Books, OMG, Books Commence with Reading

Meghan Jacquot opens by asking why anyone would want to launch or take part in a book club. She links the idea to the sense of community that forms at conferences and argues that discussing what you read with peers from different backgrounds keeps you learning in a fast-moving field.

The middle of the talk covers how to run one. She describes two clubs she belongs to: a bimonthly online science fiction group focused on cyberpunk novels that also meets in person once a year at DEF CON, and a non-fiction group that alternates narrative books with technical ones. She outlines formats, from choosing titles months or a year ahead to using fixed questions, questions drawn from the discussion, or prompts borrowed from reading guides. Sample questions ask whether you liked a book, whether you would recommend it, what it taught you, and who it was written for.

She then walks through three reading themes. "Keep the receipts" covers forensics and investigation stories. "Use it or lose it" covers technical books paired with exercises and examples that authors publish online, so readers can practise skills. The fiction theme focuses on characters who push back against inequity and survival pressure, which she ties to community resilience. She closes by challenging attendees to meet someone new and stay involved with other events, and points them to her book lists and QR codes.