Book discussion club in the context of "Community building"

An affinity group is a group formed around a shared interest or common goal, to which individuals formally or informally belong. Affinity groups are generally precluded from being under the aegis of any governmental agency, and their purposes must be primarily non-commercial. Examples of affinity groups include private social clubs, fraternities, writing or reading circles, hobby clubs, and groups engaged in political activism.

Some affinity groups are organized in a non-hierarchical manner, often using consensus decision making, and are frequently made up of trusted friends. They provide a method of organization that is flexible and decentralized. Other affinity groups may have a hierarchy to provide management of the group's long-term interests, or if the group is large enough to require the delegation of responsibilities to other members or staff.

A social club or social organization may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity with in an organizational association known as a club. Examples include book discussion clubs, chess clubs, country clubs, final clubs, strip clubs, fishing clubs, gaming clubs, women's clubs, gentlemen's clubs (known as private member’s clubs in the U.S.), hunting clubs, military officers' clubs, political clubs, religious clubs (such as Christian fellowships), traditional fraternal organizations, service clubs, fraternities and sororities (Greek-letter organizations), business networking clubs, science clubs, hobbyist clubs, informal professional associations, and university clubs. The term can also refer to a criminal headquarters, such as the Ravenite Social Club or the Cage.

This article covers only three distinct types of social clubs – the historic gentlemen's clubs, the modern activities clubs and an introduction to fraternities and sororities. This article does not cover a variety of other types of clubs having some social characteristics. Social clubs have commonly been used by the Mafia as meeting places, many mob crews even being named after the club that they are based out of (The Palma Boys Crew, The Gemini Crew, The Veterans & Friends Crew).

Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. Products are distributed via retail and online sales and through schools via reading clubs and book fairs. Clifford the Big Red Dog, a character created by Norman Bridwell in 1963, is the mascot of Scholastic.

A book sales club is a subscription-based method of selling and purchasing books. It is more often called simply a book club, a term that is also used to describe a book discussion club, which can cause confusion.