Queen's charity to explore neuroscience of book clubs

The Queen's Reading Room will fund a laboratory-controlled neuroscientific study of shared reading, led by Professor Sam Wass at the University of East London in partnership with The Bentley Foundation, with results expected by World Mental Health Day in October.

The Queen's Reading Room charity has announced a laboratory-controlled neuroscientific study into the effects of book clubs and shared reading. The project will be led by Professor Sam Wass at the University of East London and run in partnership with The Bentley Foundation. The charity began as an Instagram book club during the 2020 lockdown and became a registered charity in 2023. The new study follows earlier research by the charity in 2024 on the short-term benefits of reading fiction. Key details: - The study is laboratory-controlled and will examine physiological and psychological effects of shared reading and book clubs. - It is led by Professor Sam Wass at the University of East London and partnered with The Bentley Foundation. - The charity's 2024 work reported that five minutes of reading fiction reduced stress by nearly 20% and improved concentration by about 11%. - The Queen's Reading Room began as Camilla's Instagram book club in 2021 and marks its fifth anniversary in 2026 with the motto "Make Room for Reading." - Results from the new study are expected to be published by World Mental Health Day in October. Summary: The study seeks to build a clearer evidence base for how collective reading experiences relate to stress, social connection and mental wellbeing. Publication of the findings is scheduled for World Mental Health Day in October.