I liked it so much, I started one of my own

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Toronto silent book club member (times two!) Beth Gordon offers this wonderful introduction to our latest silent book club meeting report. Lifelong reader, long-time book club aficionado, it is no surprise that she indefatigably attends and organizes multiple sbc meetings, for which we are all very grateful!

Silent book club member Beth Gordon with some of her reading, 99% Invisible City

I’ve always been a big reader and dedicated member of book clubs. With other demands on my time, I gradually became less enamoured of reading “what everybody else wanted to read”, so when Vicki invited me to a Silent Book Club meeting, I was intrigued enough to make the 45-minute trip to her neighbourhood on a Saturday morning. What I found at Press Books was a friendly and welcoming group of random people, some previously known to Vicki and Jo, and some who had discovered it in other ways.

At about the same time, another book club which I had joined about 20 years ago was ending, largely for logistical reasons. Inspired by my experiences at the East End SBC, I suggested to some of the members that we start a Silent Book Club in Midtown Toronto. Because it was being held in a private space, my condo dining room, I didn’t really publicize it, but there’s been good cross-pollination with the East End group and we have a healthy membership. I have noticed that it doesn’t matter how many people show up – we always manage to talk for at least an hour.

One of the benefits of having to switch to online meetings, of course, has been that geography has not been as much of a factor. A friend from Vancouver now joins us when she can, and one of the chief players in the previous book group can now join us as well, since she doesn’t have to travel. What hasn’t changed is the sense of community present in each meeting, and since there are fewer opportunities to meet in person, I think we’re all a bit more flexible about social chat as opposed to “sticking to business”.

There are many articles online about Silent Book Club which describe it as “a book club for introverts” because of the communal silent reading aspect. You’d have to ask an introvert if that rings true for them, but I respectfully disagree with that limiting description. The discussions at the beginning of each meeting are lively and opinionated, and have introduced me to a variety of books that I would likely never have found if left to my own devices. And speaking of devices, there is very much a live and let live atmosphere as to how we all consume our reading material. I am an ebook devotee, because I don’t like to leave home without a book and it’s much more convenient to have one on my phone. Others are fiercely loyal to their paper books, and several are audiobook devotees. Although I prefer to read with my eyes, I’ve swung towards audiobooks as walking companions during COVID lockdowns. I probably wouldn’t have gotten there as fast without the recommendations of my fellow SBC members. The debate rages about whether one is obligated to actually finish a book once started, but opinions may be changing as we all cope with “lockdown brain”.

So I’m grateful to Vicki for telling me about Silent Book Clubs and inviting me to join her SBC community. It has definitely enriched my life over the past couple of years, and has been a big part of my social life lately. Now that the weather is warming up, I’m hoping that safe meetings in the park will soon be an option again.

Sven and Jenn's bookshelves

Sven and Jenn's cat and books

Sue R's books

Sue R in the garden with a book

Jess' books

Vicki's books, next to her computer

Vicki with books and Jake the beagle-basset in the backyard

Once again, our latest combined reading list brims over with variety, diversity and range. 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).

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

Boost your reading with fodder from our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists – you’ll find them 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 currently on haitus, 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, stay well, keep your spirits up … and keep reading!

Silent book club members’ cups and tbr piles runneth over

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That’s an awkward paraphrase of a lovely tweet from one of the attendees of our most recent pop-up silent book club zoom meetings. (We call them “pop-up” because we somewhat spontaneously announce these mid-week even meetings with just a few days’ notice, in addition to our regular monthly Saturday morning meetings … which used to be in person at our local coffee/book/vinyl shop, Press.)

Not only did the meeting runneth over with great book reviews and recommendations, discussion and laughter, but again, one advantage of our online gatherings is that our local neighbourhood/city borders are allowed to runneth over, too. This meeting, in addition to attendees from Toronto, we welcomed fellow readers from Edmonton, Alberta, Jersey City, New Jersey and our dear nighthawk with her squirrel sidekick in Pontypridd, Wales.

And oh, does the latest combined reading list from our group runneth over, too! 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).

