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As spectacles go, it鈥檚 notably quiet: A group of people, scattered around tables, bow their heads over books. The titles they鈥檙e absorbed in 鈥� a plastic-covered library hardback of “Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials” by Marion Gibson; “The Paradise Problem” by Christina Lauren on Kindle; a well-thumbed paperback of Madeline Miller鈥檚 “The Song of Achilles” 鈥� are as diverse as the readers.

This is a meeting of the , started by friends Lawvin Hadisi and Marilyn Kehl.

鈥淢arilyn and I really bonded over reading. We were reading the same books, or if we weren鈥檛 (we were) saying, 鈥榊ou need to read this book,鈥欌�� Hadisi, who works in health care marketing, told the Star. 鈥淲e were constantly messaging each other.鈥�

One day聽last spring they had a brainstorm: What if they read together, rather than alone beside partners who didn鈥檛 understand why they couldn鈥檛 put that book down? And what if they did it in public, inviting others to join?

鈥淩eading has been seen as an isolating hobby that you would do on your own,鈥� Hadasi said. 鈥淥ur reading club and others are reinventing that. Reading in the presence of other people is just as fun as other hobbies. We have a social aspect as well, so you鈥檙e getting the best of both worlds.鈥�

Their first meeting was on a Thursday evening last June at Trinity Bellwoods Park. Nearly a year later, it鈥檚 become a regular monthly event where time is split between reading and chatting. Some attendees are dedicated bookworms plowing through multiple books a week; others are looking to get their reading mojo back after hitting a slump.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had some people who purely want to focus on reading; some people want to engage. We鈥檙e just fostering a meetup, and there鈥檚 no right or wrong answer to the approach,鈥� Kehl said.

鈥淭he whole point of it is to build a bit of community.鈥�

Literature as a communal activity has usually taken the form of a book club, where members read the same book and then get together to talk about it. A new wave of reading clubs 鈥� or clubs about books that are not book clubs 鈥� are offering the city鈥檚 bibliophiles a different way to share their love.

For Malcolm Duncan, founding Actual Book Club in 2023 was an act of resistance against social media鈥檚 obsession with books as esthetic objects.

鈥淚 thought it would be a good idea to get ahead of the inevitable commodification. I wanted to create a space for people who read, without the financial obligation associated with this type of resurgence, or the social pressure of traditional book clubs,鈥� said Duncan, a 30-year-old urban planner. 鈥淎ctual Book Club takes a meta perspective聽鈥� rethinking what a book club is and what it can be.鈥�

Practically speaking, that encompasses a meeting at Parkdale鈥檚 Osprey Cafe once a month and hosting the occasional book swap or zine launch.

鈥淏eing a 鈥榗lub about books鈥� rather than a 鈥榗lub about a book鈥� gives our members the autonomy to read what they like on their own schedule,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淪ince we鈥檙e not all reading the same book at the same time, our meetings often include more generalized book discussions, recommendations and present opportunities for peer-to-peer lending.鈥�

Along the way, the club has raised more than $2,000 for charities like the literacy program Parkdale Project Read. 鈥淢y favourite moments are the ones that bring me closer to people,鈥� said Duncan, who describes the monthly meetups as 鈥渧ery chill, unpretentious, third space kind of vibes.”

The 鈥渢hird space鈥� element 鈥� the idea that humans need a place that鈥檚 not home or work to connect with others 鈥� is key to the appeal of this growing global trend, according to Amanda Gauthier, a category manager at Indigo.

It鈥檚 not dissimilar to a long-standing behaviour that the bookstore chain has embraced for decades, she said聽鈥� 鈥渢hat someone would come and sit in a stuffed chair in the window of a downtown street and read publicly as a gift to themselves.

鈥淭here鈥檚 something about occupying that space that must scratch some kind of itch in terms of a soft social need that we have.鈥�

Citing Alberto Manguel鈥檚 鈥淎 History of Reading,鈥澛燝authier added that the first libraries were not silent places anyway, since reading was done by sounding out letters aloud.

鈥淚 think of that often, that idea that there is something about recognizing a fellow reader, seeing and understanding what they鈥檙e experiencing.”

She also connects it to a dissatisfaction with our screen-centric lives.

