SPARTANBURG — Ever wanted to join a book club but not be tied to the group’s pick or need to read on a deadline?
A little community that sprang up last year has just what the doctor ordered: a silent book club.
The Spartanburg Silent Book Club meets a few times a month at different spots, usually a local small business. Attendees can expect a chill, mostly quiet atmosphere where they can read their own book while others do the same for a couple of hours, with some light chatting at the beginning and end.
Holly Brooks founded the group after she learned of the idea online and realized there currently wasn’t one in the area.
While there are plenty of traditional book clubs with members who read and discuss the same book, those didn’t fit what Brooks wanted. She liked the idea of doing her own thing and as an introvert wasn’t excited about talking in front of a group of strangers.
The silent book club fit her desire to read independently but still within a community. She thought the group’s distinction as the “introverts happy hour” fit her perfectly.
Plus, she thought it would be a great way to meet new folks, as she and her husband recently moved to the Upstate from western New York.
“I have never been part of a traditional book club, and it really didn’t sound like something that I would be interested in,” Brooks said. “I just kind of wanted to read the books that I wanted to read and not feel pressure or a deadline to finish books that maybe I wasn’t that interested in.”
After the first meeting in September 2023 involved only Brooks and her husband, the group has grown to host as many as 20 people at venues ranging from new restaurants to local parks.
Brooks noticed a critical desire for people to get out of the house and meet new people after the pandemic. The members have developed a community of readers who might not be too excited to party it up but also don’t want to stay inside all day reading alone.
Lynde Shaw fit this mold. At a June 27 meeting at a local coffee shop with around a dozen attendees, she said it’s nice to be around other readers since she works from home most of the time.
“It’s just a great social aspect,” Shaw said.
Another member of the club, Jenna Mewborn, said she learned about the club through someone at the Hub City Bookshop. As a leader with another local book club, she was excited to meet new readers and get back to the kind of “silent reading time” that students participate in at school.
“It’s nice to not have to read something specific, just get to come and hang out with my book friends,” Mewborn said.
As the group has grown, so has Brooks. Managing the club was at first daunting, and calling local venues for club meetings seemed impossibly intimidating, but she has felt glad that she’s been trying things outside her comfort zone.
“It has been rewarding. I will say it’s been tough, but I have had to get over myself and just put myself out there,” she said. “It’s been a growing experience for me for sure.”
She is happy with the current makeup of the group and the community that it’s fostered, and she hopes to continue meeting like-minded people in the Upstate.
“My goal is to bring the community together, people who love to read, and check out local spots in the Spartanburg area,” Brooks said.
