Buddy and/or Group Reads over Zoom

This is something that my family and I started back in March. We're all huge fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, and one of my uncles had the idea to meet monthly over Zoom to read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which consists of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. That's what inspired today's post.

I think this was one of the best ideas my family has had. Many readers already buddy or group read, but in today's world, it can be hard and unsettling to meet up in person to discuss the book. Using Zoom allowed my family to read The Hobbit together. It also allowed for my younger cousins to hear how such a text is read. It gives my entire family more time with each other, connecting over a piece of literature that we all love.

Even if you're only buddy reading with friends, and even if it's just one other person, I highly recommend using Zoom at least once during your buddy read. You don't have to read the text aloud as my family does. However, reading the same book together at the same time means you have more opportunity to share ideas, look deeper into possibilities, and get fresh perspectives. Even if you're not reading at the same pace, setting aside time - maybe 1 hour - to read the book together over Zoom can be so fun during the pandemic.

Yes, if you only have two people, it can be easier to use different communication tools - text, FaceTime, voice call, etc. However, I do recommend trying out Zoom once or twice, and here are six reasons why:

1. It allows you to have direct communication with no delays.
2. It's just friends or family, so having your camera on isn't a huge issue (even when you aren't feeling 100%).
3. It's easier to manage buddy/group reads of 3+ people.
4. You have the chat feature as well as your microphone just in case you're in a situation where you can't speak.
5. With the camera on, you can see people's immediate - and I mean immediate - reactions to specific scenes in the book.
6. Zoom has a breakout room feature. If you're in a group read of 4 people, and 2 people are in one spot while the other 2 are in a different spot, you can create two breakout rooms for those two spots in the book so that spoilers won't be a huge issue.

Even if you're not using Zoom for meetings to actually read, Zoom is still a great way to meet up and have a live discussion about the book. You can set a date to have the book finished by, and then meet over Zoom on that date to discuss the book. (That way, you avoid the issue of spoilers.)