you have read, want to read, and are currently reading. You can read reviews and create your own bookshelves for different needs. They also have a section where you can create a yearly reading challenge to challenge yourself to read more! Add me as a friend if you’d like to see what I’ve been reading! 😊
July 2020 (Aleah): Sorry I Missed You by Suzy Krause
August 2020 (G): Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
September 2020 (K): The Last Mrs. Parrish by Live Constantine
October 2020 (A): A Fire Sparkling by Julianne MacLean
November 2020 (G): The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
December 2020 (K): A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
January 2021 (A): The Switch by Beth O’Leary
February 2021 (G): Heart of the Matter by Emily Griffin
March 2021 (K): Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
April 2021 (A): The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes
May 2021 (G): Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
June 2021 (K): The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
July 2021 (A): Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
August 2021 (G): Love & Other Words by Christine Lauren
September 2021 (K): The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
October 2021 (A): The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang (this is part of a series)
November 2021 (G): Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
December 2021 (K): Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
January 2022 (A): Shipped by Angie Hockman
February 2022 (G): Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire
March 2022 (K): Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
April 2022 (A): The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary
May 2022 (G): The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
June 2022 (K): One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
July 2022 (A): Always Only You by Chloe Liese
August 2022 (G): Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer
September 2022 (K): The Radium Girl: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
October 2022 (A): The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox
November 2022 (G): The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
December 2022 (K): The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking
Don’t let distance get between you and your friends!
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