For as long as books have existed, people have been gathering to discuss them. The places where these discussions take place have always been diverse, from libraries, bookshops and living rooms to, more recently, digital spaces. No matter where or how people gather to talk about books, the number of people participating in book clubs is on the rise despite being in the digital age. According to MinnPost, it is estimated that more than 5 million Americans belong to a book club. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The history of book clubs in America is intimately tied to women's desire to create a space to express their thoughts and opinions. The first recorded “literary club” in the United States was founded in 1634 by Anna Hutchinson, a Puritan settler. Here women gathered to discuss sermons and the Bible. Although Hutchinson's group was eventually banished by suspected Puritan males, these meetings served as the beginning of the tradition of analytical discussion among women about serious texts. Margaret Fuller founded the first bookstore-sponsored club in Boston in 1840, and by the turn of the century, women's literary societies were thriving. Although until the mid-19th century women were often excluded from intellectual gatherings and from most colleges and universities, participation in these groups to talk about books forged an accessible way for women to participate in discussions of literary discourse. The modern book club we most recognize today began in the 1980s, when discount bookstore chains made books more widely available. This diminished the need for popular mail-order book clubs that began when Harry Scherman, an American publisher, created the Book of the Month Club in 1926. Rose Lanczynski, a retired bank manager, spoke of the growing popularity of book clubs in the 80s. “I have always loved books. I can't remember a time when books weren't an essential part of my life. It seemed that book clubs were popping up in many public libraries around this time as they created the perfect space to discuss literature with others. However, as a mother of young children during this time, Lanczynski felt as if she had been left out of this movement as "It seemed like when I finally found a book club in the area that I could join, I couldn't find the time to participate in a meeting. I worked full time and had young children. Even though I had a strong desire to talk about books with others, going to a book club meeting never seemed possible before announced that The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard, a debut novelist at the time, would be her book club's first selection on live television. Calling it one of her favorite TV moments of all time, Winfrey sparked an uproar. wave of reading and discussion not only among its viewers but across the United States on the bestseller lists, even those published more than fifty years ago, including Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, first published in 1877. The Opera Effect led to sales of 70 book titles totaling about 55 million copies, according to Al Greco, a marketing professor at Fordham University. While not all picks have been free of validated controversy, like the most recent pick American Dirt, the author still has Oprah to thank for the publicity. While Oprah Winfrey's book club may be one of the most influential, the rise of digital book clubs have helped make them even moreaccessible and gave an update to the traditional book club. While some might have thought that book clubs would decline with the increasing use of social media, this appears to be having the opposite effect. Book lovers are embracing the ability to bring the conversation about the books they're reading to social media. Digital book clubs have created a space where readers from around the world can interact not only with each other but also with authors while discussing books with a diverse community. Digital book clubs are thriving on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Goodreads. Celebrities have particularly enjoyed creating book clubs on Instagram, where they use their large followings to inspire their audiences with new reading suggestions. In late 2015, Vogue magazine went so far as to call Instagram Oprah's new book club. Reese Witherspoon was one of the first celebrities to embrace Instagram as a medium for an online book club when she created Hello Sunshine in July 2017. Witherspoon chose Dove Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens to be the book club's next reading adventure in September 2018 , a debut novel written by an author whose name was not known to many. When this book was first published, its circulation was 27,5000 copies. After being selected to join Witherspoon's book club, he has since sold more than 1.4 million print units, according to NPD Bookscan. This particular title went from being a book known by few to one that people couldn't seem to get enough of, finding itself at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for 52 weeks. While not every book that was selected by Witherspoon's book club became sensations, most were respectable successes. Other celebrities, like Emma Roberts and Jenna Bush Hager, have followed suit by creating successful book clubs on Instagram. These posts easily reach their thousands of followers, encourage book discussions in comment sections, and create a sense of community online. In many ways, digital book clubs allude to the tradition of book clubs and how they began by giving a voice to those who followed them. who needed it. In many cases, these online book clubs choose to read books written by women and people of color. Of Hager's book club, which started in May 2019, only one of the 12 selected books was written by a male author, and six of them were written by women of color. Celebrity book clubs aren't the only ones raising awareness of diverse voices though. More book clubs are popping up that focus on bringing the stories of women and people of color to the forefront. Book clubs like Badass Women's Book Club and For Colored Girls Book Club, both hosted on Instagram, are curating a digital space to celebrate diverse storytelling, which hasn't always been emphasized in the past. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of digital book clubs is that they have paved the way for discussion about books to be more accessible. Whereas before, those who couldn't commit to attending meetings in person or perhaps didn't want to interact face-to-face were excluded. Rose Lanzynski said that if digital book clubs had existed when her children were still young and she couldn't find time to attend meetings, she wouldn't have missed out on the chance to participate in something she would really enjoy. It could have become part of the conversation. Rhett Thompson, a current medical student, has been able to participate in online book clubs despite his.