By Dakota Parks for Inweekly
Making friends as an adult is challenging. Making friends as an adult who prefers the company of a good book to a night out can feel nearly impossible. But for book lovers in Pensacola, the solution is simple: join one of the city’s many vibrant book clubs. From cozy gatherings at local bookstores to intimate meetups in private homes, Pensacola’s book clubs offer more than just literary discussions—they provide a welcoming space for community and camaraderie.
Bibliophiles Book Club
For Melissa Smith, manager of Bodacious Bookstore & Cafe, reading has been a lifelong passion. “My love of reading started when I was in kindergarten,” she recalls. “My teacher, Mrs. Reid, curated my love of reading by giving me books and allowing me to read beyond my grade level. I was hooked.” This passion now drives her role in managing the bookstore and fostering a community of readers through several book clubs.
Shortly after starting at Bodacious Bookstore, Smith founded the Bibliophiles Book Club to create a space to discuss literary fiction and share her passion with like-minded readers.
“Literary fiction has a broad reach and can appeal to many types of readers,” Smith explained. “It runs the gamut of emotions—heartwarming, soul-searching, gut-wrenching, joy-inducing.”
From this initial book club, Bodacious expanded to include three more clubs: one for romance, another for fantasy and even a silent book club, where book lovers can come together to read whatever they want and socialize.
“My favorite part of book club is sharing the books that I read and enjoy in these specific genres that either spark joy or cause me to look at my own thoughts. Books can reflect what we know about the world and allow us to see different lives,” Smith said.
Smith likens the Bibliophiles Book Club to catching up with close friends you haven’t seen in a while.
“Our group has been together for three years with consistent membership, so the conversation is always engaging and flows easily,” she said. “Knowing you’ll be discussing a book heightens your awareness as you read, which deepens your engagement with the text. Everyone is welcome to share at book club, but there is no pressure if you just want to listen. All opinions are welcomed and respected.”
Occasionally, the club enhances its discussions by connecting with authors online. The Bibliophiles meet every first Tuesday and the pick for their Tuesday Aug. 6 meeting is “All the Colors of the Dark” by Chris Whitaker. Bodacious offers a 15% discount on the monthly book club selections.
“We have had people sit next to each other in a book club as strangers and walk out as friends that come to book club together each month,” Smith said. “Gathering to discuss a shared interest binds people together. I have had many of our members comment on how the book clubs have made an impact on their lives, and it makes me feel so good about the community that we have created here.”
Pensacola Sapphic Bookclub
This quest for community is also at the heart of Sapphic Bookclub. Founded in June 2022 by Brooke “Hersh” Hershberger and an anonymous friend, the club was created to foster a sober-friendly queer community centered around books.
“Our club is made up of women and woman-aligned non-binary people who identify as lesbian, bi, pan or otherwise queer. We welcome anyone who identifies as sapphic, including trans women and people on the aromantic and asexual spectrums,” member Angelica Tilton shared.
Meeting once a month, the Sapphic Bookclub keeps its locations private for safety reasons, coordinating through a Discord server where members can vote on books, share meeting details and connect over similar interests. Each month the group reads a book featuring a sapphic main character, exploring genres like historical fiction, sci-fi, graphic novels, adult contemporary, horror, YA, classics and, of course, romance.
“While our club doesn’t focus on romance books, it’s great that sapphic romance books exist because they allow us to imagine that a happily ever after is possible,” Tilton explained. The club’s success is rooted in its informal and welcoming atmosphere. New members are greeted with quick introductions and name tags before settling into a discussion on the book of the month.
“Our discussions vary wildly,” Tilton said. “Sometimes we don’t have much to say about the book. Sometimes we like a book so much that we dissect characters and scenes. Other times, we have a lot to say because the book was so bad. Some of our best discussions come from books that people didn’t really like.”
Tilton also highlighted the importance of this particular book club as a community-building space.
“Spaces for sapphic people to gather, both in Pensacola and across the U.S., are rare. Personally, I don’t drink, and I don’t like crowds or loud noises, so meeting new people can be difficult. Joining Sapphic Bookclub has allowed me to make new friends and be part of a community. I barely knew any queer people in Pensacola before I joined, and now I have lots of sapphic friends,” Tilton said.
The club’s commitment to fostering community extends beyond their monthly meetings. Alongside their Discord server, which has expanded to include breakout groups like Sapphic Stitchcraft and Outdoor Adventures, the group uses their Instagram platform to share local and national LGBTQ+ news, book recommendations and local events. Tilton helps run the Instagram account and hopes it serves as a resource for queer individuals to connect with neighbors in Pensacola and the surrounding areas.
“Our main goal is to cultivate a supportive community for sapphic people in the Pensacola area,” Tilton said. “I try to share relevant news to our community since Florida and Alabama state governments and the federal government are constantly threatening queer and trans rights. I also share book recommendations because we are a book club, and books are important. Reading books about people with similar experiences to your own can help you feel less alone, and reading books about people with different experiences from yours can foster understanding and empathy.”
For August, the Sapphic Bookclub is diving into “Upright Women Wanted” by Sarah Gailey. The next meeting will take place Sunday, Aug. 18. Prospective members can reach out to the group on Instagram to join their Discord server.
Books & Banter
Sami Huss, founder and admin of the Facebook group Books & Banter, describes the group as more than just a book club. After joining a Facebook group called “Pensacola Friends in Their 20s and 30s,” Huss took over a book club chat, which eventually grew into Books & Banter.
