The queer clubs that are about reading rather than drinking

euronews.com:

LGBTQ+ book club.If your life is more ‘early nights in bed reading’ than ‘early mornings staggering home’, then there’s a wealth of book discussion groups – operating in-person and online – for those wanting to meet like-minded queer folk.One example is Queer Reads London, run by university friends Hannah and Alex off the back of a lockdown idea.“At university we liked going out to Heaven and the other queer clubs in London but you obviously don’t make any long-term friends from that,” says Hannah. “In lockdown we both decided to read the same book at the same time and then call each other to talk about it.

I genuinely can’t remember which one of us said ‘shall we try and see if anyone else would want to join in?’ but here we are.

I’d not actually read a queer book before we did that.”“I don’t really drink that much,” adds Alex, “and most gay events or clubs – Pride events, Mighty Hoopla – are alcohol based.

Some people still drink while we discuss the book but it’s not the main point of it. If you go to a gay bar alone, people just assume you’re there to meet someone.