鈥淭he penny is dropping. We want to get off our phones. This does feel like a low-risk way to put yourself out there,鈥� Gauthier said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something really meaningful about having that book in your hands, and saying, 鈥業 know the people who are there are going to enjoy talking about books, and that鈥檚 going to give us a place to begin.鈥欌��

That鈥檚 exactly why Monique Findlayter started the , designed to be a 鈥渟afe space for BIPOC women to come together,鈥� in February 2024.

She had been reading Will Smith鈥檚 memoir, in which he writes about going on a silent retreat. An avid reader who got into Bookstagram 鈥渂ecause none of my friends or family care about what I read,鈥� Findlayter wondered if there might be a getaway centred around books.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just the thought of being in a space where nobody is talking, and then adding books to that,鈥� said the 43-year-old Findlayter, who runs her own cleaning company, 鈥渨here I can be in a space with other women and just read, knowing we鈥檙e all here because of books.鈥�

Her initial search revealed options in the U.S., but nothing in Toronto. After two years and two failed attempts to get a retreat off the ground, an acquaintance sent her a Facebook post about a silent reading club.

鈥淚 did run a traditional book club 10 years ago that lasted about a year, but ... not everybody wants to read the book that鈥檚 chosen; it feels like it鈥檚 school having to finish by a certain date,鈥� Findlayter said. 鈥淪o I thought, 鈥榊eah, I want to try this silent book club 鈥� but everybody can bring their own book.鈥欌��

A dozen women attended the first meetup. 鈥淚t was absolutely amazing,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verybody bought their own book or a Kindle or listened to an audiobook. We met at a restaurant, chatted for a bit, and spent a portion of our time together reading.鈥�

The Melanin Silent Reading Club has been meeting regularly ever since 鈥� and, last October, they were finally able to go on that silent reading retreat.

鈥淪ix of us went to Muskoka for the weekend. We did more chatting than reading, but it was exactly what we needed,鈥� Findlayter said. 鈥淎s women, especially Black women, it鈥檚 just hard finding meaningful friendships out there. It鈥檚 become more than just reading.鈥�

Finlayter also hosts a monthly 鈥渞eading sprint鈥� on Zoom, where everyone reads together virtually for an hour and a half on a Saturday morning.聽

The atmosphere when they are all silently reading together, she said, is peaceful.

鈥淚 know for myself, this is my only social gathering for the month. I鈥檓 a single mom, so I don鈥檛 really have a lot of options to say, 鈥楬ey, watch my daughter.鈥� I make sure that once a month I find a babysitter, because this is my time.鈥�

There is also an official, trademarked Silent Book Club, founded in San Francisco in 2012, which boasts 1,500 chapters in 54 countries (including Canada), and whose members gather in bars, bookstores and libraries to read together quietly.

One of the newest arrivals on the scene is the 海角社区官网chapter of Reading Rhythms, a social-media-famous global organization that bills itself as 鈥渁 reading party鈥� 鈥� a phrase they鈥檝e trademarked 鈥� rather than a book club. With chapters in four countries and 20 cities (and a database of a 100,000 people requesting one in their own city), Reading Rhythms is probably best known for hosting one of these parties in last year 鈥� at 6 a.m.

The 海角社区官网chapter had their very first event in March, a gathering at the Annex鈥檚 Duke of York pub, whose $20 tickets quickly sold out.

鈥淭heir approach is to have a trained host to facilitate a curated experience for readers and hold readers accountable to come and read their book, but also connect with a community of readers,鈥� said Jackie DaSilva, a 39-year-old campaign strategist and the 海角社区官网chapter lead. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that juxtaposition of 鈥榬eading鈥� and 鈥榩arty,鈥� the introvert and the extrovert.鈥�

Every party follows the same format honed by the original New York chapter started in 2023: quiet reading time mixed with time to chat.

鈥淚t鈥檚 giving people permission to talk to strangers,鈥� DaSilva said. 鈥淚n 海角社区官网鈥� I don鈥檛 think people are casually talking to people they don鈥檛 know. We鈥檝e become a lot more guarded and skeptical.鈥�

Reading Rhythms uses books as that opening conversational gambit: You might be encouraged to go up to someone who鈥檚 reading a book you鈥檙e intrigued by, or join a group revolving around a theme you gravitate to and begin chatting.

One of DaSilva鈥檚 favourite moments from the first event was seeing the pub basement fill up with people who didn鈥檛 know one another, many of whom came alone.聽

鈥淚t was almost instantaneous that people started talking to each other,鈥� she said, adding that at the end of that night, she was elated.

“I felt like it was the start of something really great.鈥