“I love reading, but I didn’t know anyone local who shared my passion,” Huss said. “Reading a great book is wonderful, but discussing it with others enhances the experience. When you find someone who has read the same book, it feels like speaking a secret language and instantly jumping back into another world. I started this book club so I could make friends and read books with them.”
Books & Banter offers a unique blend of monthly genre reads and a Silent Book Club.
“What’s great about Silent Book Club is that there’s no pressure to read the same book,” Huss explained. “You can just show up, enjoy the company of people, and immerse yourself in the book of your choosing.” Meetings typically involve 30 minutes of social time, one hour of quiet reading and another 30 minutes of social time. For the more introverted readers, it’s perfectly acceptable to read for the full two hours as well.
In addition to the monthly Silent Book Club meetings, Books & Banter’s structure ensures that members explore a wide variety of genres, including fantasy, thriller/mystery, romance, science fiction/dystopian, historical fiction and horror.
“Each month, members submit their recommendations for the specified genre, and then we vote on which book to read,” Huss explained. “The book with the most votes is chosen for our monthly read, and we meet at the end of the month to discuss and socialize.”
This approach has encouraged members to read genres they might not ordinarily reach for.
“Due to this format, many of us have read books outside our comfort zones and loved them. As all book clubs do, we’ve also had a few duds that we wouldn’t recommend,” she said.
Each month, the group rotates between meeting at coffee shops, breweries like Odd Colony, Barnes & Noble and members’ houses. From time to time, Books & Banter also hosts non-book club events such as a “Paint & Prose” paint night, a “Pages & Waves” beach meetup and even “Book Bash,” which featured book-themed charcuterie boards, book swaps, trivia and other fun games.
“Books & Banter has become more than your average book club. We’ve created a safe, fun and meaningful space where everyone is welcomed and accepted. Members, who I now call friends, have shared with me how much this book club has helped them. The shared hobby of reading is wonderful, but it’s the people that truly make this group a success. Making friends as an adult is hard, and seemingly even harder after the pandemic,” Huss said.
Members of Books & Banter have conveyed how much the club means to them through a monthly “Reader Spotlight,” which highlights the personal impact of the group.
“I can’t express how grateful I am to have found this book club,” member Genevieve Newman shared. “I was struggling to make friends as an adult who works a solitary job on weekends. Wanting more than just banter at a bar with strangers, this club came at just the right time for me. I felt so welcomed and accepted, even when I hadn’t read the book of the month my first meeting. I love feeling like I have a little community to belong to.”
In the future, Huss hopes to collaborate more with local authors and bookstores to engage with the local literary community. The next Silent Book Club meeting will be held on Saturday, Aug. 24 from 2-4 p.m. at Odd Colony.
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Club Corner: A roundup of local book clubs
Bodacious Bookstore Clubs
@bodaciousbooksandcafe, bodaciousbookstore.com
Bodacious Bibliophiles Book Club, Romance Book Club and Fantasy Book Club meet monthly. Silent Book Club is weekly. All convene at Bodacious Bookstore & Cafe, 110 E. Intendencia St.
Pensacola Sapphic Bookclub
@sapphic_bookclub_pensacola
A queer-centered monthly book club reading assorted genres. Location varies; interested readers can reach out to the club’s Instagram for details.
Books & Banter facebook.com/groups/booksandbanteremeraldcoastbookclub
This group hosts a regular silent book club, plus monthly genre group reads voted on by members. Location rotates between local breweries, coffee shops, members’ houses and more. Books & Banter also occasionally hosts non-book club events to enhance attendee connection.
Silent Book Club Pensacola
@sbcpensacola, facebook.com/groups/sbcpensacola
A silent, bring-your-own book club held bi-monthly at different venues around Pensacola.
Positively Pensacola’s Books & Bubbly
@positivelypensacola, positivelypensacola.org/booksandbubbly
A women’s book club that meets monthly to discuss books written by women, focused on women’s empowerment or addressing themes relevant to women’s lives. All meetings are held at The Idle Reader, 1449 W. Nine Mile Road.
WUWF Book Club
Hosted by local public radio station WUWF 88.1, this club brings together book lovers and public radio listeners to read and discuss a new book every two months.
Adonna’s Garden St. Cafe & Bakery Book Club
A monthly book club that votes online to select books and meets at Adonna’s Garden St. Cafe & Bakery, 811 W. Garden St. Join the club’s Facebook group by visiting Adonna’s Facebook page.
Pensacola Mom Collective Book Club
A bi-monthly book club for mothers in the Pensacola area. Members can discuss their reads in person or online. Join the club’s Facebook group by visiting Pensacola Mom Collective’s book club web page.
Hush! & Read
A silent book club hosted by Haley “Hale” Morrissette at Black Cafe & Bookstore, 3498 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. In September, Hush! & Read will return to meeting monthly.
African American Heritage Society Book Clubafricanamericanheritagesociety.org/events
A book club exploring African American history. Check the Society’s website this fall for more on the next meeting, which is set to occur in October.
West Florida Public Libraries Book Clubs
WFPL stocks additional copies of all their book club picks for members to check out. Some of the active monthly book club types include popular literary, graphic novel and silent. All clubs meet at a WFPL branch. Visit WFPL’s website for a full list of clubs.