Hey! Have You Been To Open Book Club?

It’s weird to think that a book club changed my life.

Welcome to Wednesday Recommendations ✩‧₊˚ Usually, this is a weekly dose of something that’s making me feel good about the world again—a book, a song, a spot, a tiny soft thing to brighten your midweek.

In April of last year, I saw a TikTok about Open Book Club, bought a novel I never would’ve picked up on my own, and showed up to a loft in Soho to talk about it with a bunch of strangers. I was nervous. I didn’t know anyone. But by the end of that first meeting, I felt like I’d just opened a door I didn’t know I needed. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Since then, I’ve made so many new friends, quit my day job, and started chasing dreams I used to save for someday.

Run by Liz Montesano, Open Book Club isn’t just a book club; it’s an experience. Every month, Liz curates a book and hosts a series of gatherings all over the city: cozy meetups, author talks, post-discussion drinks, even spontaneous hangs in the park. It’s the kind of space where one conversation can light a fire in you.

It’s not just the books that inspire me, it’s the authors and the other members. Hearing Torrey Peters speak about living in fear versus freedom was one of those moments where everything quietly rearranges itself inside you. Her words stayed with me. I’ve been chasing that kind of freedom ever since. Watching Liz build this community from the ground up felt like permission to do the same in my own life. And I still think about Kendell’s dreamy dinner party series. How thoughtful and intentional it is, how it invites people in.

Open Book Club reminded me that connection is a creative act. That being seen, heard, and challenged can change everything and that the right room full of strangers can become your people.

And maybe most of all, it reminded me how good it feels to fall in love with life again, one book (and one rooftop chat) at a time.