Vicki's silent book club books for April 14, 2021

Mary's silent book club books for April 14, 2021

Kath E's silent book club books for April 14, 2021

Lyla's silent book club books for April 14, 2021

Lyla's silent book club books for April 14, 2021

Sue R's silent book club books for April 14, 2021

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

Our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists are 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 currently on haitus, 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, stay well, try to stay sane (especially if you live in Ontario), keep your spirits up … and keep reading!

Silent book club group looks to boost its young adult (YA) reading – the first of a series of review round-ups

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Many thanks to Toronto silent book club member Sundus Butt for the first of what we hope will be an ongoing series of mini-reviews and previews of young adult (YA) titles and recommendations. Sundus introduces this first installment.

After the suggestion of reading more YA titles emerged from our Silent Book Club, Vicki kindly offered to post a list of YA books that I’ve enjoyed throughout the years. I love adult fiction, but the YA section (9–12 in particular) is also full of incredible writing. There is a sea of wonder, heartbreak, and warmth that feels specific to this age group and it’s why I keep returning to it.

This will be an ongoing list with more book titles posted at the end of each month.

I sincerely hope you enjoy some of the titles that I mention.

Happy reading!

 

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (10+)

The sight filled the northern sky; the immensity of it was scarcely conceivable. As if from Heaven itself, great curtains of delicate light hung and trembled. Pale green and rose-pink, and as transparent as the most fragile fabric, and at the bottom edge a profound and fiery crimson like the fires of Hell, they swung and shimmered loosely with more grace than the most skillful dancer. Lyra […] was moved by it: it was so beautiful it was almost holy; she felt tears prick her eyes, and the tears splintered the light even further into prismatic rainbows.

I’m beginning this list with a well-known book, but it’s one of my all-time favourites. I can’t fully explain how much it meant to come across Lyra when I was a young reader (strong female protagonists were rare in YA at the time). She was a complex jumble of fierceness, intelligence, and vulnerability. Following her on an adventure to rescue her kidnapped friend, Roger, was a delight. The story is populated with brilliant characters and an amazing world that is at once familiar and distant. The fantastical elements of dæmons, witches, and armoured bears are melded perfectly with real places and objects. Everything from this book has stayed with me as I’ve grown up.

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Front Desk by Kelly Yang (9–12)

“Why put a scary part in the middle of a beautiful piece?” I remember asking my piano teacher.
“Because life is scary sometimes, little one,” he had said.

After immigrating to the U.S. from China, Mia and her parents have had a difficult time. But they think their luck has turned when they get a chance to run a motel.

Based on Yang’s own experiences growing up, the story touches on a large range of issues from racism to exploitation of immigrant workers to poverty. The seriousness of what happens is skillfully balanced with the warmth of Mia and other characters. The overarching message is one of love and hope in the face of hardship, and it’s what makes Front Desk a book with such great heart.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (9+)

[…] ever since I watched the clip of Dad […] soaring through the air—his long twisted hair like wings carrying him high above the rim—I knew one day I’d need my own wings to fly.

This novel written in verse follows twin brothers Josh and Jordan as they navigate basketball, school, crushes, and family life. With sparse text, Alexander is able to convey so much and create full characters you empathize with. Everything is channelled through Josh’s perspective, and his voice is entirely convincing as a teen dealing with his life changing on and off the court. The Crossover has a large focus on basketball, but it’s used to explore the struggle of growing up and the love within a family. It’s a very short read, but an engaging one.

The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis

The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis

The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis (teen)

Parvana was fresh out of hope. […] She crawled onto the toshak, covered herself with a quilt and resolved to stay there forever.
For two days she stayed on the toshak. “This is what the women in our family do when we’re sad,” she said to Mrs. Weera.
“They don’t stay there forever,” Mrs. Weera said. “They get up again, and they fight back.”

The above describes The Breadwinner in a nutshell. The story is primarily about the defiance and strength of women and girls in Taliban-occupied Afghanistan.

When 11-year-old Parvana’s father is arrested, the family decides to disguise Parvana as a boy so she can go outdoors to work and pick up food (women aren’t allowed outside without a male chaperone).

The story is short, but it’s a hard-hitting, unvarnished look at life under the Taliban regime. But from Parvana’s daily deception to a subversive magazine organized by Parvana’s mom and family friend, Mrs. Weera, the focus is on resilience and the incredible things people can do in the face of adversity.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (9–12)

I walked up the hill, where the sunlight seemed to touch everything like it was a hyper kid running all over a toy store—it bounced off the dirty metal lampposts, the shiny brass awning posts, even the sunglasses of a woman walking her dogs with a cup of coffee in one hand. Everything shined.

