The flood of poetry that was The Sealey Challenge 2023

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The Sealey Challenge describes itself as “a community challenge to read one book of poetry a day for the month of august”. The community is one of readers, writers/poets, publishers, booksellers and the poetry-curious. Since its inception in 2017, championed by US poet Nicole Sealey, it was always an online entity, since it was built not just on reader participation, but on boosting the challenge with the hashtag #TheSealeyChallenge. As such, that social media foundation means that it is inherently an international – albeit perhaps somewhat rarified – phenomenon.

I’ve been a steadfast reader of poetry long before then, but I joined the challenge in 2020 … why? To be honest, I don’t fully recall in what would have been the first six months of the pandemic, right? It might have been filling some time-related and other voids at a time when those of us who read a lot thought reading more more more would be a twisted upside to the many pandemic downsides … and then discovered “reading just [didnt’] feel the same or offer the same solace and escape as it did before the world changed as it did.” Whatever the reason, I did it, found it indeed challenging and a unique reading experience of the kind of works I read but seemed to read differently when it wasn’t compressed into 31 days.

I’ve risen to The Sealey Challenge every year since, so 2023 was my fourth year. Here is not all but most of what made up this year’s breathtaking poetry rush …

Poetry books (approximately 25-30) laid out in a tiled fashion on a wooden floor - including works by Kim Fahner, Ronna Bloom, Margaret Atwood/Charles Pachter, Amanda Earl and many more

(Some books are not part of the group photo because, for the first time this year, I included audiobooks on my reading list.)

On the eve of this year’s challenge, I tweeted (yes, like many, I still tweet, not x/post/whatever) that I was feeling exhilarated, a bit full and a touch weary – but oh, the poetry had challenged and delighted me again this year! I remarked that I’d read some great collections that I will be happily revisiting.

Anything you read for the first time during The Sealey Challenge that sparks your interest, you’re likely going to need to revisit to give it your full attention and assessment. (Well, if something is patently off-putting in one way or another, maybe not …) All four years I’ve done the challenge, I kept up but found the pace of 31 works in 31 days to be demanding. Even if your reading strategy includes pacing yourself with some shorter works – chapbooks and selections from literary journals spliced in between full poetry collections that could range from an average of 60 to over 100 pages – and even if you’re a regular and experienced poetry reader, that’s a rich and full plate to consume in a comparatively short period of time. The words, the text formats and layouts, the subject matter, the layers of reference and meaning, the richness of how things are structured and textured and formally constructed (or not) and orchestrated – it’s all going to demand a lot of you. If you averaged it out as, say, 70 pages per day for 31 days: that’s 2,170 pages of what could be wonderful, possibly unpleasant or bewildering at times, regularly emotionally taxing, intoxicating and cumulatively overloading stuff.

Under these conditions, I didn’t think it was fair or really possible to attempt to review any of these works – although I admire those challenge participants who did, in mini or even full reviews. I do think it would be fair to say I derived something from every single work I read, though – from snippets of startling wordplay or imagery to overall themes, concepts or subject matter that were arresting.

I note that I’ve been pretty consistent in several respects over the four years I’ve completed The Sealey Challenge:

  • Full collections vs chapbooks/journals/smaller works – 23/8 this year, compared to the same in 2022, 24/7 in 2021 and 25/6 in 2020.
  • Canadian works – 24/31 this year, compared to the same in 2022, 25/31 in 2021 and 22/31 in 2020.
  • Rereads – 9 this year, compared to 8 in 2022, 5 in 2021 and 6 in 2020.
  • Audiobooks – This is the first year I included audiobooks in the mix. I enjoyed four, three of which were read by the poets and one by a narrator/voice actor.

And with that, here is my 2023 reading list from the Sealey Challenge, including links to more information, images from some of the social media posts (posted completely to Twitter, Mastodon and Bluesky, partially to Spoutible and periodically to Instagram), and links to the full posts on Twitter, which included poetry excerpts.

1/31: Trouble by Amanda Earl (2022 Hem Press) (2022 Hem Press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Trouble by Amanda Earl, held up amidst pink echinacea

2/31: Local Interest by Emily Hasler (2023 Pavilion Poetry / Liverpool University Press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Local Interest by Emily Hasler, held up in the dark with a small reading light

3/31: The Built Environment by Emily Hasler (2018 Pavilion Poetry / Liverpool University Press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work The Built Environment by Emily Hasler, on a table with a notebook with an ornate green cover

4/31: Cosmic Horror by James Knight (2022 Hem Press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Cosmic Horror by James Knight

5/31: Xanax Cowboy by Hannah Green (2023 House of Anansi Press) Read the full post here.

