How to Join the Peanut Blossom Book Club

The biggest benefit to an online book club is that you never have to miss a meeting again. The Peanut Blossom Book Club was created with YOU in mind. We have an active and engaged private group on Facebook. Come on and join us!

Piles of book club books sit on a set of stairs

Looking for an online book club to join?

The Peanut Blossom Book Club is a popular free online book club with over 10,000 active members and we would love to have you join us.

Want to be sure this is the right group for you?

Check out all the information and details you need to make your choice.

Hope to chat with you soon!

A row of colorful book club picks sit on a shelf.

How It Started

I distinctly remember the exact moment I had the inspiration to launch the Peanut Blossom Book Club, an online book club for crazy-busy parents.

I was driving home from errands and feeling frustrated that I had missed one too many book club meetings due to a last-minute conflict because of my young kids.

After making time to read the official pick, I hated missing the discussion and it happened time after time.

ALL moms are crazy-busy, whether or not their kids are little.

Who hasn’t experienced the frustration of having to skip something you want to do for one of these reasons:

Sick kid
Unexpected school event
Can’t get a babysitter
Surprise deadline at work

I thought there just had to be a way to enjoy the pay-off of the book discussion after investing my time in reading no matter what my schedule looks like.

So I took things into my own hands and set out to create the perfect online book club for me.

A group where I would never have to worry about missing a meeting again.

I can honestly say that our book club has saved me from abandoning reading.

Knowing I can chat about the book with friends no matter how long it took me to read it has been life-changing.

Before our group I was barely reading 3-5 books in a year, now I can read 20 – 30 books in any given year.

I’m motivated and inspired to make reading a daily part of my life because of our group.

Running the Peanut Blossom Book Club is my passion because I know how much it helps busy women to find time to read but:

*I* am the reader that needed the saving most.

Are You a Good Fit?

I thought long and hard about the kind of friends I wanted to draw into our group.

I specifically hoped to find:

women who used to love reading but struggled to find time for it in their current busy life
women like me who felt bogged down with daily stresses and needed something fun and uplifting in their life
women who enjoy a good laugh and a not-too-serious book
women who have a diverse set of interests and love to read books from all kinds of genres

Colorful stacks of fiction books in a row.

What Kind of Books Do We Read?

This was my biggest concern.

Too often I had to force myself through a book club pick that was too heavy, too sad, or too “brainy.” I wanted to read for pleasure and relaxation.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with organizing a book club around reading intellectually stimulating books. I can definitely imagine a day where that will be something I would love.

But right now? In the crazy hustle and bustle of raising my kids? If I’m going to carve room for it in my schedule, it needs to be FUN.

How Do I Pick Our Online Book Club Books?

When I look for books for our official monthly choices, I keep these things in mind:

NO Tearjerkers: This is my #1 rule. If the book looks too sad or depressing, it’s an absolute NO.
No Big Controversy: I get enough of that in social media. If the book’s subject is a hot button issue in politics or social commentary, I generally try to avoid it.
Easy Prose: I like to think of our club like a Top 40 Radio Station. I look for big blockbuster authors that write popular, easy reading hits. How I define “big” and “popular” may change from genre to genre.
A Variety of Genres: I don’t stick to just women’s fiction. Every year I’ve sprinkled in mystery, historical fiction, romance, YA, mild thrillers, and magical realism.
Group Suggestions: I am always listening and watching which books our group members recommend on their own. I’ve discovered new authors and genres thanks to the comments from our members. Our annual picks are absolutely shaped by the feedback I get from YOU each and every month.

Where Do We Hold Book Club Discussions?

When I launched our group, I thought I’d find the most people on social media so I launched a private Facebook group to host our monthly chats.

Every month I pin a discussion thread for our current book to the top of the group. All chat happens in that one place.

But the best part? The discussions are ALWAYS THERE for you to go back and join, no matter how long it takes for you to finish the book.

You’ll never miss a book club meeting again.

A book is open on a table next to stacks of other books and a flower vase.

How to Join the Peanut Blossom Book Club

There are two steps to joining our group:

1. Facebook:

Our group remains live and active here. Come on over and sign in.

It’s a fun and easy spot for sharing book recommendations and pleasant chatter with fellow book lovers.

2. Get On The List:

I send a monthly email with book reminders and free member goodies.

If you really want to be sure you never miss an important announcement, I highly recommend you get on my list:

If You Like These Books, You’ll Love Our Club

My favorite book club memory comes from the very first meeting of my real-life book club back in the midwest before we moved.

In order to make sure we were a good fit for each other, everyone listed their favorite books. We knew the group would be fun when there was so much cross-over in our titles.

So if you like ANY, not necessarily all, of these titles, you just might be my reading soulmate: