Not only did we wend our way through another dazzling and diverse array of books in all forms during today’s silent book club meeting, we sprinkled some random word magic over the proceedings by sharing our Wordle experiences and tips. Not everyone in the group even plays the word puzzle that has captivated so many so swiftly, but everyone knows about it, has at least tried it and has a reaction to it. That people are connecting and bonding over, essentially, one word every 24 hours is a gratifying marvel.

One book club member mused today that one of their recent reading experiences did not culminate in a satisfying ending. I’ve been mulling the phrase over and over since the meeting, and I love the thoughts it provokes. What the reader is seeking is a *satisfying* ending, not necessarily a happy ending. What does that mean, and is it different for every reader? And is it different for the same reader at different times, with different books depicting different characters, places and actions or contexts? What is a satisfying ending in different genres, not just the fabricated circumstances of fiction, but in the supposedly predictable endings of non-fiction or the open-endedness of interpretation of endings in poetry? (And while we’re on the subject, what is the satisfying ending to the Wordle du jour?)

Words and books are both shelter from all that is challenging us in these uncertain days, and potent ammunition for contending with those challenges. Whether one’s reading provides escape or confronts what is troubling us, the ending of each reading experience surely provides a measure of satisfaction, because we emerge equipped with something new or renewed that will guide us.

Our silent book club meetings, celebrating words and books and all they do for us, continue to be such vital sanctuary. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the most satisfying ending of all.

Our reading lists associated with each meeting are plentifully composed of many members’ recent selections, because they send them to me for inclusion in the blog reports whether or not they’re able to attend a given 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).

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• Emma by Jane Austen
• The Boat People by Sharon Bala, narrated by Athena Karkanis (audiobook)
• April in Spain by John Banville, narrated by John Lee (audiobook)
• Exit by Belinda Bauer, narrated by Rupert Degas (audiobook)
• Ten Poems About Snow, edited by Carole Bromley
• The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
• Black Hole by Charles Burns
• Reacher: Killing Floor by Lee Childs
• Whylah Falls by George Elliott Clarke
• Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs by Andrew Cotter
• The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
• God of Shadows by Lorna Crozier
• Waterlog by Roger Deakin, narrated by Roy McMillan (audiobook)
• The Start of Something by Miranda Dickinson
• Up the Junction by Nell Dunn
• Twelve Nights by Urs Faes
• Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy
• Root of All Evil by E.X. Ferrars
• 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Invented Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb
• Matrix by Lauren Groff (audiobook)
• Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez
• Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dung Ho
• A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 by Alistair Holmes
• Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson, narrated by Peter Jay Fernandez (audiobook)
• Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
• Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James
• A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
• Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
• A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
• The Topeka School by Ben Lerner
• The Circle by Peter Lovesey, narrated by Simon Prebble (audiobook)
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain
• The Art of Falling by Danielle McLaughlin
• Talking to Canadians by Rick Mercer
• The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, narrated by Jessie Buckley (audiobook)
• February by Lisa Moore
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
• Dog Songs by Mary Oliver
• Erebus: The Story of a Ship by Michael Palin
• These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
• 1066: The Year That Changed Everything by Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses (audiobook)
• State of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton
• The Maid by Nita Prose
• The Maid by Nita Prose, narrated by Lauren Ambrose (audiobook)
• The Whale Tattoo by Jon Ransom
• Consolation by Michael Redhill
• The Foolish Gentlewoman by Margery Sharp
• Such Color by Tracy K. Smith
• Fan Fiction, A Mem-Noir by Brent Spiner
• Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, illustrated by Diane Goode
• Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout, narrated by Kimberly Farr (audiobook)
• Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
• The Betrayal of Anne Frank by Rosemary Sullivan
• Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq (audiobook)
• Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
• Life in the City of Dirty Water: a memoir of healing by Clayton Thomas-Müller
• The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
• The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
• All Systems Red – The Murderbot Diaries #1 by Martha Wells
• The Indigenous City Edit, presented by West End Phoenix (audiobook)
• They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple
• Is It Really Green: Everyday Eco-Dilemmas Answered by Georgina Wilson-Powell
• Still Life by Sarah Winman

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:

• Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez is much admired by many readers in this silent book club group. The book has now been made into a movie currently playing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
• Some good companions to Waterlog by Roger Deakin? Try the iconic 1964 short story “The Swimmer” by John Cheever, and its haunting 1968 movie adaptation starring Burt Lancaster.
• Margery Sharp, author of The Foolish Gentlewoman, also wrote the beloved children’s novel The Rescuers.

Our previous silent book club reports (for online and in-person meetings) and book lists are always available for you to enjoy and get some reading inspiration 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 or modified schedules, 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.

Seek from books and words what you need for comfort, respite and renewed focus and determination. With mind and spirit bolstered by prose and poetry, we know you will head back to the world and its demands with recharged energy and resolve. Every story and every ending can and will be satisfying.