What is the Silent Book Club? All About the Introvert-Led Trend

It’s a great time to be a reader. Several years ago, the words “book club” might have conjured up a mental image of in-person meetings at a friend’s house soaked in wine and charcuterie. Now, book clubs take many forms, with options for almost every type of reader — whether in person or online, through a local library or bookstore, a celebrity-built community, or #BookTok.

However, the traditional pressures and commitments that exist in any sort of group activity can, for many, turn book clubs into a chore.

Welcome to the Silent Book Club, a reading club that revolves around a seemingly paradoxical idea: reading alone, together. No more sometimes disjointed, sometimes insightful discussions on tone, prose or themes. Just show up and read a book of your choice on your own.

Open the latest Booker Prize winner, or a mass market paperback, or your history textbook, or a portal to whatever world you want to escape into. This experience of reading alone and together is increasingly popular among readers because it offers a measure of accountability and a chance to socialize and adapt the experience without the usual pressures.

Founded in 2012 by Guinevere de la Mare and Laura Gluhanich, Silent Book Club began as a way for the two busy friends to fit reading for pleasure into their busy schedules and hold each other accountable. It was a small gathering of friends for about three years until 2016, when other scattered acquaintances asked de la Mare to create their own meetups. “People we knew started what we now call chapters, and that gave us the idea to put this out in the world and let everyone do it,” she told PS.

Readers around the world are eager to participate. De la Mare says there are nearly 1,000 silent book clubs around the world; After a lull during the pandemic when some chapters disbanded or stopped actively meeting, there has been “explosive growth” since last year (there were about 300 active clubs before, and 460 new chapters and counting started this year).

On top of that, the Silent Book Club receives around 20 requests per week to start new clubs. She attributes this to a post-pandemic need for in-person connection and a desire to disconnect and unwind from the constant work of virtual connection.

“There is so much content and information available, and the way we consume is constantly bouncing and absorbing things in little snippets, so it really takes effort to shift gears in your brain and focus on one story at hand. the time”, said Mare.

This is not to say that silent book clubs are directly opposed to meetings involving discussion. Rather, the goal is to make integrating reading into the schedule as seamless as possible by eliminating distractions, like nervousness about socializing or feeling like you have homework. Quiet book clubs are not necessarily an enemy of traditional book clubs. In fact, de la Mare says many Silent Book Club participants use their time to catch up on reading for other book clubs.

According to de la Mare, a typical silent book club begins with some socializing and settling in before the organizer lets everyone know it’s time to read (usually for about an hour). But instead of this chatter continuing, it stops before everyone picks up the book of their choice and immerses themselves in it.

“Putting yourself in a room with a group of people doing the same thing is the extra pressure you need (to stay focused),” she explains. “It’s a profound change to get off the hamster wheel, and I feel like it’s easier to put the phone down when everyone around you is doing it too.” When this veil of quiet, sustained reading lifts, bookworms are free to stay and chat, or leave.

One of those chapters is led by Megan Sampson, a 35-year-old executive assistant in Easton, MA. Sampson was looking for a book club after moving, but she couldn’t find the right fit. “There was no homework associated with it, but the idea of ​​coming up with something intelligent to say in a meeting didn’t really appeal to me,” she says.

That’s when she saw a TikTok about the Silent Book Club. The lack of pressure and performance – as well as the promise of making new friends – attracted her. She filled out an online form to start the chapter and contacted local watering hole Shovel Town Brewery before posting about the club on social media.

She didn’t expect anyone to show up to the first meeting at a local brewery last September, but 37 people did, and she’s been thrilled with the response and the community she’s built since . Today, approximately 137 readers participate in monthly meetings at three local businesses. Since then, many friendships and acquaintances have been made – and even a few job offers. The thorns that litter the long tables of the brasserie at each meeting span the genres; people read romance, thrillers, science fiction and even sheet music, for example.

“It’s great to spend some time alone together.”

This flexibility and freedom to read whatever you want also appealed to Ashley Mason, a 27-year-old marketing company founder who lives in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Mason joined the Sampson chapter in September. She had participated in book clubs before, but was hesitant to attend regularly because she was particular in what she read and did not feel drawn to all the books assigned to her. It was an added bonus that Mason could trade the nightmare drive to Boston, where most of the local cultural events take place, for an easier 20-minute drive to Easton. “It’s great to spend time alone together,” Mason says, “and knowing that you’re surrounded by people who love to read is really great.”

Silent Book Club is now a beloved ritual for Mason. Mason works from home, so seeing the world and meeting other people is another reason to participate in Silent Book Club. She has since recruited her longtime best friend and they have a monthly routine of trying different restaurants for early dinners in Easton before going to Shovel Town together. Casual conversations between periods of silent reading add to her day, and she’s also met other people who run book accounts on Instagram.

The club offers introverts a way to come out of their shell in a manageable way. Lindsey Chastain, a 47-year-old founder and CEO who lives near Tulsa, OK, has been attending the Silent Book Club meetings at Magic City Books for about two years.

Chastain enjoys the balance between independence and mixing. “I’m such an introvert, and one of my main problems with book clubs is that either people haven’t read the book or the conversation doesn’t stay on the book, and that’s why I “I went there,” she said. explain. “For the most part, (my chapter) is a group of people who don’t really want to socialize but want to be social.”

It’s the combination of in-person meetings and quiet time that keeps her coming back; it’s a welcome escape from the responsibilities of running her own business, raising four teenagers, and running a hobby farm, and it helps her save valuable time for herself where no one asks him anything. “I remove all the barriers to reading as soon as I come to Silent Book Club so I can clear my mind of all these other things,” she explains.

Being around other readers has helped Chastain find a lot of reading inspiration just by taking a look at what others are reading, and she loves being able to then enjoy these books without any preconceptions based on opinions of others shared during discussions. She also likes that this format eliminates any barriers or differences that can trip up conversations – for example, some people read just for plot or mood while others carefully analyze the prose – so that every reader can experience the experience they want without judgment or disappointment.

Although she hadn’t intended to meet other people through the book club (she wouldn’t object, but doesn’t have much time to spend with new friends), Chastain has strengthened an important relationship through his participation in Silent. Book club: She and her 18-year-old son attended meetings together twice and read the same book. “It now gives us common ground to be not only mother and son, but also literary buddies and friends,” she says.

Helen Carefoot is a freelance lifestyle, culture and entertainment journalist based in Washington, DC. Previously, she was Well+Good’s lifestyle editor and worked at the Washington Post on the lifestyle desk in the features section.