The first 30 minutes of a Silent Book Club are just like traditional reading groups — filled with greetings and announcements. Food and drinks.
Members of the Silent Book Club Sarpy enjoy their books at Soaring Wings Vineyard. “My goal is to fill their space with readers,” Molly Boukal said.
“It’s pin-drop silent for an hour,” Jessica Freedman said.
There’s no discussion of an assigned book at these events. It’s reader’s choice, whether it be a novel, a college textbook or the Department of Motor Vehicles handbook. Some catch up on traditional book club homework.
Molly Boukal, leader of the Silent Book Club Sarpy, calls it an hour of self-care.
“It’s to me a perfect book club,” she said. “I don’t have to read anything in particular. I can bring what I want to read.”
People are also reading…
The clubs have been a big success. The Sarpy group has more than 600 followers on its Facebook page. Freedman said she’s had as many as 350 people attend Omaha chapter events.
Hanna Pinneo runs a Lincoln, Nebraska, club, which has been around for years and meets every other Sunday. Freedman used her advice to open an Omaha chapter last fall and helped Boukal start in April. There are more than 1,000 chapters worldwide.
The Omaha Public Library is joining the fun, starting a version of its own called “out and about reading parties.”
Not everyone is comfortable at a traditional book club, said Courtni Kopietz, marketing manager for OPL. They may feel like they are more academic or refined than they need to be.
“It can be fun finding that community even if you aren’t spending time discussing the book,” she said. “It’s just a way to engage and find connection with other readers.”
Pinneo said the concept is popular because people often don’t want to read the books chosen by their book club.
Silent Book Clubs, meanwhile, are a “no judgment zone,” Freedman said, whether you want to enjoy a bodice-ripper or an academic tome.
“The beauty here is you get to read what you want to read,” she said.
The chapters are also perfect for people who don’t like to talk about a book in a group. The national group describes its events as an introvert happy hour.
Boukal said attendees don’t have to say a word and can leave after the hour of reading is done. Others may stay and socialize or talk about their book in the final half-hour of the evening.
A book swap table provides plenty of material to read, and just seeing what others are reading can inspire someone to try a new genre.
The benefits can go beyond squeezing in an hour of reading in a busy life.
Freedman has had a new mom thank her for providing her an hour of peace. Another group of four have become good friends.
It’s a boon for the host site as well. Boukal lines up events on what is typically a slow night for a restaurant or coffee shop in the Sarpy County area. They offer a limited menu, so that everyone can be quickly served in the first 30 minutes of the event.
Boukal said Pause Coffee Shop in Ralston opened up two nights just for the club. Soaring Wings Vineyard was able to feed 120 in a half-hour. The events are free, but attendees pay for their own food and drinks.
“My goal is to fill their space with readers,” Boukal said.
Her Sarpy club aims to meet at least once a month. Her next event is at Ollie & Hobbes Craft Kitchen in Papillion on Aug. 26.
Freedman is still finalizing details for her next event. She searches for locally owned venues in different parts of Omaha. One has been held at UNO’s library and another at the Casual Pint of Countryside Village.
Wherever they go, it’s bringing people together in a divisive time over their love of books and reading, she said.
Boukal wants others to enjoy reading as much as she does.
“I read all the time. Every single day,” she said. “There’s not a day that I skip. I might as well make it be fun for everyone else.”
