It has been an incredible ten years of Silent Book Club! As we reflect on our celebratory month, we wanted to pause and share some highlights of the past decade of organizing this incredible community of readers.

Although the two of us started reading together in 2012, the first chapters to branch outside of San Francisco were started by friends. Our friend Kristin started an official chapter in Brooklyn in 2015, Joanna launched in Los Angeles, and Maggie brought SBC to Seattle. If you're noticing a trend, well spotted. Like so many grassroots, community-focused, values-driven movements before it, Silent Book Club's introvert revolution was led by women. And we're proud to still be an independent, women-owned business 10 years later!

We initially incorporated Silent Book Club in 2015 after launching a website where we listed every upcoming chapter event on a calendar. With only a handful of chapters at the time, it was easy enough to manage! Little did we know how things would change... In 2016, the first chapter started by someone we didn't personally know was in Jacksonville, Florida. A woman named Erin Phillips had found us on Facebook, and she hosted meetups at a local pizzeria until COVID shut everything down. Post-pandemic, Jacksonville came back under new leadership and is still going strong.

Aww, look at our cute baby book club announcement from this 2017 blog post!

2017 was a big year. We saw our first major press coverage in Poets and Writers magazine, which helped many of our people find us, including Rockville, Maryland, poet and author Liza Achilles, who launched one of our longest running chapters still active today! 

We also created the We Will Not Be Silent campaign to encourage members of our community to engage with their elected leaders. We partnered with artists including Jane Mount, Micah Player, and Lisa Congdon to create postcards for an activist toolkit, and launched a website (wewillnotbesilent.us) to share information about how to take action to stand up for human rights and intellectual freedom. 

SBC has long supported readers, libraries, free speech, and civic engagement. In the lead up to the 2024 election in the US, we focused on getting out to vote, and voting up and down ballots to support libraries and education. This effort is even more critical as we look forward to 2026 midterms. Last month we teamed up with our long-term partners Libro.fm to sponsor a Banned Books Week Read-In at nearly 500 bookstores and libraries across the US.

Support politicians who read, y'all.

Two of our biggest early press hits happened in 2019, starting the year off in January with Oprah magazine. The piece came complete with a photo shoot, whose image graced our main page and social media for a subsequent five years. To be interviewed six years later by Oprah herself on Oprah's Book Club was definitely a highlight of our 10th anniversary year!

In summer 2019, NPR featured Silent Book Club, including quotes from Columbus, Ohio and Johannesburg, South Africa organizers.

 

"What I like about Silent Book Club is you get the community of a book club but without the homework."

This was the article that brought with it a major uptick in chapters and membership. We went from the 70 chapters named in the piece to more than 100 within weeks. Internally, we restructured processes to support this growth, building out an interactive map to help people find local chapters. The old map was powered by a Google sheet and a Maps API that eventually needed a major software overhaul this year as we neared 2,000 chapters! 

In 2020 the global pandemic changed everything. Chapters went online, as did we, hosting virtual author chats during lockdown. From April 14, 2020, through Sept 3, 2021, we featured more than a dozen authors online, connecting readers with writers and supporting the book community. Those authors anchor this Bookshop shelf, and you can still watch the interviews on our YouTube channel!

Our growth out of lockdown was slow and steady, until viral moments began erupting from chapters around the world. The first was a TikTok video in 2023 from West Seattle. Subsequently, SBC Cape Town shutting down the streets in South Africa became an international sensation online, reaching more than 25,000 people with their reel. More recently, Monmouth County New Jersey's massive beach read captured hearts, minds—and wristbands.

That brings us to this fall, where we celebrated our 10th anniversary all through October (appropriately National Book Month in the US). Ten of our favorite authors recommended their favorite books (like we need a longer TBR!) and we highlighted our longest running and largest chapters. We held special events on both coasts: a 10th anniversary party during San Francisco's annual literary festival Litquake, and a live meetup on The Today Show in New York City featuring an interview with Jenna Bush Hager of Read With Jenna fame! More than 200 chapters around the world participated in a global readathon that brought together thousands of readers, and we'll share more of those local stories in coming weeks.

It has been the absolute best, spending the last month focused on celebrating with chapters and community members around the world. We can't wait to see where the next ten years takes Silent Book Club!

xo,

Laura & Guinevere

A decade of beautiful stories, friendships, and quiet moments shared. Meet the chapters that have been reading with us the longest — our top 10 longest-running SBC chapters!

Over the past ten years, Silent Book Club has grown from a small idea among friends to a global movement spanning more than 2,000 chapters in over 60 countries around the world. While each chapter carries its own rhythm and personality, a few have quietly stood the test of time — reading, connecting, and growing together for nearly a decade.

The following ten chapters remind us what it means to build community through books: showing up, month after month, for the simple joy of reading in good company.

10. London, United Kingdom — 2017

Organizers: Si Ning, Andrew, Beena, Bhagirathi, Jeroen, Mina, and Pierre

The London chapter is as vibrant as the city itself — welcoming, inclusive, and endlessly curious. “We have a diverse membership,” Bhagirathi shared. “People join our events from all over the world, both virtually and in person.”

