Silent Book Club

Have you heard about the relatively recent phenomenon of the silent book club? Have you determined that traditional book clubs don’t work for you? I’m looking for others who might want to join in this “low-impact” experience of reading in companionable silence.

Here’s how it usually works: People arrive any time in the 30 minutes before the meeting’s official start to visit with others, perhaps share what they are reading (or not), meet new people in the neighborhood or just find a good place to sit. Then someone rings a bell or makes an announcement to start the clock, and it’s reading time. For an hour, that’s all you do: everyone settles in for a good read in silence. At the end of the hour, one can stay behind and chat some more. Or not. The experience is akin to the quiet calm of the library but not exactly the…