Readings 2.0: the virtual reading clubs

Objectives: Online book clubs are an ideal way to encourage people to read and an excellent tool for making book recommendations. This article offers an overview of the situation of online book clubs and identifies their main features, strengths, weaknesses and long-term objectives. Methodology: A number of book club hosts and organizers answered a questionnaire about how their clubs worked and how successful they thought they were. In this way, the researchers were able to combine quantitative and qualitative data to make a more comprehensive study of the current state of online book clubs. Results: The researchers draw some general conclusions about the current situation of online book clubs and the trends they are responsible for. They then suggest how clubs might improve their organizational design to ensure that their popularity with the general public becomes more lasting.