April 8, 2026 · Roxane Gay

Book club skeptic? So was Roxane Gay. Here’s what converted her

My general understanding of book clubs had, to that point, been cursory. Book clubs are often treated as something of a cultural punch line, because they are largely the domain of women and we have a penchant for dismissing or diminishing anything women do. In film and television, book clubs are portrayed as a way for women to briefly free themselves from the shackles of domestic responsibility, sticky children, feckless husbands.