Their gatherings often go beyond reading: bookshop crawls, day trips, and even fundraisers for charity. “I feel very proud,” Bhagirathi said, “that as a co-host, I get to create a warm space where members can feel part of a community and form meaningful connections over a shared love of books and reading.”

9. Johannesburg, South Africa — 2017

Organizer: Ana Maria

When the Johannesburg chapter first gathered in 2018, organizer Ana Maria Panait felt a mix of excitement and panic. “One of the fondest memories I have of our first evening,” she recalled, “is a mild sense of panic at the amount of people that kept on coming versus the number of chairs available. We weren’t expecting such reading enthusiasm.”

That first meeting at the Goethe-Institut Johannesburg set the tone for everything that followed — lively, curious, and entirely unpredictable. The institute has hosted the group ever since, offering not just a venue but a home. “They’ve been fundamental to our longevity — providing space, drinks, snacks, even a Zoom account during Covid,” Ana Maria said.

Over the years, the Johannesburg readers have become a microcosm of their city: diverse in every sense, yet united in curiosity. “We’ve built a community of respectful dialogue and debate,” Ana Maria shared. “No topic is off limits, and even the most opposing opinions are exchanged in polite tones.”

During the pandemic, the chapter opened its doors to the world — welcoming readers from Singapore, Mexico, and even Seattle. “Our conversations are a rollercoaster,” Ana Maria said. “One moment we’re debating religion or colonialism; the next, we’re laughing about cannibalism because someone was reading Hannibal. Every time, we leave with more ideas and thoughts than we came with.”

8. Boise, Idaho — 2017

Organizers: Margit & Kathy

The Boise chapter began quietly, with just three people gathered around a coffeehouse fireplace. “It grew gradually,” Margit said. “Then, a couple of years ago, we had a big jump. We have over twenty people attending each time these days.”

For Kathy, the magic lies in the simplicity. “What’s surprised me most is how many people enjoy gathering to silent read,” she said. Together, the two have built a space that feels both steady and alive. “We’ve had parents bring their children from grade school to college,” Kathy added. “It’s ever-changing, exuberant, vocal — and always evolving.”

7. Richmond, Virginia — 2017

Organizer: Allison

Founded in 2017 by Allison Herndon, the Richmond chapter reflects the charm and creativity of its city. Over the years, members have gathered in local cafés and community spaces to share the quiet rhythm of reading together — a simple act that has become a gentle constant in a fast-moving world.

6. Toronto, Canada — 2017

Organizer: Vicki

The east-end Toronto chapter’s first meeting in November 2017 was one to remember. “Four of us sat by the front door of a coffee, vinyl, and book shop called Press,” organizer Vicki Ziegler recalled. “It was so cold we kept our coats on, and one attendee brought a car repair manual as her reading choice.”

From that cozy beginning, the group has never stopped meeting — through winters in Stephenson Park, countless café gatherings, and a pandemic that took them online and connected them with readers from across Canada, the U.S., and even Wales.

“Readers together reading,” as Vicki describes it, became their mantra. “The reading and the togetherness are equally powerful,” she said. Their warmth has drawn national attention — featured on CBC News: The National and celebrated by small-press publisher knife|fork|book for their support of poetry. “It’s amazing,” Vicki said. “The act of reading together is its own kind of magic.”

5. Rockville, Maryland — 2017

Organizer: Liza

When writer Liza Achilles launched the Rockville chapter in 2017, she didn’t expect to be managing a crowd before the first page was even opened. “I remember being extremely nervous,” she said. “The restaurant wanted to limit us to twenty people, but more than twenty wanted to come, and I didn’t know what to do!”

That early enthusiasm has never faded. Over time, the group found its balance, extending its silent reading time and moving to a venue that could hold everyone comfortably. “We used to read for thirty minutes, then forty-five. Now we read for an hour,” Liza said. “I try to strike a balance between reading and socializing.”

Her pride shines through when members share how much the club means to them. “There are so many people out there who love books as much as I do,” she said. “The variety of what people read is remarkable, and the passion — especially here in the D.C. area — is contagious.”

4. Manchester, New Hampshire — 2017

Organizer: Jade

When Jade Walker moved to Manchester in 2017, she realized there wasn’t a Silent Book Club anywhere in the state — so she started one. “I booked a table at Barnes & Noble and hoped people would show,” she said. “About six folks did, and nearly all of them continue to do so all these years later.”

From those first eight readers, the Manchester chapter has grown into an online community of more than 860. Through snowstorms, shutdowns, and New England winters, Manchester has remained a hub of connection, hosting virtual meetups, organizing book swaps, and even rescuing “unread” library books by checking them out to keep them on the shelves.

“The core members have become some of my dearest friends,” Jade shared. “We swap presents during the holidays, share jokes in our private chat, and help each other when life becomes unmanageable. Whatever happens next, I have no doubt we’ll remain lifelong friends.”

