Are Book Clubs the New Dating App?

Our new poll explores the seductive power of reading together

It should come as no surprise that books help people connect with one another. The simple act of reading lets us inhabit other worlds and other experiences, providing us with a better understanding of, well, everything. What's more, when we read something that affects us, we long to share it and discuss it with others. That's why we decided to take a closer look at the role that book clubs play in our culture.

Conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by ThriftBooks, our newest poll looks at the many ways that book clubs are helping readers expand their reading horizons, improve mental health, and make new connections.

Don't just read about meet-cutes!

Our poll of 2,000 American book club members found that nearly one in four of them (23%) had connected with someone romantically at their club—regardless of the subject matter of the books. And it turns out that men were significantly more likely to report having met a love interest at a reading group as compared to women (38% vs. 16%).

The study also found that 44 percent of respondents would rather meet a romantic partner at their book club than on a dating app. Breaking it down by generation, Gen X (45%) and Gen Z (47%) were most likely to opt for a book club meet-cute over a dating app.

If you're looking to meet a special someone, through a book club or some other way, here are some popular relationship books that could help inform your pursuit:

• Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel S. F. Heller—The science behind adult attachment and how it can help you find and build strong relationships.
• The 5 Love Languages: Singles Edition by Gary Chapman—Identifying your love language and learning about others can strengthen all of your relationships.
• Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt—A guide to transforming intimate relationships into lasting sources of love and companionship.
• Ask a Matchmaker by Maria Avgitidis—From a renowned fourth-generation matchmaker comes this no-nonsense guide to finding love.
• How to Not Die Alone by Logan Ury—The surprising science behind finding, building, and keeping the relationship of your dreams.

Get some literary therapy.

Reading has long been known to be effective at decreasing stress and improving mental health in a variety of ways. And our poll suggests that being in a book club may even enhance these effects. Nearly all respondents (93%) agreed that meeting with a reading group has been therapeutic and a whopping 98 percent reported improved mental health.

"Not only are reading groups having a significant impact on readers' romantic lives and friendships, they're also hugely beneficial for book club members' mental health," said Barbara Hagen, vice president of marketing at ThriftBooks. "It's incredible to see that readers are joining reading groups for the literary aspect as well as the social and wellness benefits."

The first rule of Book Club is you do not talk about Book Club.

Perhaps it has something to do with the therapeutic nature of book clubbing, but more than half of book club members (56%) confessed they like to keep their book club membership a secret from others in their life, with men being notably more likely to feel this way (69%) compared to women (48%). This impulse may seem a little perplexing to those of us who have long been proud book club members, but perhaps it's just that they like keeping something special for themselves. We'll allow it.

Expand your reading horizons!

Being part of a book club may encourage you to read more, as well as helping to diversify your reading choices. Our study found that, on average, book club members read ten books in the last year.

A book club may also help you meet like-minded readers. More than one-quarter of respondents (28%) said that they found it difficult to meet others with similar literary taste prior to joining a book club.

A majority of participants identified many reasons for joining a book club, including finding opportunities to:

• Read new books (68%)
• Socialize (63%)
• Make new friends (59%)
• Be around other people who enjoy reading (57%)
• Share my thoughts about books (52%)

Gen Z and millennials (both 61%) were the generations most likely to join book clubs in order to forge new friendships as compared with Gen X and baby boomers.

The kids are all right.

The average age of your book club members could be one of the factors determining your choice of titles. Gen Z book clubbers distinguished themselves from the other generations by declaring their favorite book club genre as romance, while millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers all identified mystery as the genre of choice for their book clubs.

When asked about their all-time favorite group reads, some of the top choices included:

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The Outsiders by E. Hinton
• A Time to Kill by John Grisham
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• 1984 by George Orwell
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• 1776 by David McCullough
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The BookTok effect!

Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have become excellent places to find your next good read and clearly these outlets are encouraging a greater interest in reading in general. The majority of our survey participants (63%) said that social media has influenced them to read more in the past year and 57 percent reported following online book influencers.

