Confessions of a Non-Reader

by Rev. J. Ruth Bartlett

As 2025 draws to a close, we get to enjoy another guest introduction to our monthly blog post. Dear fellow readers, meet Ruth Bartlett, who is a pastor at the Calvary Baptist Church, which is a short walk from East Toronto Coffee Co, where our readers meet in person.

I live in a world surrounded by books.

The collection of books and bookshelves where I reside fill every nook and cranny of our home with books my aunt has picked up over the years of mysteries, spy thrillers, and nursing research. At work, I look around my office, and I see shelves of books on all manners of theology, philosophy, spiritual help, self-help, church-help, international and community development, and ministry resources.

But I find it so so so hard to read any of it …

During my studies, we used the phrase “alone-together-time” for all the times when we knew we needed to do work, but knew we just could not concentrate on doing the work if we were trying to do it by ourselves. As a capital E Extrovert, I think that anything and everything is done better together, so it really helped me with my studies and forcing myself to reach and research alongside friends who were doing the same.

And so, when I was scrolling through Instagram one evening (instead of picking up a book and reading), the algorithm brought me to a silent book club chapter somewhere in the UK. The concept was so cute and cozy I just had to see if they were something here in Toronto – after all, Toronto seems to have pretty well every kind of group going!

After some research, I was so excited to find that not only was there a silent book club chapter in Toronto, but right here, in my very own neighbourhood!

Vicki has been so incredibly warm and welcoming, and I’ve been so inspired by all of the readers in this group, hearing many, varied types of books that I never find on my own shelves, but find myself intrigued to try.

Joining the silent book club helped me reconnect with the genres that brought me joy before the days of university and seminary. I’ve enjoyed a biography of one of my favourite actors, reread a novel that piqued my attention as an elementary school kid, and now I’m reading the classic Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice in anticipation of trying my first murder mystery novel The Murder of Mr. Wickham!

Though I still can’t quite call myself a reader, per se, I think I can finally shed the non-reader title knowing how much I enjoy reading alongside the wonderful people of the East End Toronto chapter of the silent book club.

Every title on our group’s always immense lists means that at least one (usually more) readers have given that title thoughtful 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 consideration to a title – and that counts for a lot!

• The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, borrowed as a Blind Date with a Book!
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• The Fleur de Sel Murders by Jean-Luc Bannalec (#3 in the Brittany Mystery Series)
• Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett
• The Queen Who Came in from the Cold: Her Majesty The Queen Investigates by S.J. Bennett
• The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
• All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley
• Horse by Geraldine Brooks
• The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
• Austen Years: A Memoir in Five Novels by Rachel Cohen
• I Would Like to Say Thank You by Joseph Dandurand
• The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan by Lyse Doucet
• Things That Disappear by Jenny Erpenbeck
• The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians by Matt Eversmann and James Patterson
• Jenny Cooper Has a Secret by Joy Fielding
• The Beguiling by Zsuzsi Gartner
• The Murder of Mr Wickham by Claudia Gray
• The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region by Rick Gray and Shaun Booth
• The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
• Encampment by Maggie Helwig, narrated by Maggie Helwig (audiobook)
• Summerhouse, Later by Judith Hermann
• The Girl from Berlin by Kate Hewitt
• The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs
• The History of Iceland by Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson
• The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce
• Meet the Neighbors: Animal Minds and Life in a More-than-Human World by Brandon Keim
• Cattail Lane by Fran Kimmel
• The Names by Florence Knapp
• The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight
• Burr by Brooke Lockyer
• Death in Venice and Other Stories by Thomas Mann
• Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
• Never Lie by Freida McFadden
• The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
• Overdue by Stephanie Perkins
• The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose, narrated by Lauren Ambrose (audiobook)
• Sodom and Gomorrah by Marcel Proust, translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin, revised by D.J. Enright
• The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
• With a Vengeance by Riley Sager
• Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan
• The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
• The Cafe With No Name by Robert Seethaler
• Walking with Beth – Conversations with My Hundred-Year-Old Friend by Merilyn Simonds
• The Ruins by Scott Smith
• Remain by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan
• The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St Clair
• Hakim’s Odessey – Book 1: From Syria to Turkey by Fabien Toulmé
• The Palliser novels by Anthony Trollope
• Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West
• The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
• The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language that Includes, Respects, and Empowers by Karen Yin

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.

• Silent book club member Richard took part of his book update time this month to introduce us all to the ICCT Book Club, the Icelandic Canada Club of Toronto’s gathering of readers, who rally round the motto: Að ganga með bók í maganum: To walk with a book in your stomach. Everyone gives birth to a book. As you’ll see at the link, they’ve jumped enthusiastically into their relaunch this fall with some great books, with more ahead going into 2026.
• The Walrus recently showcased the many book club choices readers in Toronto can consider, of which silent book clubs are just one.

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 almost 2,000 chapters … (There were around 60 chapters when we joined as the first Toronto chapter in 2017.) The SBC organization celebrated its 10th anniversary throughout October … and our chapter celebrated its 8th anniversary in early November.

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 hybrid) 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.

Happy reading till next we gather!