This book is a mesh of real life with slight mystery and science fiction. The story follows Miranda, a sixth grader living in New York City as she starts to receive cryptic anonymous messages about the future.

This book is so well crafted. The plot, the pacing, and the revelations are all balanced out beautifully in a story based on single moments having huge unforeseen consequences.

And the main characters are all very real with some goodness, humour, and flaws. (The interactions between Miranda, her mom, and her mom’s boyfriend, Richard, are heartwarming.) But it’s Miranda’s growth that’s the highlight of the story, as she learns to look at the people around her and realize they aren’t always what they seem.

Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen

Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen

Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen (teen)

It dawned on me that this was what it was like to have friends. People who liked you for you. People you didn’t have to try to impress.

Set in Vancouver, this story follows 12-year-old Ambrose who is homeschooled because he’s been bullied so badly. Ambrose is not a “normal” kid. He doesn’t wear cool clothes, he has no filter when he speaks (which annoys children and adults alike), and he loves Scrabble.

Word Nerd is full of unique characters that you feel for from Ambrose himself to his well-meaning, but overprotective mom to the kind landlords and their grown son Cosmo. All these people (and more) help Ambrose in his search for acceptance, and he realizes that some of the best friendships are found in unexpected places.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (10+)

How amazing these words are that slowly come to me.
How wonderfully on and on they go.

Will the words end, I ask whenever I remember to.

Nope, my sister says, all of five years old now, and promising me

infinity.

This book explores Woodson’s childhood in verse. It’s a short read, but paints a full and vivid picture of being torn between the north and south (Woodson grew up in both New York and South Carolina), learning about the civil rights movement, navigating religion, falling in love with stories (in particular making them up), trying to forge your own identity, and cherishing the simple joys of a family. Woodson clearly loves language and writing, and it shines through from beginning to end.

Seeking out and supporting the arts and artists online, while enjoying the “fine balance” of our thriving book clubs

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An immense thank you to Toronto silent book club member Sue Reynolds for the introduction to our latest silent book club meeting report. Passionate about adventurous reading, animals and animal welfare, and Hollywood femmes fatales, Sue has also contributed previously to this blog, with a great review of Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan.

I have been very lucky during this past pandemic year that all of the bookclubs (silent and traditional) in which I participate have been able to carry on meeting and talking about books via zoom calls. It’s not quite the same as meeting at our much beloved coffee shop or in the park, but we have been able to connect, see each others’ faces, catch up on personal or neighbourhood news, and share our love of books and reading.

The global pandemic has sent many folks rushing off to their local libraries or bookstores as people rediscover reading, now that they have time on their hands and shops, gyms and pubs are closed. This is great news for writers and booksellers, and some bookstores have been flourishing, surely cause for celebration.

I would like to call attention to other art forms that have really taken a hit this past year, namely art that relies on live performance such as theatre, music and dance. These folks, those on
stage and those who work behind the scenes, have led the charge to bring their work to an online global audience. Some performers like Georgia’s Indigo Girls have used their streamed gigs to raise much-needed funds for food banks and other relief agencies.

The National Theatre in London, England has been streaming recorded plays to cinemas around the world for over a decade. During the early days of the pandemic NT Live streamed a different play every week, free of charge (although donations were gratefully accepted). Book lovers like us could watch innovative and exciting theatrical adaptations of Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Treasure Island and Small Island.

Thanks to modern technology that allows streaming I have seen more plays, films, author interviews and concerts than at any other point in my life. I want to encourage other people to seek out plays, book readings, music and dance online and to support those artists who have kept us entertained and sane for the past year. We owe them a huge debt.

 

The latest combined reading list from our group brims with literary goodness to suit every taste, wethinks. (In addition to our zoom meeting, we got to discuss some of these books during a brief, masked, physically distanced meet-up at our favourite local park.) 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). (And yes, you’ll find the book that inspired thoughts about maintaining a “fine balance” on this list!)

