The Benevolent Dictatress's Book Club & Silent Reading Soiree

The Benevolent Dictatress's Book Club & Silent Reading Soiree (BDBC, Etc. for short) aims to build a multi-generational, all-gender community of smart, opinionated, and intellectually curious readers (or those who aspire to be) as a defiant stand against wasted time on social media, doomscrolling, and despair.

It’s also not quite like any other book club you may have joined.

All are welcome, but this might be an especially good fit if you can give an emphatic yes to one or more of the following:

• You doomscrolled through Trump’s first term and are determined to not let the bastard get in the way of your reading this time around. 
• Your tastes skew toward the literary and thought-provoking, but you’re open to occasionally being challenged by a genre or format that’s absent from your Must Read list. Or, maybe you’re prone to grabbing romantasy trash or a cozy mystery when you curl up with a book, but are looking to expand your reading horizons (and might secretly look forward to forcing your more literary reading mates to pick up a book about disabled trans demons who attend S&M orgies).
• You often have passionate opinions about the books you read—and aren’t afraid to share them—but know how to critique a book without making those with differing opinions feel bad or insulted.
• You want to talk about the book, because you know that book talk is merely a jumping off point to discussing ideas and the human experience--and can be deep, thought-provoking, or side-splittingly funny (and everything in between).
• You’ve been yearning for a book group that can’t be encapsulated by an embroidered saying on a throw pillow but also isn’t dominated by the type of people who ask questions just to hear themselves sounding smart at book readings or film showings.
• Your favorite books rarely intersect with Best Books for Book Clubs lists.
• You’d love to build in-person, real time community with other sassy and opinionated people who read books for pleasure and have big thoughts on the world at large.

When & Where We Meet

Book club discussions take place on the fourth Sunday afternoon of the month (with some variability due to scheduling conflicts), from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Stoup Brewing in Capitol Hill.

Our Silent Reading Soirees take place on the second Wednesday of each month (again, with some variability due to scheduling conflicts) from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Seattle Central Library. Readers are invited to meet up for a pre-silent reading happy hour from 5:00-6:15 p.m. (at various TBD locations within walking distance of the Seattle Central Library--suggestions welcome!).

Come to any or all of the above each month. We're a no pressure group.

How it Works & How We're Different

Like other book groups, we read one book a month. We are genre and format agnostic, which means that aside from literary fiction, you’re liable to occasionally encounter poetry, essay collections, graphic novels, history, current events, polemics, memoir, short stories, flash fiction or genre fiction. 

Our monthly book selections will fit into one of the following discussion types (each year we will aim to touch each type at least once):

One Month Standard: If you’ve belonged to a book group in the past, this is what you’re used to: one book that may tie into a timely theme--or not.

One Month Discover & Share: Everyone selects a book to read from a given topic or list (e.g., Best American Literature of the 20th Century, Nobel Prize for Literature Winners, Something from Ru Paul’s Book Club, etc.). Everyone picks a book of their choosing and then shares about it in the next meeting. Discussions revolve around questions that probe why the book was selected, why it resonated, book tastes, what we read in common, and how we felt about our selections.

One Month Shelf & Share: Similar to the Discover & Share, the Shelf & Share invites everyone to select a book on a given theme, topic, or book experience, but this time from their own shelves (real or online). Shelf & Shares may ask readers to do things like re-read a book from their DNF (Did Not Finish) lists, re-read a favorite book from when they were 16, or read a fiction book that someone gifted them that remains unread.

Two Month Deep Dive: We’ll still read one book a month, but for a two-month period, the books will be connected by theme or author. Each book may be a different genre or format.

Three Month Deep Dive: We’ll read one book a month, but for a three-month period, the books will be connected by theme or author or format. Each book may be a different genre or format.

To further our goal of community and reading, everyone is invited to meet up for our Second Wednesday Happy Hours and Silent Reading Soirees. Come for happy hour, silent reading at the Seattle Central Library, or both! You’re not required to read the book that we’re reading for Book Club.

We will select books for the following year every October at our Pick & Treat Party. Throughout the year, any time you have an idea for a Standard, Deep Dive, or Share, just fill out this handy-dandy form. In October, selections will be put into the magic Pick & Treat bucket (in an orderly fashion that respects book types and timely themes, of course) and we’ll take turns picking what gets read each month.

During the week of December 10th, in honor of Dewey Decimal Day and its role in helping match people with books, we will celebrate with a Blind Book Date-style Book Swap. Date and location to be determined in October.

How to Book Club BDBC-style

• Attempt the book, but still show up even if you didn’t finish it. (Of course, we’ll want to know why!) This is as much about building community as talking books.
• Invite a friend. New members who aren’t mansplainey assholes or drama queens are welcome.
• Bring your non-bitey, well-behaved dog. Stoup welcomes leashed dogs who play well with people and other dogs.
• Bring a snack to share (optional). Bonus points if you can somehow connect it to the book.
• Bring a question. Did you wonder about something about the book and want to get your fellow book mates' input? Did the book expose an idea that you want to explore more? Jot it down and query the group!
• Show up with your whole passionate and opinionated self, but be kind in your delivery. It’s okay to strongly criticize the book or author, but don’t criticize your fellow book group members. It’s okay to disagree, just don’t make it personal!
• Be welcoming and encouraging. Introduce yourself to new attendees. Engage with people you don’t know well. Invite people into discussions. Encourage sharing. Offer hugs and/or tissues when necessary (but ask first).