Essays
How Books and Crafting Built My Community
Book influencer Nnenna shares how she built community and joy through shared interests in craft and great stories.
Nnenna is an NYC-based content creator sharing the books on her nightstand, the outfits she styles, musings from her journal, and glimpses of life around the city. She’s the founder of NYC Craft Club (Instagram | TikTok), a community that helps adults reconnect with their creativity through accessible, joy-filled crafting, and the host of Literary League NYC, a book club for readers who love good stories and great company. You can find Nnenna on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Substack.Â
The world feels more uncertain than ever, so I’m holding tight to the things that bring me joy. For me, two of those things are my favorite comforting and cozy hobbies: reading and journaling. Both hobbies have had such a positive impact on my life, allowing me to connect with and be part of a community of fellow readers and crafters (and let’s be real, the overlap between readers and crafters is pretty much a circle)!
Reading allows me to see things from different perspectives, reflect on my own lived experiences, learn pieces of history that I was unfamiliar with, escape into other worlds, and so much more. And crafting, particularly journaling, is a creative outlet and a form of self-care for me. It helps me to decipher my feelings and document both everyday and special memories in my life. If I haven’t read a book or journaled in a few days, I truly don’t feel like myself! It’s fascinating to realize just how central both hobbies are to my life.
Now more than ever, people are craving community. As the host of the book club, Literary League NYC, and craft club NYC Craft Club, my goal is to create spaces that are welcoming, safe, and inclusive. Spaces where other Black women like me, along with other ethnicities and genders, feel not only welcome and included but wanted. With both the book club and craft club, I’ve found that people often join hoping to meet like-minded people and form new friendships. Many come alone, and I’ve watched new friendships develop, which is incredibly heartwarming and fulfilling.
Being part of the bookish community in NYC has changed my life for the better. When I started posting about books online many years ago, I had no idea that it would eventually lead me to meet people who’ve become some of my closest friends in real life. Over the past year, I’ve also been building my crafty community, meeting so many wonderful people by starting NYC Craft Club and by attending other creative workshops. I truly believe that bookish and crafty people are some of the nicest people you will ever meet!
This fall, I’m excited to lean into my cozy hobbies even more. As the weather cools, catch me inside with my book, my journal, or both nearby!
In case you’re looking for some fall book recs, here are a few that I’ve loved:
An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets . . . From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes “a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror” (Kirkus Reviews) set in glamorous 1950s Mexico.
A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family — and a new love — changes the course of her life. “This is one of my coziest reads of the last year, and I find myself thinking about its enchanted setting all the time.” —Emily Henry, author of Great Big Beautiful Life
“This gender-swapped When Harry Met Sally retelling is for anyone who craves romance novels with realistic and flawed characters. Ari and Josh circle each other for years in the kind of delicious, slow-burn tension that only comes from a well-executed enemies-to-friends-to-lovers arc.” —NPR
A few more fall books that are on my TBR:
In this sweeping, second-chance romance, a twist of fate forces two former roommates back into their beloved New York City brownstone where they must confront the events that led to their estrangement — and the unresolved feelings lingering between them.
Grab your favorite fall candle, cuddle into a comfy blanket, and travel back in time to 1997 in this cozy, slow-burn romance set in the autumn glow of small-town Vermont.
A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power in this dark and enthralling Gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching.
And if you’re thinking of entering your journaling era, here are a couple of books I have my eye on:
A guide to the art of journaling — and a meditation on the central questions of life — by the bestselling author of Between Two Kingdoms, with contributions from Hanif Abdurraqib, Jon Batiste, Salman Rushdie, Gloria Steinem, George Saunders, and many more.
What’s your favorite book — and the one you can’t stop thinking about? This colorful journal helps you track them all, with pages to log your reads, reflect on big moments, and capture quotes that stay with you. The perfect companion for anyone who loves getting lost in a good story.
