Spare: SMT Book Club — All the Details!

My coverage plans for the release of Prince Harry’s memoir and how you can host your own discussion.

Hello! The frenzy around the release of Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, is reaching a fever pitch. I am doing my best to avoid the clickbait headlines and wait to read the book in its entirety when it comes out on Jan. 10. Then I promise to share allllll the thoughts.

Below you’ll find more details on my plans, as well as something I’m especially excited about — how YOU can host your own gathering to talk about Spare. Read on for more.

A bookstore in London preps for the release of Spare on Jan. 10. (Photo via Getty Images)

Please note: Most aspects of the SMT Book Club will be available to paid subscribers. Thank you for supporting my work! You can upgrade your subscription for $5/month by clicking here. If you cannot afford a subscription, send me an email at Hello@SoManyThoughts.com.

PS: Make sure you have a copy of the book! Pre-order Spare from Amazon, Bookshop or your local independent book seller. If you plan on listening to Harry read Spare, you can find it on Audible from Amazon or Libro.fm, which supports local bookstores.

SMT Book Club for Spare — All the Details

Here’s what to expect from me following Harry’s book release on Jan. 10.

🎧 Audio SMTs

Read Spare along with me as I try something new: audio thoughts. My plan is to pause at natural breaks in the book and record my real-time reactions. I love audio as a format, the intimacy and the emotion it can convey (which is why I’m planning to listen to Harry read Spare). My hope is that these audio posts will be candid and conversational; think of it like a mini companion podcast as you read. I’ll send paid subscribers a link to the audio when it’s ready. You can listen on Substack or your favorite podcasting app.

🧵 Discussion Threads

As you are reading through portions of Spare and are ready to discuss, SMT is there for you! Just like with Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docu-series, I’ll be creating discussion threads for paid subscribers to dive into designated sections of the book. (I’m waiting to get my hands on the book before deciding how many discussion threads there will be, but envisioning somewhere between two and four to keep the conversation focused.) The first one will go up on Tuesday, Jan. 10 as soon as I’ve had a chance to read/listen listen to roughly a quarter of the book. I’ve really enjoyed the quality of our discussions on Substack, and I can’t wait to read your thoughts on Spare.

✍️ SMT Newsletters with My Thoughts

I’ll also share my thoughts via this newsletter, much like I did for H&M on Netflix. Right now I think I will break it up into two parts, writing one newsletter at the halfway point of the book and a second newsletter at the end. But that may change! We’ll have to see if there are more natural breaks in the structure of the book once it comes out.

Along with the above, I will find a way to answer your questions — perhaps in audio, perhaps another Zoom webinar, perhaps with a guest or several, TBD. It depends a bit on what the book has to say, so stay tuned.

And it goes without saying that I’ll be Insta-ing the highlights, too. Make sure you are following along at @EHolmes.

eholmes

A post shared by Elizabeth Holmes (@eholmes)

BUT MOSTLY: For those of you who want even more, we’re trying something new and (I hope!) quite fun. Drumroll please…

📚 Host Your Own SMT Book Club Meet-Up

At my Boston book signing, someone asked if I could help organize a local, in-person book club for Spare. My first thought: YES, I CAN. I love that idea! I hear from people all the time that they want to connect with other members of the SMT community. I know the feeling of being the only one in a friend circle that follows the royal family or exhausting my partner with endless chattering. 🙃 So what if we could set up SMT Book Club meet-ups to discuss Spare in person or online? How fun would that be?

This is a bit of an experiment. Here is what I am thinking:

1. I need a some helpers! Or rather, hosts. We are looking for a few SMTers who would like to organize a book club meet-up near the end of January, either in-person or online. That means you are willing to handle the coordination (emailing with interested participants) and drive the discussion once it happens. Click here for more info on hosting, plus the form to sign up!

2. Then, let’s gather a group. We will put together a list of the people willing to host and what kind of meet-up they want to have (in-person or virtual, any themes that jump out, etc.) then share it with the people who want to join a discussion. We’ll do a little matchmaking on our end to connect folks via email.

3. And finally, you’ll meet. We’re thinking the week of Jan. 23 or 30 would be best to allow everyone a chance to finish the book. But timing is ultimately up to the host! I’ll provide a few discussion topics to kick off the conversation.

SMT Book Club meet-ups will be offered to paid newsletter subscribers. If you cannot afford a subscription, or have any questions, please send me an email at Hello@SoManyThoughts.com with the subject “SMT Book Club.”

Hooray! Thank you for your willingness to try this out! Excited to think this all through with you.