Online book clubs for classic literature
The classics were written to be talked about. An online book club gives you people to read with whatever your timetable, wherever you live: a shared book, a steady pace, and somewhere to say “did anyone else notice…?”
How to join a classics book club
- Create a free account.
- Open Clubs and join a public club with one tap, or use the join link a club’s owner shared with you for a private one.
- Start the book the club is reading now. Each book has its own club chat, and earlier books’ chats stay open.
Not ready for a club? Read the Book of the Month with everyone: this month it’s Dracula by Bram Stoker, with an introduction and a weekly schedule.
What happens inside a club
- Reading now: the owner chooses the book, and members read it in the original or a modern-English edition.
- Chat for the club, and one for each book it reads.
- Quotes: share a highlighted line with the club only.
- A forum board for longer conversations.
- A leaderboard of members’ reading time, this month or all time.
How to start your own classics book club
Clubs on Obscura are started by our partners (readers with an audience: BookTok, Bookstagram, BookTube, podcasts, teachers and book-club hosts) and by monthly supporters giving $4 or more. You can run up to 3 clubs, public or private.
- Give it a focus. “Gothic novels”, “Russian classics”, “Classics for first-timers”: a clear idea helps the right readers find you.
- Choose a first book that’s easy to love. Short and gripping beats long and important. Our beginners’ guide has ideas.
- Set a pace. A few chapters a week, posted in the club chat, keeps everyone together.
- Ask one good question a week. “Whose side are you on?” gets more replies than “What did you think?”
- Welcome newcomers. Remind members they can switch to modern English any time; nobody should drop out over the language.
Questions readers ask
How do I join an online book club for classics?
Create a free Obscura account, then open Clubs and join any public club with one tap. Private clubs are joined with the owner’s invitation or their join link. Everyone can also read the Book of the Month together with the whole community.
Is it free to join a book club?
Yes. Joining clubs, and reading every book in the library, is free with an account.
How do I start my own classics book club?
Clubs are started by our partners (readers with an audience, such as BookTok, Bookstagram, teachers and book-club hosts) and by monthly supporters giving $4 or more. Each can run up to 3 clubs, public or private, of up to 1,000 members.
What does an online book club do?
Members read the same book at the same time and talk about it as they go. On Obscura each club has the book it’s reading now, a chat for each book, a quotes wall, its own forum board and a leaderboard of reading time.
How many books should a book club read?
One a month suits most classics clubs: long books can take two. A weekly schedule of chapters keeps everyone together and gives each week’s conversation a focus.
Find your club
Joining is free with an account, and so is every book in the library.