On the spookiest day of the year, our silent book club members fearlessly assembled online and in person to bolster each other’s spirits (see what we did there?) with frighteningly amazing book recommendations (and the occasional ominous warning).

Our in-person meeting this month was especially spookily festive, thanks to host Jen Foster . In addition to hosting the meeting boo-tifully, Jen made sure every boo-kish attendee got into the Halloween spirit with haunting decorations and plenty of sweet treats!

So do not be alarmed … just take a peek at where and what our readers have been reading in recent weeks …

Photo credits: Vicki Ziegler, Philippa Davies, Jen Foster

Treat yourself to a look at our group booklist, which is particularly scarygood again this month. Multiple readers from our group have typically given considered attention to each title appearing on our our lists of diverse and tempting reading. That doesn’t mean that every work on our lists is expressly recommended. However, rest assured that inclusion on our lists always means that our readers have devoted time and thought to each book, which counts for a great deal, we contend.

• King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson
• Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater
• Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
• The Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood
• How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend by Rachel Barr
• A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt
• Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
• Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
• Against Convenience: Embracing Friction in an Age of Endless Ease by Gabe Bullard
• Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
• The New Girl: A Graphic Novel (The New Girl #1) by Cassandra Calin
• The New Girl: First Crush: A Graphic Novel (The New Girl #2) by Cassandra Calin
• Short Talks by Anne Carson
• Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
• Moravagine by Blaise Cendrars
• Losing Big America’s Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling by Jonathan D. Cohen
• Interstitial by Leesa Dean
• The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence-Before It’s Too Late by Cory Doctorow
• An American Childhood by Annie Dillard
• Contrapposto by Dave Eggers
• The Art Thiefby Michael Finkel
• The Immoralist by Andre Gide
• Truth Telling: Seven Conversations About Indigenous Life in Canada by Michelle Good
• The Morningside Papers by Peter Gzowski
• Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
• Bury the Lead by Kate Hilton and Elizabeth Renzetti
• The High Road by Hank Idsinga
• Foster by Claire Keegan
• Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
• Rose Madder by Stephen King
• Partita\ by Barbara Kingsolver
• American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee
• Lives of the Saintsby Nancy Lemann
• Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li
• Motherclown by Harriet Alida Lye
• A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
• Moby-Dick or, the Whale by Herman Melville
• One Second Away by Rick Mofina, narrated by Emily Nixon (audiobook)
• The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
• Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates
• Country Girl by Edna O’Brien
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
• Whistler by Ann Patchett
• Love’s Work by Gillian Rose
• The Five: The Untold Stories of the Women Killed By Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
• Good People by Patmeena Sabit, narrated by full cast (audiobook)
• Free Ride: Heartbreak, Courage, and the 20,000-Mile Motorcycle Journey That Changed My Life by Noraly Schoenmaker
• The Russian Debutante’s Handbook by Gary Shteyngart
• Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuang-Zi
• Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein
• The Making of Americans by Gertrude Stein
• The Dentist – A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
• Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido
• Based on a True Story by Sarah Vaughan
• Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe by Simon Winder
• Orlando by Virginia Woolf
• The Pigman by Paul Zindel

We regularly have extra book-related articles, resources, news and recommendations to share. 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.

• Check out this Tokyo underground club reading rave!
• NHL goalie Devin Cooley likes to kick back by reading with his rabbit.
• A Public Space (APS) Together reimagines the book club. It has three guiding principles: We read daily. We read slowly, a half-hour each day. We read imaginatively, miscellaneously, individually. Learn more here.
• Silent book club member Irina is challenging herself with a War and Peace readalong similar to this one.
• Louise Penny is helping PEN Canada celebrate its 100th anniversary. Learn more here.
• This talk on the book Brother of the More Famous Jack features author Barbara Trapido and special guest Maggie O’Farrell.

You can always find our previous reports and book lists right here!

Learn more about the worldwide phenomenon of silent book clubs via the Silent Book Club web site. In fall 2023, they welcomed their 500th chapter … and since then, with continuing, breathtaking momentum, they now boast 2,278 chapters in 73 countries. (There were around 60 chapters when we joined as the first Toronto chapter in 2017.) The SBC organization celebrated its 10th anniversary throughout October, 2025 … and our chapter has reached its 95th anniversary this very month (November, 2026)!

You can find information on meetings happening around the world and close to where you live. Every club is different in size, format (in-person, virtual or hybrid) 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.

Be not afraid! Just keep reading!