In Chennai, this new book club meets to rant about fictional people

Just like there are many characters in a book, there are also many peculiar, interesting characters in a book club. At the second meeting of The Love Lit Society, held on a quiet Sunday morning at Vinyl and Brew, you could spot the annotator, the reluctant reader, the overthinker, and the hopeless romantic, all united more by emotion than by any particular book.

The Love Lit Society is one of Chennai’s newest book clubs, aimed at readers who are more interested in shared feelings than formal literary analysis. There was no collective reading, no heated discussion about plot structure or prose. Instead, there were themed games, introductions, and the beginnings of what might, over time, become a reading community.

“There are no restrictions,” says Radhika Nathany, founder of the club and a marketing professional. “Even if you have only read ten books in your life, as long as you are open to trying something new and want to meet people, you are welcome.” 

The club operates through a WhatsApp group, where weekly registration links are shared. Members voted for the group’s first read, Normal People by Sally Rooney, which will be discussed at the end of the month. “We realised that weekly discussions might influence how others perceive the book while reading, so we decided to keep the in-depth conversation for the end,” she explains.

The first meeting of Love Lit Society
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Special Arrangement

Future plans include themed activities related to specific books, peer recommendations, and sessions where members bring a book to pitch to the group. A community has also been set up on Fable, a social platform for book lovers to discover, track, and discuss books.

Although it does not yet follow the conventional book club format, the Love Lit Society is focused on building comfort before structure. “Reading is something people often do alone. I wanted to create a space where people could talk about books without pressure,” says Radhika.

Whether it eventually becomes a space for deeper literary discussion or remains rooted in casual community, only time will tell.

The Love Lit Society meets at 11am every Sunday at Vinyl and Brew, TTK Road. Entry is ₹500, which includes a beverage. To register log on to @thelovelitsociety on Instagram.