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).

• Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, narrated by Lisette Lecat (audiobook)
• The Push by Ashley Audrain
• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
• The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating: A True Story by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
• Nomadland by Jessica Bruder
• The Speed of Mercy by Christy Ann Conlin
• Scent by Isabel Costello
• Actress by Anne Enright (audiobook)
• Cary Grant, A Brilliant Disguise by Scott Eyman
• Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan
• Fierce Fairy Tale by Nikita Gill (audiobook)
• The End of Me by John Gould
• The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley
• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol by Anne Dowsett Johnston
• The Custodian of Paradise by Wayne Johnston
• Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
• Grown Ups by Marian Keyes (audiobook)
• The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan
• Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
• Writers & Lovers by Lily King, narrated by Stacey Glemboski (audiobook)
• The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, narrated by Daniel Henning (audiobook)
• A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
• The Drowned City by K.J. Maitland
• The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt
• A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
• Chainmail Bikini – The Anthology of Women Gamers, edited by Hazel Newlevant
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
• Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
• The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
• Gutter Child by Jael Richardson
• The Apothecary Rose by Candace Robb
• Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson
• Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
• Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers
• Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld (audiobook)
• A Short History of the Blockade by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
• The Assumption of Rogues and Rascals by Elizabeth Smart
• American Vampire Vol. 5 by Scott Snyder
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (audiobook)
• Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
• Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore, narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Jenna Lamia (audiobook)
• The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
• Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
• Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead (audiobook)
• Field Notes for an Unintentional Birder by Julia Zarankin, narrated by Nan McNamara (audiobook)
• Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

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:

• Gamify Your Reading With This Readathon Board Game!
• New York Public Library national poetry month (April) events – These are all virtual events for which no library card required, although registration caps may vary by event.
• “Poem in Your Pocket Day” (April 29th) celebration resources
• The silent book club member who is tolerated by all the other members for an enthusiasm for poetry that runneth over (er, that’s me) posts a poetry excerpt on Twitter and Instagram every day with the hashtag #todayspoem. For National Poetry Month, I’m also transcribing the poems I read each morning and am sharing pictures of the transcriptions (via @bookgaga on Twitter and @vzbookgaga on Instagram).

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!