It’s a great time to be a reader. Several years ago, the words “book club“might have conjured up a mental image of wine-soaked, charcuterie-fueled one-on-ones at a friend’s house. Now, book clubs take many formswith options for almost every type of reader – whether in person or online, through a local library or bookstore, a community built by celebrities or #BookTok.
Even so, the traditional pressures and commitments inherent in any form of group activity can make book clubs a chore for many.
Welcome to the Silent Book Club, a book club based on a seemingly paradoxical idea: reading alone, together. Gone are the sometimes messy, sometimes insightful discussions about tone or prose or themes. All it takes is showing up and reading a book of your choice – alone.
Open the latest Booker Prize winner, or mass market book, or your history textbook, or the portal to whatever world you want to escape to. This experience of reading alone together is becoming more popular with readers because it provides a measure of responsibility and a chance to socialize and customize the experience without the usual pressures.
Founded in 2012 by Guinevere de la Mare and Laura Gluhanich, Silent Book Club began as a way for the two busy friends to fit reading for pleasure back into their busy schedules and also hold each other accountable. It was a small gathering of friends for about three years until 2016, when more casual acquaintances asked de la Mare about starting their own get-togethers. “People we knew started what we would now call chapters, and that gave us the idea to put it out into the world and let everyone do it,” she tells PS.
Readers around the world are eager to participate. According to the Silent Book Club website, there are nearly 2,000 mute book clubs worldwide; after a pause during the pandemic when some chapters disbanded or stopped actively meeting, there has been “explosive growth”.
On top of that, the Silent Book Club receives about 20 requests per week to form new clubs, according to de la Mare. She credits it to a post-pandemic need for personal contact and a desire to disconnect and unwind from the constant grind of virtual connection.
“There’s so much content and information available, and the way we consume is constantly bouncing around and absorbing things in bits and pieces, so it really takes effort to switch gears in the brain back to focusing on one story at a time,” says de la Mare.
This is not to say that silent book clubs are in direct opposition to meetings that involve discussion. Rather, the goal is to make fitting reading into the schedule as smooth as possible by eliminating distractions, such as nerves about socializing or the feeling of having homework. Silent book clubs aren’t necessarily the enemy of traditional book clubs—in fact, de la Mare says many Silent Book Club participants use their time to catch up on reading for other book clubs.
According to de la Mare, a typical silent book club starts with some socializing and quiet before the organizer lets everyone know it’s time to read (usually for about an hour). But instead of the conversation continuing the whole time, it ends before everyone picks up their own book and dives in.
“Putting yourself in a room with a bunch of people doing the same thing is the extra peer pressure you need (to stay focused),” she explains. “It’s a profound change to get off the hamster wheel, and I feel like it’s easier to put the phone down when everyone else around you is doing it too.” When this veil of sustained silent reading lifts, bookworms are free to stay and chat, or leave.
One of those chapters is run by Megan Sampson, a 35-year-old executive assistant in Easton, MA. Sampson had been looking for a book club after a move, but she didn’t find the right fit. “There was no homework associated with it, but the idea of coming up with something smart to say in a meeting didn’t really resonate with me,” she says.
That’s when she saw a TikTok about the Silent Book Club. The lack of pressure and performance — plus promise to make new friends — lured her in. She filled out an online form to start the chapter and contacted local watering hole Shovel Town Brewery before posting about the club on social media.
She didn’t expect anyone to show up for the first meeting at a local brewery in September 2023, but 37 people did, and she’s been pleased with the response and the community she’s since built. As of 2024, approximately 137 readers attended monthly meetings at three local businesses. In the time since then, lots of friendships and acquaintances have been made – even a few job offers. The backs that span the brewery’s long table each meeting span genres; people read romance novelsthrillers, sci-fi and even sheet music, at one point.
“It’s great to have this alone time together.”
That flexibility and freedom to read what you want also appealed to Ashley Mason, a 27-year-old marketing company founder who lives in Middleborough, MA. Mason joined Sampson’s chapter back in September. She had been in book clubs in the past but was hesitant to regularly attend one because she is careful about what she reads and didn’t feel drawn to all the assigned books. It was an added bonus that Mason could trade the nightmarish commute to Boston, where most local cultural events take place, for an easier 20-minute drive to Easton. “It’s great to have this alone time together,” Mason says, “and knowing you’re around people who love to read is really great.”
Silent Book Club is now a beloved ritual for Mason. Mason works from home, so getting out into the world and meeting other people is another reason to attend the Silent Book Club. She has since recruited her longtime best friend, and they have a monthly routine that involves trying out different restaurants for early dinner in Easton before heading to Shovel Town together. The casual conversations between quiet reading periods add to her day, and she’s also found other people running book accounts on Instagram.
The club offers a way for introverts to come out of their shells in manageable ways. Lindsey Chastain, a 47-year-old founder and CEO who lives near Tulsa, OK, has been attending Silent Book Club meetings at Magic City Books for a couple of years.
Chastain enjoys the balance between independence and mingling. “I’m so very introverted, and one of my main problems with book clubs is that people either haven’t read the book or the conversation doesn’t stay on the book, which is what I went there to do,” she explains. “For the most part, (my chapter) is a bunch of people who don’t really want to socialize but want to be social.”
It’s the combination of personal meetings and quiet time that keeps her coming back; it’s a welcome escape from the responsibilities of running her own business, parenting four teenagers, and running a hobby farm, and it helps her carve out precious time for herself where no one asks her for anything. “I remove all barriers to reading when I come to Silent Book Club so I can clear my mind of all these other things,” she explains.
Being around other readers has helped Chastain collect tons of reading inspiration just from looking at what others are reading, and she likes that she can then enjoy these books without any preconceived notions based on other people’s opinions shared in discussions. She also likes that this format eliminates any barriers or differences that might cause conversations to stumble—say, some read just for the plot or the vibes while others carefully analyze the prose—so that each reader can have the experience they want without judgment or disappointment.
Although she didn’t want to meet others through the book club (she wouldn’t be opposed, but doesn’t have much time to devote to new friends), Chastain has strengthened an important relationship through her participation in the Silent Book Club: she and her 18-year-old son have attended meetings twice together and read the same book. “It’s given us common ground now to not only be mother and son, but also literary buddies and friends,” she says.
Helen Carefoot is a freelance lifestyle, culture and entertainment journalist based in Washington, DC. Previously, she was Well+Good’s Lifestyle Writer and worked at The Washington Post on the lifestyle desk in the features section.