Emily's books

Kath's books

Vicki's books

Vicki and Jake heading to the park

Anita at the park

Jo at the park

Sue R at the park

Book-related articles, recommendations and more came up during this meeting’s discussions and chat, including:

  • These Precious Days by Ann Patchett (Harper’s Magazine, January 2021) – Many in our silent book club group are Ann Patchett fans. This captivating non-fiction piece by Patchett will warm the hearts of those fans, and is guaranteed to win her new ones.
  • Another recent Ann Patchett piece highly recommended by several silent book club members is How to Practice in The New Yorker.
  • Spacing is one of the most unique magazines on Canadian newsstands. The magazine uncovers the joys, obstacles and politics of Canada’s big cities by cutting through the cynicism that often pervades any discussion about urban issues. Spacing pushes readers to think critically about how they can shape the public spaces that surround their everyday lives. Learn more about their publications and other initiatives here.

Our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists are here.

You can also check out links to articles, CBC Radio 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 haitus, 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, stay well, keep reading!

The glow of our book-loving hearts

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Colourful, glowing neon hearts have been popping up in windows throughout the Greater Toronto area, including a burgeoning wave of them in the east end Toronto neighbourhood in which our silent book club has its roots. Not only are they beautiful and, dare I say, heartening, but they have a wonderful purpose, explained further here.

Here’s ours:

Our green glowing heart in the window

It would be beyond splendid to simply take a 10-minute walk through this neighbourhood – past many of the houses displaying these hearts – to the place where our silent book club used to meet in person to share our latest reading enthusiasms and then read together quietly and companionably. Till we can do that, though, the glow of our book-loving hearts in our online gatherings – which, delightfully, can welcome fellow readers much further away than this immediate neighbourhood – will more than sustain us.

Here is the latest, always generous, astonishingly rich combined reading list from our group. 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).

Vicki's books and the silent book club zoom meeting

Kath E's books

Sue and Kathy's books

Sue W's books

Some more book-related articles, recommendations and more came up during this meeting’s discussions and chat, including:

  • Designed during the pandemic by Moss LED, a company that offers high quality lighting products for film, cinema, television and other applications, the neon hearts popping up all over the Greater Toronto area are meant to show love and support to healthcare heroes and frontline workers and to pay tribute to live entertainment workers significantly displaced and downsized by the pandemic’s constraints. A portion of the sale of each heart goes to the Michael Garron Hospital Foundation in east end Toronto. Learn more at www.ourglowinghearts.ca.
  • These Precious Days by Ann Patchett (Harper’s Magazine, January 2021) – Many in our silent book club group are Ann Patchett fans. This captivating non-fiction piece by Patchett will warm the hearts of those fans, and is guaranteed to win her new ones.
  • Eleanor Catton has adapted for the screen her 2013 Booker Prize winning book The Luminaries. The resulting six-part series is an excellent complement to a hefty novel that is challenging, complex and rewarding.

Our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists are here.

You can also check out links to articles, CBC Radio 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 haitus, but many are running virtual meetings in different formats. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

Hearts aglow, let’s continue to light our way and our spirits with reading and continued connections to our fellow readers.

A group knitted together by the wonder of words

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Warmest thanks to Toronto silent book club member Mary Schulz for the introduction to our latest sbc meeting report. Mary has also graced this blog with some excellent book reviews, here and here.

Comfort. It is something we all crave from time to time. Perhaps we appreciate comforting pleasures more than ever as we near the anniversary of the start of this pandemic. It is strangely comforting to know that the world keeps behaving as it should at this time of year, bringing us days of blinding sunlight followed by greyer days of snow upon snow. Comfort foods, libations and human connection continue to be vitally important as we return home from walking, walking and more walking.

So, too, our Silent Book Club remains a comforting oasis in the midst of so much uncertainty. Even meeting virtually has become “comfortable” – the new normal. Seeing the familiar faces of friends from across the street and across the globe feels almost as good as sitting around the coffee table at our neighbourhood cafe. Hearing about – and seeing!- one member’s latest canine addition to the family, swapping tidbits of neighbourhood gossip (and wondering how alien or familiar does this sound to our book club member who tunes in from Wales?!) and sharing a laugh at the absurdity of it all make us feel that perhaps everything hasn’t changed, after all.

