Library community bonds over books and drinks | News, Sports, Jobs

Three Silent Book Club members await the club’s second outing of the month. Emilie Jacques (left), Kayla Wetherby (middle) and Justin Anthony (right) are enjoying drinks while reading the literature they have brought with them. (Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Portage Lake District Library brought a few members of its community out for drinks and reading at Keweenaw Brewing Company (KBC) on Monday evening for the Silent Book Club’s second meeting of the month. At the bar, members bring their own literature or can select a book provided by the library to enjoy reading for 45 minutes before the members regroup and have a discussion over the content that they had preoccupied themselves with.

The nontraditional club has been in existence in the Houghton area for about over a year and has provided a space for a variety of individuals to read in public as well as discuss their hobby with one another.

“I think that that’s something a lot of adults struggle with is they see reading as kind of a private matter,” Library Director Katrina Linde-Moriarty said. “And I want to kind of show that it can be out and about, and you can be as introverted or extroverted during the event as you want.”

Linde-Moriarty had seen a video online at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic which presented an idea for those into reading a way to get together and get people off the internet for a bit. It was a way to enjoy a typically solitary hobby as a socializing one, and Linden-Moriarty thought that it would be a good fit for the area even outside of the pandemic since the winters keep people indoors and isolated. The brewery seemed to be the best location for socializing especially on Monday nights where there are not as many patrons at the bar compared to other nights. There is an interest in bringing the club to a non-alcoholic location for those who would prefer that type of environment at some point in the future, but for now the Silent Book Club will meet at the KBC every second and fourth Monday of the month at 6 p.m.

Those in attendance at last Monday’s meeting were diverse in age and literature, with readers bringing books of multiple genres and an enthusiasm when sharing their impressions of the read material with one another. Each member has his or her own reason for joining the club, and for Emilie Jacques it provided her with a way to get back out into the community after getting caught up in her work commute.

“The Silent Book Club is the perfect place to get away for just an hour every second and fourth week,” Jacques said. “You can read whatever you want. You don’t have to speak to anyone if you don’t want to, and it’s a great way to connect with community in a low stakes environment.”

She emphasized that participating in the club is a good way to connect with people that she had not known she would have the opportunity to interact with. After she had graduated Michigan Tech, the club presented her with the opportunity to mingle with other friends in the area and maintain the friendships formed when she attended college. Jacques has been utilizing the club almost since the beginning of his formation, and encourages others who are interested in giving one of the get-togethers a chance. Even if socializing may not be preferable to an individual, nothing is expected of members besides indulging in the hobby of reading.

“I would say that, as someone who is constantly trying to grow my reading habit and be more of a reader, that by giving books a chance they are often more interesting than I give them credit for, and that goes the same for the people ,” she said. “You can never predict what kind of book someone’s going to read based on the way that they look. And it’s been great to get to know community members and learn new things from both them and the books that they are reading.”