Food or drink that erases previous tastes and makes a diner ready to receive new ones are known as palate cleansers. This month, one of our silent book club members posited to much agreement that books can do the same thing before one moves on to, well, other books.

Her striking example was the audiobook version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, narrated by actor Michael York. In addition to setting her reading on a new path, she described the process as very calming – something perhaps particularly welcome in our reading nowadays. She had everyone else at the meeting scribbling this title down, ready to test this idea at the earliest opportunity!

What do you think of the notion of books as palate cleansers – maybe something a little outside one’s usual tastes, or something one has not visited for a while and/or something in a different format (audio versus physical page)?

Depending on one’s personal situation and timing, just about any book could be that palate cleanser and calming influence, couldn’t it? What on our latest combined reading list might be that palate cleanser or calming influence for you?

Every title on our group’s generous lists means that at least one (but usually more) readers have given that title considered attention. That doesn’t mean that every work on our lists is expressly recommended, of course. Inclusion on this list always means that our readers have devoted time and thought to a title – and that counts for so very much.

• The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (audiobook)
• The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica
• Dream When You’re Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg
• In a Riptide by Ronna Bloom
• All the Broken Places by John Boyne
• The New Wilderness by Diane Cook
• The Innocents by Michael Crummey
• Love in the Air: Second World War Letters by Joanne Culley
• Claudette on the Keys by Joanne Culley
• Kate and the Composers by Joanne Culley
• The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis, narrated by Karissa Vacker (audiobook)
• Bear by Marian Engel
• The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians by Matt Eversmann and James Patterson
• Finding Flora by Elinor Florence
• Burst Your Bubble: Outsmart the Algorithms and See What You’re Missing by Joyce Grant, illustrated by Jan Dolby
• Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt
• Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian by Ellen Jovin
• All Fours by Miranda July
• The Shining by Stephen King
• Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by Rebecca Kuang
• The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories by Eric LaRocca
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, narrated by Michael York (audiobook)
• The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, narrated by Kenneth Branagh (audiobook)
• Dreaming of You by Melissa Lozada-Oliva
• Night Swimmers by Roisin Maguire
• The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, narrated by Jack Hawkins & Louise Brealey (audiobook)
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, narrated by Frankie Corzo (audiobook)
• The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, narrated by Gisela Chípe (audiobook)
• Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
• The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose
• In Search of Lost Time Volume Volume III – The Guermantes Way by Marcel Proust, translated by C.K. Scott Moncreiff and Terence Kilmartin, revised by D.J. Enright
• The Word of Dog by Mark Rowlands
• Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
• Home Before Dark by Rylie Sagar
• Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser, narrated by Holly Lucas (audiobook)
• There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
• Lucky by Marissa Stapley
• Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
• A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• NMLCT by Paul Vermeersch
• Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine

Here are some extra book-related articles, resources, news and recommendations, items and tidbits that are often companions to books on the list, or are inspired or offered by our members and/or come up during our discussions and chat.

• Live (in New York City) and livestreamed, Cyrus Cassell, winner of the 2025 Jackson Poetry Prize will be in conversation with Pádraig Ó Tuama on September 30, 2025.
• Author Miranda July (All Fours) is also an acclaimed filmmaker. This silent book club member (Vicki) highly recommends July’s first film, Me and You and Everyone We Know.

Our group’s previous reports and book lists are always available 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 the worldwide phenomenon of silent book clubs via Guinevere and Laura’s Silent Book Club web site. In fall 2023, they welcomed their 500th chapter … and with continuing, breathtaking momentum, they now boast closer and closer to 2,000 chapters … (There were around 60 chapters when we joined as the first Toronto chapter in 2017.) The SBC organization will be celebrating its 10th anniversary throughout October … and our chapter will be celebrating its 8th anniversary not long after that, thank you very much!

You can find information on meetings happening around the world and close to where you live. Every club is different in size, format (in-person, virtual or combinations) and vibe, so contact a club’s organizers beforehand if you have any questions or preferences. Please feel free to contact me for more information about our club and its offerings.

Whether or not your reading palate needs cleansing, may the books ahead bring you every delight!