Best Book Clubs In Mumbai To Join If You Want To Kick-Start Your Reading Habit

Possibly one of the most active book clubs in Mumbai – Juhu book club was started off back in 2006 to initially review books. Expanding their presence on social media, it is now an extremely active book club – with its website and Facebook page organising book club meets for its members to meet and discuss the books they’ve read, are reading or intend on reading.

You can simply join there Facebook group for latest updates and meets. 

Bound Together Bombay is a public book club that meets regularly at a cafe or bar in Mumbai. Members can join in, and share their reading experiences with other book-lovers. They generally meet on Saturday afternoons, and generally the location is between Bandra or Colaba. 

There are different themes for different weeks like sports fictions, reads around the world, contemporary French, Halloween etc.

Need feedback on your writing? Caferati is for you. Writers simply need to join their Facebook group and post your writing and pieces there. Members of the group can then read your work and give feedback. Though slightly different than your average book club, Caferati, as the name suggests is a forum for writers to connect, share their work and receive feedback and criticism from other writers as well as readers.

This unique forum also organises "read meets" once a month and we've heard they also hold open mics at Prithvi Theatre on the fourth Monday of every month. At the open mic, you can perform what you have written with a choice of performing solo or with a partner. The forum is a great way to be introduced to newer authors.

A different kind of BYOB, the Mumbai chapter of Bring Your Own Book is another of the thriving book-lovers community in Mumbai. Though BYOB is a pan-India network, the Mumbai one is pretty active. The meets usually take place in cafes, parks or at someone's home. 

They also host a tiny library online on their web page (via the members who loan their books) so if you want to borrow a book, you can just reach out to the admins and you’ll be able to get it or even lend a few to other members. It’s free to join and borrow the books. A virtual library and a book club? This is every bookoholics dream come true.

#LBBTip: As part of the guidelines of their book club, they do not accept pirated versions of the books for the meet up – so if you got yours off the street, you may be in hard luck.

Hoarders of books across Mumbai can join in this group. They are probably one of the most active groups in Mumbai, online and offline. They organise multiple meets where you can discuss authors, swap books, analyse a poetry or prose etc. 

They create events regularly, mostly on Sundays for people to come and share their book readings , discuss them at length, and of course meet new people who share the same sort of passion for books as we do. They also post interesting articles and pieces that make for good reads on their Facebook page – so the members can stay up to dated with the literary community across the globe.

PS: you can also sells your books by posting on their Facebook page. 

A concept so noble and pure that we are thrilled at the mention of exchanging books with other book lovers in the city. Created in 2012, this community, though isn’t as active as it started out to be, is meant for people who want to meet up to exchange their books and their reading sessions with each other. This gives us a chance to actually step out and meet new people, talk books, lend/borrow books and so much more. Their range of events include coffee met ups, reading sessions and even talks – just for their members to come out and talk.

You can also post on the group to initiate a meet – or you can also discuss a book digitally on the group itself.

If you're thinking of a digital detox, book clubs are your best bet for new books, new authors and new friends. Time to give it a shot!