How the Silent Book Club is expanding reading culture in South Africa
The organiser behind the whole Cape Town chapter, which recently celebrated its first anniversary, is Shawn Buck, who came across the 'Silent Book Club' phenomenon after a visit home to the United States in April.
Image: Maya Bogaert/Young Urbanists/Supplied
The Cape Town Silent Book Club has taken the quote, 'we read to know that we are not alone,' to a new level by having people come together for an hour and read silently together.
That quote, often misattributed to acclaimed author C.S. Lewis, is actually from screenwriter William Nicholson, but it speaks to how many book lovers across the city—and across the country —are coming together to experience community.
The organiser behind the whole Cape Town chapter, which recently celebrated its first anniversary, is Shawn Buck, who came across the 'Silent Book Club' phenomenon after a visit home to the United States in April.
Buck, originally from Atlanta, has been living in Cape Town for 11 years since he relocated to the city due to his work in the nonprofit sector. Since the first gathering in May of 2024, the Silent Book Club has continued to grow, drawing in many bibliophiles.
'I had heard of the concept before, it was cool to get to go experience it in Atlanta, which is one of the bigger chapters in the world. There are something like 1700 chapters around the world, so it's quite a large movement that's been going for around 10 years now.
'I just thought that was amazing, and I've been a big reader my whole life, but really had gotten back into it properly over three years. I returned to Cape Town and thought this could work, so some friends helped encourage me to get it started.
'When I started the chapter I just posted on Instagram, and I really thought it would be five friends and myself who would join, but then 65 people showed up to the first one, which was overwhelming but really exciting.'
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The Silent Book Club gathering may have started with one a month but now they have three gatherings, and that they will often move around dates, locations and times.
If a gathering were to take place from 2 pm to 4 pm, people would usually arrive early to secure their seats. The first 30 minutes would be used to allow attendees to grab their drinks or food, and then at 2.30 pm, they would start the silent reading hour.
'I'll usually get up and welcome everyone, and recently I've started asking over the past few months who is new at the gathering, and I would say it has to be like 75% of the people every time raising their hand. So if you think you're going to be the only new one and everyone knows each other, that's not true.
'I think because we move around so much, it gives different people a chance to join in, and there are a lot of people who are new to the gathering. It's cool to see a lot of brave people who come by themselves or bring a friend or come to a group.
'It isn't a regular thing, so you do have to really be aware of it, and I think that's nice. It makes it very intentional.'
The organiser behind the whole Cape Town chapter, which recently celebrated its first anniversary, is Shawn Buck.
Image: Liza van Deventer/Supplied
Buck explained that he thinks part of the appeal of it, and why it has grown so much over the last year, is that there is no expectation placed on whoever attends, and that it feels very much like a 'choose-your-own-adventure'.
'You get to read what you want. You get to come to the gatherings that you want. There's no expectation to come to every single one. You get to talk to who you want, or talk to no one.
'I think it really fits into a group of people who have been looking for a community that kind of fits their needs. And so that, I think, speaks to why it's been so well-received over the past year.'
Buck said that when they started their chapter, they were the second one created in South Africa, after the Goethe-Institut in Johannesburg, but now there are about 19 chapters in South Africa.
'Even small places like George, I think this weekend, or next weekend, there's a new one starting in Hermanus, to Jeffrey's Bay, and to Port Elizabeth.
"There are three in Durban, one in the Drakensberg area, along with a few in Johannesburg, and also in Bloemfontein. They're really all over the place, which is awesome. I love to see how it's expanded.
'I think we've helped influence that a bit, but I also think there's this global movement that has been growing a lot over the past year.'
Buck said not only has there been a number of these starting in South Africa, but also in neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe and Zambia. Six months ago a number of them got together in a WhatsApp group to share tips and tricks on what they've learned in managing and putting together a gathering.
'It's just nice to have somebody to talk to about it… and that's been really great to be able to connect, and share what's working and what's not (with each other).'
Since the first gathering in May of 2024, the Silent Book Club has continued to grow, drawing in many bibliophiles.
Image: Ohrun Eren/Supplied
Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) CEO, Lance Schultz said the significance of the Silent Book Club phenomenon lies in its ability to address cultural, social, and psychological barriers to reading whilst fostering communities of belonging and understanding.
'South Africa has inherent multilingual complexities stemming from the use of 12 official languages, Khoi and San Languages, other heritage languages, various dialects and varieties.
'These diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds afford these Silent Book Clubs to foster flexibility by accommodating varied reading preferences and literacy levels.'
One way that the Silent Book Club is turning their fun gatherings into a means for good is by partnering up with The Bookery, which builds libraries in South Africa, and is helping raise funds to help them build their 100th library. A library that will be built in a Cape Town school.
'They kind of have a gap in the funding that they need to complete all the renovations, buy all the books, employ the library and train the librarian. So I said I'd love to kind of come and support as a cause I think it's something that our community would really connect with.
'The Bookery has this phrase, that every child should experience the joy and the power of reading, and I love that phrase and I think it connects so beautifully with what I hope Silent Book Club is for people.'
Buck said their goal is to raise R100,000, and that so far they've reached about 20% of their goal. He added that anyone who donates over R100 will stand a chance to win prizes that have been sponsored.
The Bookery's spokesperson, Jackie Sands, said that they appreciate the partnership as they are all about collaboration. Sands explained that there is a staggering situation that the country is faced with, as 'over 80% of schools do not have a functioning library'.
'This grossly fails us in terms of literacy, you know we need every vehicle and tool to boost literacy in this country, with over 81% of our Grade 4 learners showing us that they can't read for meaning.
'If they are not comprehending what they are reading, they won't be able to learn,' Sands said.
'With the Silent Book Club coming alongside, and doing this fundraiser, it is an amazing initiative. We are about to create our 100th library. Our most expensive component of library creation is books, so their efforts will help so much in augmenting our spend on books on this library, among other components that we fund.'
If people want to donate, they can do so at give.cptsilentbookclub.com.
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za
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