Xanax Cowboy by Hannah Green, with bright yellow cover, held up amidst equally bright blackeyed susans

6/31: Boat by Lisa Robertson (2022 Coach House Books) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Boat by Lisa Robertson, held up near a red brick pillar and some white rose of sharon blossoms

7/31: Selections from Cincinnati Review (Spring 2023), including Allison Adair, Brittany Cavallaro, Dean Rader, Jiewan Yang + more Read the full post here.

Literary journal Cincinnati Review, with colourful cover, sits in my lap as Airedales Mavis and Tilly look on

8/31: An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo (2019 WW Norton) Read the full post here.

9/31: There’s More by Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike (2023 University of Alberta Press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work There's More by Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike sits on a table with a notebook with an ornate green cover, a black pen and a small piece of red brick

10/31: Emptying the Ocean by Kim Fahner (2022 Frontenac House) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Emptying the Ocean by Kim Fahner, held above a mossy, rocky bank looking down toward water, with my bare feet visible, echoing bare feet on the book cover

11/31: Quarrels by Eve Joseph (2018 Anvil Press) Read the full post here.

12/31: Who is Your Mercy Contact? by Ronna Bloom (2022 espresso/paperplates books) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Who is Your Mercy Contact? by Ronna Bloom, with a bright green cover, on a bright green counter top with a notebook with an ornate green cover, with my feet in green sandals visible

13/31: Purge Fluid by Ivy Allsop (2022 Hem Press) Read the full post here.

14/31: Beasts of the Sea by Kate Sutherland (2018 knife fork book) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Beasts of the Sea by Kate Sutherland, with a bright blue cover, next to a blue drinking glass filled with water

15/31: Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (2022 Penguin Audio) Read the full post here.

16/31: Selvage by Kate Siklosi (2023 Invisible Publishing) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Selvage by Kate Siklosi open to a page with an interesting illustration, with trees in the background and a lake with a small island visible further away

17/31: Dreams and Journeys by Frederick McDonald (2022 Harbour Publishing) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Dreams and Journeys by Frederick McDonald, with colourful painting of Indigenous patriarch on cover

18/31: The Pet Radish, Shrunken by Pearl Pirie (2015 Bookhug Press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work The Pet Radish, Shrunken by Pearl Pirie, sitting on a patterned blue plate

19/31: Monitoring Station by Sonja Ruth Greckol (2023 University of Alberta Press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Monitoring Station by Sonja Ruth Greckol, held up against a car dashboard as trees and a cell tower are visible through the car window

20/31: Cluster by Souvankham Thammavongsa (2019 McClelland & Stewart) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Cluster by Souvankham Thammavongsa sits on a desk in front of a pile of other poetry works

21/31: Some States by Tom Snarsky (2023 Ghost City Press) Read the full post here.

22/31: Indie Rock by Joe Bishop (2023 University of Alberta Press) Read the full post here.

Handwritten selection from poetry work Indie Rock by Joe Bishop

23/31: Shadow Blight by Annick MacAskill (2022 Gaspereau Press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Shadow Blight by Annick MacAskill with notebook with an ornate green cover

24/31: Among the Untamed by dee Hobsbawn-Smith (2023 Frontenac House) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Among the Untamed by dee Hobsbawn-Smith sits on a blue table next to a plant with multicoloured leaves

25/31: Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson (1998 / 2016 McClelland & Stewart) Read the full post here.

26/31: The Art of Plumbing by Brecken Hancock (2013 above/ground press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work The Art of Plumbing by Brecken Hancock, perched amidst some old pipes

27/31: Ossuaries by Dionne Brand (2010 McClelland & Stewart) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Ossuaries by Dionne Brand, book and audiobook

28/31: Lime Kiln Quay Road by Ben Ladouceur (2014 above/ground press) Read the full post here.

Handwritten transcription from poetry work Lime Kiln Quay Road by Ben Ladouceur

29/31: The Broken Ark – A Book of Beasts poems chosen by Michael Ondaatje, drawings by Tony Urquhart (1971 Oberon Press) Read the full post here.

Selection from poetry work The Broken Ark - A Book of Beasts poems chosen by Michael Ondaatje, drawings by Tony Urquhart, held open near a green vegetable garden

30/31: Good People by Gwendolyn Guth (2010 above/ground press) Read the full post here.

