What Does Book Club Fiction Even Mean??
The ever-expanding genre that no one really knows what it exactly is
Can you honestly say what the definition for book club fiction is?
Don’t go looking it up online, I want you to think for just a minute about what exactly do you think book club fiction is. Sure, you could probably recommend a book that would be popular with book clubs or just spew out the latest books featured as celebrity book club picks. But do you even know what makes these particular books “book club fiction”?
No? That’s what I figured, and it’s not like I have much of a better answer towards this literary phenomenon especially with the rise of the elusive celebrity book clubs.
So What is Book Club Fiction?
I’m not bringing this question up with absolutely no basis to it. When I looked up exactly what the definition of book club fiction is for a potential article post, none of the articles I read could give me a clear cut definition of what book club fiction is supposed to be.
Take, for example, this definition of book club fiction that I found from Blue Pencil Agency, a literary consulting firm:
Book club fiction does usually sit here, but the key is that these novels get the reader thinking about topics; they give you something to talk about, and they have broad appeal. A story that asks questions about complex issues or one in which you’re not sure whether to agree with the protagonist’s choices as the novel progresses could be aimed at this market.
While it explains a little bit about the purpose behind book club fiction, it doesn’t explain what it’s really supposed to mean. The Darling Axe, a novel development firm, almost has an identical definition of book club fiction with an added emphasis of these books needing to address current and controversial themes.
These two definitions basically summarize book club fiction as books that are supposed to make people think.
Yet, isn’t the goal of most books is to get people to think?
The Formulaic Mold of Celebrity Book Club Picks
Part of what inspired me to write this article was that for the longest time, I always felt that the books getting picked for these celebrity book clubs are often telling the exact same story (albeit for some changes in regards to the book’s circumstances). For Reese’s Book Club, many of the books selected by Reese Witherspoon have similar plot concepts and targeted for the same type of readers that make up the readership for Reese’s Book Club. I know there are plenty of outliers that Reese has selected for her book club, but that thought always remains in my mind whenever Reese announces her latest pick.
Some of the other celebrity book clubs there’s a bit more variety in the types of stories and authors that get selected, but the thought remains on what are the decision-making processes that come with these celebrity book club picks. I could go on about what I think that decision-making process is like for a celebrity book club just like Reese’s, but that’s an article for another day.
Epilogue
Basically, I know as much about what book club fiction is as much as you do. Sorry if you thought I was coming on here to give you a play-by-play on defining such a vague genre.
However, I do want to end with this article with this: if books are meant to make people think, then maybe any book could be book club fiction.
Yes, you’re always going to have books out there that seem more designed to work for book clubs, especially books being promoted as a potential celebrity book club pick.
At the same time, the notions of what a book club is continues to span. More genre-specific book clubs are popping up all the time and I even seen book clubs where members choose their own books to read for the month based off of a chosen theme selected by the group.
That being said, maybe book club fiction is what you want to make out of it. And I guess I’m fine with that. Maybe you are too.
Thank you for reading this post! Let me know in the comments below what you think of this article as well as what you think book club fiction is. Make sure to like subscribe for more bookish content, including more deep dives and personal commentary into book club culture.
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"Sorry if you thought I was coming on here to give you a play-by-play on defining such a vague genre." 💀 I snorted my coffee lol!