Our Shared Shelf

Here is BCR’s review of Our Shared Shelf book club and the breakdown of the ratings above.

Selection Details

For most book clubs, especially successful major book clubs, the selection details are among the most known and consistent factors of the books the club reads.

Selector

Actress Emma Watson originally selected the books for Our Shared Shelf. Since she founded the book club this may seem obvious. However, in July 2019, Emma stepped away from the group and its dedicated membership base began making book selections. This continued through early 2022.

Emma gave this book club a solid start. So solid that it continued for another three years. However, the lack of a dedicated book selector may have contributed to the club’s eventual plateau.

Theme

This book club launched on Goodreads with a letter from Emma in the group description. She begins by sharing about her work with UN Women. This work includes reading numerous books and essays on equality. Emma was then inspired to “start a Feminist book club.” So here we have a clear theme of feminism.

Consistent themes guide larger reading groups. When there is a consistent theme in place, members or potential members have a better idea of what they can expect to be reading. Our Shared Shelf has consistently applied this theme to every pick. This group’s membership growth, readership, engagement and endurance after Emma’s departure exemplify the power and importance of a good, strong theme.

Frequency

Book selections for Our Shared Shelf started as once a month. This is a pretty standard frequency interval for any book club. However, there was feedback from members that a month wasn’t enough time. There are a number of reasons this could be a needed change. Lengthy book selections, heavy topic matters, or just the busyness of life in general routinely impair the ability to keep up.

While we can’t be sure what the reason or reasons may have been for the requested change, Emma listened to her followers. At only six months in, she made the switch in July from monthly picks to bi-monthly picks. Providing her followers with the platform to provide feedback and then listening and acting on that feedback served this book club well. Making this change undoubtedly contributed to this club’s success and endurance.

Notification

Our Shared Shelf was launched on Goodreads. Members could expect that each selection would be shared timely on this platform. The group’s page is public and therefore did not require a Goodreads account to see selections. However, a notification would be sent to members with a Goodreads account when picks were posted. The consistency and accessibility of picks for both members and casual participants are great.

Book Details

For most book clubs, the book details of selections are less intentional and less known than the selection details. However, book details can be important underlying elements that influence members, readership and the success of a club overall.

Availability

Most of the book club picks are readily available to buy or borrow. In this club’s heyday, selections may have had waitlists. A few picks are not necessarily mainstream and have been challenging to find as widely available. Others are perhaps both not mainstream and are self-limiting. One example is Persepolis. It’s a graphic novel. Therefore, its original, intended format, in and of itself is a limit to its availability. BCR feels it’s very important to state here that this format does not, in any way, take away from the book’s readability or value. Other, more traditionally published picks were also hard to find. At least among the BCR team’s usual sources for reads, especially when it comes to borrowing options. This could be because a number of the picks aren’t mainstream which makes sense given the theme of this book club and is a by-product whether intentional or not.

Format

Of course, the point above was made regarding Persepolis self-limiting format variety. Often, the same traditionally formatted picks that were harder to find were also harder to find in multiple formats. The majority of the books on this list can be found in the most popular formats: hardcover, paperback, ebooks and audiobook. This is good news for readers who may like to have their options open when it comes to tackling their next read.

Length

Our Shared Shelf’s selections average a length of 294 pages. While on the shorter side, this is a good average page count in our opinion. This is certainly a manageable page count for an every-other-month frequency. Considering this club’s theme, it could also be a good page count as heavier subject matter can increase read time.

The shortest Our Shared Shelf pick is 136 pages (Kate Moore’s Radium Girls). The longest read is 545 (R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War).

Rating

BCR considers a rating of 3 or higher as a good rating. On Goodreads, all of Our Shared Shelf’s picks have a rating over 3. These club picks have an average rating of 4.15. The highest rating is 4.53 and the lowest rating is 3.72. In our opinion, these are good, strong ratings.

Genre

The genres of Our Shared Shelf picks are quite narrow and concentrated. BCR finds this is a direct result of the club’s focus and dedication to the theme. The top five genres are Non-Fiction, Feminism, Fiction, Memoir, and Biography.

Year Published

If you enjoy reading more modern books, Our Shared Shelf is a good fit. While the club’s books span almost a century, the majority are from the early 2010s through the early 2020s.

Authors

For most book clubs, author selections are likely less intentional than the club’s selection details but perhaps given more consideration than book details. Often we find authors to be a subtle but important element that can influence book selections. Author selection can paint a picture of and guide the intentions and direction of a book club. 

Favorites

Our Shared Shelf has no repeat authors. We’re not sure if this is intentional or not. Perhaps if the club had a longer run or if it reactivates there may inevitably be some author repetition.

Diversity

While women dominate the authors that make up Our Shared Shelf’s reading list, these women are diverse in terms of race, culture and LGBTQ+ representation. There are only 2 male authors (and they’re co-authors of the same book). Given the theme of this club, the female majority is again a solid demonstration of the club’s focus and adherence to the theme.

Club Details

All of the above contribute directly and indirectly to factors that make up the club details.

Book Count

Our Shared Shelf’s book count is 46 books. This is the lowest book count of any of the Top 5 Book Clubs. However, it is certainly a respectable number. This club holds a higher books-per-year average than longer-running book clubs in our Top 5. This club reached this book count through consistency and commitment to selection frequency.

Membership Count

This club’s following has remained strong over the years. Even to this day, in its dormant state, the club still has a following of over 300,000. Our Shared Shelf currently holds the third largest membership count of BCR’s Top 5 Book Clubs.

Membership Engagement

While the club has an Instagram account, Our Shared Shelf primarily engages members and followers on Goodreads. The group is public so, while free to join, followers do not have to have a Goodreads account to keep up with the club. Having Goodreads as its primary hub has created a unique membership engagement experience. Even in its dormant state, new members can review past content and discussions or start new ones! This platform allows the club to live on in its archives and even engage anew unlike any other book club platform BCR has experienced.

Years Active

For over six years, Our Shared Shelf consistently shared a feminist book selection every other month. This club demonstrates a dedication to theme, intention, members and readership. While now dormant, it models the pillars of a strong book club.

Overall Rating

With an overall BCR rating of 3.81, we recommend Our Shared Shelf. If you are looking for modern, feminist books, Our Shared Shelf might be for you. Since the club is dormant, you can read at your own pace, engage with the existing community at your leisure and feel accomplished if you make it through the complete list of books for this club. Since this club’s books are on the shorter side, you might make quick work of the whole list. However, do not underestimate the theme’s weight which can slow an otherwise quick pace down. Consider interspersing these reads with lighter ones.