Poetry work Good People by Gwendolyn Guth, sitting on colourful crocheted swath

31/31: The Journals of Susanna Moodie by Margaret Atwood & Charles Pachter (1997 Macfarlane Walter & Ross) Read the full post here.

Poetry work The Journals of Susanna Moodie by Margaret Atwood & Charles Pachter, open to colourful poetry selection

Am I already planning my 2024 reading for The Sealey Challenge? Of course I am!

A gathering of readers, like a grove of trees

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My silent book club friends can rest assured I’m paying close and avid attention when I chair our meetings each month (and by “chair”, I mean simply introduce each reader and then sit back and enjoy the insights and delights each one has to share). But sometimes reader’s book summaries and comments will set my mind down interesting paths, as was the case here:

“In Finding the Mother Tree, ecologist Suzanne Simard explains her decades-long research on the relationships among trees in the forests of British Columbia. Simard shows that the long-held “competition” model of forest ecology is inaccurate, and that instead the major dynamic among plant life in forests is cooperation and interdependence. She has discovered that trees in a forest are interconnected — they communicate and share resources through a complex underground network of fungi.”
(summarized in ShortForm)

Book cover for Finding the Mother Treeby Suzanne SimardAs wonderful in many ways as traditional book clubs (everyone reading and discussing the same book together) can be, this consideration of how trees may be interconnected immediately made me think of our silent book club orchard? copse? grove? differs from such groups in equally wonderful ways. Every month for close to six years now, I come away from every meeting and every scan of our combined reading list having learned, been nurtured, been challenged in good ways, had gates flung open, feeling throughout that my enrichment has been in concert with, not in competition with, my fellow readers.

Those I’ve spoken to about joining or starting their own silent book club groups often mention disenchantment with traditional book clubs that does sound like perverse forms of competition: that certain members always get to take the lead in selecting the reading, that getting through the reading is sometimes an unpleasant endurance race, that some readers’ interpretations of the assigned reading “wins” over others’. No, not all single book clubs are like that, but the complaints are a recurring theme that you won’t find with silent book club groups.

So as not to get too proud of how great a silent book club group can be … well, that such a group’s nurturing and “biodiversity” can be described with an analogy related to fungi will surely keep us all humble.

The question that kicked off this month’s themed discussion meeting was:

Do you keep track of your reading? If so, do you use a journal, spreadsheet, Goodreads or something else? If not, why not? Do you also keep track of recommendations / what you plan to read next?

Our conversation touched on lots of great ideas and options, including:

Silent book club member Vicki (that's me, with my signature rumpled curly hair and glasses), on screen getting ready for our zoom meeting, with books stacked next to my computer (including my Sealey Challenge poetry collections and the novel The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne) with Airedale puppy Mavis sitting under the desk. More books and a painting of our other Airedale, Tilly, are visible in the background.

Silent book club member Sue reads Affinity by Sarah Waters, holding the book up to hide her face

While away running a weekend marathon, silent book club members Jenn and Sven spotted a Little Free Library box on the running/hiking trail. The LFL is nestled amidst trees.

Silent book club member Dawn, with shoulder length silver hair and handsome reading glasses, wearing a green hoodie, gestures ruefully with two books on the white table before her: Snacking Cakes and Breaking Up With Sugar

Here is our group’s latest combined book list (it’s breathtaking!), gathering up books mentioned and discussed at our end of August meeting. 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 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 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 counts for a lot.


Here are some extra book-related articles, resources, news and recommendations. 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.

  • Blended in to our combined reading list this month is one reader’s (er, my) list of Sealey Challenge selections – a challenge to read 31 poetry works in the 31 days of August – completed so far. When the challenge is over, I’ll post that list separately, in the order in which the works were read.
  • The SciFri Book Club, from Science Friday
  • Gamify Your Reading With This Readathon Board Game! (from Book Riot)
  • Books & Boba – An Asian American Book Club & Podcast – Books & Boba is a book club and podcast dedicated to spotlighting books written by authors of Asian descent. Every month, hosts Marvin Yueh and Reera Yoo pick a book by an Asian or Asian American author to read and discuss on the podcast. In addition to book discussions, they also interview authors and cover publishing news, including book deals and new releases.
  • 2022 Recipients of The Dragon Award – The award is described as following: “In a world of the ordinary, the Dragon is most astonishing. Its heart burns with determination and desire as it soars from page to canvas to screen. The Dragon’s inner fire elevates it above the mundane, and once released, inspires respect and awe from all who witness its greatness.”
  • Manga of the Month, from Reverse Thieves, a site that delves deep into character- and story-focused analysis of anime and manga, and sometimes look at the fandoms that surround those hobbies as well.
  • Hip-Hop Books for Adults from The New York Public Library – As part of hip-hop’s 50 year anniversary,NYPL’s recommended reads for all ages that explore the influence and impact of hip-hop, including memoirs by landmark artists, explorations of fashion, fiction inspired by hip-hop culture, and more

