Why study medieval history alone when you can join an online book club? When looking for a good medieval book club to join though you may see after searching that many of them are inactive or don’t have good leadership. I’m a big fan of what Michael from the Just Feudal Things Podcast is doing, and his new book club that launched on January 1st 2025 might be just the feudal thing you’re looking for.

It’s called The Medieval History Book Club. Joining is completely free, as it’s all organized through Substack. While they’ve already moved onto the second book it’s not too late to look ahead and get ready to read along, as I’m sure it’ll be easy for you to jump in and join the discussions whenever you see this and decide to join. I have a feeling that while this book club may be new it’s likely not going anywhere. To see the book club’s introduction and learn about the schedule and how to participate, click here, or keep reading for more info first.

Michael emphasizes looking at contemporary first hand sources and creates a healthy discussion around each book by hosting a chat group in Substack, by livestreaming a Q&A of the book after each reading, and by emailing frequent club updates to his subscribers.

Here is the schedule for The Medieval History Book Club:
>begin book.
>(2 weeks later) 1/3rd followup post.
>(1 week later) live Space on X.
>(1 week later) 2/3rd followup post. Announce next book.
>(2 weeks later) Finish book. QnA, Discussion livestream.

As you can see, the group spends 6 weeks on each book. The final livestream at the end, which is hosted on both X and YouTube, gives members a chance to ask Michael questions about what they read. For example, here is the livestream for the first book the group recently finished, The History of the Holy War by Ambroise:

Another reason I recommend this medieval book club to anyone looking for one is because Michael’s selection of books is fantastic. These are books that truly shed light on the Middle Ages and that I really look forward to diving into. Get ready to learn with a close community of people who sincerely love discussing medieval history and check out Michael’s Substack today.