Book People are the Best People: How Community Promotes Self Care

Did you know that being in a community of readers is not only fun, but can promote self-care and well-being?

In today's episode, I provide some examples of how communities can increase our self-care, and some ways in which to find your book people.

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Full Show Notes (Transcript)…

Hi there, I'm Stephanie Leopold and I am excited to welcome you to the Readerly Collective Podcast, where bookworms unite and geeking out is highly encouraged. Join me as we explore the world of books in the reading life, celebrating all types of readers and all types of genres. Grab your favorite beverage, cozy up in your reading nook, and let's dive in.

Hey there, readers. As always, I hope you are having a great day and are reading some great books. As we are continuing this month's topic of reading as self care, we are going to dive in today about how finding your community, your book people, is a great way and a great addition to “fill your cup. “ If you listened to last week's episode, we kind of went through a couple of examples, analogies, putting your own oxygen mask on, filling your own cup before you pour into others. I like the fill your cup analogy, so that's just what I use. So how finding a book community can help improve caring for yourself, and also make your reading experience even better. If you love reading, we know that usually, this is a solo hobby. We typically read by ourselves. The issue with that hobby is that, as humans, we are wired for connection with others. That's why community is so important. So in today's episode, I'm going to share with you some of the benefits of having a book community around you (in case you weren't aware of the benefits) and how it helps in caring for yourself - in your self care. So you're a reader, and maybe you struggle with finding people to talk to about books, or maybe finding the right people to talk about the books that you really love and are currently reading Maybe you are a little bit of a slower reader, or you are a busy human and struggle finding time to read and feel like a traditional book club, having a selected book, is a little bit too much pressure. Maybe you feel some anxiety like “oh my gosh, I have to get this read in order to participate,” or if you struggle with anxiety, maybe it's thinking “I'm going to say the wrong thing in this group, and what are they going to think of me? Are they going to think I even read the book?” So hopefully after today, you are not only going to understand a little bit better the benefits of finding your book people, and I'm also going to give you some ideas as to where you might find these people.

Let's get into it. So how reading communities, book clubs, your book people, help in your self care, how they help fill your cup. One, just like I said earlier, we are wired for connection as humans and so just being in social interactions, , I know sometimes for us introverts can be draining, but we also need it to some degree (some of us need it more than others). But we do need social interaction and we are wired for connection. Finding your book community can be a chance to meet new people, build friendships, and have this common ground of our love for reading.

All right, next, once we meet those meet those people, build those friendships, and share our love of books and reading through those social interactions, we also get an emotional connection. We can get a sense that we are not alone in this passion. We are not alone with our thoughts about the book or characters. It can be really validating when we share our thoughts and opinions and know there is someone else who also feels that way. Side story, I was actually out with a group of girlfriends. We all met because we were working at Barnes Noble, so they are my book people and we’re all over the age of 40 (which is fine!) I was talking about now that I'm over 40, I really love this emergence of older characters doing really fun things, and also being a little curmudgeonly. One of my friends said “If you like that you’ve got to read this book” and I said “guess what? I already have!” And so it was validating that we enjoyed the same book. We agree that this book is a fun read with older characters. So you get that validation with your book people. And even if you don't agree with thoughts or opinions on a book or character that you're reading, Guess what…?

Then you get mental stimulation! You're maybe getting new perspectives or thinking “oh my gosh I really loved this book” and someone else really didn’t like it, and then you can discuss it! And it can just be a great way to have conversations around differing opinions.

Book clubs and communities may also also provide a sense of routine or structure in your life, if that is something you are looking for. Most clubs that I'm aware of usually meet on a monthly basis. It's usually a set schedule, and that also might be beneficial in helping you get into a reading routine, if you don't have one already. I know I've worked with people that are stay at home moms with their kiddos and their kids are getting a little bit older and they're trying to find something to do, and to add some sort of structure to their day, and I usually recommend book clubs If they like reading. They get you out of the house, gets you some structure, if you need that sort of thing, that also can be a benefit for you.

And then, this is certainly not the last piece of community, but it is the last piece that I'm going to discuss. And that is it provides stress relief. With this social interaction and the emotional connection, talking with friends, especially about the books you're reading, can be a really healthy distraction from day to day life, from the stress of work and family. When my friends and I went out, we weren't specifically focused on books, but we always get around to talking about books. We were out for lunch. And so we talk about books, but then it inevitably goes to “oh, yeah, if you like this book, you might want to watch this show” and then it gets into something so off topic and we just find ourselves laughing. It just goes back to that these are my people and It's not only a healthy distraction from the daily life, but sometimes it's just good to share life with others. I'm getting off on a tangent, but it just lightens the load a little bit, when we're able to talk about things with our friends and with people who share our love of reading. And who doesn't need stress relief? We all need stress relief, I think. That's what self care is, is how do I fill my cup? How do I lighten the load? How do I share the weight? Community can do that; your book people can do that.

Next - Tips on finding your book people. Of course, online groups. There are probably a bajillion different Facebook groups, Instagram and BookTok creators that are reading the books that you like. That's one easy way. You can find your book people through book podcasts, just like this one. If you like what they're saying, if their message resonates with you, if they're talking about the books you enjoy, figure out where they're hanging out. Are they on Instagram? Are they on Facebook? And that can be a way you can also find your book people. Of course there are traditional book clubs, and that could be a great way to meet new people and discover new books. Traditional book clubs are a little bit trickier, I think, because if you are kind of tied to a specific genre or you, maybe not tied, but you know exactly what you like to read and you don't want to read the books you don't want to read, that can be a little bit more difficult in a traditional book club, but still something to check out.

And another great way to find your book people is to join the Readerly Collective membership. (Beautiful segue, right?) The waitlist is open now! This is an online book community that is not a traditional book club. You can go to www.thereaderlycollective.com/membershipwaitlist to read all about the details. Get signed up for the waitlist. Be the first to know when the doors open. I created this membership because I know that community is so important and I also wanted it to be a no pressure to read the same book, and no pressure to read a ton. You know, some people in book communities that can read a book a day, and if you are that person, you are totally welcome too. But this membership is for my busy humans that are really love to read, and would really like to do more of it and figure out how to fit that in to your life. That's what I'm here for - it's the perfect book community for you, if I do say so myself.

So I hope that gave you some ideas about how beneficial community is and why it's important to find community because reading is such an isolated hobby. So, let me know what you think, how and where have you found your book communities and your book people? I would love to know all the details because book people are the best people. So until next week, friends, take care.

Well that closes another chapter on this week's episode of the Readerly Collective podcast. Remember the conversation doesn't have to end here. Connect with me on Instagram at the Readerly Collective or over in our Facebook group. All you have to do is search the Readerly Collective.

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