Book clubs in Los Angeles.
30 clubs, and when they meet. Most meet on weekday evenings, around Mid-City, Los Feliz, Mar Vista. All of them are free to join. Subscribe to this calendar →
What to expect.
A book club in Los Angeles is a monthly rhythm more often than a weekly one: a book is announced, three or four weeks pass, and the group meets to talk about it, usually in a library room, a café or the back of a bookshop. Some are run by libraries and some by readers, and nearly all are free.
Most publish the next book on their own page, which is where every listing links. Read it, or read most of it, and go. Nobody checks.
All 30 book clubs in Los Angeles.
A to Z, in each club's own words. Every one links to the club, and every day and time is the one the club publishes.
Midday book club at the Venice branch on S Venice Blvd; copies of the month's pick are available to borrow at the desk. Autumn list runs Standage, Roy and Aoyama.
Monthly, third Tuesday, 12:30pm · Venice · Free · lapl.org →Lunchtime novel discussion at the Brentwood branch on San Vicente; a different novel each month across genres and periods, copies held at the circulation desk.
Monthly, first Tuesday, 1pm · Brentwood · Free · lapl.org →The nonfiction counterpart at Brentwood Library: one nonfiction book a month, lunchtime, copies at the circulation desk.
Monthly, third Tuesday, 1pm · Brentwood · Free · lapl.org →Spanish-language book club at the Arroyo Seco branch on N Figueroa: coffee, homemade cake and conversation about the month's book.
Monthly, fourth Wednesday, 6pm · Highland Park · Free · lapl.org →Skylight Books' fiction club, open to the public with no sign-up; October is I Who Have Never Known Men. Members get 15% off the month's pick.
Monthly, fourth Tuesday, 7:30pm · Los Feliz · Free · skylightbooks.com →Afternoon book club at the Encino-Tarzana branch on Ventura Blvd; the library puts out limited copies of the next book and members suggest future titles.
Monthly, first Monday, 1:30pm · Free · lapl.org →Fortnightly Monday-afternoon writing group at the Mar Vista branch, ages 14 and up, drafting and workshopping personal stories across generations.
Every other mondays, 1pm · Mar Vista · Free · lapl.org →Evening book club at the Mar Vista branch on Venice Blvd. No sign-up; ask the branch for the month's title and borrow it from the reference desk.
Monthly, last Monday, 6:30pm · Mar Vista · Free · lapl.org →Book club for Black women that meets the first Saturday afternoon of the month in Leimert Park (currently at Lore on Degnan Blvd). You do not need to have finished the book.
Monthly, first Saturday, 1:30pm · Free · meetup.com →Long-running Meetup mystery/thriller club that meets once a month in the West LA Regional Library on Santa Monica Blvd; the group votes on the book.
Monthly, first Sunday · West La · Free · meetup.com →Afternoon whodunnit-and-thriller discussion at the Palms-Rancho Park branch; the month's title is at the reference desk and as an e-book, with light refreshments from the Friends group.
Monthly, third Thursday, 1:30pm · West La · Free · lapl.org →Chevalier's Books on Larchmont hosts an early-evening monthly club reading queer authors and LGBTQ+ themes; the shop discounts club picks 15%.
Monthly, second Monday · Mid-City · Free · chevaliersbooks.com →Skylight Books' nonfiction club: read the month's pick and show up at the shop on Vermont Ave, no RSVP. Subscribers get the book at 15% off but anyone can just come.
Monthly, third Thursday, 7:30pm · Los Feliz · Free · skylightbooks.com →Evening book club in the community room of the Robertson branch (Pico-Robertson). New members welcome; books are checked out at the circulation desk. Upcoming: North Woods, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
Monthly, second Monday, 6:30pm · Mid-City · Free · lapl.org →Weekly Monday-lunchtime writers' group at the Robertson branch; bring 5-10 double-spaced pages of your book, poem or screenplay to share.