Our previous reports and book lists are always available 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.

Wishing you and the grove of readers around you – in person and virtually – all the literary sunshine, shade, precipitation and nutrition you need to thrive!

Where are here and there … when you’re reading and when you’re with fellow readers?

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I’m guessing our sense of place – both collective and individual – has changed significantly in very recent years. Where we are when we are here, when we are meeting, when we are with someone and so on has sharp new meanings when coupled with how we resorted to social media platforms or different renditions of virtual connection to stay in contact (one definition of contact, anyhow) when we were not able to be in physical proximity or contact. I won’t fill this blog post with too many meandering thoughts about what we might still be going through with respect to connecting or not connecting and what that means, because I do want to get to the latest brimming and delicious book list our group has amassed. But here are some questions and thoughts that popped up for me as I was prepping this month’s silent book club report:

  • When we meet virtually with fellow readers, even if most of those gathering are within walking distance of each other, is someone zooming with us from across a border or an ocean here with us? (The edges of east end Toronto extend here and here, so my answer is a hearty “yes!”)
  • When we meet in person on a patio, in a park or in a coffee shop with fellow readers from the neighbourhood, is the here that location or is the here the places we inhabit in our books once we’re reading silently together?
  • When we are reading by ourselves in our living room or on our balcony or porch or cottage dock, are we there with our other fellow readers, too … while we’re here wherever our books have taken us, as well as here in a comfy reading spot?

In some ways, maybe it’s neither here nor there, eh? We’re blessed to be able to read, we’re fortunate to have access to many ways to read, we’re privileged (in all good senses of that word that remain) to read what we want to read when we want to read it – and to lend our voices on behalf of those being deprived of that right.

Here (see what I did there?) are some of the places our readers and their books were this past month:

Silent book club member Philippa visited the Grolier Poetry Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts
(Here’s an interesting piece from The Paris Review in 2013 on this destination literary landmark.)

Silent book club member Philippa visiting the Grolier Poetry Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts - Elegantly bespectacled and wearing a green-gray blazer and white and green scarf, Philippa gestures to the book table beside her. She is surrounded by tall bookshelves and pictures of poets on the walls.

Bookshelves of Canadian poetry at the Grolier Poetry Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts

More bookshelves at the Grolier Poetry Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the tail of a beagle visible in the bottom righthand corner of the picture

Books arranged on a desk, with a Snoopy mug, including Dearly by Margaret Atwood, Emma by Alexander McCall Smith and more

Silent book club member Mary's beagle Abby guards Mary's stack of books, including The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Silent book club member Kathryn (at the Wales side of east end Toronto) stacks her books in a chair with a cushion with the caption

New Zealand silent book club member Marilyn's books are stacked on the seat of a lovely red/pink chair with a red and gold multi-hued cushion. Books include Wild Honey - Reading New Zealand Women's Poetry by Paula Green

Sometimes other activities – like piloting an inflatable loon on a northern Ontario lake – distract one from proper cottaging activities like reading. But then again, with a beverage holder and some way to protect one’s books or reading devices from the water, an inflatable loon on a northern Ontario lake would be as dreamy a reading place as a hammock … just sayin’ …

Silent book club member Vicki, wearing swim trunks, a life vest, a green neon Tilley hat and wielding a canoe paddle, rides an inflatable loon on a northern Ontario lake

Silent book club member Vicki leans back in an inflatable loon, wearing a life vest, a green neon Tilley hat and sunglasses, contemplating how to read in such a comfy setting

Here (yes, here) is our group’s latest combined book list, gathering up books mentioned and discussed at our end of July meeting. 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 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 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. (This is rare, but a reader confided this month that one of the titles on this list offered one of their worst reading experiences ever …) That said, that same title might be one of your best reading experiences – who knows? Inclusion on this list always means that a title has been given thoughtful consideration and attention by our readers, which counts for a lot.

