{"id":1613,"date":"2025-10-14T01:35:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T01:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/1613\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T01:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T01:35:13","slug":"silent-book-club-celebrates-10th-anniversary-life-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/1613\/","title":{"rendered":"Silent Book Club celebrates 10th anniversary | Life + Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Two<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Becca Glander, right, and Lillian Storm participate in a book-folding activity during the second anniversary of the Silent Book Club\u2019s Arlington chapter Sept. 27 at George W. Hawkes Downtown Library. Activities included painting book edges, a book swap, book folding and more.<\/p>\n

Photo by Maricela Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n

Most people would likely consider reading a solitary activity, an endeavor done in stolen moments during a busy day or late at night before going to sleep.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A decade ago, two friends in San Francisco set out to change that narrative, creating a space where community isn\u2019t defined by conversation \u2014 just flipping through pages in a shared space.<\/p>\n

This article was featured in the Oct. 8 print<\/a><\/p>\n

The Silent Book Club now serves as a global, introvert-friendly alternative to traditional reading clubs. No assigned reading, no pressure to socialize, just a shared hour of quiet reading.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the original Silent Book Club celebrates its 10th anniversary of redefining the literary community with quiet companionship throughout October, Arlington\u2019s local chapter celebrated its own milestone \u2014 two years of sharing silence, stories and community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What started as two friends, Guinevere de la Mare and Laura Gluhanich, reading together at a neighborhood wine bar in 2012, turned into a formal organization in 2015, according to the organization\u2019s website.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They wanted to create a space that welcomed people to show up, order a drink and read with friends, de la Mare said in an email. Their goal was a book club that didn\u2019t require any extra work for attendees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was 2012 San Francisco, so everything was about the hustle and grind of start-up culture,\u201d de la Mare said. \u201cWe wanted to give ourselves permission to unplug from the demands of work and technology and recapture that single-minded focus and satisfaction you get from sustained silent reading.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The club has no set book before meetings, allowing anyone to join and read whatever they want.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Silent<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jennifer Moore, left, hands a gift to Lillian Storm during the second anniversary of the Silent Book Club\u2019s Arlington chapter Sept. 27 at George W. Hawkes Library. Storm received first place in the Summer SBC Challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photo by Maricela Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n

De la Mare said it\u2019s been inspiring to see how the concept has expanded beyond the San Francisco chapter and how it\u2019s become a wide-spread experience that brings book lovers together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s made me appreciate how important reading is to my mental health,\u201d she said. \u201cThe difference in how you feel after reading a book for 30 minutes versus scrolling on your phone for 30 minutes is profound.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The club grew through word of mouth and social media to almost 2,000 Silent Book Club chapters in over 60 countries worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Co-leaders Angela Harris and Jennifer Moore started the Arlington and Grand Prairie chapter two years ago, looking for a book club where attendees could read whatever they wanted, not knowing one existed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harris said she and Moore had always been big readers, but as adults, they struggled to find time to continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSilent Book Club, it\u2019s really a space where you can have that dedicated time, no distractions and you\u2019re with other people who love and appreciate books,\u201d Harris said. \u201cYou can just enjoy each other\u2019s company and knock out your read for that week.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grand Prairie resident Kaleigh Harbemon, 33, started attending the meetings earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harbemon said she usually shies away from clubs that pressure people to read the same book, so she loves the freedom the Silent Book Club brings.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Grand Prairie resident Killian Mujica, 36, said she learned about the club while scrolling on social media with Harbemon, her friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mujica said she didn\u2019t know what to expect at her first meeting but that everyone was welcoming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very nice atmosphere,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were all talking about the different books that we were reading, and we bonded over the books.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the club\u2019s name, total silence isn\u2019t required. Meetings are usually held in social settings where people can engage in book discussions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The chapter meets twice a month for about two hours. The first and last 30 minutes are spent socializing, and members read silently for one hour. Those interested just need to show up to a meeting to join, Harris said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jennifer Moore, left, and Angela Harris are co-leaders of the Silent Book Club\u2019s Arlington chapter. The Silent Book Club organization will celebrate its 10th anniversary this October.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photo by Maricela Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n

For the Arlington and Grand Prairie chapter\u2019s two-year anniversary meeting, the club met in the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library on Sept. 27.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The meeting started with activities such as book folding and painting book edges. A ringing bell signaled the end of an hour of crafts and the beginning of the silent reading hour. The room, bustling with laughter and conversation, quickly turned quiet with whispered exchanges few and far between. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Arlington resident Carmen Maciel, 31, said she found the club through social media in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maciel originally attended the Dallas chapter meetings and transitioned to the Arlington chapter when she moved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has always loved reading for fun, but after having assigned reading for class in high school and college, and starting her career, she didn\u2019t have time for it, she said. Maciel rediscovered her love for reading after the pandemic, craving the opportunity to read with like-minded individuals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was nice to have this dedicated quiet time to read,\u201d she said. \u201cI think my brain can be really loud, and although I love to sit and read a book, it doesn\u2019t happen often in my day-to-day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For its 10th anniversary, the Silent Book Club is hosting a global readathon from Friday to Sunday, and local chapters are coming together to have a readathon in Dallas on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Becca Glander, right, and Lillian Storm participate in a book-folding activity during the second anniversary of the Silent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151],"class_list":["post-1613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arlington","tag-arlington","tag-arlington-headlines","tag-arlington-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}