Open Book Club Novels & Stories

“Bree, what was that?” Brianna was occupied flipping through the first book, so she didn’t answer at first. He saw her shocked expression and got by her side to check the name of the book she was reading. ‘The peacemaker fallacy: waging war as a business strategy’ Nate frowned, trying to make sense out the title. “Bree, what is it?” “Love… it’s about the Council. All of them, look.” She got a few pieces of paper that didn’t belong to any book and showed him what she saw.

“You’re one of those conspiracy people.” “I am,” she said proudly. “Thank you for noticing.” I poured tea into mugs and added sugar, too much, as usual. Bailey watched, horrified. “Sweet tea,” she said, sounding like she’d discovered a crime. “You’re a sweet tea person.” “Yes,” I said, defensive on principle. Bailey leaned closer, eyes gleaming. “Okay. So here’s what we do. We start a book club.” I blinked. “What?” “A book club,” she repeated, like it was obvious. “For romance. Specifically romantic fantasy. Specifically.” she lowered her voice again, conspiratorial “ the ones with wolves.”

I just finished five chapters in one sitting. I grabbed my phone, opened Telegram, and went to my chat group, Lovely Buricats 💦. It's a lively space filled with writers, and as usual, I was late to the conversation. I started back-reading their earlier messages, trying to catch up on the chatter I had missed. Born to Be Wild: Uggghh. Guys! Let's hit a bar tonight. I'm feeling down. How about the new Paradox Club? It just opened let's check it out.

"Billy? Huh, oh yeah, I'm fine. Yes. Lunch today, right." "Good, can't wait." She smiled again and left him with his jaw hanging open and a deer in the headlights gaze. When she got back to her desk, she sent Nicki a text asking him if he wanted to meet her for dinner and they could maybe go over their book club reading together. They met on Thursdays every other week for their book club. Most of the time, she got through half the book before she gave up and read the last chapter. Nicki would fill her in on the way over to the meeting what parts she was missing.

I sat on Xavier's lap, Dane and Theo on either side of me as we chatted with their parents, Marilyn already popping one of the faerie bottles and pouring four glasses. She handed one to me and I blinked in surprise. "If you're joining Book Club, you'll need to get use to the buzz." She winked. My ears twitched and they all chuckled. "You'd allow me to join your Book Club?" I asked, Xavier squeezing me sweetly. The mother's smiled at me, sitting shoulder to shoulder beside Dane. "Theo says you're reader of classics." I smiled and nodded. "I love them." Thena pulled out a bag from under the table.

says Lu. "Is it against a rival school?" asks Valence, "ASI?" "Yeah. It's got all the teens, even the teachers, all riled up," says Lu, "the library club went out and made a number of posters for it, and everyone's all excited for it." "Speaking of posters," I say, "did you guys hear about an Open Day?"

“Toke and I share a similar taste. We both belong in the same community of-” “Writers,” I quickly cut in, scowling at Chike. “We met in a book club,” “When did you have time to join or go to a book club?” Felicia looks at me with raised eyebrows. “It’s an online book club, like a community of readers,” Chike adds. “Oh, that’s nice,” Felicia expresses. “Toke loves books more than any other thing.” The conversation changes as they bring up another topic which is discussed for some time, and before we know it, two hours was gone.

Yet here I was, in this room full of people who had chosen me, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. I smiled, a real one this time, and sat at the center of the circle. April clapped her hands together, bubbling in excitement. “Okay, enough of the emotional display. Let’s get to work. Book Club is officially back in session!” Laughter filled the room. We started tossing around ideas for the next reading list, but the discussion quickly turned into a chaotic mess of inside jokes and playful teasing. Maya insisted we include something “dark and brooding,” while Sammy argued for something “funny, because God knows we all need to laugh more.” April rolled her eyes and wrote both

"You stop reading because it feels like work instead of escape." "Exactly," I said, relieved that he got it without me having to explain. "I keep rereading the same pages and realizing I don't remember anything I just read." He smiled. "That's why book club helps. Other people keep you accountable. I’m part of a book club actually that started out in January. It’s just a dozen people, and we read different genres every week. But it’s so nice, and it helps to keep me accountable because without it, I won’t even read anything."

Her hair was bright pink, her nails painted black, and she wore a T‑shirt that said “Books Before Boys.” “You’re new,” she said, handing me my drink. “Is it that obvious?” “You have that look. The ‘I just moved here and I don’t know anyone’ look.” She leaned on the counter. “I had it too, two years ago. It fades.” I laughed. “How long did it take?” “About a week. Then I found the book club.” “Book club?” She grabbed a flyer from under the counter and handed it to me. “Tuesday nights. The Spined Fox bookstore. We read everything from literary fiction to trashy romance. No judgment.”