Every silent book club meeting this singular year has been uniquely vital. The double-edged sword of so much of our lives moving online so swiftly is that we’ve been able to keep up all kinds of connections – work, personal, entertainment and more – while simultaneously being isolated and feeling disconnected. Maintaining those connections online has led to, not surprisingly, intermittent and at times utterly enervating fatigue. The activities that usually bring us comfort and relaxation – such as our beloved books and reading – were, ironically, often difficult to sustain, even though we in theory had much more of the time we often bemoaned we didn’t have for these very activities. But somehow, through it all, our silent book club zoom meetings (and occasional physically distanced meet-ups in our local park here in east end Toronto) were the unmissable, inspiring entries on our now strangely configured calendars. And somehow, the glow from our laptops and tablets and phones during these meetings was truly warming.

Our last silent book club meeting of this year (this year we all wish to put behind us …) was filled with heartening laughter and generosity and insights. We exchanged recommendations and reviews, as usual, and comisserated about overcoming this year’s particular reading challenges. One of our readers put it, most wonderfully, that she was determined to revisit reading that she had to set aside because it was too troubling during this year’s emotional rollercoaster ride, because “I owe it to the beauty of the words” to return. The beauty of the words and the steadfast presence of our friends has seen us through a lot and will continue to do so as we continue and get through the challenges still ahead.

To top off this very fine meeting (so fine that we might not be able to resist fitting in one more pop-up zoom meeting during the holidays …!), some of us hardy (foolhardy?) bookish souls assembled at our local park in east end Toronto for a brief, distanced sharing of books … and cookies, thanks to a thoughtful book club member. There was a chill in the air and snow on the ground, but hey … nothing has stymied this unstoppable silent book club this year!

Enjoy another bountiful list of our recent reading. We know everyone is getting books this season, but if, say, you run out during the holidays, well, this list and ones from our past reports are here to help you … 🙂 The titles featured in each of our reports combine print and digital versions of books, along with audiobooks (which are indicated separately).

• Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in 15 Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• River of Darkness by Rennie Airth
• Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam, narrated by Marin Ireland (audiobook)
• The Night Piece by Andre Alexis
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
• Divorce Turkish Style by Esmahan Aykol
• Sister Language by Christina Baillie and Martha Baillie
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (audiobook)
• Snow by John Banville, narrated by John Lee (audiobook)
• Lost Family – A Memoir by John Barton
• A Visit to Don Otavio – A Mexican Journey by Sybille Bedford
• Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (audiobook)
• Relax, Dammit! by Timothy Caulfield (audiobook)
• The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles (audiobook)
• Florida Frenzy by Harry Crews
• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
• Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
• Their Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans
• The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
• The Searcher by Tana French, narrated by Roger Clark (audiobook)
• The End of Me by John Gould
• Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
• The Secret Founding of America by Nicholas Hagger
• Benediction by Kent Haruf, narrated by Mark Bramhall (audiobook)
• No More Sleepless Nights by Peter Hauri & Shirley Linde
• Letting Everything Become Your Teacher by Jon Kabat-Zinn
• The Afterlife of Stars by Joseph Kertes
• The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
• Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman (audiobook)
• Field Notes From A Pandemic: A Journey Through A World Suspended by Ethan Lou
• Sargent’s Women by Donna Lucey
• The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
• A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride (audiobook)
• Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel (audiobook)
• The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary (audiobook)
• The Damage Done by James Oswald
• Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
• The Best of The Best Canadian Poetry in English, Eds. Peacock and Lacey
• How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
• The Long Way Home by Louise Penny
• I Curse the River of Time by Per Peterson (audiobook)
• Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
• Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre
• Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym (audiobook)
• The Huntress by Kate Quinn
• Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
• As For Me and My House by Sinclair Ross
• The Covent Garden Ladies by Hallie Rubenhold (audiobook)
• Pastoralia by George Saunders
• The Whimsical Christian by Dorothy L. Sayers
• 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak
• Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
• Noopiming – the Cure for White Ladies by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
• Intimations: Six Essays by Zadie Smith
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
• My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
• Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
• How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
• Trespass by Rose Tremain (audiobook)
• Square Haunting by Francesca Wade
• The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
• Other People’s Houses by Abbi Waxman
• I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman
• Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh
• The Turning by Tim Winton

Our silent book club chapter recently celebrated its third anniversary. Our group co-founder Jo paid lovely tribute.

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, CBC Radio 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.

A silent book club meeting with friends and neighbours, held at and in support of a local business exemplifies exactly the kinds of freedoms we are foregoing now to get through these unsettled and unsettling times … and is where we’re all going to want to be when we get through this. Read well where you are now, gather in the ways that are safe and make most sense, including virtually. Be well and let books buoy your spirits, make our ever changing and challenging circumstances more tolerable, and make the time pass swiftly. Read well and be well!