Belmont Bookshop starts silent book club

At silent book clubs, there is no assigned reading. Everyone has their own book and talking isn't required.

Instead, readers gather together to read silently, enjoying their book while surrounded by other literary enthusiasts.

Belmont Bookshop, located at 7 N. Main St., has started a silent book club, and its next meeting will be Monday, April 29, said bookstore co-owner Kristina Bulovic.

"We will meet at 6-7 for the silent reading time, but the shop opens at 4 to have people if they want to come in and browse around for a new book if they finished theirs. If they want to grab a beverage, we've got beer and wine and nonalcoholic beverages and mocktails," she said. "Hopefully most people go to the park, which is what they did last month, that was cool. But some people can also stay here in the shop if they prefer."

After silent reading time, there will be a social hour from 7-8 p.m., in which readers can chat about the books they are reading, Bulovic said.

"Silent book club is really just a way for people to come together, but not have to read something that maybe they're reading in another book club, or it's a genre that they don't want to read, or something like that," she added. "They get to read whatever it is they're currently reading, so it's a good way to gather people for that community building but still kind of be in your own space and your own time."

Participants are not required to buy a book at the bookstore to participate.

Belmont Bookshop has also started a different book club, called The Novel Experience Book Club, and that club does require a purchase to participate. The Novel Experience Book Club partners with community businesses, and business owners choose the books and host the club.

In May, the club is reading Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Michelle Miller, the owner of Belmont Yoga, will lead the discussion.

Brian Frederick, who co-owns Belmont Bookshop with Bulovic, said that the idea behind the club is to help readers get to know local businesses.

"There might be some folks who are more comfortable reading about something than jumping right in to experience it, so we hope this is a nice hybrid, that one, lets the community know about some of the businesses they may or may not visit, and two, brings people together the same way that book clubs do," he said.

Participants that sign up for one meeting don't have to sign up for every single one, Bulovic said.

"You can kind of pick and choose. There may be some people who don't read a lot of fiction, so they may not sign up for the next one that's going to be a fiction novel," she said. "It's just a unique way… to engage the community and something that's just a little bit different."

To participate, readers must buy the book from the shop or purchase a copy from libro.fm, an audiobook service that supports independent bookstores. Readers who purchase from Libro need to let the shop know that they are coming, Bulovic said. The club will partner with a local coffee shop, The Wandering Cup, in June, and they will read Before the Coffee Gets Cold, a novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Belmont Bookshop starts silent book club