Flash Mob Bookclub!

by Kelly J. Carey

Fired up after Carrie Charley Brown’s ReFoReMo this past March, the 24 Carrot Writing gang has started going on bookstore field trips.


The bookstore is probably your happy place and I’m sure you go there as often as you hit the library. But have you gone there with a group of writing friends and scoured the shelves together? Have you read and shared your thoughts and opinions on the books that are displayed like a flash mob book club?

Try it! You will love it!



We usually hit the café for a brief chat and to fuel up and then we hit the stacks.  You’ll feel a little less out of place sitting crisscross applesauce with a pile of picture books next to you when three other adults are joining you. Then we read.  We share books like you‘d share bites of a fantastic dessert at your favorite restaurant.

When we find a book that we love, we can instantly share it and dissect its writing genius. We’ve found comp titles for a critique partner’s work in progress. We have collectively given books a thumb down and recognized that not every book out there will touch every heart.  More importantly, we have pooled our book industry knowledge and read with purpose and insight.  Annie might know this author’s agent. Amanda will point out that this publisher accepts unsolicited manuscripts and Francine will probably have met the agent, author or publisher because the girl is SCBWI plugged in!

Writing is a solitary endeavor, but reading for research can be a fantastic time to enjoy your writing community.  So while you are planning your summer trips, make sure to plan a bookstore trip and enjoy a Flash Mob Book Club with your writing friends. 

Dancing is optional, but you will not be able to resist buying a book or four!

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