Most book clubs are too serious, too awkward, or somehow both.

We started because adult friendship is hard, leaving the house takes effort, and book club should not feel like homework.

We are here for the good stuff:

• The hot takes.
• The “I hated the ending.”
• The “Wait, you liked him?”
• The “I only read half, but I have thoughts.”
• The “This book was a mess and I need to discuss it immediately.”

That’s Book Babes.

Books are the excuse.
Conversation is the point.
Friendship is the reason people come back.

Book Babes began in 2009, during a season when our founder found herself newly separated, isolated, and craving connection.

She loved to read, but the people around her were not readers in the same way. She wanted someone to talk books with — the endings, the characters, the strong opinions, the parts that stayed with her long after the last page.

After trying another book club and not feeling especially welcome, she decided to start her own. She was nervous when she clicked confirm on that first Meetup group. Would anyone join? Would anyone actually show up?

To make sure she would not chicken out, she put the first meet-and-greet on the calendar. Then she waited.

Slowly, people began to sign up. A handful came to that first gathering, including the woman who would become her best friend and eventual co-organizer.

That first book was not exactly a crowd favorite. In fact, it sparked more confusion and strong opinions than anyone expected. But people still came back.

“the book matters, but the connection matters more.”

And that became one of the earliest truths of Book Babes. We are in it together — through the brilliant reads, the debatable picks, and the books we lovingly agree never to speak of again.

Today, Book Babes has grown into a community of more than 1,300 readers, built on laughter, tears, honest opinions, and the belief that women deserve a place where they can come as they are and feel among friends.

Sixteen years later, that first nervous meet-and-greet has become a community of more than 1,300 readers and over 500 books read together.

That is 500+ chances to gather around a story.

Five hundred endings debated, characters defended, plot twists questioned, opinions revised, and books either adored, abandoned, or turned into the kind we still bring up later just to laugh about how awful they were.

Some of those books became favorites. Some became running jokes. Some gave us conversations we still remember years later.

But book after book, meeting after meeting, the heart of Book Babes has stayed the same: women showing up for the story, and somehow finding each other in the process.

Today, Book Babes hosts in-person and virtual book discussions, author conversations, special events, and reader-centered experiences for women who want more than a rating, a review, or another algorithm telling them what to read next.

We are here for the conversation after the last page.

The one that starts with, “Okay, but what did you think?”

And sometimes becomes the beginning of a friendship.

At Book Babes, you can expect to read some really good books.

You can also expect a few books that make you wonder who chose them and whether she is doing okay. That is part of the fun.

We read brilliant books, debatable books, emotional books, weird books, overhyped books, hidden gems, and the occasional book that becomes memorable for reasons the author may not have intended.

The magic is not that every pick is perfect.

The magic is what happens when women show up anyway — with opinions, laughter, questions, tangents, and the occasional “I’m sorry, but I need to talk about this character.”

Some conversations are thoughtful. Some are hilarious. Some wander completely off track and end up being better because of it.

You do not need to have the perfect take. You do not need to love the book. You do not even need to finish the book, though we reserve the right to lovingly ask what happened.

Just come ready to be part of the conversation. That is where Book Babes gets good.

We believe books are better when they bring people together.

Not because every book is life-changing. Not because every discussion is profound. And definitely not because everyone agrees.

Books give us a reason to gather. What happens after that is where the real community begins.

We believe strong opinions are welcome, disagreement can be delightful, and a good book club should feel more like pulling up a chair than walking into a test you forgot to study for.

We believe women deserve spaces where they can relax, feel welcome, and show up without performing.

You can be thoughtful here. You can be funny here. You can be quiet until you are ready to jump in. You can have the unpopular opinion. You can love the book, hate the book, or spend the entire conversation trying to figure out how you feel about the book.

There is room for all of that.

Book Babes is not about proving you are the right kind of reader.

It is about finding your way into a room where the books are good, the opinions are honest, and the people start to feel familiar.