Month: October 2025

FROM THE SILENT TO THE TOPLESS:
BOOK CLUBS ON THE MARCH!

It seems that Gen Z and Millennials are catching on to what we in Wenvoe have known for ages – there’s nothing quite like a good book club as an antidote to today’s increasingly digital world. Free online event platform ‘Eventbrite’ report that local book club events have increased by over 40% in the last year. Even young celebrities like singer song writer Dua Lipa and model and actress Kaia Gerber are now hosting their own book clubs.

‘The Page Turners’ and ‘Off the Shelf’ regularly provide What’s On readers with reviews and recommendations based on their recent reads. It all sounds like great fun. The reported reviews, though brief, show the wide range of responses to the various titles under discussion. One recently reviewed title was described as ‘slow, unhappy and dreadful’ by one member but ‘tragic, moving and well written’ by another.

The book club renaissance seems to have gathered steam online during the pandemic as a way of meeting safely and filling those lock down hours. The digital boom in the book club soon found a younger audience who stayed with the idea when restrictions were lifted and a passion for books found its way into the real world. As book clubs boomed, a host of bespoke groups sprang up with a focus on everything from football to feminism.

The concept of the book club began to take shape in the 18th century, particularly in Europe, during the Age of Enlightenment, with its emphasis on reason, knowledge, and education. In France, writers, philosophers, and thinkers gathered to exchange ideas and discuss the latest books, giving rise to a culture of literary salons that shared some of the hallmarks of modern book clubs. One of the earliest known book clubs was the Edinburgh Book Club, founded in 1768. This club was a forum for intellectuals to gather and discuss literature, politics, and society. London’s coffeehouses, like Garrick’s Coffeehouse, also became venues for book discussions. In the 19thcentury the rise of the middle class meant more people had access to books and education and so book clubs emerged that resembled those of today. Women, who had historically been excluded from intellectual discussions, began to form their own book club sharing and discussing books about everyday life. Another precursor to modern book clubs, were circulating libraries which allowed readers to borrow books for a fee. They often functioned as informal gathering places for book discussions. In the 20th century of course the expansion of public libraries and the rise of commercial publishing led to a further boom in book clubs.

The latest fad is the Silent Book Club! The original, started in San Francisco in 2012with two friends – Guinevere de la Mare and Laura Gluhanich – reading together at a neighbourhood wine bar. There are now 1,600 of these clubs in 54countries, including over 100 in the UK. All readers are welcome- eBooks, audiobooks, textbooks, comic books etc. Friends and strangers gather at a set time and location, order food or drinks, share what they’re reading, and settle in for an hour or so of sustained silent reading. At the end of the hour, attendees can socialise- or not!

There are inevitably some very strange book clubs. The Peculiar Book Club focuses on strange history, medical marvels, and weird science. It has nothing it seems on the New York Topless Book Club! ‘Burn Bras, Not Books’ is the motto of this free-wheeling New York City book club. Members take advantage of little-known city laws that allow both male and female toplessness with alfresco reading sessions in public spaces. It’s apparently all done with safety and decorum. Somehow one doesn’t see this catching on in Wenvoe.