Being an actress, a voracious reader and a best-selling author, Sonali Bendre Behl dons many hats as she completes one year of successfully running her digital book club. A year ago, the gorgeous actress decided to give social media a chance for the love of reading and created ‘Sonali’s Book Club’ as an effort to resuscitate her reading habit. Not surprisingly, the idea worked!The book club that shares its anniversary with World Storytelling Day, turned reading into an in-thing as it steadily amassed followers.
We’re a year old and it’s been a fantastic journey! It’s you guys who make it what it is and I thoroughly love bonding over books with YOU! Thank you so much for being a part of it, and I look forward to many more interactions! #SBCTurns1 pic.twitter.com/FgYWgPL85R
— Sonali Bendre Behl (@iamsonalibendre) March 20, 2018
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The online community brought books, writers, and readers together and gave them a platform to have the discussion. A bookworm herself, Sonali made it her mission to make the club a go-to portal for aspiring writers and avid readers. Through her book club, the actress-turned best-selling writer organized masterclasses, in-conversations on reading trends and arranged giveaways to popularize reading and bring Indian authors to interact with the urban millennial generation.
#SBCTurns1 today and I couldn’t be happier! We’ve come a long way since we began… we’re on our thirteenth book now! Here’s a trip down memory lane as we look at the books we read and discussed – love the diversity of the genres we’ve covered! pic.twitter.com/bkBUwxId5r
— Sonali Bendre Behl (@iamsonalibendre) March 20, 2018
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Anand Neelakantan, Amish Tripathi, Ravi Subramanium, Rashmi Bansal, Preeti Shenoy and Zuni Chopra are some of the writers that Sonali roped in to share writing tips, provide advice on publishing and discuss reading lists with the followers of the club. The forum also had live sessions that made it possible for readers to connect with Sonali and writers real time through question-answer segments.
As a parent, I understand the importance of getting your child to read from an early age. Hence, I felt the need to include #SBCLilOnes as part of #SBC, where we highlight age-appropriate books for children. Here’s a glimpse at what’s in store… #SBCTurns1 pic.twitter.com/S7aH2PHZQW
— Sonali Bendre Behl (@iamsonalibendre) March 20, 2018
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Says Sonali, “I am so happy that the book club has grown at such a pace in a year’s time. I have definitely become a better reader with it. If the club has helped readers and writers find a common ground, my job is done.”
We’re always on the lookout for ways to expand Sonali’s Book Club, and these avenues popped up very spontaneously. First, we had the SBC Masterclass, and the SBC In Conversation With… the idea for SBC Discoverables struck in the middle of a FB live! #SBCTurns1 pic.twitter.com/k5ZgsWtug5
— Sonali Bendre Behl (@iamsonalibendre) March 20, 2018
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It is learnt that on the occasion of the book club’s first anniversary, Sonali will be packing a surprise for its followers and will be announcing it soon.

