Book club brings the sounds of silence to Morgantown’s social scene

Unlike traditional book clubs, in the Silent Book Club everyone reads what they want in the company of others.

As I stood on Cooper’s Rock one Sunday morning, looking out over the Cheat River far below me, I heard the sound of the wind in the treetops.

You would be forgiven for not noticing that a group of about a dozen people have gathered on the rock for their monthly meeting. They are all sitting there reading together in silence.

This is the Silent Book Club.

“You read what you want, and you can socialize if you want,” said Nada Aboraya, founder of Morgantown’s Silent Book Club. “It’s a great way to meet new people, get book recommendations and get to know the reading community in this city better. Because surprisingly, a lot of people here love to read.”

Founded in San Francisco over a decade ago, the Silent Book Club now has over 1,000 branches in 50 countries around the world, run by local volunteers like Aboraya. According to a branch map (pun intended) on the organization’s website, there are at least six other groups in West Virginia, including in Huntington, Charleston, and Elk City. There’s even another branch in Morgantown.

“I found out there’s another chapter already. Cheers to Antiquity Tea House for the first chapter in Morgantown,” Aboraya said. “They meet at their location, but the difference with mine is that I wanted to meet in different places. I wanted to rotate. So we were all over the place.”

Having grown up with her nose in a book, Aboraya said she recently realized she hadn’t found time to read in her life. Whenever she did, there were plenty of distractions, so she enrolled at the Morgantown branch late last year to start reading again.

“It’s a little window of time to meet people twice a month and just focus on reading, which is nice,” Aboraya said. “It’s kind of helped me. Everyone around you is reading, it’s not the same and you don’t have to socialize. But we’re all there and reading together. So it’s great.”

An important aspect of the Silent Book Club, according to Aboraya, is that, unlike traditional book clubs, everyone reads what they want. For example, Aboraya reads two books from Sarah J. Mass’ Throne of glass Series.

Taylor Goldberg is one of Aboraya’s friends and a regular at the Silent Book Club. He said reading different books offers unique opportunities while also allowing members to talk about their latest literary adventure.

“We’ll probably talk about books we’re currently reading,” Goldberg said. “With Silent Book Club, you get to pick your own book and read it, but you definitely get ideas about what to read in the future. In the past, I’ve talked to my boyfriend about reading and he’s given me some new books to read.”

Goldberg said the group typically meets in cafes and restaurants — Aboraya said supporting and exploring local businesses was also a motivation for starting the group — but the outdoor location was a welcome change.

“It’s out in nature, it’s kind of therapeutic when there’s a nice breeze, you have this great view and you’re reading,” he said. “I like the idea of ​​having a little reading session and then we’re planning a hike as well. So that should be fun.”

For Anthony Guzzi, who is currently reading Happy Red by Claudia Cravens, the opportunity to read outside is a welcome emphasis on the quiet part of the Silent Book Club.

“Many of the places we’ve been to have been pretty crowded and noisy, simply because where we go, everything is still normal and it’s business,” he said. “Being able to go out to a place like this is just much more pleasant and relaxing.”

Still, Guzzi is grateful to the group and says he hopes he gets the chance to come back.

There seems to be no reason to worry about a closure as Aboraya is still in its early stages.

She talked about organizing a meeting between the state or even regional associations, perhaps at the West Virginia Book Festival in October.

Aboraya said the group will continue to operate in the region for the foreseeable future.

“There’s a lot more in West Virginia now, especially in Morgantown, there’s a lot of small businesses,” she said. “I think going to different places is a good way to show people that there’s a lot more to Morgantown than just the big chains and stuff. In some places … people come up to me and say, ‘I didn’t know this coffee shop was here. The coffee here is amazing. I didn’t know we had this bar, that’s great.'”

The group’s next meeting will be held on July 9 at a local public library and will provide a pleasant opportunity to re-enter the hustle and bustle of the group’s usual meeting places.