Book clubs or book circles are student-centered discussions inside campuses of different universities to promote critical thinking, engagement, and self-directed learning as most students choose their own texts and roles — abstractor, connector, or questioner — to analyze literature or discuss history, philosophy, science, technology or any other topic of their shared interests and take ownership of their reading, according to educational practitioners.
Along with study circles, there are several book clubs — both university-backed and student-owned — inside various institutions of the higher studies in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Islamabad and other cities. Khuram Sajid, a banker by profession, shared his achievement to establish ImStudies Book Club — a project born out of his passion for literature and commitment to fostering intellectual growth and community among the students — at the Institute of Management Studies (IMS) of the University of Peshawar in Peshawar City.
“As founder of ImStudies Book Club, my aim is to create a space for thoughtful discussions, critical analysis, and an appreciation for the timeless themes and diverse perspectives that books offer,” he told Risala Today in a telephonic interview. With bi-weekly sessions, he said that their club was exploring texts from classics to contemporary works, examining themes that resonate deeply with their lives. The ImStudies Book Club has already started its journey with an overwhelming response from the students as well as faculty members, he said, adding that this powerful response really enhanced his excitement.
‘BOOKS AS REWARDS’
Dr Ahtisham Ali, book author, poet, critic, and an Associate Professor of Urdu at the Government College University (GCU) in Lahore, is founder of the GCU Book Club in 2021. In an interview, he told Risala Today that they have organized more than seventy sessions of their book club since its establishment. He said that there was a dire need to establish a book club in the presence of the Dramatics Club, Fine Arts Society, Debating Society, Nazir Ahmad Music Society and others. Before every presentation, he said the book presenter has to coordinate with the club’s elected cabinet.
Khuram Sajid suggested faculty members and heads of departments to establish or help active group of students to start book clubs to increase reading habits among youngsters, and overall reading cultures within the campuses. “As teachers and mentors, we can encourage and support our students to establish and join book clubs, and study circles,” he said, and pointed out that departmentalization, while offering teacher specialization and efficiency, can be one of the reasons to ‘restrict’ students by limiting their educational experience to explore other disciplines within the campus. “During student life, teenagers and youngsters must read books and other texts from multiple subjects to gain good knowledge of maximum things,” he said.
“Our elected body [of the GCU Book Club] always try to support students to organize every session of the book club besides providing reading material as well as sharing pictorials and recording on social media platforms to keep audience engaged and informed even if someone missed some points or session,” Dr Ahtisham Ali said. “We at the GCU Book Club are encouraging both male and female students to join our cabinet and activities without any discrimination,” he said, as the two female students served the club as presidents in the last four years. “We are not offering trophies or awards to presenters and participants, as books are their rewards.”
Khuram Sajid said that the environment like the ImStudies Book Club enables students to explore muti subjects through dialogue and participatory conversation. “I believe that experience at the ImStudies Book Club has been immensely rewarding, and I look forward to seeing how this initiative will continue to inspire and connect students through books,” he said. Also, he said that the students of the Peshawar University were keen to learning new things through books and sometimes on several websites, online sessions and social media platforms. He extended good wishes to all those who are working to spread knowledge.
For Dr Ahtisham Ali, the ultimate success wasn’t measured in memberships, but in the moments a student discovers a book that shifts their perspective, proving that there was indeed no reward more enduring than the book itself in the intellectual journey of a scholar. He said that the club was also organizing reading festivals to promote reading culture within the campus besides iconic “Meet the Author” session to engage the students directly with the authors. “We are giving a golden chance to our students to communicate and ask questions to writers openly and frankly during our sessions and activities,” he said. “In an age where digital ‘noise’ often drowns out depth, the GCU Book Club serves as a sanctuary for contemplation,” he noted.
‘PEN, PAPER AND BOOK’
Zaheer Khan, pioneer and one of the founding members of the Punjab University’s Readers Society (PURS), told Risala Today from his hometown – Swat – that they decided not to worry about getting ‘everything right’ during the first session of the book club inside the Quaid-e-Azam Campus of the Punjab University. “Our success was the presence of a good number of students from multiple departments,” he said. “Our aim was clear to engage maximum students in book readings and inclusive discussions despite the fact that there was 24/7 free-internet available in the campus,” he said. “I’m happy that our book club was the most beautiful bridge between students and many excellent books that might not be in public exposure in an era of information, algorithm-driven trends, and high-speed content,” he said.