Some other silent book club and reading items of interest …

  • Here’s what looks like a wonderful there for silent book club members in New Zealand to meet!
  • A reader in Seattle has the broader silent book club network abuzz, thanks to her excited discovery and effusive praise of the silent (maybe not so silent?) book club experience.

    Silent Book Club “head office” offers an email listserv for those who organize and manage sbc chapters around the world, and that community is talking up a storm about the wave of interest and influx of new member requests that @hellomandyo’s video has generated. (Yes, we’ve welcomed lots of new inquiries, too – and look forward to meeting some new readers in the months ahead!) Some chapters run significantly higher capacity events than others (more on that another day), and some chapters are still virtual versus in-person, so how one engages with each group is different. I imagine the delight in reading, reading together and sharing reading delights with other readers, as captured by @hellomandyo, is consistent across all chapters around the world!

Our previous reports and book lists are always available to interest and amaze, not to mention threatening to send your tbr pile toppling! The reports and lists are always 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.

Here, there and everywhere, we hope your reading nurtures head and heart!

When our reading choices surprise us

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This month’s “go round” silent book club meeting offered up another intriguing recurring observation. Almost to a person, each reader reported that something about their recent reading surprised them – mostly pleasantly, but not always.

Do we / should we always go into our reading with expectations? If so, are those expectations set by our previous experiences with that author or publisher, by awards conferred or good reviews garnered that suggest a certain standard or quality to the work, by recommendations from trusted sources (such as a really great group of book club members?) Or, might we head into the pages of a particular book with lowered expectations because you don’t trust the recommendation or recommendations, but feel obliged to read the book for some reason? And then – oh my! – the reading experience is better than you expected?

Do obligatory reads take the joy out of the reading experience … even if there’s the chance the book you really didn’t want to read might reward your efforts? Is it even possible to open (or start playing/streaming) any book with truly no expectations?

That recurring comment or allusion, and the cascade of questions it provokes, just might become the topic for further discussion at our next themed discussion meeting. That’s what happened last month, when the amusing and enigmatic title Duck Eats Yeast, Quacks, Explodes; Man Loses Eye led to a discussion of how sometimes an alluring title, an enchanting book cover design, or a wonderfully tactile, well-constructed book object draws us in to, perhaps, an enchanting reading experience …

I was so absorbed in this latest discussion (we’ve scheduled them mid-month every month since the start of this year) that I didn’t keep complete notes, but some observations and examples jumped out of what little I did scribble down:

Piles of silent book club member Emily's books, including Come As You Are by Dr Emily Nagoski

Silent book club member Kathryn concentrated on one book for a month-long read-along: The Night Ship by Jess Kidd

An adorably scruffy kitten curls up atop a shelf of lovingly dog-eared (see what I did there?) books - picture provided by silent book club member Lyla

Silent book club member Vicki is on her computer screen, getting ready for the zoom meeting, with her books piled by the computer keyboard, including the new Lucinda Williams memoir

Here is our group’s latest, always tempting and yes, often surprising combined book list, gathering up books mentioned and discussed at our end of June meeting, plus some mentioned in passing during our mid-month themed discussion. (You are probably going to have to click on every link to check each book’s cover!) 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 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 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. It always means that a title has been given thoughtful consideration and attention by our readers, which counts for a lot.

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.

Our previous reports and book lists are always available to surprise, delight, captivate, challenge and add to your tbr pile. They’re always 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.

We hope your reading is surprising you in good ways every day!

That Unusual, Quirky, Mysterious, Non Sequitur-ish Title That Sometimes Pulls You Into A Book

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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 …

Jenn and Sven's books are piled in a sunny, plant-filled window - titles include Post Office by Charles Bukowski, An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim and several more.

Kathryn's books are piled on the back of a chair, in front of a window with the blinds open - titles include God's Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu, Limberlost by Robbie Arnott and more.

Catherine holds up the graphic memoir Messy Roots by Laura Gao, with a colourful cover showing a drawing of a rueful young woman in jeans and a red T-shirt

Vicki is on her computer screen, getting ready for a silent book club zoom meeting, with her books piled next to the computer, along with an orange and a bagel - titles include Boat by Lisa Robertson, Mercy Gene by JD Derbyshire and several more.

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.

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.

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!