Falling into the easy routine of going around the circle, listening to what has enthralled our group book-wise (or not!) over the past month, scribbling notes to “check this book out!”, we laugh at the predictability that one member will stretch us to read poetry while others will help us re-think what a “good read” really means. Perhaps we should give that author another try; after all, so many in the group seem to enjoy her books. Or maybe it’s ok just to listen this month, if reading has not been top of mind of late.

Silent book club is a gathering of friends. Sometimes those friends are like-minded, sometimes not so much. But the group is knitted together by the wonder of words. How DOES she do it? How beautifully written was that?! Even if we don’t always understand their full meaning, words move us and make us feel.

And after all, isn’t that what a really great gathering of friends is all about? Feeling. Talking, laughing, sharing. And did we mention, “feeling”? Feeling safe and amongst friends, many of whom are just down the street or around the corner. Who knew that books could do all that? Well, we did, I guess. And thank goodness for that.

 

Here is the latest, positively gorgeous combined reading list from our group. 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).

Emily's bookshelves

Lyla's books

Sue R's books

Vicki's books

Beth's books and bookshelves

Kath's book and Squizz watching rugby

The wrap-up discussion and the chat window of today’s zoom meeting also brimmed with book and book-related articles, recommendations and more, including:

Our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists are here.

You can also check out links to articles, CBC Radio 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 haitus, but many are running virtual meetings in different formats. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

Let’s continue to light our way and our spirits with reading and continued connections to our fellow readers.

How to Read Books in a Pandemic in the Digital Age

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Guest contributor Liza Achilles

Guest contributor Liza Achilles

by Liza Achilles

I keep hearing the same lament, over and over.

I host a Silent Book Club, which means that I meet weekly with people who love to read. We talk about the books we are reading … and not reading, as the case may be.

During club meetings, I keep hearing people bemoan their lack of concentration. Everyone’s brain is going haywire. Everyone’s worried about COVID-19. Everyone’s worried about politics. Everyone’s stressed about social distancing and the shuttering of schools and workplaces. On top of all this, everyone’s being bombarded with phone notifications, social media messages, and news alerts.
It’s not surprising that sitting down and calmly reading a book is starting to seem like a quaint luxury, something that old-fashioned people did in previous centuries.

But reading full books — and not just snippets of news or gossip — brings massive rewards. Many of us want to read more books. We just need to figure out how to hack our personal systems, how to reconfigure our brains, to allow it to happen. Following are solutions that work for me.

How to Have a Shot at Reaching Your Reading Goals

You aren’t going to reach your reading goals if you don’t have any in the first place! So that’s a good place to start.

All of the most avid readers I know track their reading. Some people track their reading on Goodreads. Other people use digital spreadsheets. I, personally, am analog: I use a notepad in which I write down, by hand, the date I finished a book and its title and author. Simple.

Tracking your reading is great for motivation. You can learn how many books you typically read in a month or a year. And you can set goals to increase those numbers. On days when you don’t feel like reading, you can think about your goals, which may prompt you to sit down with a book.

A friend of mine doesn’t track number of books read per year, but rather number of pages read per year. She uses the page count supplied by her e-reader, so it’s a consistent measure. This, she feels, and I’m sure she’s right, is a more accurate gauge of how much she is reading.

I like to have daily page count goals in addition to my monthly and yearly goals. I try to read at least 40 pages a day. This doesn’t always happen, but having the goal helps.

How to Start Reading

There are always a hundred things I could be doing. Dishes, laundry, cooking, cleaning, exercising, texting, going on social media … the list goes on and on. I have noticed that there are points in my day when I think, “I should read a book,” but instead I end up clicking on each of my phone apps, in turn, to see what’s new there.

I have discovered that, nowadays, I need a motivator to inspire me to sit down with a book. Once I start reading, I’m often swept away by the joy of reading. But I need something to get me there in the first place.

For me, the best incentive is something to put in my mouth. (I’m like a baby!) My beverage of choice is tea, either caffeinated or herbal, depending on the time of day. My food of choice is a piece of hard candy.

I say to myself, “If you sit down to read, you can have this savory drink or sweet candy!” I don’t allow myself to eat an entire jar of candy, mind you — only one or two pieces per day. It’s just a brain boost to get me started.