These spaces are undoubtedly fueling book club picks for today's reading groups. When asked what they're currently reading with their group, popular titles of the moment included:

• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros—A fragile, bookish young woman defies the odds in this sexy, dragon-riding romantasy.
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig—Nora Seed has decided to end her life. But first she must explore all of her possible realities in an enchanted library.
• The Women by Kristin Hannah—An intimate coming-of-age drama set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War.
• The Crash by Freida McFadden—Stranded and injured in a blizzard, a pregnant woman is rescued by a couple who may pose an even greater threat to her.
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride—An award-winning novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them.
• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas—The sexy action-packed first installment in a bestselling fantasy series.
• All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker—An unputdownable novel that is at once a soaring thriller and an epic love story.
• A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams—A sexy modern-day fairytale about a free-spirited florist and an enigmatic musician who make a soulmate connection in Harlem.

When it comes to their choice of the socials, Gen Z respondents favor book communities on TikTok (60%) while millennials (62%), Gen X (64%) and baby boomers (54%) are most active on Facebook.

Stars—They're just like us!

Apparently A-listers are also keen to connect over good books! If you're looking for recommendations for your next book club read, you could always pick from one of the many celebrity book clubs out there. There are more than you might think! Here are some of the recent picks from our favorite A-list readers:

Oprah's Book Club

Since starting her book club in 1996, Oprah Winfrey has been a frontrunner in the celeb book club trend. Here are a few of her 2025 picks.

• Matriarch: A Memoir by Tina Knowles—Beyonce's mom shares her personal story.
• The Tell: A Memoir by Amy Griffin—A story about the healing made possible when we face our secrets and begin to share our stories.
• Dream State by Eric Puchner—an expansive novel exploring the vagaries of fate, friendship, and love.

Dua Lipa: Service95 Recommends

The international pop star created her book club with the goal of representing "diverse global voices, telling powerful stories spanning fiction, memoir and manifesto."

• Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel—A profound novel about motherhood, friendship, and the power of community.
• Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter—This extraordinary debut combines compassion and bravura style to dazzling effect.
• There There by Tommy Orange—An award-winning novel following the interconnected stories of twelve Native characters.

Reese's Book Club

"Where women's stories shine" reads the tagline for Reese Witherspoon's book club, with a focus on books "with a woman at the center of the story."

• Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry—Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a famously private woman.
• All That Life Can Afford by Emily Everett—A young American woman navigates class, lies, and love amid London's elite in this swoonworthy debut.
• Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall—A love triangle unearths dangerous secrets from the past in this thrilling tale for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.

Read With Jenna

TODAY host, author, and former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager hand-selects a new book every month to share with her book club.

• The Names by Florence Knapp—An extraordinary historical novel that asks: Can a name change the course of a life?
• Heartwood by Amity Gaige—A search and rescue team races against time when a hiker mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine.
• The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami—a riveting novel about a woman's fight for freedom, set in a near future where even dreams are under surveillance.

Nat's Book Club

Actress Natalie Portman started her book club with the goal of finding books that "deepen our connection to ourselves and to each other."

• Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley—A heartfelt rom-com about a woman trying to build a longed-for family without also losing herself.
• Autocracy Inc. by Anne Applebaum—From a Pulitzer Prize-winner comes this alarming account of how autocracies work together to undermine democracy.
• Saving Five by Amanda Nguyen—This memoir is at once a tribute to resilience, a celebration of healing through action, and a resounding cry for change.

"In the survey, we found that readers are meeting in-person, online, in hybrid in-person and online settings and even on social forums. They're also reading a diverse span of literature from recently-released titles to the classics and making friends and romantic connections along the way," said Hagen. "If you're curious about or interested in joining a book club, we encourage you to do it. There's a group out there for everyone."

Tell us about your book club experiences! And share the titles that your book club has enjoyed the most.

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Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans in book clubs; the survey was commissioned by ThriftBooks and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between April 17 and April 24, 2025.

Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon