If a search for book clubs in Melbourne has brought you to this post, we want to give you what you’re looking for! Below we’ve featured 10 book clubs operating in the city.
1. City of Melbourne Book Clubs
City of Melbourne Book Clubs are a number of book clubs offered through Melbourne’s public library system. From book clubs for adults to children, on thematic topics geared towards people of a particular gender or demographic, City of Melbourne Book Clubs has an offering that’s bound to pique your interest.
Some of the different book clubs available through the public library system in Melbourne, Australia include Queer Book Club, focused on queer books and discussions on related topics, North Melbourne Book Club, a book club that’s hopefully more convenient for local readers, and Crime Book Club, specifically for fans of crime reporting and outback noir books.
Contact City of Melbourne Book Clubs!
2. Thornbury BYO Book Club
Based in Melbourne, Victoria, Thornbury BYO Book Club is a book club that welcomes book lovers local to the areas of Thornbury, Northcote and Preston in Melbourne, Victoria. Rather than selecting a pre-set book of the month for all participants to read and discuss together, Thornbury BYO Book Club encourages readers to read whatever book strikes their fancy and bring their recommendations to speak about at book club meetings.
Led by group organizer Marianne, participants can look forward to great discussions and recommendations of other books from some of the 90+ book club members at Thornbury BYO Book Club. Thornbury BYO Book Club meets on Sundays for coffee, usually at BREWista on Dundas Street in Preston.
Reach out to Thornbury BYO Book Club!
3. Inner West Non-fiction Book Club
Inner West Non-fiction Book Club is a book club that operates out of Melbourne, Australia. Today, the group has over 590 active members and is led by the organizing team of Angela, Walter and Darren. Most of the books that Inner West Non-fiction Book Club covers are non-fiction books on topics like history, biography, philosophy, economics, and much more. The book club welcomes people of all gender, ages and ethnicity to join.
Past books that Inner West Non-fiction Book Club has read together include “Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty” by Patrick Keefe and “Stolen Focus” by Johann Hari. Book club meetings are free to join and take place online on Monday afternoons.
Discover more about Inner West Non-fiction Book Club!
4. The Derivative Fiction Book Club
Situated in Melbourne, The Derivative Fiction Book Club is a book club focused on derivative fiction, a fiction novel based on other works. A relatively newer book club in Melbourne, The Derivative Fiction Book Club already has over 170 active group members and welcome any other fans of derivative fiction looking for a community to call their own.
In the past, The Derivative Fiction Book Club has taken a look at fan fiction and opened a discussion at their book club meeting about what makes a good fan fiction and which fan fiction series or novels could have been better constructed. Book club meetings are open to all interested participants and meet in person at different venues in Melbourne.
Find out what else The Derivative Fiction Book Club is up to!
5. Self-Development Book Club
Self-Development Book Club is a book club located in Melbourne, Victoria and run by co-organizers Philip, Jarrod, Elisa and Leah. In addition to being a book club where they encourage book club members to read a book a month together, Self-Development Book Club is also a supportive environment for people looking to lift up, encourage, and inspire each other.
Books on self-development that Self-Development Book Club has looked through as a group include “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard” by Chip Heath and “Professional Troublemaker” by Luvvie Ajayi Jones. Book club meetings are held online and are free of charge, and all are welcome, regardless of gender, age or demographic.
Learn more about Self-Development Book Club!
6. Any Book Book Club
Located in Melbourne, Australia, Any Book Book Club is a book club that hopes to bring readers together to share what they happen to be passionate about reading with other readers! The concept is as simple as that: there is no obligation to read the same book as other book club members, nor is there any obligation to share if book club members are simply interested in listening to others.
With over 340 active book club members, Any Book Book Club has created an active environment that supports discussions and conversations on books, genres of literature and what’s good (and not) on the market today. Book club meetings are held online and welcome any and all readers – of all genres! – to participate.
Take a look at Any Book Book Club!
7. Big Ideas Book Club
Founder and organizer Dr. George Aranda is responsible for putting together Big Ideas Book Club, a book club that promotes both fiction and non-fiction books. The key focus of Big Ideas Book Club is exactly as the book club title suggests: to discover big ideas within the pages of the books they read together as a group and within the discussions they have during meetings.
For an idea of the kinds of books that Big Ideas Book Club focuses on, look at “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande and “Here Goes Nothing” by Steve Toltz. In order to accommodate as many members as possible, book club meetings are usually held online, once a month on a Wednesday.
Check out Big Ideas Book Club!
8. Prize Winning Book Club
Serving local readers in and about Melbourne, Prize Winning Book Club is a book club of readers who choose to read one common book a month and meet up to discuss it together. Prize Winning Book Club mainly reads fiction books and, as their name suggests, they focus on reading books that have been the recipient of literary prizes.
Books that Prize Winning Book Club has read include “The Night Watchman” by Louise Erdrich and “The Penelopiad” by Margaret Atwood, among other prizewinning novels. Book club meeting locations are available on their Meetup.com website for group members and are held in the city of Melbourne.
Start a conversation with Prize Winning Book Club!
9. Around Fitzroy & Collingwood Book Club
Around Fitzroy & Collingwood Book Club is a book club that looks to bring together book lovers who live in or frequent the areas of Fitzroy and Collingwood, in Melbourne. The book club, with over 1,400 current members, is led by a committed organizing team including Earl, Andrew, Bec and Philippa.
A few of the books that Around Fitzroy & Collingwood Book Club have read through in the past are “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter and “Becoming” by Michelle Obama. Around Fitzroy & Collingwood Book Club meets on Saturdays, once a month, at different venues, including restaurants and pubs, for their book club meetings and conversations.
Plan a visit to Around Fitzroy & Collingwood Book Club!
10. The Autistic Book Club
Melbourne is home to The Autistic Book Club, a book club that focuses on learning about and understanding people on the autism spectrum. The book club is open to women, non-binary and people who identify as LGBTQIA+. The Autistic Book Club is always looking to talk and learn more about autism and encourages people to share their opinion and listen to others’ opinions on the topic.
The Autistic Book Club has read books like “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab and “Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself” by Nedra Glover Tawwab. Meetings are held at different venues that can accommodate the usually large book club member turnout, and information is available for book club members through The Autistic Book Club’s Meetup.com website.
For more information about The Autistic Book Club, check out their Meetup.com page!