We all know that feeling when we discover something really exciting and want to share the experience with another. Book lovers feel ten times the excitement when they come across a book they want to talk about with a fellow book lover. You know, dissecting hidden meanings and formulating theories and all of that. And it's really disappointing when they aren't able to find an enthusiastic listener. Trust us, we know. Bring Your Own Book, better known as BYOB, solves that problem and ensures that there are always throngs of people you can discuss the book with. How? Through their monthly meetups. Think of it as a book club with a twist because here, you don't only talk about the book you even get to lend it and in return, borrow another's book. What a novel way to keep the reading habit alive, meet fellow book lovers and discuss books, all wrapped in one!
BYOB was started in New Delhi by Nidhi Srivastava, who is an avid reader herself. She started the club back in 2015 and since then, has helped start chapters of the club in various cities including Hyderabad. Their recent event was conducted last week in Gachibowli. To think that the first meet was at 29-year-old Srivastava's house where 20 plus people participated and "luckily, am still friends with a few of them," she exclaims. When the regulars from her other chapters start shifting to new cities, they start chapters there too. That's how the Hyderabad chapter was started. Pooja Pimputkar works as an insurance regulator at IRDAI here. She shifted from Mumbai and started BYOB here. "Our meets are usually freewheeling chats about the books we are currently reading. In fact, sometimes we have a book hangover and keep discussing the same book every month," says the 28-year-old and laughs, adding that their recent obsession was Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.
The process of setting up a BYOB is pretty simple, you just need to reach out to Srivastava or Co-founder, Jayanti Jha. "Then, we reach out to other people in our network who are in the same city, post on Facebook that we are starting a chapter," says Srivastava, who works at Friendicoes, an animal shelter in New Delhi. "It is very important to have a core team in place as they are incharge of coordination and ensuring that the borrowed books are given back," she explains. To keep participants engaged post the meet, they also have a newsletter in place which not only features details of the next meet but occasionally has news from the world of books and calls for donations, as they need funds to operate their website. "People who read are the best people in the world," gushes Srivastava towards the end of our conversation and we cannot help but agree.
Books to bring to the club
Srivastava lets us in on the books that are always popular within the club
Call Me By Your Name
Actually, it's any book which has been adapted into a movie recently or vice versa.
Emma Watson's Book Club
Recently, actor Emma Watson had launched a book club where she recommended books to read. All those books were quite popular in BYOB.
Indian-origin writers
BYOB just can't seem to get enough of Indian-origin writers like Vikram Seth, Jhumpa Lahiri and Arundhati Roy
Books which win prestigious awards
All those books which win awards are popular. The current favourite is Jasmine Days which one the JCB Prize for Literature
For more on them, click on bringyourownbook.org