Once I get started, I often forget about the tea or candy as I get engrossed in the book. Sometimes I look up an hour later and notice a full mug of cold tea, tea bag still dangling over the edge—how silly is that?!

How to Keep Reading

While reading, I often feel the urge to check my phone. I have tried turning it off or putting it in another room; but inevitably, I will need it, wanting to look up a word or a reference in the book I’m reading.

Instead of banishing my phone from my presence, I tell myself, “This is your reading time. Try not to check your phone. But if it rings or beeps, or if you can’t resist and pick it up to check it, put it down as soon as possible.”

Sometimes I give myself permission to click around on my phone only after I have read a certain number of pages, or gotten to the end of a chapter.

Also: I silence almost all notifications on my phone. There are literally only three types of functionalities or people that I allow to make a noise that might disturb me. Some people might say even three is too many. You might try putting your phone in Total Silence / Do Not Disturb mode if being interrupted while reading is a problem.

How to Combat Reading Fatigue

I find that it’s helpful to space reading throughout the day. Read a few pages in the morning, a few pages at lunchtime, and a few pages before bed.

Making it through a massive chunk of reading all in one sitting can work if the book is a real page-turner. But there are lots of great books out there that need to be digested, so to speak. Spacing out the book’s consumption helps your brain process what was read and recoup before the next session.

Additionally, one of my favorite times to read is in the middle of the night. Sometimes I wake up late at night and read for an hour. It’s a time of day when I don’t feel at all distracted. There’s no breaking news; little is happening on social media; all my friends are asleep. I always get a lot of reading done when I read at 1 in the morning. Waking early and reading at 5am is also productive for me.

How to Get Through Reading Slumps

Sometimes it’s hard to get reading done because you just finished a good book, and no other book seems interesting.

Or maybe you are in a slump because you tried reading one book, but it was boring, so you picked up a second book, but it was boring, too, and you feel guilty about not reading either of them, and you wonder whether you should try a third book, or plug away at one of the other two, and you can’t make a decision, so you give up and take a nap.

In my experience, the best remedy for this problem is to have lots of books at hand. Always have at least 20 unread books lying around. These can be books you own or books from the library, real books or e-books.

Book reading is extremely personal and circumstantial. If you don’t feel like reading a particular book, it could be simply the wrong book for you, at this point in your life. I recently tried to read a book multiple times, but failed each time … until the political climate changed. Suddenly, I was able to read about that topic again. Before that, the topic felt too painful and raw. Afterward, I devoured the book.

However, in the thick of things, I did not realize that that was the problem. I just thought I was having a problem with reading in general. In reality, I was having a problem with a particular emotional trigger.

The lesson is, have a bunch of books around, and keep trying to read one, and then another one, and then another one, until you find one that resonates with you, right now. That’s the book that you should be reading.

And I wish you the best of luck in reading it!

Liza Achilles is a writer, editor, poet, and coach based in the Washington, D.C., area. She blogs about seeking wisdom through books and elsewhere at lizaachilles.com.

It was such an honour to collaborate with Liza, developing reciprocal pieces on the challenges of reading during these unsettled and unsettling times. It was fun, too! We wrote our pieces independently, exchanged them and then opened and read each other’s pieces at the same time. It was thrilling to see how what we observed and how we were dealing with it had common threads and complementary strategies, creating a really interesting balance that we hope all our bookish friends will appreciate. Liza beautifully presents my piece on her blog here: Clutching Our Books While Riding a Rollercoaster: the Solace and Challenges of Reading During a Pandemic.

Days might get blurry, but silent book club meetings still bring it all back into focus

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Have you lost track of the hours and days? Does the demarcation of weekday versus weekend perhaps have less meaning than it used to …?

Over these seemingly endless pandemic months, our silent book club group co-founder Jo and I have worked to schedule two zoom meetings a month for our members. We strive to balance keeping in much-needed contact with our bookish friends with not straining everyone’s already increased screen time. One meeting is on Saturday mornings, at the time every month when we used to meet in person at our local coffee/book shop Press. The other meeting is what we call a “pop-up”. We surprise members with a second date just a few days in advance, and it is usually scheduled for a weekday evening.

