‘Choose your own adventure’ – Cape Town Silent Book Club brings novel twist to age-old pastime

Avid readers know you can enjoy a good book anywhere – curled under a blanket on a rainy day, out for a solo coffee at your local café, under your desk at the back of a boring class (though this last one requires some stealth). 

But the Cape Town Silent Book Club has taken the sentiment to new lengths, organising pop-up meetings for bookish locals in spots across the city. Since the club’s inception in mid-2024, participants have met on Muizenberg beach, in local taprooms, and in the middle of Bree Street during its closure for a car-free “Open Streets” activation.

“I do like that we’re reading in places you’re not supposed to... We do it in bars or that kind of place, and you wouldn’t think, ‘I’m going to go to the bar to read.’ But I like that we get to take over that space, and it becomes a different space when you fill it with a hundred readers. We create our own vibe by collectively being there with the same goal,” said Shawn Buck, organiser of the Cape Town Silent Book Club.

One of the more recent gatherings, on 5 July, saw more than 200 participants meet on the Southern Line Metrorail train between Muizenberg Station and the Cape Town CBD. The Saturday morning commute was peppered with readers of all ages, sitting or standing, engrossed in their books as the city’s suburbs blurred past the windows. A silent, literary flashmob.

Peta Sinclair, one of the readers on the train, told Daily Maverick, “I think the loose concept of not being in a fixed place is appealing. What’s great… is seeing how many young people are reverting… to the book. I was surprised, because we got on at False Bay [Station] and the train was already full. 

“There’s nothing like a book, the smell and feel… and honestly, I see more and more young people these days reading.”

Jessica Romans, another attendee, came all the way from Kommetjie to join the group. “I’m enjoying it a lot. I’ve already met some people, which is nice. I came alone. It’s like a little date for myself,” she said.

“I think if people have an interest [in reading] and they want to meet people who have the same kind of interest, then it’s an amazing opportunity… Cape Town is full of running clubs, so why not book clubs?”

Hosting the book club aboard the train was not only a novel experience, but also an opportunity for people to see the improvements that had been made along the Southern Line, according to Buck.

“If public transport were more solid in Cape Town, I think it would drastically change the city. Public transport is one of those things where, if you get it right, there’s so many little offshoots that… it affects, when people are just able to get around their city more efficiently, faster or cheaper. I found a soft spot for public transport in general,” he said.

“I’ve loved the upgrades, the new trains… so I said, let’s try and read there.”

Creating ‘intentional spaces’

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Buck has lived in Cape Town since 2014 and works as a consultant for fundraising and communications in the nonprofit sector. He decided to start the reading club after participating in a meeting of the Atlanta Silent Book Club during a visit to his hometown in the US last year.

“I really thought the first one that we did would be me and five friends, and we actually did it [at The Commons café in Muizenberg]. I showed up… and then 65 people attended, which was overwhelming to say the least,” he recalled.

The club has since gained popularity. Gatherings take place three times a month, with locations and times shared via the group’s Instagram page. Buck says they see an average of 150 readers at meetings.

“Now, the constraints of the number of people create some creativity... Where do we fit 150 people in winter?” he said.

“I don’t want people to pay, and then I also don’t want venues to charge us. I’ve really tried to portray it to venues that… I’m just encouraging a bunch of paying customers to come to your place, and we’re going to be weirdly silent.”

He said that some of the club’s more memorable meetings had taken place at spots such as the Museum of Dogs, De Waal Park and the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens during National Gardens Week.

Creating “intentional spaces” for reading has been powerful, said Buck, particularly for those who love books, but struggle to find the time, place and attention span to read amid the busyness of life.

“You hear this story of, ‘Oh, reading’s dead, our generation doesn’t like it’. I don’t think that’s true. Just from my experience over the past year, there are a lot of people who love reading,” said Buck.

“One of the things I love about Silent Book Club is that it’s a ‘choose your own adventure’. You don’t have to come to every gathering. There’s no pressure. If you come once, and then you come again in six months, we’ll welcome you just the same as if you come every week.

“You get to come to the gatherings you want to; read what you want to; talk to who you want to, or not talk to anybody if you don’t.”

When the Cape Town Silent Book Club started, there was only one other chapter in South Africa, the Goethe-Institut Johannesburg Silent Book Club in Gauteng. The number of chapters across the country has since grown to about 20. DM