So we read on...
In late February 2020, Silent Book Club Torino hosted its first book mob—two dozen readers took over a subway car and read in silence from one end of the line to the other. The local news covered the story, and I messaged the organizers, Enrico Nada and Monica Di Martino, to congratulate them on the success of the event.
Two days later, news of coronavirus swept the headlines and Northern Italy went into lockdown. My conversation with Enrico and Monica quickly turned to how SBC could nurture a community under quarantine. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and SBC Torino hosted the first Silent Book Club Zoom meetup of the pandemic on March 12.
After that Zoom, I wrote to Enrico on Facebook: "Despite the fact of the virus, it was lovely to be able to join you for SBC in Italian!" He replied, "Maybe someday we'll be able to meet in person. Thanks to the virus, we're trying out a nice use for social media..." We had no idea what would unfold over the next twelve months.
Last March, I left a coffee mug on my desk at work and a gym bag in the drawer. We thought we'd be back in a few weeks. We thought our kids would go back to school to finish out the year. We washed our hands for 20 seconds, stayed home, logged on to Zoom. Laura and I sent updated guidelines based on CDC recommendations to chapter organizers. We added online meetups to the website and hosted virtual author events.
One year later, we're still washing our hands, mostly staying home, and logging on to Zoom. We're also still welcoming new readers to SBC. In the last month, chapters launched in Tehran, Australia, Wyoming, Newark, and the Philippines. For all its faults, social media has provided a lifeline to connect us to friends and family and even strangers. Members of our community have lost loved ones, and others have found solace in the group. The resilience of our volunteer organizers has been an inspiration, as month after month they continue to create space for readers to come together and share in the quiet comfort of books.
It's hard to believe that a full year has passed since I hosted my last in-person SBC meetup at The Bindery in San Francisco. I don't know if that coffee mug is still sitting on my desk at work. I can't remember which workout clothes were in that gym bag. I don't know where my son will go to school next fall. I don't know when we'll get to visit far-away friends and family.
But I do know that this community has persevered through it all. Silent Book Club has been a constant, steady beacon in dark and uncertain times. The light at the end of the dock. So we beat on, boats against the current...
We'll read our way through this, one chapter at a time. And maybe someday we'll be able to meet in person.