3. Seattle, Washington — 2016

Organizers: Dustin & Stacy

The Seattle chapter embodies the city’s creative, bookish spirit. Founded in 2016 by Dustin Backlund and Stacy Kendall, this group has quietly built a loyal community that extends beyond its own borders, joining virtual gatherings with chapters as far away as Johannesburg during the pandemic.

Seattle remains a model of consistency, showing that sometimes all it takes to build something lasting is a chair, a book, and the willingness to keep showing up.

2. Orange County, CA → VIRTUAL / Apex, NC — 2016

Organizer: Divya

Divya Mirchandani’s story spans two coasts and nearly a decade. “Our first meeting was in a dimly lit bar,” she remembered, laughing. “Just a few friends and their spouses showed up, and we quickly realized it was too dark to read.”

By the following year, they had moved their Saturday mornings to a bright café — a ritual of coffee, conversation, and calm. In 2018, the group settled into a private room at the Newport Beach Library, where the sound of pages turning replaced small talk.

When the world changed in 2020, so did the group. The community moved online and grew into a global gathering. Later, after Divya relocated to North Carolina, she began again — same name, new faces, same heart. “It’s been an evolution — of the group and of myself,” she said. “No matter where we are, readers find each other.”

Now, her Apex chapter meets in a local café, surrounded by retirees, young adults, and parents rediscovering reading time. “It’s a small piece of hope that glimmers,” she said. “That no matter where you are, someone else is quietly opening a book too.”

1. Columbus, Ohio — 2016

Organizer: Mandy

Columbus stands as one of the original Silent Book Club chapters, founded in 2016 by writer and literary advocate Mandy Shunnarah. What began as a handful of readers gathering to share space has grown into a steadfast community that continues to thrive — a reflection of the quiet power that drew so many to Silent Book Club in the first place.

Here, curiosity, connection, and comfort coexist — a simple idea that has become a lasting tradition.

0.  San Francisco, CA — 2012

Founders: Guinevere & Laura. Current organizers: Jen, Elaine, Lauren

Where it all began! Cofounders Guinevere and Laura started Silent Book Club at Bistro Central Parc in San Francisco's NOPA district with a couple of books, a pile of french fries, and some very good wine. The party of 2 expanded as more friends joined in and moved to larger venues, eventually finding a home under the chandeliers at the Palace Hotel.

After Laura relocated to Denver in 2018 and Guinevere left the Bay Area in 2020 during Covid, they handed over the reins to local librarians Jen Woo and Elaine Tai, and longtime member Lauren Yang. The trio has been running the original chapter ever since, with a monthly in-person meetup in San Francisco and a virtual gathering that anyone can join!

What We’ve Learned Along the Way

Keeping a Silent Book Club running for nearly a decade doesn’t happen by accident. Across every story, a few common threads emerged: lessons in community, patience, and purpose.

• Show up, even when it’s small. Every one of these chapters began with just a handful of readers. The numbers grew because someone kept the lights on, month after month, even when attendance was uncertain.

• Stay flexible. Whether it was moving from cafés to libraries, shifting online during lockdowns, or adjusting reading time to fit new faces, adaptability kept these chapters alive.

• Let the community shape itself. The most enduring groups didn’t force a formula. They let people come as they are, and trusted that the right rhythm would form naturally over time.

• Celebrate consistency over perfection. Not every meeting was seamless, but every meeting mattered. Together, they became the story of something built to last.

Silent Book Club wouldn’t exist without our organizers — the people who open the doors, reserve the tables, send the reminders, and welcome readers, again and again.

Their dedication has built a global community grounded in kindness, curiosity, and connection. Every chapter, from the newest to the oldest, carries the heart of what they started: a simple invitation to read together.

To our organizers around the world, thank you for making this movement possible.

And to these ten chapters (our longest-running communities) congratulations! We’re so proud to have you as part of the Silent Book Club community, and always have been. Your commitment, creativity, and consistency have shaped this movement from the very beginning. Because of you, readers everywhere have a place to belong. 

It’s not a birthday without presents... Announcing Silent Book Club's 10th Anniversary Giveaway! To say thank you for ten years of reading with friends, we’ve teamed up with some of OUR friends to create a prize package any reader would dream of.

We officially kicked off Silent Book Club’s 10th Anniversary Readathon live on the TODAY Show from Rockefeller Plaza! Joining forces with Jenna Bush Hager, the founder of the Read with Jenna Book Club, SBC cofounders Laura and Guinevere hosted a special Silent Book Club NYC meetup with local organizers, librarians, and booksellers.

For our milestone anniversary, we asked 10 beloved authors whose work has inspired our readers to share one book published in the past 10 years that they’ve loved — a story they can’t stop recommending, revisiting, or thinking about.

Happy 10th anniversary to Silent Book Club, the global community that turned reading alone together into a worldwide phenomenon. Join us as we look back at our growth and milestones over the last decade.

It's been a decade since Silent Book Club was founded, and to thank our readers for being part of this incredible global community, we've created a special toolkit of free goodies to print or post.