Silent Book Club
“Welcome to introvert happy hour.”
What is it: An opportunity to read. The twist, there are others reading with you too. You’ll be in a café, a bar, a public library; in COVID times maybe you’ll be on Zoom or outdoors. The people with you will have their own books, you’ll have yours. And though there’s a social moment built in — a hello and sharing of what you are reading — the focus is simply on you and your book. Enjoyed now in ways which we have learnt to understand, together but apart.
Why you’ll love it: This is one for the introverts among us (of which we count ourselves). Yes, book clubs are great – we’ve hosted and attended many – but sharing just the love of reading that’s something magical. The Silent Book Club started in 2012 when two friends Guinevere de la Mare (a UX writer at Google) and Laura Gluhanich (director of programs at Him for Her) began reading together in a neighborhood bar in San Francisco. Gone was the pressure of typical book clubs, having to read the same books, having smart things to say, hiding the fact that you haven’t read the book. Here was just enjoying the moment of reading together – no mobile phones, no commitments pressing in, no pressure to select the right thing to share or carry out a conversation in the right way. Just a book, a friend, and a nice location somewhere. And from this, this now Silent Book Club grew to friends and acquaintances, and grew to a handful of cities, and grew to now 285 chapters in 37 countries.
What you need to know: If books are your happy place, you can now seek out a Chapter probably wherever you are, though if there isn’t you can start one (friends there isn’t one in Bath or the Marin area where we’re both based if someone’s inclined to host…). During stay-at-home times, many of these Chapters offer virtual read-ins.
Why we think we need it to exist: We’re noticed something odd going on in our lives. Though we love books, we’re no longer reading them in quite the same way that we used to. We seek out recommendations, we subscribe to book boxes, we haul heavy bags from independent stores, we ship boxes upon boxes when we move, but the reading part is not as high up our agenda as it once was. You may be finding the same in your life. Life pressing in, doomscrolling replacing narrative and character development, anxiety blocking any possibility of retreat or escape. Time has gone, and we’re trying to find it again. For many purposes, but also so that we can return to the books that we love and the ones we might love in our future. If you are finding it hard to find space for reading, joining a Silent Book Club gives you that time back. It prioritizes reading in your life again. It gives books back to you.
It also gives you other people. As many of us spiral in our loneliness, that companionable silence actually gives us connection, it fosters relationships. As co-founder Gluhanich says, “For people who want to do something on their own but at the same time are seeking connections and a community with other people, SBC’s can offer them both of these. People all around the world are forming emotional bonds with one another while reading in silence.”
In their own words: “Silent Book Club is about community. Everyone is welcome, and anyone can join or launch a chapter. We encourage people all over the world to start their own Silent Book Clubs. All you need is a friend, a café, and a book. We have more than 240 active chapters around the world in cities of all sizes, and new chapters are being launched by volunteers every week.”
Something to do from anywhere: Wake up, doom scrolling. Before bedtime, doom scrolling. These have traditionally been times for reading books. So for a non-binding, after the New Year’s, non-resolution, ban the phone from the bedroom, buy a book light, and read books again. Paper pages. Like us, you may find your brain working just that little bit better, your life feeling slightly less heavy, and the world just that little bit bigger. You’ll be reading books again.
To find out more: Website / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
Love this? Try also Shelf Help, or podcast Celebrity Book Club
