My experience starting a reading club
Growing up, I was always excited by the Scholastic Book Fair. Those temporary libraries felt magical, creating a space where readers could explore new worlds together. Years later, I felt the same joy walking through the aisles of Crossword or sitting in a quiet corner of Kitaab Khana. It was there that I realized reading isn’t just something you do alone—it can also bring people together. Inspired by them, I always wanted to create a similar space of my own.
This love for shared reading experiences introduced me to two wonderful communities: CubbonReads and BombayBookies.
The Beginning of LabsReads
The idea for LabsReads emerged from a simple tradition between Hari and me. We often exchanged articles or blogs and discussed them informally. Over time, this casual practice sparked a thought: what if we turned this into a regular, organized activity with the team?
The timing couldn’t have been better. Around the same week, I attended a session of CubbonReads for the first time, and I loved how the community gathered and read together. Inspired, I decided to bring a similar concept, naming it LabsReads since the name of our team was Labs.
I was both nervous and excited. Starting something new always comes with a mix of excitement and uncertainty—like opening the first page of a new book. Would people join? Would they enjoy it? What if the article I chose is a stupid one? These questions ran through my mind, but the thought of creating a space where people could come together to read and share ideas kept me motivated. It was a big step into the unknown, but one that felt interesting.
What is LabsReads?
LabsReads is more than just a reading session; it’s a space for learning and collaboration. The format is simple:
15 minutes of reading: We read an article on any topic related to software engineering.
15-30 minutes of discussion: We share perspectives, insights, and questions about the article we read.
Our sessions happen every other Wednesday. Sometimes, we gather amidst artificial trees in the HackerRank Bangalore office; other times, we meet outdoors, surrounded by lakes or rivers. The goal remains constant: to create an environment where reading ignites conversations.
Lessons Learned
Over the past year of running LabsReads, here are some of the things that I have learned and tried
Deciding what we read
Choosing the right article is key to keeping the discussion engaging. I maintain a Google Doc of links that I come across, categorizing them by themes like code quality, testing, tech debt, or product building. I have realized that rotating themes keep discussions fresh, and relevant to engineers, product managers, and designers alike.
One of the important factors that decide the article we will be reading is also something that will directly help us in our day-to-day work while building our product. For example, when the team had to plan on what Technical Debt we would be picking up for the year, we read about the different ways in which technical debt could be solved and how we needed to attach a business value to it. When we were deciding on what Testing strategy that we would follow, we read about how QA was something everyone had to do.
Facilitating the Flow
Before the first session, I was worried about how the discussion would follow. Preparing a list of questions or discussion prompts helped structure the conversation and ensured active participation. This practice continues to be a cornerstone of how the sessions are conducted. Before every session now, I write a maximum of 5 questions around which we could have a discussion and then the room is open for any free discussion.
Keeping it exciting
To add a touch of fun, we introduced LabsReads bookmarks. Whoever attends the session gets a bookmark—a small touch to keep everyone attending it engaged.
Finding the Right Cadence
When LabsReads began, we held sessions weekly, eager to maintain momentum. However, we quickly learned that weekly sessions were a sprint we couldn’t sustain while balancing other work priorities—so we paced ourselves to biweekly to ensure we were not risking the freshness of each session.
A biweekly schedule has proven to be a better fit. Our goal now is simple: to host a minimum of 12 sessions each year (approx 1/month).
What makes LabsReads isn’t just the articles we read but the conversations that follow. Whether it’s someone sharing a story from their projects or a lively debate about an unexpected perspective.
Here’s to many more sessions of reading and sharing together.
Links we read so far