Netflix for Books

There's nothing quite like the smell of a good book, turning the crisp pages of a freshly printed novel, or revisiting your dog-eared, sun bleached favourites. Books are a necessity, like food and water we devour every story, hungry for more.

I've time- traveled, journeyed to the center of the Earth, attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry, wandered with Wordsworth lonely as cloud through a host of golden daffodils, had tea with the Mad Hatter then transcended through the looking glass, been on a Cosmic adventure on a theme park ride to outer space, gotten shipwrecked and stranded in Kensuke's Kingdom, been haunted and moved with 15 year old Private Peaceful in the WW1 trenches, and had my heart repeatedly broken and healed, losing and rebuilding my faith in humanity. I've lived, loved, and felt every word.

But this is where the problem lies; I struggle to find my next good book to delve into, and am left unsatisfied with sub par recommendations from Google. I'm also "the reader" in my friendship group, as in the only person that reads for pleasure. My friends mean well, and they do try, but their book recommendations are usually the books we read in school, or if I'm lucky, maybe one that they enjoyed as a teenager, which I demolish in a weekend. I've been met with blank stares at the mere suggestion of a book club, I'm not surrounded with people who love books as much as I do. I tried searching for some online alternative, but was greatly disappointed.

I want to discover new authors and discuss my books with like minded people. I want a community, and access at my fingertips. I want Netflix for books. And that is when I had my light bulb moment, I decided to do what I do best and create something for people like me. My vision is to make "The Online Book Club", purely in the idea stages but with hopes to become a reality.

"The Online Book Club" will be a members only subscription service where people can meet other avid readers. Like Facebook and dating apps, people can connect with each other, and host discussion groups about particular books they enjoy, and arrange to read and discuss novels within the community. Members will be able to add book recommendations to the site, and rate books they have read. This will give a top 10 list of book, similar to Netflix, and people will also be able to add title's they like the sound of to their own individual "Read next" list.

Connecting fellow readers is something I am passionate about, and particularly in the pandemic, I think it's important to come together as a community and do something positive - we're all in need of a little joy.

Moving forward there is a lot I hope to achieve as I think there is such scope for establishing an online reading community. I am hoping to collaborate with authors so that stories can be featured on the site and accessed by members, with the option of borrowing a physical copy which will be posted to their door with a free return envelope. Depending on the type of membership (standard or premium) will determine which features can be accessed and how many physical copies can be posted to the member per month.

This is something I am really passionate about, and I hope will take off. I just want people like me who are lost in search of their next fiction adventure to find undiscovered gems on the website, so meet fellow readers, build friendships, and above all share our joy of reading with others.

Please dm obysonlinebookclub on Instagram to register your interest. The page is currently blank, but content will be posted once we are ready to launch. Watch this space, and happy reading!