Weekday? What is that? Evening? The days are getting longer, but the day still gets darker early on … and some wintry days, it’s dark all day. But as disorienting and fatiguing as it might be, mixed in with all the other work and family and community reasons for being online, I know I snap to attention going in and emerge refreshed coming out of every silent book club zoom gathering.

Here is the latest, delectable combined reading list from our group. 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).

Vicki's books and zoom screen

Jess' books

Kathryn's books

Our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists are here.

You can also check out links to articles, CBC Radio 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 haitus, but many are running virtual meetings in different formats. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

Even if things get darker for a time, we can light our way and our spirits for now with reading and continued connections to our fellow readers.

Started early, took my dog … enjoyed the company of booklovers, online and in the snow

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Me in the snowy park holding a book, while Tilly the Airedale looks elsewhere

… although the dog was more interested in other dogs than in the books and booklovers … 🙂

Our latest online silent book club meeting did indeed runneth over …

Silent book club members in zoom screen

… but no one seemed to mind, so there clearly continues to be an appetite for regularly sharing our bookish delights and challenges, in whatever way we can meet. As you’ll see from our always generous and varied combined book list, our Toronto group (where the eastern boundary of the city extends to Wales, don’t you know …) is keeping its collective reading groove going with a wide range of contemporary and classic works in many genres and formats, from established and emerging authors.

After the zoom meeting, as most were settling in to their favourite reading chairs for the silent reading portion of the festivities, a handful of us (within local group guidelines, appropriate distanced – rest assured) ventured out to the local park for a quick meetup in the snow. (As I walked over, I thought of one of our book club members waxing wise and poetic about Wintering by Katherine May – in which we are encouraged to embrace literal and more metaphorical winters – and mused about how appropriate this was …)

Three silent book club members standing in the snowy park with their books

Catherine in the park

Jo in the park

Sue in the park

When the sun is shining just as brilliantly, but it’s maybe a touch warmer and greener, we look forward to gathering there again for some silent reading under the trees. Till then, we’ll gather round our screens and in the cozy spots where we curl up at home, grateful we’ve found ways to continue to connect with our fellow booklovers.

Beth's silent book club reading

Dawn's silent book club reading

Kath's silent book club reading

Lyla's silent book club reading

Philippa's silent book club reading

Vicki's silent book club reading

Here is the latest and always gorgeous combined reading list from our group. 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).

The chat window of today’s zoom meeting was also brimming with book and book-related articles, recommendations and more, including:

Our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists are here.

You can also check out links to articles, CBC Radio 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 haitus, but many are running virtual meetings in different formats. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

Even if things get darker for a time, we can light our way and our spirits for now with reading and continued connections to our fellow readers.

The chance to fling our virtual doors wide open

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We miss our in-person silent book club meetings, at Press and in the park …

Silent book club in the park ... with a new friend

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist …)

but as I observed in our last report, gathering around a zoom screen can sometimes be just like gathering around a warm fire in good company. It felt exactly like that again, as we enjoyed a mid-week, evening “pop-up” silent book club meeting this week.

Although it was an evening gathering for most of the attendees, from our local east end Toronto neighbourhood and from other locations around the greater Toronto area, it was a very late evening for one of our newest members, who was joining us from Wales. It was particularly lovely to hear her voice, see her smile and view her cozy, book-lined office … and to realize that an actually very wonderful aspect of how our group has adapted and moved online is that it has given us the opportunity to fling our virtual doors open in this fashion.

Live meetings and the warmth of literally reading together are not in the immediate future, but they’re in all our dreams. At the same time, I hope this extended book club format will still be part of our meeting mix. We’ve made new friends, we’ve expanded our discussions and reading lists … and we’ve used the online realm (and, notably this week, it feels like we’ve reclaimed and redeemed it) to do it.

Books from Rosanne

Toronto library entrance, covid style, from Todd

Lyla's reading

Lyla's reading

Lyla's reading

Philippa's reading

Vicki's reading

Without further ado, here is another generous combined reading list from our group. As always, the titles featured in each of our reports combine print and digital versions of books, along with audiobooks (which are indicated separately)

Our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists are here.

You can also check out links to articles, CBC Radio 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 haitus, but many are running virtual meetings in different formats. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

It’s possible things are going to get darker for a time. We can light our way and our spirits for now with reading and continued connections to our fellow readers.