With its gothic architecture, buildings adorned with stained-glass windows, winding pathways and open lawns, some might say Lehigh’s campus has a storybook feel.
They might even believe its atmosphere to be reminiscent of that of Hogwarts from “Harry Potter” — just without the magic.
While Lehigh may not have actual spells or potions, Chapters and Chats, a student-run book club, is hoping to create its own kind of magic.
Co-founded by Antonio Franco Laureanio, ‘26, the club’s president, and Christine Calva, ‘26, the vice president, Chapters and Chats offers students the opportunity to connect through reading, discussion and imagination.
Before Chapter and Chats held its inaugural meeting in March 2024,Calva said the idea for the book club originated when she reached out to Laureanio after hearing he was interested in creating one.
Together, she said, they gathered a few friends and went through the Student Senate approval process to get the club off the ground.
Calva said Chapters and Chats was created for those who enjoy reading and wish for an opportunity to come together with their peers to discuss what they’ve been reading as of late.
She also said there are five genres offered by the club for members to join: manga, romance, fantasy, thriller and “other” — which means any genre, like science fiction or nonfiction, can be selected.
When a member joins, they select whichever genre they’d like, which decides the material they read. Calva said members have the freedom to switch to another genre at any time, and the club decides what the next assigned books will be together.
Lizeth Severo, ‘28, the club’s social media chair, said once the books are chosen, club members will read at their own pace, coming back together for a general meeting a few times a month.
She also said the club’s atmosphere is casual.
“It isn’t like you have to read this whole entire book to talk about it,” Severo said. “It’s more like you can come to just sit and listen, talk with everybody and hear everybody else’s experiences. It’s very cozy and nothing too demanding.”
Calva said the discussions are open to move in whichever direction the members wish, with the executive boards’ guidance.
She also said these meetings begin with icebreaker activities. She believes this allows new members to get acquainted with current members and provides everyone with an engaging activity to start out with.
“We try to mix it up a bit so we don’t have the same icebreaker every time,” Calva said. “For example, the last meeting we did an icebreaker with a beach ball, throwing it around and picking random questions for each one of us to answer to get to know each other better.”
The members then split into their genre groups to discuss what they’ve read so far before speaking in a bigger group.
Saul Torres, ‘26, a club member, said he enjoys how the meetings bring everyone together.
“There’s always a mix of people,” Torres said. “There’s people that are fully finished, others who read halfway or just a little or not at all. But that doesn’t matter. You can still come and be a part of the discussion.”
In addition to its general body meetings, Chapters and Chats hosts events open to the larger Lehigh community. One recent event was a screening of “The Maze Runner,” hosted last month in the Business Innovation Building.
“It was different from other events, because it was the first movie screening that they’ve done,” Torres said. “It was cool trying something different and seeing the movie version of our books.”
He also said it won’t be the last movie screening the club hosts, as the event attracted both members and other students who came with friends and wanted to see what the club has to offer.
The organization has also hosted events with other clubs on campus, such as its recent collaboration with the Arts and Crafts Club. During this event, the clubs offered their members a chance to design and create their own book covers.
Severo said she encourages students who are interested in Chapters and Chats to join, as she has met many new people through the club.
“Since joining, I’ve had friendly faces to look out for in a crowd,” Severo said. “You might discover a new hobby or new genre you like and read books that you never would have known that you were interested in.”
Comment policy
Comments posted to The Brown and White website are reviewed by a moderator before being approved. Incendiary speech or harassing language, including comments targeted at individuals, may be deemed unacceptable and not published. Spam and other soliciting will also be declined.
The Brown and White also reserves the right to not publish entirely anonymous comments.