book clubn.
/ˈbʊk klʌb/, U.S. /ˈbʊk ˌkləb/ 1. A subscription library; (also) a club in which the subscriptions are put towards the purchase or borrowing of books for the common use of the members. Now rare (chiefly historical).
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society > communication > book > library or collection of books > library, place, or institution > [noun] > private commercial
book club1740
library1836
rental library1923
twopenny library1935
society > communication > book > library or collection of books > library, place, or institution > [noun] > other types
public library1597
lending library1708
travelling library?1727
book society1739
book club1740
circulating library1742
free library1746
county library1748
library of reference1809
reference library1821
prison library1847
branch library1862
copyright library1898
bookmobile1924
1740 D. Bellamy Misc. in Prose & Verse II. Subscribers Names sig. A3v The Book Club, at the Theatre Coffee-house, in Cam.
1774 By Permission: Oratiuncula sig. B On the 23rd of November, 1773, Lord Sandwich, by particular invitation from the president, came and dined at the Book-Club, in Huntingdon.
1788 A. Young Jrnl. 22 Sept. in Trav. France (1792) i. 90 A chamber de lecture, or what we should call a book-club, that does not divide its books, but forms a library.
1804 W. Taylor in J. W. Robberds Mem. W. Taylor (1843) I. 485 People..wait till it comes to the library or the book-club.
1902 Epicure May 166/2 An English correspondent of the author urges upon her..the formation of a sort of book club or circulating library of cookery books for the use of Colonial readers.
2004 W. St. Clair Reading Nation in Romantic Period xiv. 253 In Hampshire.., where Jane Austen was a member of the book club, the subjects covered all parts of the world.
2. A society which publishes books for its subscribers.
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society > communication > printing > publishing > publisher > [noun] > publisher at author's expense
book club1815
vanity publisher1922
vanity press1969
1815 Times 23 June 3/2 The collecting of books..has..its professed votaries, and its regular associations. Among these, the most prominent place is occupied by the Roxburgh [sic] Book Club.
1863 Notes & Queries 3 Jan. 8/2 Some years ago..a public document was discovered... I cannot designate it more particularly, but it was published by one of the book clubs.
1929 H. Williams (title) Book Clubs and Printing Societies of Great Britain and Ireland..published by the First Edition Club.
1937 V. Gollancz in ‘G. Orwell’ Road to Wigan Pier p. xi The three selectors of the Left Book Club Choices.
1993 Village Voice (N.Y.) 20 Apr. 44/2 His voice is deep..and his ‘radio sermonettes’ on subjects like ‘what's funny about art’ and ‘immediatism’ so good they've been published by the Libertarian Book Club.
3. = reading group n. at reading n.1 Compounds 3.
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society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > types of association, society, or organization > [noun] > club > types of club
penny club1631
country club1679
soaking club1694
fire clubc1744
tea-circle1834
student union1843
Boys' Club1855
house club1893
tennis club1894
service club1898
book club1904
Darby and Joan club1942
1904 Broadway Weekly 25 Feb. 5/1 Our Smart Setters live a sort of ‘up-in-the-air’ life..mentally..with their dramatic clubs and book clubs and culture clubs and thought-dissecting ethics, they are becoming raw-nerved.
1932 Morning News (Florence, S. Carolina) 17 May 7/8 The Palmetto Book club discussed Pearl Buck's Novel ‘The Good Earth’ at the home of the president, Mrs. John M. Carlisle.
1973 A. Fleet Children's Libraries ix. 122 Book clubs to encourage good reading are a feature in many children's libraries.
2006 New Yorker 23 Jan. 32/3 Fischer is a member of three book clubs, making her something of a literary Blaine Trump.
4. A society which sells its members selected books, typically at reduced prices and often with an obligation to buy a certain number of books within a given period.
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1905 Times 9 Sept. 9/6 Subscribers..will be able to order any class of book they may require through The Times Book Club, at the largest rates of discount.
1929 N. Amer. Rev. July 53/1 The publishers will tend to keep their best sellers out of the book club.
1954 Billboard 25 Sept. 11/1 There are further signs that the mass appeal of recorded music will entice more mail order, newsstand and book club operators to enter the field.
1982 Yachting Apr. 129/2 (advt.) If you want the main book club selection, it will be sent automatically. If you prefer another selection, or no book, you simply indicate your choice on the reply card provided and return it by the date specified.
2001 M. Sheiner Sex for Clueless i. iii. 37 Within ten years it would become a series sold by book clubs and in chain stores.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1740