9 Cairo Book Clubs for Every Kind of Reader

Reading, that thing we know every CairoScene follower loves, doesn't have to just be a solitary endeavour. Across a growing wave of book clubs in Cairo, it has become the starting point of unexpected conversations around life in the city, new connections formed with strangers, and a way to gather Cairo's literary communities around a single story—even the really weird ones.

From ultra-curated experiences that discuss only the 'weird' books no one else reads to women-only literary communities to loosely-organized bookish gatherings, here are eight book clubs to join around Cairo if your reading needs a companion.

The Other Bookclub

The Other Bookclub derives its name from their predilection for reading books other book clubs don’t normally read. (In their own words, they like reading the ‘weird stuff’). Operating in cycles rather than months, each cycle of The Other Book Club brings a highly curated selection of works across different forms—novels, essays, short stories—around a chosen theme. Their first cycle, which began in March, was themed ‘Evil Manuscripts’. In case that’s not enough of a clue into this book club’s reading philosophy, their second cycle is themed ‘House of Psychotic Women’…

You can find The Other Bookclub on Instagram (@tobc_eg).

Recent Books: The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft, The White Album by Joan Didion, Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson.

Difficult Women Book Club

An offshoot of a Barcelona-based reading group, Difficult Women is a women-only book club that exclusively reads female authors. Each month, members vote for a book that fits within the themes of the curriculum (in 2026, these are ‘The Sisterhood Trap’, ‘Fit for Profit’, and ‘Women Who Work’), while on certain designated ‘free months’ members can read and discuss any book of their choosing.

You can find Difficult Women Book Club on Instagram (@difficultwomenbookclub_cairo).

Recent books: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Meat Market by Laurie Penny, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

Sunshine and Stories

Sunshine and Stories is another women-only book club based in Cairo, and they meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month to discuss the two books their members have voted to read. Every month has a specific theme. Sunshine and Stories is a bilingual book club and reads both English and Arabic works.

You can find Sunshine and Stories on Instagram (@sunshineandstoriess).

Recent books: Weyward by Emilia Hart, I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

Once Upon a Book Club Cairo

A self-described ‘bookish community’, Once Upon a Book Club Cairo operates more flexibly than other book clubs on this list, making it suitable for those looking for a more casual reading commitment. While the group reads a book every month and meets to discuss (and rate) it, they also host ‘Books & Banter’ gatherings where anyone can join and play bookish games, swap used books, and talk about whatever it is that’s on their bookish brains.

You can find Once Upon a Book Club Cairo on Instagram (@ouabc_cairo).

Recent books: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang.

Toqa’s Book Club

Toqa Hossam is a viral Egyptian BookToker who, in 2024, was officially named the Best Book Reviewer at the TikTok MENA Book Awards. Besides using her platform to turn more people into readers, she also hosts a monthly book club at La Maison Treize focused solely on Arabic literature.

You can follow Toqa Hossam on Instagram (@toqa.hossam07) for details about her monthly gatherings.

Recent books: Umm Sa’ad by Ghassan Kanafani, Dawaer Elsae’ey by Ahmed Essameldin, La Anam by Ihsan Abdel Quddous.

Nina’s Book Club

Made for women of all ages, Nina’s Book Club operates with the motto that books let you travel without having to move your feet. Despite that, Nina’s Book Club likes to add flavour to their monthly gatherings by meeting where their book takes them. For example, in May, when they read Naguib Mahfouz’s ‘Children of Gebelawi’, they discussed the work at Café Riche in Downtown, which the Nobel Prize winning author often frequented.

You can find Nina’s Book Club on Instagram (@ninas_book_club).

Recent books: Children of Gebelawi by Naguib Mahfouz, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

Bibliothek Book Club

One of two bookstore-led book clubs on this list, Bibliothek Book Club is nearing the fourth year of its existence. Open to readers of all ages and lovers of every genre, they meet once a month at Bibliothek in Arkan Plaza, Sheikh Zayed. Their meetings always have mini cheesecakes, courtesy of the moderator.

While Bibliothek does not have a dedicated Instagram page, you can reach out to the moderator (@girlwithoneearringblog) on Instagram.

Recent books: Cleopatra by Sara El-Aarifi, All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir, Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston.

Diwan Egypt Book Club

Diwan regularly hosts bilingual book clubs across three of their branches: Zamalek, Heliopolis, and Sheikh Zayed. Besides new books, each month also sees a new moderator hosting the discussions.

Updates about the book club are posted on Diwan Bookstore’s Instagram page (@diwan_bookstore), while the gatherings themselves are scheduled on Diwan’s website calendar.

Recent books: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed, White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Room of Her Own Bookclub

Having only launched in July, this women-only book club is the newest entry on the list, but they’re already off to a strong start. The book they chose to launch with is Polish Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk’s ‘Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’, an existential mystery novel in which the men of a village begin to die inexplicably. Deriving their name from Virginia Woolf’s seminal essay, this book club aims to create a literary community centred around young women in Cairo.

You can find Room of Her Own Bookclub on Instagram (@roomofherown.bc).

Recent books: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.