Monthly Archives: December 2023

The sweet gift of bookish silence

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“Now I know the truth: what matters is what you experience while reading, the states of feeling that the story evokes, the questions that rise to your mind, rather than the fictional events described.”

from The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez. Copyright © 2023 / quoted by Christian Bauman (@baumansbrain on Twitter) as his December 31, 2023 #SundaySentence

Part of what I experience while reading is not on the page proper. It’s the company of who I am reading with, and their subtle but powerful presence as they focus on the words in front of them, imbues the words in front of me with an incomparable glow. The silence belies the states of feeling we’ve immersed ourselves in, the worlds and minds in which we’re blissfully venturing, possibly but willingly lost. The company of readers – the people we love and the people with whom we share this love – is a rare, rich and utterly special fellowship.

We enjoyed five silent book club meetings this month: three virtual meet-ups between the east end and midtown Toronto groups (where the online boundaries extend to Wales, New Jersey and Edmonton), and two in-person gatherings at a couple of lovely Danforth coffee shops. Those last two meetings in particular reminded me potently of the importance of that companionable silence.

So, I’m not going to ramble on as I usually do in these blog posts. The silence says it all …

Silent book club member Amber's stack of holiday-themed books, including A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. A Christmas tree and lights are visible, blurred, in the background.

Silent book club member Vicki (me) is visible on her computer screen, getting ready for a silent book club zoom meeting. Next to the computer is a dog calendar, coffee in a blue cup, and some books, including Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein, You Break It You Buy It by Lynn Tait and Sharp Notions, edited by Marita Dachsel and Nancy Lee

Silent book club meeting at Poured Coffee on Danforth Avenue in Toronto - tables on which books, pastries and coffee/beverages are visible, including Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring, You Break It You Buy It by Lynn Tait and more

Silent book club meeting at Poured Coffee on Danforth Avenue in Toronto - readers are sitting at tables near tall windows, engrossed in their books. Coffees, plates and more books are visible on the tables.

Wooden tables at East Toronto Coffee Co, covered with books by Michael Christie, Lynn Tait, Sheima Benembarek, Mark Beaumont, Thomas Mann and more

Wooden tables at East Toronto Coffee Co, covered with books by Michael Christie, Lynn Tait, Sheima Benembarek, Mark Beaumont, Thomas Mann and more - At the end of the table is a

A reader is engrossed in her reading at a silent book club meeting at East Toronto Coffee Co. A stack of books in front of her on the table includes Greenwood by Michael Christie.

Books from the Biblioasis Christmas Ghost Stories package are arranged on the branches of a Christmas tree

Silent book club member Anne-Louise's stack of books sit in front of a window with a green glass vase nearby, with a holiday card with a cartoon donkey sitting on top of the books. Books include titles by Penelope Fitzgerald, Ed Broadbent, Tom Rand and more.

Squizzey the bookish squirrel has a Santa hat and a holiday jumper on, and he's showing off some of silent book club member Kath's recent reading, including A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas.

Once again, I can pretty much guarantee you’re going to love our group’s latest combined book list, collecting up books mentioned and discussed by the end of our December 2023 meetings. Each list reflects the reading of many of our members, so dedicated to the group that they regularly provide their reading lists even when they can’t attend a meeting. The titles 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 usually more) readers have given that title some consideration. That’s encouragement for you and other readers checking out our reports and lists to consider it, too. Is that a recommendation? It might be, but not exactly or necessarily. Inclusion on this list always means that a title has been given thoughtful consideration and attention by our readers, which you can be assured counts for a lot.

Did we mention that the worldwide Silent Book Club network recently welcomed its 500th chapter?!? It had around 60 chapters when we joined as the first Toronto chapter in 2017.

When Silent Book Club founders Guinevere de La Mare and Laura Gluhanich graciously hosted a couple of virtual meet-ups for club organizers around the world (I joined a meeting that spanned the US, and included representation from Canada, South Africa, Finland and more), they revealed that in fact, the SBC explosion continues and they now are closer to 600 chapters!

You can always find our previous reports and book lists right here, growing every month.

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.

Happy New Year, dearest readers – the readers we are, the readers we know, the readers we don’t yet know, all of you out there, reading silently …