Our neighbourhood silent book club meetings have become my light at the end of those inevitable tunnels we have to make our way through – you know, seasonal dreariness, work tedium (even if you love your job, which I do), health challenges (thankfully, wholly survivable) and or even literally, those TTC subway tunnels we all seem to be getting caught in these days.

The glowing light that is our silent book club is comprised of so many wonderful things. It’s a quiet celebration of neighbours and neighbourhood. It’s a lively and enthusiastic gathering to share books and perspectives. It’s an oasis of calm to concentrate, meditate, savour and reflect. As each meeting draws near, I find myself getting excited about what I’ll take along, who I’ll see there, what they’ll share, what I’ll get to share.

With our fourth gathering, all but one of the nine people in attendance this time had been to at least one previous meeting. We’re getting into such a comfortable groove that we can spend less time explaining the concept (but here it is if you’re new to the idea) and more time just talking about our books and our reading discoveries. Each participant’s turn to speak has evolved from a quick intro and description of their book or books to a recap of what they were reading last time and how that went to what they’re looking forward to reading next. Wonderfully, there is some great cross-pollination of reading happening, too, where we’re borrowing each other’s books or making lists and heading off to the library or bookstore after each meeting. That spreading of good words (and pictures) about good books is happening online, too. One of my Instagram posts about a previous meeting inspired an Instagram follower to purchase a book based on its intriguing title as it appeared on our silent book club table. How fantastic is that?

Here are the books the members our silent book club meeting read and/or discussed today:

• Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
• Quantum Typography by Gary Barwin
• Stranger by David Bergen
• The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt
• Sixty: A Diary of My Sixty-First Year by Ian Brown
• The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble
• The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel
• The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
• Shirley Jackson – A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
• Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic by David Frum
• The Dinner by Herman Koch
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
• The Path of Yoga by Osho
• The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the Birth of Modern China by Hannah Pakula
• Still Life by Louise Penny
• Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill
• Lonely Planet Egypt (Travel Guide) by Anthony Sattin & Jessica Lee
• The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Jesse L. Byock
• Crooked Heart by Cristina Sumners
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
• I Am a Truck by Michelle Winters

(… and yes, that’s cafe/bookshop greeter Milo’s fuzzy butt in the background …)

Another month and a bit … and I already see the light glowing at the end of the tunnel!