As each new meeting draws near, I find myself downright craving the peace, warmth, clarity and community of our neighbourhood silent book club. Today’s was another fine, cozy, restoring and heartening get-together with friends and books.

In just a few short months, the silent book club has evolved in some wonderful ways, into a comfortable and truly satisfying groove for those of us who not only love to read, but love to discuss what we’re reading and learn and get tantalizing recommendations from others. We’ve got regular attendees coming month after month, so we need to spend less time explaining the concept (although, of course, I’m happy to do that when we do have newcomers). Once refreshments are in place (yay, Press – your coffee and chai lattes and baked goods are fabulous!), we launch right in to …

• Recaps of previous reads – Not only do we bring the circle up to date on what we were reading at the previous meeting and how it turned out – good, bad or indifferent – but we now mention other things we’ve read in the mean time. This meeting, one attendee admitted ruefully that she had a “bad reading month” because she got too wrapped in some TV binge watching … and then she proceeded to rhyme off an impressive list of titles she read anyhow, even with the siren song of Netflix tempting her.

• Praise and challenges – The group has developed a level of familiarity with each other as readers that not only are we sharing our reading triumphs and enthusiasms, but we’re now feeling sufficiently comfortable to share our challenges, disappointments and criticisms, too. It’s encouraging to be able to discuss where we’re hitting stumbling blocks in our reading, such as encountering interesting subject matter that is couched in problematic fashion. Getting advice from empathetic fellow readers on how to soldier on or know when to spell one book with another and other approaches is very gratifying.

• Sharing and acquiring books – Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese has changed hands several times since this book club started. Stranger by David Bergen is now travelling from one reader to another. A couple of Louise Penny books have been purchased on a club member’s recommendation. Did I mention that the setting for our meetings is a cafe set inside a vinyl record and bookshop? Club members need only stroll mere feet from our table to act on recommendations from the group.

As always, Milo keeps an eye on the silent book club … and our scones.

Here are the books the members our silent book club meeting read and/or discussed today. (Yes, there is a bit of an Irish theme happening here, in tribute to St. Patrick’s Day!)

• The Power by Naomi Alderman
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
• The Sea by John Banville
• Stranger by David Bergen
• The Lilac Bus by Maeve Binchy
• Balancing Act: Strategies for Successful Aging by Sandra Conant Strachan
• Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
• The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
• The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
• Shirley Jackson – A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
• The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths
• Human Chain by Seamus Heaney
• The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill
• The Only Cafe by Linden MacIntyre
• Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore
• Rumpole and the Primrose Path by John Mortimer
• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
• Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
• Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
• I Am a Truck by Michelle Winters

It’s only a month until it’s silent book club again!

Interested in starting your own silent book club? Or are you in the Toronto area and maybe interested in checking ours out? If I can help or offer insights, please feel free to contact me.