Book clubs have been cropping up everywhere in recent years, hosted by businesses, libraries and groups of friends. But what is driving this trend?

Bromley’s Books in Marquette runs three separate book clubs.

“Our first and oldest book club is Pages and Pies, which we partner with Peace Pie Company for,” said Chelsea Bromley, owner of Bromley’s Books. “I actually started that back when we had the book bus, back before we had a physical location.”

To this day, the club meets at Peace Pie Company in South Marquette.

Pictured is a book club gathering to discuss Ursula K. Le Guin’s "The Left Hand of Darkness." (Photo courtesy of Olivia Lubig)

“We have a really good group, about 20 people come,” said Bromley. “We all collectively pick our books, I’m just there to facilitate discussion. The employees of Peace Pie Company participate in the book club, they set out snacks. Peace Pie company has been such a welcoming home for us.

“Our new book club is Cabin Fever, which we’re doing for the winter. For that book club they’re selecting more weird, strange literary fiction, which I think will generate some really interesting discussions.”

Bromley’s also hosts a silent book club, part of a growing organization called Silent Book Club which describes itself on its website as “a global community of readers with 2,000 chapters in 60+ countries.”

“You bring your own book, we provide coffee and tea, and we provide a space safe for people to read a little bit, maybe talk a little bit,” said Bromley. “It’s like an introvert’s happy hour.”

It’s not just bookstores hosting book clubs these days; other businesses and organizations are getting in on the fun, too.

“(Ore Dock) has been holding a book club for over a year, maybe a year and a half now,” said Amanda Courchaine, curated events manager at Ore Dock Brewing Company in Marquette. She helps to run the brewery’s own book club, called Books and Brews.

“A buddy of the Ore Dock, Shantina Hatfield, and I were reading the same book and we were talking about it,” said Courchaine. “She kept saying ‘we need to start a book club’ and she just took the reins. It really came out of a budding friendship here at the Ore Dock, and morphed into: let’s talk about books with more people!”

The Marquette Regional History Center has joined in on the book-club craze with their Upper Peninsula History Bookclub, which meets every two months to read a different Upper Peninsula history-themed book.

“We read either historical fiction or actual nonfiction history books,” said Emi Tinder, cataloguing librarian at the John M. Longyear Research Library. “We also read regional fiction books that are old, so we read “Laughing Whitefish” by Robert Traver, and this year we’re reading “Anatomy of a Murder.” They are about here, but are also historical in their own way.”

The U.P. History Bookclub meets both in person and over Zoom, meaning it can be attended by snowbirds and those who have moved away from Marquette, as well as current residents.

“In modern times, people find a lot of value in looking back and learning lessons from things that have happened in the past,” said Tinder. “I think there’s definitely a turn towards not being able to Google things now, because Google has so much incorrect information, and misinformation in general is spreading. People like the opportunity to feel empowered to know what sources to read to learn the real story about things.”

Among all of the business and organization-run book clubs, there still exist smaller, more intimate gatherings of friends. One of these is a queer-themed book club run by Olivia Lubig in Marquette.

“Our catchphrase is ‘building community through stories,'” said Lubig.

“I care so much about advocacy and bringing people in and trying to create a public club that people know about. I think what’s so exciting is that when you walk into the room you never know what you’re going to get. It’s different every time and there’s something so special about that.”

There seems to be a throughline, though, on why book clubs are having such a moment in the community.

“People just need that connection, and that time to get together, and books provide a really unique way to have conversations when you don’t know what to talk about,” said Bromley. “Especially if you’re meeting new people, or if you want a break from what’s going on in the rest of the world.”

“As a whole, people are trying to be less on their devices,” said Courchaine. “People are enjoying the camaraderie they get in book clubs. It’s like homework, but fun.”

“It’s a place to build community,” said Tinder.

“Book clubs are a way to go out and be social without as much of the pressure,” said Lubig. “Going out to bars, going up and talking to new people can be so intimidating but at bookclub everyone’s there because they want to socialize and they want to make friends. Everyone’s there for the same reason.”

So for those looking to get off their phones and meet new people, a book club might be the way to go.

“You can talk about big ideas through literature,” said Bromley. “I’ve seen that through the conversations we have at the book club. It also gives people a way to connect with other people, and share their own stories if they’re comfortable. It’s been a great way that I’ve seen strangers become friends.”

Bromley’s Pages and Pies book club meets the first Wednesday of the month at Peace Pie Company at 5 p.m. Their Cabin Fever book club meets the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. inside of the bookstore and their silent book club is held the third Sunday of the month from 2-5 p.m. More information can be found on Bromley’s Books’ Facebook page.

Ore Dock Brewing Company’s Ales and Tales book club is held the last Monday of the month at 6.30 p.m. More information can be found on Ore Dock Brewing Company’s Facebook page.

The Marquette Regional History Center’s Upper Peninsula History Book Club is held inside of the history center, as well as on Zoom. Their next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 18. More information can be found at the Marquette Regional History Center website.

The Queer Book Club is held once every six weeks in Peter White Public Library. The next meeting is at 6 p.m. Feb. 23. More information can be found at @queerbookclubmqt on Instagram.

“Even if you’re wondering if book club is right for you, even if you haven’t read the book, come to one of our book clubs and then you can sit down and listen to the conversation, have some banter, it’s still fun,” said Courchaine. “Just pop in and hang out.”

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext.550