If books have always felt like your happy place, and you’re looking for good conversation along with the chance to meet new people, then Bangalore’s book clubs have something for you. Here are a few worth checking out.
Under The Lamp Book Club
This is a read-along club, which means everyone reads the same book. Each month, the core team picks one title, and all the members read it before coming together to discuss it. Meetings usually happen on Sunday afternoons, from 3 to 6 pm, at popular spots like Cubbon Park or Church Street. The exact venue, though, is kept private and shared only with members. If you want to join, you will need to fill out a form linked in their Instagram bio. Once you have attended two meetings in person, you are officially considered a member and get added to their WhatsApp group.
Bengaluru Book Club
Also known as BLR Book Club, this is a lively community of readers based in the heart of Bengaluru. It does not matter if you read occasionally, consider yourself a serious bookworm, or are working on becoming a writer yourself, there’s a place for you here. The club organizes cozy reading sessions, conversations with authors, discussions on literature, and other book-related events around the city, both online and in person. Joining is completely free.
Literati SAP Book Club
Literati takes a different approach compared to most book clubs. Instead of just discussing books among themselves, the members put thought into choosing an author they would like to hear from, and then invite that author to come speak and interact with the group.
This author-focused community has been active for around seven years and now has close to 4,000 members. Over time, Literati has built a strong reputation in literary circles, so much so that authors visiting Bangalore often make a special trip to Whitefield just to attend one of their sessions. Some well-known names who’ve attended in the past include Amish Tripathi, Chetan Bhagat, Shashi Tharoor, and Mark Tully, among others.
Bangalore Ladies Book Club
This club was created to bring women together through their shared love of reading and to build a sense of community among them. As the name suggests, membership is exclusively for women. The group meets once a month, and members are free to bring up and discuss any book they like. There’s no fixed reading list.
Based in South Bangalore, the club currently has around 200 members. If you are interested in joining, you will need to get approval from the coordinator first, after which you are welcome to attend the sessions.
Dragonfly Reads Book Club
This club was started in partnership with the Dragonfly Reads bookstore, and their monthly meetings take place right there at the store. Alongside the book club, there is also a writers’ club, both are run by the same founder. To join either one, you simply need to register through the link in their Instagram bio. The group has a strong focus on contemporary Indian authors, and has read works by writers like Asha Thanki and Rahul Bhattacharya, among others.
If spending your weekend lost in a good book and then talking about it for hours with fellow readers sounds appealing, these clubs are worth exploring. And if you would rather build your own reading list before your first meetup, follow The Bombay Circle Press’s bulletin for book recommendations.