Reading clubs are trendier than ever

From living rooms to cafés, from Ghent to Schellebelle: in Flanders, reading clubs are flourishing like never before. ‘They are younger, more diverse and more popular than ever – thanks to social media and celebs like Dua Lipa.’ In “De wereld van Sofie” on Radio 1, book lover and reading club expert Steven Van Ammel gave an insight into this renewed literary movement. He also shared some practical tips for those who want to start their own book club.

‘There is enormous diversity,’ says Steven Van Ammel, manager of Passa Porta bookshop in Brussels and inspirer of the book festival of the same name, in “De wereld van Sofie” on Radio 1. For a series in De Standaard, he visited 18 reading clubs in Flanders, and what struck him most was the diversity: ‘From a poetry club in Ghent to an expat club in Leuven and a reading group of the Boerinnenbond in Schellebelle – everywhere people sit together to talk about books.’
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Translated with DeepL.com (free version)