“Reading Rainbow” Host LeVar Burton Is Starting a Book Club for Adults
If the PBS classic “Reading Rainbow” defined your childhood and helped foster your love of books, you’re no doubt loving the recent LeVaraissance, thanks to the internet’s pleas to make the show’s longtime host, LeVar Burton, Alex Trebek’s successor on “Jeopardy.” So far, Burton is slated to join as an upcoming guest host, but in the interim, book lovers of all ages will be thrilled to know that Burton is taking on a new role, because he just launched his first-ever digital book club.
The LeVar Burton Book Club is now available via Fable, a social platform designed to make reading an interactive experience by way of both free and premium virtual book clubs that any member can start. Burton kicked off his inaugural month with three hand picked selections, telling Entertainment Weekly that his initial picks “represent how my identity as a reader has been shaped.”
Up first: James Baldwin’s 1953 semi-autobiographical novel “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” which will be followed by Octavia E. Butler’s 1993 sci-fi novel “Parable of the Sower,” and 2016’s “The Fire This Time,” a collection of poetry and essays edited by Jesmyn Ward.
Of his fitting new venture, Burton told EW, “For me, if I’m going to start a book club, I’m going to begin with who I am and my story as a reader. Obviously, there are hundreds of books that have shaped my identity as a reader, and these three are really representative of an important aspect of that journey for me.”
All three are written by Black American authors, but Burton noted that his book club will be welcome to readers from all backgrounds and walks of life. “I know I have demonstrated over time that my attitude towards literature is ecumenical,” he said. “As it happens, the first three books are by people who look like me, and if one wants to pigeonhole that, then that would be, in my estimation, their shortcoming. It’s nothing more than a starting point that reflects who I am.”
Of course, Burton himself is a lifelong reader and has been sharing his love of literature with fans ever since debuting as the host of “Reading Rainbow” back in 1983. It seems this new platform feels like the perfect fit for the prolific personality, telling EW it’s a new way for him to connect to a community of like-minded readers.
If you’re interested in joining Burton’s new venture, you’ll need a premium Fable subscription, which costs $9.99 USD per month or $69 USD per year for an annual subscription. Monthly subscriptions can cancel at any time with no penalty. Fable is currently available to U.S. subscribers and is aiming to expand internationally soon.
Fans can also join Burton cost-free during his thrice-weekly Twitter livestreams and on his podcast “LeVar Burton Reads,” which he’s hosted since 2017. And, of course, he’ll get a weeklong stint as “Jeopardy” guest host in July, with fans no doubt hoping he’ll sign on as a permanent guest sometime in the future.