Book clubs and the Internets

The Economist reports on book clubs and the Internets:

Surveys consistently reveal a thwarted desire among adults to read more, with work emails and mindless social-media scrolling being the main thieves of time that could otherwise be spent on a good book. Yet it is precisely these tools that are also enabling vast numbers of people to enter into dialogues, discover new writers and instigate friendships.

Elaine and I belong to a reading club that meets offline, virtually every day. Synchronous reading. Right now, Balzac’s Cousin Bette. And gosh, does Bette Fischer remind me of Avital Ronell.

As the formal study of literature continues to wane, informal reading groups will likely take on greater and greater importance. See George Steiner on “houses of reading.”