“I believe that pen, paper and books in printed form are still highly relevant, offering educational, and psychological benefits,” he said, adding the books as hidden gems were often ‘overlooked’ in this digital era despite their high quality, critical acclaim, or unique perspective. At book club sessions, he said that the students, especially presenters and organizers, tried their level best to engage the participants on different topics. He said that the book clubs and societies always promote substantive discussion, increase motivation through open interaction, and strengthen core literacy skills. At every session, he said the gatherings were offering spaces for intellectual discussion, stress relief, and networking. He requested young people to establish book reading societies in their towns, villages and cities, and engage people in these kind of ‘informal’ educational activities.
Amna Sanaa, student of BS in English Literature, shared her experience with Risala Today as a participant of a book club. She said that she was delighted to know something new and something interesting during the ‘informal’ gathering of the students to discuss the books about history, science, liberal arts, philosophy, geography, and other fascinating topics. “I believe that these conversations during book reading activities allow participants to improve their critical thinking skills,” she said, adding that the students like her always showed keen interest to discuss books that might not be discussed openly, or publicly – both ‘intentionally’ or ‘unintentionally’. Just like male students, she suggested female students to also join book clubs and participate in all these discussions.
MEANINGFUL DISCUSSION
Sharing his experience, Kamlesh Lavha, student of BS in Political Science, told Risala Today that the participation and discussion during the book reading club totally changed his perspective about the societies, concept of nation states, characters, and happenings. “I am now learning more than just reading a book. I know how can I think differently or critically, and also learning to build my own opinion,” he said, adding that he can now understand and absorb different perspectives instead of just accepting one idea or different ideas. After the sessions, he said that the networking with the students from different departments and diverse ethnic and geographical background give a chance to improve communication skills, to know how to express thoughts, listen others, and take part in meaningful discussions.
Zaheer Khan, who recently introduced Swat Readers Society to promote reading culture in the scenic Swat Valley, pointed out that the alternative platforms like book clubs and readers societies within the educational institutions give students a free thinking environment in the ‘absence’ of syllabus-like limitations. “Our platform – Swat Readers Society – is based on dialogue and we have no plan to force our participants to adopt one perspective or the other,” he said, adding that their aim was to spread knowledge and unfiltered information. “We need to work with young minds as they have ability to share and adopt new things,” he said. To a question, he said that the book clubs, readers societies and study circles have key role in the societies to spread knowledge.
“First I want to appreciate the Punjab University’s Readers Society for giving students an opportunity to explore books that mostly may not normally pick up or hear about,” Syed Ahmad Ali Shah, a student of BS Criminology, told Risala Today. “I loved how organizers are clear about the meetings being interactive learning experiences that came with no stress,” he said. For broader reach, he requested the university’s administration to share message of weekly book sittings with all enrolled students to reach diverse but a larger pool of interested students. “I also want to suggest organizers to include two to three recent alumni so that our direction can be more better and practical,” he said.
Sharing his experience, Faizyab Hassan, student of environmental sciences, told Risala Today through a telephonic conversation that he was regularly attending sessions at the ImStudies Club, and he was really enjoying the overall environment at the gatherings. “Like many other students, I’m also feeling good while participating in discussion on book theme,” he said. “I am enjoying opinions of my classmates and the students of different classes and departments during discussions on same topics,” he said. Now, he said that he has good friends from across many disciplines just due to the book club. “We are sharing interesting topics and books with each other,” he said.
Iman Shuja Ahmad, student of BS Management Studies, said that she was happy to meet number of good students of the Peshawar University as well as few neighboring universities during the book club sessions. “What we may know from books and interesting topics, we have a chance to learn things we may not know exactly during our networking with the students from across the departments,” she said. She also said that the book clubs can be a powerful way to connect students, and other young persons on one platform. “I like role of the organizers of the book club to create a dedicated space and structure for a discussion to be successful,” she said.
