Reading Beyond the Page: An Introduction

I have loved reading since the first grade. Books were—and still are—portals to other dimensions where I can ride dragons or solve mysteries or fall in love over and over again a million different ways. But while it’s often just me and the pages and ink, I want to dispel the notion that reading is a solitary act.

Over the years, I’ve been part of both in-person and digital book communities. I’ve browsed library shelves and bookstores for hours and visited book fairs and festivals where I met authors and bought signed books. And I’ve also watched YouTube videos and liked Instagram posts and shared Facebook statuses that were about anything and everything books. I don’t think one format is better than the other: they both bring something unique to the table that the other lacks.

In addition, both physical and digital book communities have affected the publishing industry. Celebrity book clubs have helped make numerous books bestsellers and put now-famous authors on the map by driving book sales. Social media has helped bring awareness to marginalized voices—such as women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community—and cultivated a creative space for discussion and debate, as well as fan art in various forms, to flourish.

This blog series, #CommunityBeyondThePage, is part of a bigger web series for Windmill: The Hofstra Journal of Art & Literature, a literary magazine that I as a college senior am working on. I will be interviewing various content creators and how they have fostered book communities both online and in-person. Reading is a solidary activity only if you let it be. I personally have met so many amazing people through book communities, and it has enhanced my love of reading overall.

I hope you enjoy the following interviews, and I hope it inspires you to get connected with a book community, whether online or in-person.