The Great Audiobook Debate
Audiobooks: Yea or Nay?
Here at Silent Book Club we have an inside joke that goes, "All readers are welcome—even e-readers." It's meant to be a light-hearted dig at those hardcore book lovers who get carried away about the superiority of print over ebooks. Frankly, we think it's a silly debate. Escalators didn't make stairs obsolete, video didn't kill the radio star (Chris Thiele!), and the Kindle didn't wipe all indie bookstores off the map (despite Bezos' best efforts).
Lately we've seen the same debate emerge over print versus audiobooks. On a near weekly basis, a member will ask our Facebook group for their collective opinion: is one better than the other?
A book is a book is a book is a book. The important part is reading. Letting the words wash over you, traveling to faraway lands in your mind, getting emotionally attached to characters that didn't exist until an author put them on the page. Whether the data is processed through your eyeballs or your eardrums, the experience is transformative. That's what matters. At least, that's what matters to me. What about you?
guinevere de la mare
Co-founder, Silent Book Club
Chapter Spotlight: Portland, ME
Sending a shoutout to Sharon Kitchens, host of SBC Portland. Her instagram is a book lover's delight, and her meetups include baked goods and book swaps. HERO!
Visit SBC Portland
Giveaway! The Great Alone
Audiobook lovers, here is your chance to win Kristin Hannah's new novel The Great Alone. Our friends at Macmillan Audio are giving away 10 copies to SBC members.
Enter to Win The Great Alone
BOOKMARKS
Articles, lists, and news from around the web.
Jesmyn Ward (author of Sing, Unburied, Sing) suggests 12 new books by African American authors to add to your TBR. Done and done. Goodreads
The most anticipated crime, mystery, and thriller titles of 2018. Literary Hub
A tiny New York town with five, count 'em five, independent bookstores. Atlas Obscura
Before there were bookmobiles, librarians delivered books to rural communities on horseback, proving that librarians have always been awesome. History Daily
What made Elena Ferrante a writer? The Guardian
Oh no she didn't... This journalist asked Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie the wrong question. The Cut
And did we mention librarians are awesome? Yes, we did. Because they will save us all. The Atlantic
FEBRUARY EVENTS
Silent Book Club meetups this month. See our Calendar for the latest updates.
Cambridge, England, UK
Chantilly, VA
Wilmington, VT
Durham, NC
Omaha, NE
Los Angeles, CA
Nagoya, Japan
Las Vegas, NV
Denver, CO
Oakland, CA
Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada
Columbus, OH
Manchester, NH
New Albany, OH
Elkins Park, PA
Rockville, MD
Richmond, VA
San Diego, CA
Newport Beach, CA
Corte Madera, CA
San Francisco, CA
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Boise, ID
Montreal, Quebec (details forthcoming)
HOW TO HOST A SILENT BOOK CLUB
Want to bring Silent Book Club to your town? We will walk you through how to set up your own chapter and help you promote it. It's easy!