Peeking over shoulders … of writers, characters and our fellow readers

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Yes, yes, we know April showers bring May flowers, and we’re grateful for that … but while April is doing that dreary thing, how better to pass the time than in the company of a warm gathering of readers?

As one of our readers observed this time round, she enjoys the experience in her reading of peeking over the shoulders of different characters and observing them living their lives, thinking their thoughts and so on. By extension, we get in some respects to peek over the shoulders of writers sharing their craft and of course, groups like ours get to peek over each others’ shoulders as we read and absorb the work before us. And further, you get to peek over our shoulders when we share our discussions and reading lists with you every month.

We now balance our silent book club virtual meetings each month with a mid-month themed discussion, and a month-end round-up of our reading delights, challenges and recommendations – not quite bookends, but just as desirable, sturdy and reliable.

Now that we’ve given ourselves space for exploring themes, more seem to surface every time we gather. In this most recent meeting, interestingly, many readers reported balancing dark reading – different degrees of forbidding, depressing, disturbing, unsettling – with light – entertaining, amusing, diverting, perhaps somewhat less demanding. Maybe that could be expanded into a discussion, along with what The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler might invite: why do popular and/or acclaimed authors slip off readers’ collective radar?

During her trip to Dordrecht, Netherlands, silent book club member Beth encountered this charming little library box, light blue paint a bit faded, a peaked roof, two bookshelves
During her trip to Dordrecht, Netherlands, silent book club member Beth encountered this charming little library box

Silent book club member Anne-Louise acquired a stack of delicious books from the Fairlawn United Church book sale, the event for which is shown on a phone screen next to a stack of books which includes Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald and From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle
Silent book club member Anne-Louise acquired a stack of delicious books to replenish her tbr pile from the Fairlawn United Church book sale, celebrating its 60th anniversary

Silent book club member Catherine borrowed a bundle of colourful poetry chapbooks from the New York Public Library, shown here displayed on a black tabletop
Silent book club member Catherine borrowed a bundle of colourful poetry chapbooks from the New York Public Library

Silent book club member Sue R's book pile of recent reading includes Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Silent book club member Sue R’s book pile of recent reading

Silent book club member Tom's dog Aspen, an affectionate husky, lies on a wooden floor next to an e-book with the title You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith on the screen.
Silent book club member Tom’s dog is an affectionate reading companion

Silent book club member Vicki (me) on a computer laptop screen, starting a zoom session, with books piled next to and on the laptop keyboard, including In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas, with a dog calendar and a cup of coffee in the background.
Me, getting ready for our silent book club’s latest zoom meeting

Here is our group’s latest combined book list, reflecting books mentioned and discussed at our end of April meeting. 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 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 is encouragement, I’d 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.

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.

Our previous reports and book lists are available to captivate, amuse, intrigue and add to your tbr pile … 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. Some clubs are on hiatus or modified schedules, many are running virtual meetings in different formats, and many are back to running in-person and hybrid gatherings. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

Even when you can’t make it to our book club or your book club, or you don’t currently have a book club to gather with bookloving friends, we hope our readings lists and discussions here providing nourishing, bookish fodder for everyone!

Our at-times-not-so-silent book club, popping up to discuss book-related themes

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At the start of the new year, our silent book club group members pondered and decided to try switching up the format of our meetings to delve into some of the themes we touch on and skim over during our regular meetings. The usual refrain from those of us moderating each meeting was, “But that’s a subject for another day …” Well, we decided to make those subjects the focus of another day and another meeting.

Themed discussions depart from but did not replace our usual meeting format, where we go round the real or virtual circle and invite everyone to update the group on recent reading delights and challenges. Since we have continued to keep up the twice-monthly tempo we established at the start of the pandemic, we decided to still have our Saturday morning, month end meetings for those regular and very lively go-rounds. Mid-month, we have what are called pop-up meetings, because they pop up with somewhat less advance notice than the Saturday meetings, typically take place in the early evening on a weekday, but vary from month to month. We’ve made the pop-up meetings our themed discussion meetings.

We’ve now had four such meetings, and I think it’s safe to say they’re a successful addition to our silent book club community. The meetings have somewhat fewer attendees – maybe 7-10, versus 12 to 15 or more for our go-round meetings. Striving to keep the meeting to around an hour, maybe a bit more, everyone in these smaller gatherings has plenty of opportunity to contribute to the conversation. In fact, I wonder if the somewhat smaller gatherings make it a little more comfortable for all to speak up. (We continue to offer a “listen only” option for all of our meetings, but I don’t recall if anyone has opted for that during our themed discussions.)

