Book Clubs
We're changing things up! Beginning in August, at our brand new location with Black Sheep Coffee, Cleary's Bookstore will host FOUR (4) book clubs. We've added some new, combined a few that we already had, and kept a reader favorite. Plus, they now come with an option to subscribe, so you'll never have to wait for the book pick again!
What hasn't changed? Each club meets once a month, on Thursdays at 7:00pm. To make the meeting schedule easier to follow along, the rotation will stay the same, as in you will meet on the same Thursday, every month.
- On the first Thursday of every month: Critical Reading Required
- On the second Thursday of every month: Seriously F**ked Up (a new one!)
- On the third Thursday of every month: Let's Speculate (we've combined a few)
- On the last Thursday of every month: Spooky Sh*t (again, we combined em')
As mentioned, we're also excited to launch subscription boxes for each book club. No longer will you have to run Alison down for a copy of the book club book or to find out what the pick is going to be! For our subscribers, they're always in stock and on time :) And, they come with the best-kept secret book club discount in town. Click on the club that's right for you for all the deets 😎
Here are some important things to know if you plan to come to book club:
- Who: Book clubs are open to all who would like to attend, no need to RSVP. You are not required to purchase the book from us, we want all who want to join to be able to. So read the book on your preferred format (physical, audio, or e-reader) and get ready to discuss.
- What: We select one book to read, per club, per meeting.
- Where: In-person at Cleary's Bookstore.
- When: Rotating schedule that meets Thursdays at 7pm.
- Why: Because we all need a place that exists outside of an algorithm. Because real friendships are made here. Because open and intentional discourse is the bedrock of a healthy democracy and exposure to others' stories builds empathy and understanding (they wouldn't be trying to take it away if it didn't!). Because Alison likes to make people read her favorite books or to torture them with a pick she made on a whim and will probably DNF before book club. So fun! Join us!
UPCOMING BOOK CLUB MEETINGS
Critical Reading Required it is a mix of contemporary literary fiction and contemporary nonfiction and is a deeper dive into each book than our other book clubs.
Critical Reading is defined as: a way of reading that involves actively analyzing and interpreting a text in a more complex way wherein you question the text and your own understanding of it, which is what we intend to do with each book we read.
If you are a subscriber, the book box goes out the first week of every month, with the exception of this first month (July) where it will be fulfilled asap.
The next club meeting is August 6, 2026 at 7:00pm.
The book pick is Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated by Helen Stevenson.
Visit the Critical Reading Book Club page for all the details!
If you have a penchant for the weird and wonderful "so bad it's like a car crash I can't look aways from" books that owner Alison recommends and that you'll never ever be able to stop thinking about and get nervouse recommending them to your friends and family, you've come to the right place. Think previous reading recommendations like For Human Use, Blob: A Love Story, Bunny, The Rabbit Hutch, Murder Bimbo, and Victorian Psycho. We're basically just doubling down on weird girl fiction. Each month we will select the weirdest, most f**ked up book we can find. Yay!
If you are a subscriber, the book box goes out the second week of every month, with the exception of this first month (July) where it will be fulfilled asap.
The next club meeting is August 13, 2026 at 7:00pm.
The book pick is Agnes Lives! by Hallie Elizabeth Newton.
Visit the Seriously F**ked Up Book Club page for all the details!
One of our new clubs, it combines Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopian & Utopian, Magical Realism, Alternate History, and Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic together into the genre "Speculative Fiction." These books are a departure from reality and take readers to fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, and other highly imaginative realms. Each month we will select a book that whisks you away to another world and asks the question, what if?
If you are a subscriber, the book box goes out the third week of every month, with the exception of this first month (July) where it will be fulfilled asap.
The next club meeting is August 20, 2026 at 7:00pm.
The book pick is Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay.
Visit the Let's Speculate Book Club page for all the details!
This newly minted club is a combination of Horror, True Crime, and Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. Each month we will select a book that serves spooky from these genres.
If you are a subscriber, the book box goes out the last week of every month, with the exception of this first month (July) where it will be fulfilled asap.
The next club meeting is August 27, 2026 at 7:00pm.
The book pick is This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum.
Visit the Spooky Sh*t Book Club page for all the details!