Our latest silent book club meeting report is introduced by reading powerhouse and double duty silent book club member Sue Wright. Sue comes from a long matrilineal line of bookworms and has also spawned one. She was a proud secondary school teacher of English, history, and special education with the TDSB, but for the past year has inexplicably been studying for an MSc. in geneaology.  Along the way she discovered that she is descended from Irish Travellers, chimney sweeps, fishmongers and at least one bigamist. When she’s not reading or discovering fascinating facts about her ancestors, she’s probably swimming or trying to persuade her dog, Ruby, to have a cuddle.

Being a bit of a loner, I’ve never been one for clubs. I don’t play sports, so I’ve not had to be bothered by racquets, golf or even lawn bowling clubs, but when my children were very small, I discovered the joy of sharing my hard to come by reading in a book club that lasted more than twenty-five years – longer than a lot of marriages. It was for hard-core readers – no wine or nibblies and rotating between members’ houses for us – over the years, observing our code of meeting in neutral spots, we met in some odd spaces including a whole year in a pre-school where we sat on nursery chairs. I knew very little about members’ lives beyond their opinion on books and authors; we came together because we loved sharing our opinions about what we read. When that book club ended, I resigned myself to a book club-less life (a book club widow?) because I am not attracted to nor would fit in to the average book club (although I am not eager to repeat the nursery chair experience).

Just before I gave up on any opportunity to spend time with other bookworms, Beth (Midtown and East End Toronto) started the Midtown SBC and oh what a joy that has been! I look forward to all our meetings (I also attend East End as often as I can) and have learned so much about books and readers in these kind, supportive meetings. I’ve been introduced to many new writers; my love of poetry has been rekindled by Vicki’s enthusiasm and support; my new bookworm friends with whom I found I share other interests have enriched my life beyond the page. An added bonus is that several of the old book club members have also migrated to SBC, including one of my erstwhile small children. Is there any better friendship than a bookworm friendship?

When I tell my racquets-and-hockey-type-clubs husband that it is Silent Book Club evening, he likes to perform a little skit in which he mimes opening a book, and points to its imaginary pages whilst simultaneously enthusiastically mouthing comments about the contents. It was quite funny the first time.

Over the past 18 months our lives have had to be lived in very different ways, and there has been much loss. I am very grateful that our warm, shared love of books and my SBC pals have not been a casualty, and I look forward to when we can read together again.

Our meetings today – on zoom and in the park – were not just celebrations of books and reading, but also of a community that supports its readers when individuals find their reading interest and tempo flagging. We’ve discussed previously how the pandemic has affected our reading (with suggested cures) … and sometimes the best remedy is just being with other readers, even when you’re not reading.

Our latest combined reading list is an early fall harvest of delights and sustenance. The titles featured in each of our reports combine print and digital versions of books, along with audiobooks (which are indicated separately, with narrator/performer information where possible).

• I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached, translated by Edward Gauvin
• Postbox Kashmir: Two Lives in Letters by Divya Arya
• Sofie & Cecilia by Katherine Ashenburg
• Her Turn by Katherine Ashenburg
• The Women of Troy by Pat Barker, narrated by Kristin Atherton (audiobook)
• Yiddish for Pirates by Gary Barwin, narrated by Keith Dinicol (audiobook)
• Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht and David Hare
• The Tradition by Jericho Brown
• Hard To Be Human by Ted Cadsby
• Follow Me In by Katriona Chapman
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• Decartes’ Error by Antonio Damásio
• Self Comes to Mind by Antonio Damásio
• What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad, narrated by Dion Graham (audiobook)
• Things Are Against Us by Lucy Ellmann
• Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
• Yes, I’m Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth About Life in a Hijab by Huda Fahmy
• I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib
• The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh
• Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
• The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
• Early Morning Riser by Kathryn Heiny
• Strangers in their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild
• The Graves are Walking: the Great Famine and the Saga of the Irish People by John Kelly
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• Papaya Salad by Elisa Macellari
• The Bishop’s Man by Linden MacIntyre
• Wintering
• A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa, narrated by Siobhán McSweeney (audiobook)
• A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
• Duck Feet by Ely Percy
• The Dog of the South by Charles Portis
• New Teeth by Simon Rich
• If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, narrated by Robert Petkoff (audiobook)
• Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
• Let the Record Show – A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman
• The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald
• Love & Courage: My Story of Family, Resilience, and Overcoming the Unexpected by Jagmeet Singh
• Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket
• Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui (audiobook)
• Unreconciled by Jesse Wente
• Revival Season by Monica West
• The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
• Crying in H Mart: a memoir

More book-related articles, resources, news, recommendations and more were offered by our members and/or came up during this meeting’s discussions and chat, including:

• On Monday, September 27th, make time for World in Verse, a virtual poetry reading celebrating Words Without Borders’ 2021 Poems in Translation Contest winners, in partnership with the Academy of American Poets. Here is the event registration information.
• The Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) happens online from October 21-31, 2021. They’ve just released the festival schedule, and it’s chock full of writerly goodness for every readerly taste.
• “The benefit is connection — connecting with fellow readers and introverts without needing to be an expert on any given book or genre.” So says Silent Book Club founder Laura Gluhanich. We agree, and can rhyme off lots of other benefits … can’t we?
• During our latest meeting, we had an interesting discussion about erasure poetry, inspired in part by this striking example by Twila Newey, erasing a section of The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson.

Boost your reading or gently reinvigorate your reading mojo with fodder from our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists – find them all here. We guarantee you’ll find something new or unusual, or maybe something old and familiar, that will spark your enthusiasm!

You can also check out links to articles, interviews and more here – some with San Francisco-based Silent Book Club founders Guinevere de La Mare and Laura Gluhanich, and some with us here in east end Toronto.

Learn more about silent book clubs via Guinevere and Laura’s Silent Book Club web site. You can find information on meetings happening around the world and close to where you live. Some clubs are currently on hiatus, but many are running virtual meetings in different formats. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

Stay safe and stay well, in this world and the worlds that books open to us.