Amidst the hustle of school work and the busy fall semester, it is crucial to take time to unwind and relax each day. I like to end my night reading a book, but sometimes I am even too busy to fit that into my schedule. Falvey Library has introduced a BYOBook club, with a much different take on the common acronym. The BYOBook Club provides members with an opportunity to take time to read during the hectic semester. This club is different from a traditional book club or group. Instead of an assigned book, members bring their own, allowing them to freely choose a novel of interest. On Oct. 22, the club hosted its first meeting at Falvey Library.
The first 45 minutes are spent with independent silent reading. Forgot a book? No worries. The club conveniently meets next to Falvey’s “Popular Reading” collection. The collection is packed with books selected by a committee and students that are catered to what’s trending right now. I settled down with a tea and pumpkin donut provided at the front to relax during my reading. My book of choice was Sally Rooney’s Normal People, which I finished during this time. After the allotted time, each person participated by sharing a little synopsis of their book or something they have read recently. While not everyone was familiar with each book, members were able to find similarities and a common ground between the books or authors.
When reading a book I always want to connect with someone that has read it, and this was a perfect place to discuss my thoughts immediately after reading. From here, a giant book conversation emerged. Participants were sharing their favorite series, movie adaptations and new novels. One is sure to emerge with many ideas of new books to read.
BYOBook Club was an amazing chance to find like minded readers and cultivate a space of positive discussions. All the stress of school was put on hold for an hour and a half to relax and talk about a shared love: books.
The Villanovan asked the creators of BYOBook Club, library staff members Erin Palmer and Danielle Dempsey, a few questions about this new club.
What inspired the creation of this club?
We are certainly not the first to plan a “Silent Book Club” event. I became aware of silent book clubs during lockdowns in 2020, when some silent book clubs went virtual, as a way to create a community space while we were all stuck at home. The idea stuck with me. I loved the idea of sharing space with other readers without the pressure to prepare for a more formal book club. We all get to read whatever is speaking to us on that particular day and enjoy each other’s company, then discuss our recommendations with one another. I always leave bookish spaces with so many wonderful additions to my TBR list. The Popular Reading Collection seemed like a perfect way to facilitate such a space on campus. We invite students to drop in for whatever time they have and read anything they want, including print books, e-readers, audiobooks, whatever. – Dempsey
The BYO-Book Club started as an event to showcase our Popular Reading Collection here at Falvey. Our collection here is student-driven, meaning that the books you see on the shelves were selected by them. This event became an opportunity for those students, as well as others interested in the prospect of a campus book club, to meet up with fellow book lovers to chat about the reads they’re passionate about. The “bring your own” aspect of the book club allows for participants to read whatever they’re interested in at their own pace without adding another deadline in the already busy lives of our Villanova students. – Palmer
What do you hope this club will bring to campus?
Above all, we hope that the BYOBook Club events are a super low-stress way for readers to create community. We know the life of a student (or staff or faculty) can be busy, and we hope that students find a little slice of peaceful, dedicated time for decompression. It would also be so wonderful if readers were introduced to something new because of what the person sitting next to them brought to read. – Dempsey
How do you envision the future of this book club at the University?
We hope to continue organizing about a couple of meetings per semester with snacks and seasonal book recommendations. This isn’t a club in the traditional sense. There is absolutely no obligation to come consistently to meetings or stay for the whole time, though of course we hope that folks will want to. And for students who’d like even more involvement, we encourage you to consider joining the Popular Reading Selection Committee, so you can choose the books that go on our shelves. – Dempsey
Do you have any favorite moments that stand out from the meeting?
I was nervous about interrupting our readers halfway through the event when it was time to shift from reading to discussion. Everyone looked so focused and invested in their books, which is amazing. But when we did, the discussion, which included staff and students, felt very natural and easy. I was shocked by how the time flew by. Seeing students talk about why they loved a certain book, or being excited to recommend one of their favorites definitely felt like a win. – Palmer
What qualities do you think make a good book club that are implemented/present in BYOB?
The BYOBook Club aspect of not having an assigned reading keeps the event casual. There are no deadlines to meet, no worries about a plot line being spoiled if you didn’t finish the book before the meeting. Instead, each participant gets to shine a light on something they’re interested in, and others may discover books they’d never heard of before. We really liked this format. – Palmer
