By Melissa Wagoner
When Victoria Martusheff – a shift supervisor at Silverton Starbucks on North First Street – came across an advertisement for the Silent Book Club, “a global community of readers and introverts, with more than 500 chapters in 50 countries,” she just had to share it with fellow supervisor, Sofia Perez.
“I’m a very big reader,” Perez, who is currently working toward a Library Science Degree, said. “I thought it was fantastic.”
Initially creating an Instagram account under the moniker, Silverton Silent Book Club, Perez held the first trial meeting in November.
“It was just me and a couple of coworkers,” Perez said. “We just sat here for an hour and talked about what we’re reading.”
And that’s the main difference between a Silent Book Club (SBC) and the traditional version. At an SBC gathering there is no assigned reading.
“Often that can be stressful,” Perez said. “But SBC is very much independent reading. You can read a newspaper or a magazine. You don’t have that stress.”
And because the SBC meetings are loosely structured – with a bit of conversation time followed by silent reading time – there is less social pressure.
“It’s very much an introvert-centered book club,” Perez confirmed.
If anyone is still nervous about attending, Perez suggested, “Bring your friends… even friends who don’t like to read. Because SBC is just to encourage reading, getting to know the community and getting to know people who might not read the same thing as you.”
Silverton’s Silent Book Club meets at Starbucks, 806 N. First St. every Thursday, 5 to 6 p.m. Bring your own reading material. Follow on Instagram @Silverton_SBC.
