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.