Introducing SBC Reads

Get new book recommendations every month from Silent Book Club! Starting in January 2026, we'll be shining a spotlight on a new book release each month.

Don’t be alarmed, this is not assigned reading! SBC will always be a BYO Book club. But one of the things we love most about Silent Book Club meetups, and our online community, is the opportunity to get book recommendations from humans, not algorithms. 

Readers tell us they’re always looking for what to add next to their TBR, so we want to introduce members to great books that we’re genuinely excited to share. SBC Reads will span genres, authors, and publishers. Some of the authors will be SBC favorites, other titles will be from debut authors who may not have found an audience yet, but whose work has caught our attention. As a values-driven community, we are committed to promoting underrepresented voices and stories that need to be told.

Ready for our first pick?

VIGIL, by George Saunders

We are kicking off SBC Reads with a big one! Our first spotlight for January is VIGIL, by George Saunders. Saunders is a living legend, and at least two of his books (A Swim in a Pond in the Rain and Lincoln in the Bardo—also a Booker Prize winner) are contenders for spots on my list of all-time favorites.

VIGIL takes place on a single evening at the bedside of an oil tycoon in the twilight hours of his life as he is ferried from this world into the next by host of spirits. Saunders challenges corporate greed, capitalism, and the environmental cost of progress in an expertly woven tale of life and death, good and evil, and accountability and absolution.

Catch George Saunders on tour

George Saunders will be on tour in 16 cities across North America from January through April. Check out the tour schedule below and book your tickets early! Or better yet, ask your local chapter if they have a side quest planned to attend the event with other SBC readers.