Why Men Don’t Join Book Clubs
Men love to read books, but men don’t love to join book clubs. In a PBS article in 2018, Author Nick Arvin suggested that to encourage more men to join book clubs, the first rule is, “don’t call it a book club.” It was a curious statement to me, because — as I run a book club myself — it is obvious by the membership profile that men are resistant to such activities. According, to the Pew Research Center, 11% of Americans were active in “literary, discussion or study groups such as book clubs” and women were more than twice as likely to take part. And that seems to be the case more broadly. My book club community platform has over 44,000 book clubs globally, and over 90% of the members are women. In other words, this problem isn’t just made up. It seems to be the case that women read more than men generally, but not in such a disproportionate way as bookclub membership would suggest. I had a feeling that there was something else going on. So, I asked men on social media, in my networks and via a survey online and here are some of the things I learned about why men don’t join book clubs.
Men Find Book Clubs Unproductive
“Book clubs are a waste of time”
Men are interested in goals. It is perceived that book clubs are a distraction from more worthy activities such as growing a business and advancing one’s material ambitions…
