All About Book Club (2024)

an overview and an invitation

One of the reasons I moved my writing to Substack a year or two ago is the ability for us to interact—not only me and you, but also you with each other. That feature was a huge added value, especially for someone whose writing explores the intersection of faith, belonging, and being a person.

Internet life offers us numerous ways to be social, and I’ve formed many substantial friendships that had their origin stories in the land of screens. For that, I’m grateful. But I remain a firm believer that in order for us to be as human together as possible, sooner or later, we have to engage all the senses. We need to do more than simply read a response, allowing our imaginations and/or assumptions to fill in the gaps. We need to look into each other’s eyes, hear the way our voices fluctuate when telling a story, or sense how our bodies shift in our chairs.

Human connection requires more than the exchange of information or ideas, so . . . I began a book club.

Human Together Book Club does not solve all the ills of internet socialization (spoiler alert: we still gather through Zoom and stare at one another through screens), but I do think it’s a place we can move closer. Whether through the books we read or our discussions, it’s a space for us to let the words of others foster conversation, expand the ways we see each other, and perhaps shift our postures toward God, ourselves, and the wider world.

At least, that’s the goal. And I invite you to read along with us. Here are all the details.

What to Expect

We read one book per month and then gather on Zoom on the first Thursday¹ of the following month at 8 pm ET (full schedule below). I provide discussion questions a week or so in advance, for those of us who like to reflect beforehand. There’s no expectation that you have to finish a book in order to join the gathering or participate in our chat. No one will ask you to raise your hand or give a book report. The book is simply a jumping-off place for us to talk and listen about topics related to our experiences as people.

What We’re Reading

I have preselected our books for 2024, so we can get our library holds in early or save up our book-buying dollars. Here’s a list of what we’ll be reading.

A note about the summer months: Because my book The Way of Belonging: Reimagining Who We Are and How We Relate releases June 11, I would love for us to read it together. BUT I also know summer can be a little wild and out of the normal rhythms, we are going to read at a different pace, reading slowly over the course of June, July, and August. (Here is a secret: summer book club will be free for anyone who preorders the book, including current subscribers. More details on that to come, but just know it’s ahead.) You can preorder The Way of Belonging wherever you buy books (Amazon, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble), but if you prefer to order direct through the publisher, you can use the code IVPOD25 through July 31, 2024 for an additional 25% off the preorder price.²

“Septemoir” will be fun, kind of like a show-and-tell where we each pick a memoir to read and then bring it to our gathering to share with the group. (We’ll say a few sentences about whether or not we liked the book and what stuck with us.) We will also take December off, because no one needs one more thing in December.

How to Join

Book Club is a perk of upgrading your subscription to Human Together. Along with Book Club, you also get access to extended episodes of the Human Together podcast and to quarterly essay series (deep dives into a particular topic versus the standalone essays that are free for all).³

You can upgrade your subscription in one of two ways:

• Become a monthly or annual paid subscriber. In addition to giving you full access to all the things, the cost of a subscription supports my work and helps cover practical costs of keeping things running. (Thank you!)

• Request a complimentary subscription. I never want money to be a barrier, so if you’d like to upgrade your subscription and be a part of book club, all you have to do is email me (sarah@sarahewestfall.com) and ask for a complimentary subscription, no questions asked.

From there, you will receive all Book Club announcements, discussion guides, and gathering invitations.

current book club read (it’s not to late to join us for February!)

Questions?

It’s Monday as I’m writing this, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten something. If I didn’t cover a question you have, you can email me (sarah@sarahewestfall.com) or simply leave a comment. (That might be helpful for others who share the same question.) I hope to see you at Book Club.

1. A few exceptions do apply, because of holidays or bonus gatherings, etc. Please check out the gathering calendar for specific dates and times.

2. Note that you will be charged shipping, so the actual preorder price may not budge all that much if you get free shipping elsewhere. But, if you prefer to order direct from the publisher, it helps! A huge thanks to my publisher InterVarsity Press for allowing me to extend this offer.

3. One perk of Substack is that you can adjust your subscription at any time, so if you don’t want to receive weekly podcast episodes or the latest chat thread, you can go into Manage Subscription > Notifications and turn off what you don’t want sent to your inbox.