Four books. Fifteen bookstores. And a lot to talk about.
There are two kinds of readers.
The ones who finish a book and quietly put it back on the shelf.
And the ones who finish a book and immediately need to call somebody.
Did you get to that part?
What did you think she meant?
Wait. Do you think he was actually saying…?
I’ve always thought the second kind of reader was more interesting.
Because what happens when a book refuses to stay inside the book?
It becomes a conversation.
And what happens when that conversation leaves your living room and walks into a bookstore?
Well, darling, that’s where things get interesting.
WELCOME TO MOOD BOOK CIRCLE.
Mood Magazine NYC is bringing readers together with Black-owned independent bookstores across the country for a quarterly reading experience built around four books, four perspectives, and one very big question:
What happens when we actually talk about what we’re reading?
We’re not asking you to sit alone with a book and check it off your list.
We’re asking you to be a part of the story.
Read it.
Go to the bookstore.
Pull up a chair.
And tell us what you think.
THE BOOKSTORE DATE
There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about going to a bookstore.
You walk in looking for one thing.
You leave with three books, a conversation with a stranger, and somehow a new opinion about your entire life.
Mood Book Circle already has 15 Black-owned bookstore partners across the country.
They’re our first homes for the Circle.
And we’re inviting more to join us.
Because if we’re going to create a national conversation about books, shouldn’t that conversation happen in the places where books actually live?
FOUR BOOKS. ONE QUARTER.
For our first quarter, we chose four books that, frankly, have no business being boring.
REST IS RESISTANCE: A MANIFESTO by Tricia Hersey asks us to reconsider our obsession with being busy.
JAMES by Percival Everett asks what happens when a familiar American story is finally told from another perspective.
THE COOKING GENE by Michael W. Twitty asks what our food might reveal about our history, our families, and ourselves.
And ALL ABOUT LOVE: NEW VISIONS by bell hooks asks perhaps the most complicated question of all:
What does it really mean to love?
And suddenly, the four books begin to feel less like a reading list and more like a conversation we’re having with ourselves.
First, we REST.
Then we REIMAGINE.
Then we REMEMBER.
And finally, we LOVE.
Coincidence?
I think not.
BUT HERE’S THE FUN PART.
We’re recording the Circles.
Yes.
The author may join us and host the conversation.
If the author can’t make it, the bookstore owner or designated host takes the lead.
We’ll read passages.
We’ll ask questions.
We’ll hear what you underlined.
We’ll hear what annoyed you.
We’ll hear what changed your mind.
And Mood will capture the whole thing.
Because maybe the most interesting part of a book isn’t the author’s final word.
Maybe it’s what happens when we start talking back.
SAY HELLO TO STACKS.
The conversations recorded inside participating bookstores become STACKS, Mood’s book and culture programming for television and radio.
So that brilliant thing you said at the Circle?
It might become a television moment.
That debate you had across the table?
It might become a radio segment.
That bookstore owner who has been championing Black literature for twenty years?
We’re going to tell that story, too.
And the people sitting around the table?
Well…
they’re part of the show.
Participants in recorded portions of the Circle will sign the appropriate media release.
Which brings me to something important.
DARLING, DRESS TO IMPRESS.
You’re not just coming to a book club.
You might be on television.
FIFTEEN BOOKSTORES ARE ALREADY IN.
And that’s just the beginning.
Our current partners are mapped across the country, creating a growing network of places where readers can find the books, meet the community, and join the conversation.
We’re inviting more Black-owned independent bookstores to join us.
Because imagine it:
One book.
Fifteen bookstores today.
Hundreds tomorrow.
Readers gathering in cities all over America, having conversations about the same four books.
Different cities.
Different lives.
Different perspectives.
One conversation.
Now, isn’t that a book club worth leaving the house for?
SO, WHAT ARE YOU READING?
Find your participating bookstore.
Buy the book.
Read it.
Join the Circle.
Bring your questions.
Bring your opinions.
Bring the friend who always has something to say.
And if the cameras are there?
Bring your best outfit.
Because the next story Mood tells might just be yours.
READ. REFLECT. CONNECT.
BE A PART OF THE STORY.
Mood Magazine NYC
Let us curate your mood.
