Why people are taking books to nightclubs

Sample this: You are in a club. There’s music, there are people, dim lights and a whole lot of ambience. But no one is dancing like crazy. Why? Because everyone is busy flipping through the pages of a book. Yes, books in a club.

That's how you know you have entered the reading rave.

Recently, a video from Japan’s ‘Jucy Book Rave’ has gone viral. It shows a group of adults sitting inside a dimly lit club, with some aesthetically placed lamps and what looks like a carpeted floor for people to relax. There’s also a DJ playing ambient music in the background. Reportedly, the event took place at an underground club called Spread in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo.

What’s a reading rave?

Well, the term pretty much says it all. Much like coffee raves, wellness raves and even toddler raves, this is a rave (party) for book lovers — or anyone who wants to read a book with a vibe.

Think of it as a reading club, but a little more hip. Unlike a traditional book club, however, it’s not important that everyone reads the same book.

The format is simple: bring your own book, find a comfortable spot and read alongside other bibliophiles. There is usually music playing softly in the background, drinks or coffee on offer, and sometimes a little time to chat before or after the reading session. There is no assigned book, no pressure to finish a certain number of pages and, importantly, no expectation to make small talk while you’re reading.

In fact, that is what makes the format interesting. You can be alone without actually being alone. You can come by yourself, sit among strangers and still feel part of something.

Some reading raves also leave room for journalling, sketching, book swaps or simply sitting around and doing your own thing.

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Japan is not the first

While the video from Japan’s book rave is making social media rounds, it’s not the first to do so. Versions of reading raves have been taking place from a while across the world.

For instance, a reading rave in Amsterdam also went viral earlier this year, where people came together to read on the rooftop of the NEMO Science Museum. Then there’s Book Doof in Melbourne, which organises reading raves in bars, libraries and other unconventional spaces.

While the trend is all over social media, there doesn’t seem to be a reading rave in India yet, at least not one that has made waves. Maybe someone is already planning one as you read this.

A new social trend?

Book clubs have been around forever. Bibliophiles have always found ways to meet, discuss books and, in the process, find their tribe. Reading, too, has long been a staple of hobby culture.

But there’s a new kind of experimentation underway: making reading a “cooler” way to socialise. Being constantly online has become almost second nature — or perhaps first, considering the doomscrolling, endless notifications and steady stream of digital noise. Being offline, on the other hand, now requires a little planning.

That, perhaps, explains the newfound appeal of book raves, hobby-maxxing and other deliberately low-tech pursuits. From reading retreats and literary tourism to social reading clubs and book-themed gatherings, there’s clearly more happening around books than simply, well, reading them.

And that’s how a new generation is doing it: make it communal, make it aesthetic and, if possible, give it a name.