A BOOK club founder is hoping to launch a children’s version of her growing reading community as calls mount for action to reverse a decline in reading for pleasure among young Islanders.
Finleigh Donald, who founded The OverBooked Society in 2024, said she would “absolutely love” to establish an OverBooked Junior – and believes schools, the library and government could also do more to create spaces where children can discover a love of books without reading feeling like a chore.
Her comments follow calls from Every Child Our Future chief executive Cris Lakeman for a long-term Island-wide strategy after research suggested Jersey was “following the same trajectory as the UK” when it came to declining levels of reading for pleasure.
The OverBooked Society, which meets weekly at The Yard, has itself grown significantly during its first 18 months – from 17 people at its first meeting to around 30 to 40 now.
Members bring their own books, read at their own pace and can explore any genre, while the society also organises reading retreats, book crawls and yoga in the park, as well as partnering with other businesses and communities.
However, Miss Donald acknowledged that the society’s current Tuesday evening meetings were unlikely to appeal to children – and said she hoped to fill that gap.
“I would absolutely love to set up, and I definitely hope that in 2027, an OverBooked Junior is something that I’m going to be able to launch,” she said.
But she stressed that encouraging young people to read did not have to fall to her alone.
“Book clubs can be run by anybody,” she said. “If we want to focus on increasing young people’s literacy levels, it would be fantastic if there are dedicated ways, such as book clubs aimed at young people.”
Miss Donald said reading for educational purposes could sometimes take away the enjoyment and lead to books being “viewed as a chore”.
“Book clubs are initiatives that schools or the library should be able to offer. Even the government, if they’re able to provide a subsidy for it,” she said.
“It would be beneficial to create a space, like a book club, where young people can get together and chat through books without it feeling like a mandatory chore that they have to attend.”
Her comments come after Mrs Lakeman warned that declining reading for pleasure was “no longer simply a literacy issue”, but could affect educational attainment, wellbeing, social mobility and future economic prosperity.
Mrs Lakeman said Jersey already had strong foundations, including universal library membership for children, committed schools, an active library service and community initiatives promoting reading.
“The challenge now is to build on these strengths through a shared, long-term strategy that ensures every child develops a lifelong love of reading,” she said.
Miss Donald said her experience with The OverBooked Society had demonstrated the benefits that reading for pleasure could bring.
“It keeps you more engaged and it’s so much more beneficial for your mental health than sitting scrolling on your phone,” she said.
“To see how excited people get about coming along, being enthusiastic about what they’re reading, and seeing the boost it gives them, has just been amazing to see.”
