Loneliness is all too prevalent in our modern world, but Silent Book Club (SBC) is fighting back by helping people connect over a shared love of reading. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the SBC is planning a global readathon on October 10th-12th. The event will bring together the worldwide community of SBC chapters for the first time. The goal for the weekend is to facilitate the largest-ever collection of reader gatherings.

SBC, which uses the slogan “introvert happy hour,” is a book club with no assigned reading. Instead, attendees bring their own books. Events include time for reading silently together and time for chatting informally about books. Meetings take place in restaurants, bars, hotel lobbies, libraries, and parks.

In 2012, SBC founders Laura Gluhanich and Guinevere de la Mare started reading together at a San Francisco wine bar. In 2015, they launched a national organization, which went international in 2016. The chapter in Rockville, MD — organized and hosted by me — was founded in 2017 and is the fifth-longest-running SBC chapter in the world.

Seven chapters in the DMV have events planned for the 10th anniversary; all are open to the public, and all but one are free. If you attend, remember to “BYO Book” — another SBC slogan.

The Rockville, MD, and Bethesda, MD, chapters will jointly meet on October 12 from 4-6 p.m. at Wonderland Books in Bethesda (RSVP). The Reston-Herndon, VA, chapter will meet on October 10 from 4-7 p.m. at Roggenart Bakery & Bistro in Reston (RSVP). The Kent Island, MD, chapter will meet on October 10 from 6-8 p.m. at Fisherman’s Inn in Grasonville (RSVP). The Hanging Chapters chapter of Baltimore will meet for a Halloween-themed gathering on October 10 from 7-10 p.m. at Equilibrium Baltimore (RSVP). The Baltimore Old Major chapter will meet on October 11 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in Baltimore (RSVP). And the Quiet Collective, a virtual chapter based in Maryland, will meet online October 12 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. (RSVP).

SBC was featured on the Oprah’s Book Club podcast in 2025 and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in 2023. At last count, there are approximately 2,000 chapters in 61 countries. Visit SBC’s chapter map to find an option near you. If there isn’t one, do what I did and start your own.

Liza Achilles is the author of Two Novembers: A Memoir of Love ’n’ Sex in Sonnets (Beltway Editions, 2024). Her writing has appeared in the Independent, Exacting Clam, Tofu Ink Arts Press, and Beltway Poetry Quarterly, among other publications. The Blog for the Discerning Reader at lizaachilles.com features great modern books. She lives near Washington, DC, and works as a freelance writer/editor, literary speaker, blogger, graphic designer, and web designer.