Here are the topics we’ve delved into in our themed discussion meetings so far. We always have two topics ready to go at the start of each meeting, in case one discussion runs out of steam or runs its course – although most of the discussions seem to have lots of momentum.

  • Rereading – Do you revisit books, or do you always forge ahead to something new? If you do reread, what kinds of experiences have you had – more or less appreciation for a given work, etc.? Is a revisit more likely if you are rereading with your eyes or ears (relistening to an audiobook)?
  • Influential authors and books – What is the book or who is the author that has been the greatest influence on you as a reader, and has stayed with you over the years? What is the book or author that has inspired some of your fondest or funniest memories?
  • Unpleasant reading – What if a book turns unpleasant and out of your comfort zone? If an author is doing a commendable job of creating a graphic, disturbing or overly suspenseful situation, but it is not a comfortable reading experience, do you carry on or stop?
  • Authors and lived experience – To what extent must an author have lived the experiences of their characters? As a reader, are you concerned or do you even check first to find out if an author knows firsthand about the socio-economic status, race, functional abilities, credos and so on of their characters? Or can an author achieve convincing authenticity with research, imagination and sympathy?
  • Literature in translation – Do you read works in translation? (If not, why not?) What is satisfying or leaves you with questions about reading works that you are not able to read in their anguages of origin?

Highlights from these discussions are included in our previous meeting reports.

This past week, we tackled this timely subject:

  • Literary awards, lists and competitions – Are they important, are they resources that guide your reading decisions, do they influence what you read? Or not? In addition to how they serve readers, how do awards, competition and bestseller lists best serve writers and publishers?

Certainly not to downplay the monetary benefits to writers and publishers of awards purses and increased book sales, our readers were less convinced that such recognitions still serve readers particularly well. Not all awards shortlists and bestseller lists seem to offer the sense of revelation and discovery that maybe they used to – are some awards performative for the founders or organizations behind them? Or is a group like ours already pretty fortunate to, well, have ourselves and our collective and diverse reading experiences to steer each other in new and interesting directions? Other readers might not have those same trusted connections and resources, so award and the like are still useful literary starting points.

One thing we did agree on is that awards and initiatives that bolster emerging talents and underrepresented demographics were worthy and offered that sense of discovery many avid readers crave. How interesting that a day or two after our discussion, this reaction to how some Canadian awards are being administered – for good or for bad – came out:

Two Canada-connected literary prizes have announced shortlists short on Canadians
by Marsha Lederman
The Globe and Mail
April 21, 2023

Scuffed award sticker mars the book cover of Joy Harjo's poetry collection Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings
Are some award stickers look a bit tarnished these days?

We have more topics and questions banked and are always on the lookout for provocative articles and debates, which will likely keep our at-times-not-so-silent book club fueled for lots of future such meetings and discussions. Through them, we’ll continue to grow as readers, as neighbours and as a reading community and, I’m sure, as people who have become friends through books.

Busy, but never too busy to pick up a book …

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… or to assemble a list of my and my book club friends’ discerning and eclectic reading!

Stack of books (with more rows and shelves of books in the background) from March 2023 silent book club meeting, including titles by Claire Keegan, Leslie Greentree and more

Here is our group’s latest combined book list, reflecting books mentioned and discussed at our meetings in March. As I’ve mentioned before, each list reflects the reading of many of our members, whether or not they attended the meetings in question. 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 (often more) readers have given that title some consideration. That is encouragement, I’d say, for other readers reading 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.

At mid-month, we enjoyed another meeting focused on themes rather than on our specific books read in the last month. This time, our main topic of discussion focused on authors and lived experience – that is, to what extent must an author have lived the experiences of their characters? As a reader, are you concerned or do you even check first to find out if an author knows firsthand about the socio-economic status, race, functional abilities, credos and so on of their characters? Or can an author achieve convincing authenticity with research, imagination and sympathy?

It was another rich, varied discussion. The overall discussion leaned towards authors having at least some exposure to the subject matter/circumstances/lived experience for believability/authenticity. As a counterpoint, we also explored the notion that any author worth their salt, imagination and research should be able to convincingly depict a character or experience – because, for example, what if it is a sphere in which no one could possibly have experienced it (e.g. science fiction, fantasy, etc.)? What we concluded is that this is a question that provokes much great and interesting debate, and one that cannot be sewed up neatly, can it? I sense this and other such questions will keep our group fueled for lots of future such meetings and discussions.

