The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert plans to launch “cOlbert’s Book Club.”

For the first installment of this humorous “rip off” of Oprah Winfrey‘s book club, Colbert plans to discuss The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jennifer Egan and filmmaker Baz Luhrmann will be his first guests on Thursday, May 9th. The video embedded above contains the full announcement–what do you think?

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You can read all the online book reviews in the world, but nothing beats real-world conversations between readers and authors.

To help our community grow, we will host another Mediabistro Book Club on Tuesday, April 2, 2013 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at The Stand.

Follow this link to RSVP. The free event will feature giveaway books and lots of literary conversation.

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You can read all the online book reviews in the world, but nothing beats real-world conversations between readers and authors. You can share your work at our free Mediabistro Book Club April 2, 2013 in New York City.

If you are an author or publicist looking to participate, you can follow this link to apply. The deadline is Friday, March 1, 2013 at 11:59 PM (EST). If you are a reader, mark your calendar–the next installment of our free book club will feature four authors from different genres, tons of book giveaways and plenty of practical conversation. The location will be announced soon.

Check it out: “Mediabistro is proud to announce the Mediabistro book club, where authors can highlight their latest work for Mediabistro party attendees. At the event, four authors will mingle and share drinks with Mediabistro’s influential audience and read a five minute selection from their work.”

5.7 million Americans now belong to book clubs, compared to 5.8 million bird-watchers in our country.

ProQuest has released the Statistical Abstract of the United States 2013, taking over the annual volume of American demographics from the Census Bureau.

The New York Times had some key facts: “Liquor stores outnumber bookstores by three to one (the average household spent $100 annually on reading materials and $2,504 on other forms of entertainment). More Americans belong to a fantasy sports league (10.6 million) than to book clubs (5.7 million). Book club members are outnumbered by avid bird-watchers (5.8 million).” (Via Caitlin Shamberg)

Oprah Winfrey revealed her second Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis. Published by Knopf, the book “tells the story of the children of the Great Migration through the trials of one indomitable heroine.”

Winfrey explained her choice: “The opening pages of Ayana’s debut took my breath away … I can’t remember when I read anything that moved me in quite this way, besides the work of Toni Morrison.”

Winfrey will release an Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 edition of the book. She will interview Mathis on Sunday, February 3 at 11 a.m. ET/PT on OWN’s “Super Soul Sunday,” but the episode will air on Oprah.com and OWN’s Facebook page and on Oprah Radio’s “Oprah’s Soul Series” on Sirius radio.

The New York City TransLit Commuter Book Club has opened for readers in the five boroughs. In December, public transit commuter club members will read This Machine Kills Secrets by Andy Greenberg.

Visit the club’s official Meetup.com page for more details. Readers can meet the author at the book club’s kickoff event–check out the event at Togather. The organizers were inspired by Seattle’s “Books on the Bus” club.

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You can read all the online book reviews in the world, but nothing beats real-world conversations between readers and authors.

In an ongoing effort to build community among readers, writers, and publishing types in real life, we are hosting our next Mediabistro Book Club tonight (November 14, 2012) from 6:30 until 8:30 pm at The Stand in Manhattan (see map).

Follow this link to RSVP for the free party. Our featured authors include:

Jen Adams, The Books They Gave Me
Toby Ball, Scorch City
Caitlin Kelly, Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail
Kitty Pilgrim, The Stolen Chalice

You can read all the online book reviews in the world, but nothing beats real-world conversations between readers and authors. You can share your work at our free Mediabistro Book Club November 14, 2012 in New York City.

If you are an author or publicist looking to participate, you can follow this link to apply. The deadline is October 15, 2012 at 11:59 PM (PT). If you are a reader, mark your calendar–the next installment of our free book club will feature four authors from different genres, tons of book giveaways and plenty of practical conversation. The location will be announced soon.

Check it out: “Mediabistro is proud to announce the Mediabistro book club, where authors can highlight their latest work for Mediabistro party attendees. At the event, four authors will mingle and share drinks with Mediabistro’s influential audience and read a five minute selection from their work.”

You can read all the online book reviews in the world, but nothing beats real-world conversations between readers and authors. To help our community grow, we will host our second West Coast edition of the Mediabistro Book Club on July 18th at Whiskey Blue in Los Angeles.

Follow this link to RSVP. The free event will feature giveaway books and lots of literary conversation. If you want a free book, just tweet about the party using the #mediabistroLABCP hashtag. Show us your tweet and you’ll get a free book from one of the featured authors.

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Writer Jack Cheng hopes to raise $10,000 on Kickstarter to fund the production of his novel, These Days. In the rewards section, the project includes a “book club bundle” reward for backers who contribute $170 to the project–what do you think?

Here’s more about the book club bundle: “ 6 signed hardcovers for your book club, bookstore,
cafe, startup, co-working space… plus your name in the back and the digital bundle. Shipping included. (International add $10) Estimated Delivery: Jan 2013.”

The money would allow him to employ the services of editors, proofreaders, designers and printers.

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