• We’ve discussed the 50-page rule at more than one meeting over the years of our group. Some can and will, and some can’t or won’t, set a book aside if it isn’t sparking their interest by 50 pages in. Now, 50-page proponent Mary is raising the bar, sticking with books where she “can’t wait to get back” to them. If a book isn’t softly (or not so softly) calling to her, well then …
   
• We don’t often discuss readers returning to books they’ve set aside, for some reason. But one reader reported this month that she recently gave a book a second chance and was very, very glad she did. So, sometimes a book will still keep a wee spark burning …
   
• Silent book club member Lisa kicked off her zoom report by showing off a lovely cross stitch bookmark. Oh, this has sparked an idea for a future meeting and discussion!

Our group offers another combined list of titles that will shake your reading out of the summer doldrums (if need be). It and all our lists are here, to heat up or cool down your reading (again, if need be).

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.

• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
• The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis, narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies (audiobook)
• What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts, narrated by Hanako Footman, etc. (audiobook)
• Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
• Private Rites by Julia Armfield
• Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
• The Drowned by John Banville, narrated by John Lee (audiobook)
• The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
• The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius by Patchen Barss
• Men Who Hate Women: From Incels to Pickup Artists – The Truth about Extreme Misogyny and How it Affects Us All by Laura Bates
• Strong Female Character by Fern Brady (audiobook)
• These Days by Lucy Caldwell
• A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
• Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
• She’s Always Hungry by Eliza Clark
• Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
• Care of – Letters, Connections and Cures by Ivan Coyote (audiobook)
• Recipe for a Good Life by Lesley Crewe
• The Adversary by Michael Crummey
• Fieldwork by Sadiqa de Meijer
• The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue, narrated by Justin Avoth (audiobook)
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Turncoat by Aaron Elkins
• Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
• A Dark Death by Alice Fitzpatrick
• Curiosities by Anne Fleming, narrated by Anna Tierney, etc. (audiobook)
• Finding Flora by Elinor Florence
• The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
• The Mare by Angharad Hampshire
• Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
• Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
• The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry
• The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer
• Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hermon
• King of Envy by Ana Huang
• Lost Signal by Chris Hutchinson
• Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin
• Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski
• Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara
• Fairy Tale by Stephen King
• Softie by Kirby
• The Orange Eats Creeps by Grace Krilanovich
• The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman, narrated by Gabra Zackman & author (audiobook)
• All You Can Kill by Pasha Malla
• Held by Anne Michaels (audiobook)
• Skippy Dies by Paul Murray, narrated by Patrick Moy (audiobook)
• Sandwich by Catherine Newman
• Sandwich by Catherine Newman, narrated by Nan McNamara (audiobook)
• Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott
• Adventures in the Louvre – How to fall in love with the world’s greatest museum by Elaine Sciolino
• Whispers in the Village by Rebecca Shaw
• The Village Green Affair by Rebecca Shaw
• The North Star by Julian Sher
• Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
• The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling
• Miss Buncle’s Book by DE Stevenson
• The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel by Reshondra Tate
• Living Expenses by Teri Vlassopolous
• Remember Me as Human by Lucy Walsh
• Augustus by John Williams
• Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams
• Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
• The Fun Times Brigade by Lindsay Zier-Vogel

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.

• “But here’s the thing about words: They don’t have fixed, Platonic meanings that float in an ethereal realm outside human usage.” Ponder these recent reflections from Washington Post book reviewer Ron Charles.
• One of our sbc members reminds us that the beloved Lakefield Literary Festival is happening July 18-19th, 2025.
• Stephen Fry’s thoughts on the enduring appeal of Georgette Heyer are grand!

Our group’s previous reports and book lists don’t take the summer off – they’re 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.) 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.

Wherever you’re taking your time off – cottage, beach, on the road, wherever – we know books are traveling with you!