Books and book friends, warming and brightening the coldest, darkest times

How much do books, talking about books and talking about books with wonderful book friends warm up the wintry days? Well, let me show you.

Silent book club member Jo sitting in a chair in snowy Stephenson Park, holding a book by Eden Robinson

Silent book club member Sue sitting in a chair in snowy Stephenson Park, holding a book by Bill Richardson

Silent book club member Catherine sitting in a chair in snowy Stephenson Park, holding a book by David Sherrell

Silent book club member Vicki sitting in a chair in snowy Stephenson Park, holding a book by Tolu Oloruntoba

Silent book club members Catherine, Jo and Sue in snowy Stephenson Park

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Whether they’re able to attend a particular meeting or not, our silent book club members always send me, the blog report compiler, lists of what they’ve been reading lately, so we can provide a generous reading list with each meeting. 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).

Silent book club member Philippa's book of books

Silent book club member Philippa's book of books

Sven and Jenn's stack of reading, including books by Rye Curtis, John Vaillant, Tom Rob Smith and Charles Burns

Vicki on screen pointing at her stack of reading, including books by Dave Grohl, Margaret Atwood and more

More book-related articles, resources, news, recommendations and more are often inspired or offered by our members and/or come up during our discussions and chat, including:

  • One of our silent book club members heartily recommends the Backlisted podcast. Launched in late 2015, each episode features a guest (usually a writer) who has chosen a book they love and which they think deserves a wider audience. As the podcast’s web site contends, though sponsored by the crowd-funding publisher Unbound, the podcast isn’t about selling new product: it’s about how and why some books stand the test of time.
  • Harry Potter and the Sacred Text is another group member-recommended podcast that started around the same time as Backlisted. It comes at the Harry Potter books via rigorous but still accessible approaches, using central themes with which to explore characters and context.

Our previous silent book club meeting reports (online and in-person incarnations) and book lists are always available for you to read and enjoy them 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 currently on hiatus, many are running virtual meetings in different formats, and some are re-emerging carefully with in-person gatherings. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

Stay safe and cozy, with a stack of books (in whatever form) to warm heart and mind, and to light your way.

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