Why I started Beyond the Book
And why you should join, too.
When it comes to my career, I wear a lot of hats. I’m a writer by both trade and passion, but I’m also an editor, a teacher, a crossword puzzle constructor, and a Grey’s Anatomy apologist (okay, that one’s not official). I love all of these jobs, truly - but what I love most is when I get to take the best parts about each of them and combine them into something even better. One such example?
Beyond the Book, my new monthly online book club.
About a year ago, I realized that two of my favorite things on earth are 1) reading great books and 2) talking to amazing authors. I’ve been a huge reader since I was a kid, tearing through books of all genres, and through my job as a journalist, I’ve been lucky enough to interview dozens of super-talented writers including Ann Napolitano (Hello Beautiful), Celeste Ng (Little Fires Everywhere), Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones and the Six), and so many more.
Having the opportunity to ask such acclaimed authors all my burning questions about their books (“Why did you choose that ending?” “Was it really inspired by that celeb?”) has been a huge privilege, and I’ve often wished that other book-lovers got to experience it too.
Which is why I created Beyond the Book - a community for readers in which you don’t only get to read excellent books, but you actually get to ask questions to their authors in LIVE video interviews.
I knew I could bring some great authors on-board, and I’m so excited to have bestselling writers like Curtis Sittenfeld, Nicola Yoon, Jami Attenberg, Emma Lord and more participate in the club.
But I didn’t just want the perks to stop there. Since I wanted things to be as seamless as possible for members, I decided to have the books delivered straight to their doors/devices - no shipping costs!
And I also chose to add in one of other passions (crossword puzzles) to create fun, easy puzzles themed to each month’s book, with the authors providing their own recipes and playlists to make things even more special. Early members can even solve a puzzle I created all about books!
Plus, I wanted members to have early heads’ up on buzzy upcoming books so they could be ahead of the curve, and for them to have a lively online community where they could talk about each month’s book and get to know each other.
It took a lot of time and effort, but it all culminated in Beyond the Book. I’m incredibly excited to start off the club with Nicola Yoon’s thrilling and surprising One of Our Kind, and to have Yoon (a bestselling author whose previous books have been turned into major movies, NBD) do a live interview at the end of September.
Want to read along, tune in, and enjoy all the other benefits of being a Beyond the Book member? Join now - I may be biased, but if you love reading (and who doesn’t?), I really think you won’t regret it. And if you sign up this week, you’ll get 15 percent off for a whole year.