Silent Book Club started in San Francisco in 2012 with two friends—Guinevere de la Mare and Laura Gluhanich—reading together at our neighborhood wine bar. We loved books and reading with friends, but our previous attempts at book clubs had fizzled out.
Often with traditional book clubs there's the scramble to finish the selected book, and the pressure to have something smart to say. Wouldn't it be great to have a book club where you could just enjoy books, friends, and drinks—without any homework?
In 2015, we officially launched Silent Book Club as an organization with a mission to unite a global community of book lovers through the shared joy of reading together.
How it works
At Silent Book Club, there's no assigned reading. All readers are welcome—ebooks, audiobooks, textbooks, comic books... it's BYOBook. Our events are free and support local businesses. Friends and strangers gather at a set time and location, order food or drinks, share what they're reading, and settle in for an hour or so of sustained silent reading. At the end of the hour, attendees can socialize—or not!
Why Silent Book Club?
We started Silent Book Club because reading with friends enriches our lives and makes us happy. We love hearing about what people are reading (often in their other book clubs) and we think it's important to put down our phones and be social. Real, live, breathing-the-same-air social, not hearting-you-on-Instagram social.
Silent Book Club is about community. Everyone is welcome, and anyone can join or launch a chapter. We encourage people all over the world to start their own Silent Book Clubs. All you need is a friend, a comfy public setting, and a book. We have active chapters around the world in cities of all sizes, and new chapters are being launched by volunteers every week. Find a chapter near you and join us!
Learn more
Read what others are saying about Silent Book Club on our press page.
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Silent Book Club® is a registered trademark of Silent Book Club LLC (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reg no. 5798692). All rights reserved.