At a Glance
- Katie Couric’s 2026 resolution is “less scrolling, more reading” and she’s launching KCBC to stay accountable
- Her first pick, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, will be discussed live on Substack Jan. 19
- Couric plans one fiction or nonfiction title each month, crowdsourced from her 2.1 million Instagram followers
- Why it matters: The veteran journalist is betting communal reading can break the social-media habit for adults and teens alike
Katie Couric is trading doomscrolling for page-turning in 2026, and she’s bringing 2.1 million Instagram followers with her. The veteran journalist has officially launched KCBC-Katie Couric’s Book Club-pledging to read one book a month and host live author interviews on Substack.
From Scroll to Page
“I love to read,” Couric tells News Of Losangeles in an exclusive interview. “Keeping up with current events, scrolling social media-doomscrolling more often than not-was just taking too much of my headspace.”
The idea sparked after Couric asked her Instagram audience whether they’d join a book club. The post exploded:
- 56,000 likes
- 10,000 comments
- Sample reactions: “OMG. I LOVE this idea!! Invite me. Invite me!!” and “YES a book club with Katie would be so fun!”
Couric read standout titles in 2025-Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro and All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley-but finished fewer books than she wanted. KCBC is her accountability tool.
First Pick: The Correspondent
January’s selection is Virginia Evans’ epistolary novel The Correspondent, a viral breakout hit. Couric personally invited the author via Instagram DM, framing the message as a formal letter to mirror the book’s format. Evans quickly accepted.
KCBC members can tune in Monday, Jan. 19, when Couric interviews Evans live on her Substack-the book club’s permanent home base.
Fiction First, Nonfiction Later
Couric plans to crowdsource future picks from followers and lean toward fiction for an “escape” from public-affairs reading. Still, she expects to sprinkle in nonfiction. February’s title is already locked: Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Bell Burden.
Selection process:
- Couric chooses one title per month
- Announces it to KCBC members
- Hosts live author interview on Substack
- Opens discussion threads for readers
## Beyond the Book
For Couric, the club is about gratitude as much as reading. “There’s something about talking to authors who really pour their heart and soul into a book,” she says. “I love to go behind-the-scenes and understand how somebody put something together-how they were inspired, their process and what they learned.”
She hopes KCBC helps adults-and not just teens-step away from their phones. “It’s not just a problem for teenagers,” she notes. “It’s a problem for adults too.”
How to Join
Readers can sign up for KCBC on Couric’s Substack to access monthly picks, live interviews and community discussions. Membership is free; the only requirement is a willingness to read along and, as Couric puts it, embrace “less scrolling, more reading.”
**Key Takeaways
- Couric’s personal resolution becomes a communal movement via KCBC
- Live author interviews differentiate the club from celebrity-only endorsements
- First event streams Jan. 19 with Virginia Evans on The Correspondent
- Crowdsourced selections keep the club responsive to reader taste
