For years, the book club was easy to picture: a small group of friends, often women, meeting in someone’s home to discuss a book they had agreed to read. It was as much about friendship as it was about literature.
That picture is changing. Across Nairobi, book clubs are increasingly finding their way into cafés, restaurants, bookstores, libraries and other public spaces.
They are attracting people across generations and creating something that goes beyond reading: a reason to leave the house, meet people and have a conversation.
For a generation accustomed to connecting through screens, the simple act of gathering around a book is taking on a different meaning.
The rise of book clubs is part of a wider return to interest-based social spaces.
People are looking for ways to meet others around something they genuinely enjoy, rather than relying exclusively on traditional social settings.
Reading provides a natural starting point because it creates something to talk about while leaving room for different perspectives, experiences and personalities.
And this is not necessarily a young person’s phenomenon. Book clubs have long brought together established reading communities and older readers.
What is interesting now is the growing participation of younger adults and professionals who are finding their way into these spaces, sometimes alongside people from very different generations.
A book can create a conversation between people who might otherwise never meet. A 25-year-old professional and a 50-year-old parent may have very different life experiences, yet arrive at the same discussion with something meaningful to contribute.
The numbers suggest that the wider reading community continues to find value in this social dimension. The 2025 State of Reading Report from Everand and Fable found that 37 percent of readers surveyed participated in a book club in 2025, the same proportion as in 2024.
The report also pointed to growing interest in community-based recommendations as readers look beyond algorithm-driven discovery.
There is also a growing appetite for less conventional ways of gathering around books.
Silent Book Clubs, for example, allow people to meet in public spaces and read alongside one another without the pressure of everyone reading the same book or participating in a structured discussion.
The format reflects a wider desire for social connection without the demands of conventional socialising.
In Kenya, the growth of organised reading communities is also visible through initiatives such as Nairobi Book Club, which describes itself as a community for Nairobians looking to share stories, exchange ideas and make new friends through reading.
So, what is drawing people in?
Perhaps it is because book clubs offer something that increasingly feels scarce: intentional connection.
Much of modern social life happens through notifications, group chats and social media feeds.
A book club requires people to be present. You have to listen to another person’s interpretation, disagree thoughtfully and perhaps discover an idea you had never considered.
There is also something appealing about having a social activity that does not revolve around drinking, partying or spending large amounts of money.
The book becomes the common interest, while the real value may be the relationships and conversations that develop around it.
This shift is also changing the role of the spaces that host these communities.
Shopping malls, for instance, are increasingly looking beyond their traditional function as places to transact.
As consumers have more ways to shop from home, physical destinations have to give people reasons to visit, stay and connect.
That is where cultural and community experiences become important.
At Galleria Shopping Mall, a recent Chapter & Chill session, held in partnership with Passports and Pages, brought readers together for an afternoon centred on literature, conversation and connection.
The gathering demonstrated how a retail environment can become a meeting point for communities built around shared interests.
For Galleria, experiences such as these are part of a broader approach to creating a destination where people can do more than shop.
They can discover new interests, meet people, participate in cultural experiences and spend meaningful time together.
This is increasingly important as the role of physical spaces evolves. The question is no longer simply, What can people buy here? It is also, What can people experience here, and who can they meet?
The evolution of the book club tells us something bigger about how we socialise. People still want community.
They still want conversation. They still want places where they can meet others and feel part of something.
Perhaps what is changing is where and how we find it.
The modern book club may not look like the book club of the past. It can be a gathering of different generations, a networking opportunity, a cultural experience or simply a few hours away from a screen.
The book is still at the centre.
But increasingly, the people around it are becoming the real story.