Even when you miss a meeting, a good book club sustains you (part 2)

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I know I’ve mentioned before that the east end Toronto silent book club is very fortunate to have a sister silent book club group in midtown Toronto. (Here is founder Beth Gordon’s story about how it got started.)

Midtown was always a short subway ride away from east end Toronto pre-pandemic, and they’re still close at hand via zoom. Here is their latest combined reading list, from a meeting just a few days ago. Full disclosure: I had to miss the meeting – and miss it a lot I did – but I volunteered to compile the reading list from all attendees, proving once again that even when you miss a meeting, that good book club and its wise and wonderful readers can sustain you.

Even when you miss a meeting, a good book club sustains you

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Here is an adorable but seemingly unrelated-to-books picture of an Airedale puppy brimming with teenaged attitude.

An adorably scruffy Airedale puppy sits on a gray carpet, gazing with some puppy defiance at the camera - dog toys are in the background

Mavis* has just started attending obedience classes. Those classes are as necessary, if not more, for us two-leggeds as for the four-leggeds. If the class happens to fall at the same time as a silent book club meeting – well, hard choices must be made.

* Yes, her name is in part inspired by Mavis Gallant – so, further proof our puppy is book-related!

But, while Mavis and I were marching studiously around a small gymnasium*, I was also happy that our book club was carrying on and in good hands. Our February meeting was kindly and very ably led by longtime member Sue Reynolds.

* The dog obedience class location is just steps away from one of our group’s favourite bookstores, The Great Escape! Even more proof this is all book-related!

It’s so gratifying to see that our 5 1/2-year-old group need not rely on any one person to thrive. At the same time, while the whole is perhaps more than the sum of its parts, it’s each part, each reader, each unique library of books and authors and genres and subjects, that makes this group (and, I’m guessing, every silent book club group around the world) unique and vital to each of its parts. Each person and their reading choices and insights are essential to the group’s chemistry, vibe and steadfast reliability as a resource and source of comfort. Can the same be said of the more single-book-oriented groups from which many silent book club members have come?

What also made me happy as I was dog-obediencing instead of silent-book-clubbing was that when it came time to compile a list of the books discussed in the meeting, I know I would hear the voices making recommendations and offering brief critiques. I hope everyone enjoying these reports can hear those voices, too.

At mid-month, we again convened a meeting focused on a couple of discussion topics:

  • Influential authors and books – What is the book or who is the author that has been the greatest influence on you as a reader, and has stayed with you over the years? What is the book or author that has inspired some of your fondest or funniest memories?
  • Unpleasant reading – What if a book turns unpleasant and out of your comfort zone? If an author is doing a commendable job of creating a graphic, disturbing or overly suspenseful situation, but it is not a comfortable reading experience, do you carry on or stop?

Surprise, surprise – the discussion was lively and eclectic, once again! The influential authors and books cited ranged from one’s early reading days to the present. We all realized that those significant writers and works that inspire, inform and take our reading in new directions can come to us at any time or age. It’s not just about the compelling Nancy Drew formula that got us into a early reading groove, is it?

How we each face or work around unpleasant reading – be it graphic, troubling, triggering or otherwise problematic – made for a discussion during which, in the safe space that we’ve created with our group, readers could reveal how certain kinds of words and images have troubled and challenged us. If reading is viewed as a comforting diversion, an escape from the world’s cruelties, is one obliged to let those cruelties intrude on the page? As one group member observed, if a writer has gone to the arduous task of putting difficult things on the page, maybe we need to honour that work and look.

After two such meetings, it feels like what we’re learning about each other and ourselves – as readers and as people – means we’ll be tackling some more book-related themes together in the months to come.

Here is our group’s latest combined book list, reflecting books mentioned and discussed at the meeting at the end of February. As I’ve mentioned before, each list reflects the reading of many of our members, whether or not they attended the meetings in question. 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 (often more) readers have given that title some consideration. That is encouragement, I’d say, for other readers reading 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.

Our previous reports and book lists are available to tantalize, entertain, provoke and add to your tbr pile … 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. Some clubs are on hiatus or modified schedules, many are running virtual meetings in different formats, and some are carefully running in-person and hybrid gatherings. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

Even when you can’t make it to our book club or your book club, or you don’t currently have a book club to gather with bookloving friends, we hope our readings lists and discussions here help sustain you as a reader.