In search for unconventional approach, Silent Book Club takes shape

A lifelong reader, Robin Nipp found that traditional book clubs don’t work for her.

The pressure to finish a book on deadline can be daunting when dealing with life’s other demands, she said. And what other members choose for the month’s selection might not appeal to her.

“I was in one that I really enjoyed. We called it Books at the Bar or something like that,” Nipp said. “We read, and we met at a bar and talked about it, and it was really good, but the main person moved away. Another club I went to more times, we’d spend 20 minutes talking about the book we read and the next hour what we should read next. We never could agree.”

Nipp admitted to being “kind of judgy” about the books club members sometimes suggested. “I don’t want to read another self-help book,” she said.

Her solution? Establish a book club where everyone reads whichever book they want to and shares as much or as little as they want to share.

That’s the premise behind the Silent Book Club, which Nipp established in mid-2024. It’s open to anyone who wants to bring whatever they’re reading and spend a solid uninterrupted hour turning the pages.

Since the book club meets at Altered Species Ale in the Western Mall, the time is bookended by a chance to order refreshments, mingle with other attendees and select a spot to read. When the reading hour ends, members can close their books and depart or chat with others about their book choices.

Several times, Altered Species owner and brewer Mike Nussbaum has grabbed a book when his workday ends and joined them.

“I love it,” he said. “I don’t know that I would do a conventional book club. I don’t always have the time to get the reading done on time. This is everybody reading what they want to read. Afterward, they talk, and it’s a good way to hear about different books and authors.”

Altered Species stays open to its regular clientele, who try to keep their conversations down to a quieter tone when book club members are reading. Altered Species was deliberately designed to promote an atmosphere that differs from a sport bar. It has no television or display screens, and live plants dot the room. It’s a communication venue, Nussbaum said, and perfect for the Silent Book Club.

“When they first come in, it’s a normal bar scenario, then the reading starts, and everybody notices right away it goes from normal bar level to pretty quiet.”

Nipp originally intended to move the book club from location to location, but Altered Species meets its needs.

“I tried to go for a cozier space,” she said. “I feel if I try to go to a larger space like a restaurant, it might be too loud. And I really appreciate the option where he (Nussbaum) said you could bring your own food in.”

Nipp, a special education teacher in the Brandon Valley School District, remembers begging her father to read Dr. Seuss books to her as a child, appreciating their humor and the lilt of the words. In elementary school, the series of Little House on the Prairie books numbered as her most-prized possession.

“I shouldn’t say they were,” Nipp said. “I still have them, and they’re very important.”

Today, the mother of children age 16, 19 and 22 reads mostly fiction in her free time, a lot of mysteries and thrillers and a few romances.

She also has surprised herself with changing tastes.

“I never thought I would like fantasy books with dragons and fairies and things, but I recently read the ones that are so popular, and they’re so good,” Nipp said. “I like historical fiction a lot, too, obviously with the Little House books.”

Last year, Nipp was scrolling Facebook posts when she came across a meme that showed a book open on a restaurant table. The poster wrote that they had just returned from “quiet reading.” Nipp, who calls herself an introvert, decided that would be a perfect way to squeeze some social time into her life.

“I’m pretty introverted, but I like to talk about books,” Nipp said. “After I first saw it, I moved on, then it popped on again. I thought, that really does sound great. I put it on my personal Facebook page and said ‘Does this appeal to anybody or is it just me?’ I think I had 20-some or 30 comments, and I thought, OK, it’s not just me.”

A quick Google search revealed that silent book clubs did exist — just not in Sioux Falls. Nipp decided to start one, unsure how it would go over.

Since the first meeting in July 2024, the numbers have shown that people are interested in being part of the Silent Book Club. November drew 24 people, with first-time participants joining in December.

In November, Nipp asked those gathered why they came.

“I love the Silent Book Club because there is something comforting about sitting among friends, quietly escaping from the trivialities of our lives,” Julie Hamilton wrote.

From another reader: “SBC is introvert-friendly, a fun way to meet new people, a good way to spend time in self-care, a fun environment.” Said a third: “Books are fun. And I need to get out of the house. This is a low-stress introvert-friendly way to do so. And Mike at Altered Species is great, so coming here is fun in itself.”

And this: “I just moved to Sioux Falls and found the Silent Book Club online! I went to meet new friends and nurture my love of reading. I’ve been coming back every month.”

Sally Tilstra, a Sioux Falls resident since 1980, is in her second year of retirement. She spent much of her professional life reading tomes on health care, medicine and leadership management. Now, she has opened her brain, as she describes it, to reading for pleasure.

What she now enjoys most is historical fiction, learning about the world with a dash of human drama thrown in. The Silent Book Club is her second organized group, with the other one in the traditional style.

She also planned to start her own book club through Siouxland Libraries this month, a daytime group for older friends who prefer not to drive at night. She checked with library staff and was told they have more requests for book clubs than groups they can refer people to.

The Silent Book Club appealed to Tilstra for several reasons, one of which is the lack of distractions she can encounter at home.

“The notion of having one hour of undisturbed reading and other people to talk about mine and hear about their book sounded great,” Tilstra said. “There are more topics and more variety and different ages and demographics as far as members.”

Ages at a recent gathering ranged from young adults to people Tilstra’s age. She sat with two readers who both have teenagers at home and caught up on their experiences and made progress in her book, “All the Light We Cannot See,” for the other club.

“It’s just the notion that there’s a place for really anyone who enjoys reading,” Tilstra said. “Book clubs, there can be a little pressure to go along, to get it read and speak about the characters. There’s none of that at Silent Book Club.”

Tilstra isn’t the only person who uses the Silent Book Club hour to make progress on reading for other clubs.

“It makes me smile,” Nipp said. “They said, ‘We’re cheating on our book club,’ and I said: ‘No, you’re not. It’s a nice interrupted focused time.’”

Nipp’s family teases her that when she returns from a night at the Silent Book Club, she has a smile on her face.

“I love it. I love that everybody has their own thing and what they’re doing,” she said. “A couple, he was reading the same book for two months, and she was reading the same book two months in a row. People have brought books they’re rereading. Harry Potter has appeared two or three times, and somebody was reading ‘The Hobbit.’ It’s not all new releases, and two people all on their own were reading the same book last time.”

Some people bring hardcover books; others settle in with their e-readers. Another participant, with earphones, listened to a book while their hands were occupied with other tasks.

If you go

The Silent Book Club of Sioux Falls meets on the first Monday of each month at Altered Species Ales, 2101 W. 41st St., Suite 25. Gathering will begin at 6 p.m. with the hour of reading starting at 6:30 p.m. The next event will be Feb. 3.