Sometimes unexpected forces draw us into the books we end up reading. Who could resist, as one of our readers mused aloud during our latest silent book club zoom meeting, a title like this: Duck Eats Yeast, Quacks, Explodes; Man Loses Eye? We all thank Gary Barwin and Lillian Necakov for an initial enchantment leading, assuredly, to more delights and revelations we might have missed if that title didn’t reach out to us.

Striking book covers sometimes reach out to us first. As our group discussed earlier this month, sometimes the announcement of an award grabs our attention. Sometimes, those announcements do not impress us at all and in fact, might actively send us in other directions. The combination of kismet and trust when the minds of readers meet, virtually or in person, directly or indirectly, seems to have more and more power and influence over how we discover books and writers, and what we read next.

As I’ve mentioned in silent book club blog posts this year, we now balance our silent book club virtual meetings each month with a mid-month themed discussion. This month, award and reviews were on our minds. The passing reference to that captivating book title has, I think, planted a discussion seed for a future meeting …

Here is our group’s latest and always tempting combined book list, gathering up books mentioned and discussed at our end of May meeting, plus some mentioned in passing during our mid-month themed discussion. As you know, each list reflects the reading of many of our members. Many provide their reading lists even when they can’t attend a meeting. The titles (yes, often quirky and captivating!) featured in each of our reports encompass print and digital versions of books, along with audiobooks.

Any title on any of our group’s lists means that at least one (but often more) readers have given that title some consideration. That’s encouragement, I think it’s fair to say, for other readers checking out our reports and lists to consider it, too. Is that a recommendation? It might be, but not exactly or necessarily. It always means that a title has been given thoughtful consideration and attention by our readers, which counts for a lot.

• Son of Elsewhere by Elamin Abdelmahmoud (audiobook)
• Limberlost by Robbie Arnott
• If They Come for Us: poems by Fatimah Asghar (audiobook)
• Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson, narrated by Pearl Hewitt (audiobook)
• Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
• One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
• The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, narrated by Bernadette Dunne, Katie MacNichol, Mark Bramhall (audiobook)
• Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood, narrated by Bernadette Dunne, Bob Walter, Robbie Daymond (audiobook)
• Duck Eats Yeast, Quacks, Explodes; Man Loses Eye by Gary Barwin & Lillian Necakov
• Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
• Halal Sex: The Intimate Lives of Muslim Womxn in North America by Sheima Benembarek
• The Most Precious Substance on Earth by Shashi Bhat, narrated by Meher Pavri (audiobook)
• Covid Chronicles: A Comics Anthology, edited by Kendra Boileau and Rich Johnson
• Openwork and Limestone by Frances Boyle
• The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte
• Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
• Post Office by Charles Bukowski
• The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
• The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald
• Desperate Characters by Paula Fox
• The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin
• Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu
• The Promise by Damon Galgut, narrated by Peter Noble (audiobook)
• Messy Roots by Laura Gao
• Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary
• The Crossing Places by Elly Griffith
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• You Are Here – Around the World in 92 Minutes by Chris Hadfield
• Cockroach by Rawi Hage, narrated by Piter Marek (audiobook)
• Burntcoat by Sarah Hall, narrated by Louise Brealey (audiobook)
• Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton
• Alice in Bed by Judith Hooper
• God’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu
• Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka, translated by Sam Malissa, narrated by Pun Bandhu (audiobook)
• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, narrated by Sura Siu (audiobook)
• The Company We Keep by Frances Itani, narrated by Elizabeth Wiley (audiobook) and ebook
• The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, narrated by Shivantha Wijesinha (audiobook)
• The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
• Eavesdropping by Stephen Kuusisto
• Dear Friend, From My Life I Write to You in Your Life by Yiyun Li
• Gold Boy Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li
• Must I Go by Yiyun Li
• The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li
• An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim
• Do Hard Things by Steve Magness
• The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
• The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
• The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
• The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda
• The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Age 81 by J.B. Morrison
• Welcome Me to the Kingdom by Mai Nardone
• Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah
• The Cat Who Saved Books: A Novel by Sosuke Natsukawa, narrated by Kevin Shen (audiobook)
• Animal Life by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, translated from the Icelandic by Brian Fitzgibbon
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
• State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, narrated by Nancy Baldwin (audiobook)
• I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart
• Teach Anyone to Read by Lillie Pope
• Lanny by Max Porter
• Homelands: The History of a Friendship by Chitra Ramaswamy
• Diagnosing Minor Illness in Children by Kerry Ryan
• Unless by Carol Shields, narrated by Joan Allen (audiobook)
• Testimony by Anita Shreve
• The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
• Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
• Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, narrated by Kristen Sieh (audiobook)
• The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
• The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark
• The Only Problem by Muriel Spark
• Scars and Stars by Jesse Thistle
• In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas
• The Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp
• Frost in May by Antonia White
• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, narrated by JD Jackson (audiobook)
• Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
• When the English Fall by David Williams
• The Odyssey by Lara Williams
• The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear
• Annabel by Kathleen Winter, narrated by Tandy Cronyn (audiobook)
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Here are some additional book-related articles, resources, news, recommendations and more. These items and tidbits are often companions to books on the list, or are inspired or offered by our members and/or come up during our discussions and chat.

• While our silent book club discussion group/jury is out on the influence of awards on their reading choices … well, we can still enjoy things like leading performers reading extracts from the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist.
• The Bullet Train novel by Kotaro Isaka, translated by Sam Malissa and movie starring Brad Pitt takes place on Japan’s amazing high speed Shinkansen train.
• Worth repeating: Toronto Public Library’s Adult Literacy Services matches learners with volunteers who tutor them in basic reading, writing and math. The program is for English-speaking adults 16 years or older. One of our silent book club members very happily volunteers with the program and suggests others check it out.
• One of our silent book club members enthused at our latest meeting about American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. Here’s a great profile of Yang in the latest issue of the New York Times Magazine.

Our previous reports and book lists are available to spark interest, intrigue, entertain and add to your tbr pile. They’re right here.

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. Every club is a different size, format (in-person, virtual or combinations) and vibe, so contact a club’s organizers beforehand if you have any questions or preferences. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

However books call out to you, we hope you heed those calls, make some great discoveries and continue to relish your reading. We hope our reading lists and discussions here are a help and inspiration!