No, I Don't Want to Join Your Book Club...

[littlemissmartypants]

...Tired of the rules of traditional reading groups, more people are joining rebel versions. ‘I will not read a book that other people say you have to read.’


More book lovers are gathering to read on their own terms. MARIEL TORRES RAMÍREZ

By
Betsy McKay
Nov. 6, 2023 9:00 pm ET

Easton, Mass.—Jenn Yanikoski loves to read and chat about books with friends. But she doesn’t like book clubs—the kind where you have to read a book you didn’t pick, finish by a deadline and come to the meeting with something clever to say.

Not by the book
So the 37-year-old mental health counselor recently tried something novel: a “Silent Book Club.” At a bustling brewery outside Boston on a Friday evening, she and about 50 other people read books of their own choosing and at their own pace for an hour—without talking to one another. There’s no pressure. “It’s not like you have homework,” Yanikoski said.

Though traditional book clubs have been a fixture of American social life for decades, some bibliophiles think they have lost the plot. These bookworms don’t want to read books that don’t interest them. Even worse is recommending a book the rest of the group hates. They dread the scheduled dinners where they feel bound to dish up smart-sounding hot takes, along with a side or dessert.

So they are showing some spine and rewriting the book club, without the assignments or attitude. More people of all ages are gathering to read silently or discuss books they’re reading on their own.
Snip...
Much, much more... https://archive.li/EGbwr

❤️pants

[3catwoman3]

1. Sounds like the perfect milieu for introverts...

…like me.

[tanyev]

2. This seems odd to me.

I love reading, and I get not liking traditional book clubs, but why bother with the silent book club? Why not stay home and read in a comfy chair and comfy pants?

[intrepidity]

3. Yeah, hard to get the appeal of this

Maybe some people are so much more comfortable around other people rather than alone. Totally can not relate at all lol.

[Trueblue Texan]

5. I like the idea of sharing info about a book I am reading and loving...

...but I've never understood the appeal of a traditional book club where you all read the same book. That sounds too much like homework. How about a book club where you read whatever the hell you want, either recommend it to the others in the club, or not, then pass it around to the next one in the club who wants to read it. I don't like the idea of reading in a group. Like you said, I'd rather do my reading in my snuggly comfies.

[BigOleDummy]

6. Well...

I would say the attraction is the socializing they do for an hour afterwards. The various venues might be an attraction for some also.

[Yonnie3]

4. This is very interesting to me but the link doesn't load.

Last edited Sun Nov 19, 2023, 09:30 PM - Edit history (1)

I just get a blank page.

Strange - I could view the link on my Android in Chrome but not on my computer using both Firefox and Edge

[Aristus]

7. When I was in elementary school, it was just reading time.

I rather suspect my fourth grade teacher was a bit of a lefty. She was in a bi-racial marriage in a time when that was still rare and considered radical.

And the last fifteen minutes of school every day were reserved for what she called U.S.S.R.: Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading. Today, the faculty would be all over her as a socialist menace to American kids. But we loved it. The quiet time at the end of the day to relax and read what we wanted.

[shrike3]

8. I just joined one, and it is not going well.

Last edited Mon Nov 20, 2023, 05:06 PM - Edit history (1)

People do not want to talk about the book, and last time it devolved into a discussion of reality TV. I am trying to find a graceful way to exit, because a friend asked me to join. She is not bothered by the tangents, and says, "Sometimes the conversation goes that way." I don't want to talk about reality TV in any setting.