Why Reese’s Book Club is betting big on ‘micro-communities’

On an August weeknight, a group of no more than 100 people—primarily women—occupied a small, AstroTurf-covered slice of Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s west side. Reclining on beach chairs and scrawling book recommendations on a floor-length mirror with purple markers, the group debated the merits of audiobooks versus hardbacks, writing to curated playlists and, of course, which book-to-screen adaptations reign supreme. This is Storyfest, an event series from Reese Witherspoon’s book club (an off...