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In the midst of coffee cup clinks and gentle page flips, a group of readers routinely gather for a book club at Peaks Coffee Company. Those in attendance are quiet, but find the serenity of their environment fosters real-life interactions and promotes camaraderie.

Friends Laura Gluhanich and Guinevere de la Mare founded the Silent Book Club in 2012. Described as an “Introvert Happy Hour,” the club brings together a community of readers from around the world who find joy in the nontraditional book club style, a cup of coffee and friendship.

On the corner of Walnut Avenue and East Genesee Street, Peaks Coffee hosts the Syracuse branch of the now-international book club. Twice a month, readers will spend their first half hour at the shop socializing and then silently read for the next hour. The event ends with another half hour of (optional) socializing, according to the Syracuse branch’s website.

“There’s a lot going on in our lives: natural disasters, war, politics and through it all, the constant dinging of notifications,” Gluhanich said, “Silent Book Club offers a respite from that with welcoming spaces focused on lightweight connections and a shared love of reading. We love providing space and time to connect without obligation, something we tend to find missing in modern life.”

Kelsey Ball, co-owner of Peaks Coffee, started Syracuse’s SBC in September. The shop has hosted three meetings so far.

“I started the Syracuse branch of Silent Book Club first out of my own desire to participate, and second to use the space we’ve already created at Peaks, to further facilitate connection for community members and students alike,” Ball said.

By peacefully reading books together during regular dinners between the two, Gluhanich and de la Mare started SBC organically in San Francisco. They coined their meetings “Silent Book Club” and continued to invite more friends to appreciate the shared time and space to connect without the burdens of assignments and judgment.

In previous years, Gluhanich and de la Mare attempted to create book clubs, but none were as successful as SBC. Today, SBC has over 500 chapters with meetings around the globe in Canada, India and Mexico, among other locations.

Since the Syracuse chapter’s founding, Emily Hedgecock, an employee at Peaks Coffee, has valued the shop’s ability to form a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere for Syracuse locals.

“The Book Club is a really nice space for more quiet or introverted individuals to meet new people,” Hedgecock said. “We play quiet jazz and drink tea. We bring in comfy chairs and just read on our own.”

Ball said, even over something as simple as a cup of coffee, Peaks strives to sustain a space that fosters meaningful connections.

“It’s so nice that you get to read whatever you’d like and just enjoy company without having to exchange small talk,” Hedgecock said. “It’s just a wholesome alternative if you don’t really like going out!”

Published on October 30, 2023 at 11:47 pm