Mondays, 11:30am · Mid-City · Free · lapl.org →Monthly book group in the Palms-Rancho Park branch on Overland Ave, working through the NYT Notable Books list with coffee laid on by the Friends of the Library. Copies are held at the reference desk.
Monthly, first Saturday, 11am · West La · Free · lapl.org →Sunday-afternoon writing session at Coffee Commissary Del Rey on Culver Blvd: timed quiet writing with a short intro and chat either side; buy a drink to thank the cafe.
Sundays, time varies · Mar Vista · Free · meetup.com →Sunday-morning Shut Up & Write session at And Destroy, a coffee-and-games shop in Eagle Rock; same format of quiet timed writing with no critique.
Sundays, 10am · Eagle Rock · Free · meetup.com →Saturday late-morning writing session at Cafe Loft in Koreatown run by the Shut Up & Write LA chapter: brief hellos, an hour of silent writing, optional chat after. No critique, any genre.
Saturdays, 11:30am · Koreatown · Free · meetup.com →Long Beach's Shut Up & Write session at The Wicked Wolf on Saturday mornings: short intros, an hour of silent writing, optional chat.
Saturdays, time varies · Long Beach · Free · meetup.com →Outdoor Monday-evening writing hour at Sidewalk Grill on N Vermont, co-hosted with Los Feliz Writers: arrive 6:45, introductions at 7, timer runs for an hour, then socialise.
Mondays, time varies · Los Feliz · Free · meetup.com →Weekly silent-reading hour at the Starbucks at Cherry and Willow (Signal Hill, inside Long Beach): bring whatever you are reading, read quietly for 60 minutes, then talk about it if you like.
Wednesdays, 6:45pm · Long Beach · Free · meetup.com →Evening book club at the Silver Lake branch library on Glendale Blvd. Pick up the month's book at the reference desk, turn up, talk about it over light refreshments. October is The Director by Daniel Kehlmann.
Monthly, second Tuesday, 6:30pm · Silver Lake · Free · lapl.org →Daytime sibling of the Silver Lake evening club: one novel a month, discussed over an hour at the branch with refreshments. Currently reading Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson.
Monthly, third Tuesday, 1pm · Silver Lake · Free · lapl.org →Evening book club at the Valley Plaza branch on Vanowen St in North Hollywood; borrow the month's pick in print or digital with a library card and contact the branch for the title.
Monthly, fourth Wednesday, 6pm · North Hollywood · Free · lapl.org →Bimonthly lunchtime book club at the Washington Irving branch on W Washington Blvd; the group picks its own titles across genres.
Monthly, third Wednesday, 12pm · Mid-City · Free · lapl.org →Saturday-morning writers' group at the Eagle Rock branch for fiction, poetry, nonfiction and memoir; open to aspiring writers.
Monthly, first Saturday, 10am · Eagle Rock · Free · lapl.org →Saturday-morning book club at the Westwood branch on Glendon Ave; one assigned title a month (Cutting for Stone, Snow Falling on Cedars this year). No December meeting.
Monthly, second Saturday, 11am · Westwood · Free · lapl.org →Mystery-only companion to the Westwood book club, same branch, later in the month. Read the book and join the discussion; no December session.
Monthly, fourth Saturday, 11am · Westwood · Free · lapl.org →Sunday-morning screenwriting session at Cafe Mak on Shatto Pl: 15 minutes of coffee, announcements, a silent writing hour, then half an hour of talk. Writers at any stage; latecomers fine.
Sundays, 11am · Koreatown · Free · meetup.com →
Questions people actually ask.
Do I have to have finished the book?
Almost never. Most clubs would rather have you there than have you skip a month, and a few deliberately pick short books for that reason. If a club is strict about it, the listing says so.
How do I find out what they're reading?
Follow the link on the listing. Clubs announce the next book on their own page, usually right after the previous meeting.
What about writing groups, or film clubs?
They are here too. Writing groups, film clubs and other reading-adjacent groups are listed under Books, and the ones with enough clubs in Los Angeles have their own page.
Every listing links straight to the club. Know a book club in Los Angeles we don’t? Add it.