Author: Mitchell

Book Exchange and Little Free Library

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Thursday the 10th, we had our first book exchange.

It was a moderate success. More books were set free than adopted, but a few people did claim stuff they were interested in. Because of its massive popularity, I’ve wanted to read Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us but because of its subject matter (physical and possibly sexual abuse), I didn’t want to spend money on it. Reading about abuse is just not my speed, usually. Someone brought a copy, though, and someone claimed it and then returned it to the table, so I snatched it up.

A passerby saw our table and picked up a few things too. It’s not what I had in mind, but I was happy to see him take home some new friends.

I took the leftover books to the Little Free Library in Maikiki District Park. The cupboard was pretty bare when I got there the same Thursday night.

I added our leftovers, plus the Target shopping bag Baron brought, and the little library looked a lot more welcoming. 🙂

We’ll do it again at our November 14 meetups. Bring a couple of books, take a couple of books, or trade a couple of books. I’ll bring the leftovers either to this Little Free Library again, or to another on this island.

Book Exchange at Tonight’s Meetup

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Beginning at tonight’s meetup, we’ll have a book exchange for anyone who wants to pass something along or pick something up. There are no rules for the exchange table: bring a couple, take a couple, exchange a couple, or whatever.

It would be nice if you would reclaim your books if nobody wants them, but no big deal if you just leave them. I’ll take them to the Little Free Library in Maikiki District Park for someone else, if you don’t take them with you.

See you this evening at 6!

Debriefing before our second meetup

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A few thoughts I haven’t already shared.

  • Someone read the debrief I posted after my test flight, and she brought a small light to share because I mentioned how dark it gets. This is the kind of people we’re reading with. How wonderful is that?
  • Baron’s group shots are fantastic.
  • I never want to pressure anyone into being in a group photo, but I am so grateful everyone at that first meetup was game!
  • Ten attendees was a great number, but there is no ideal number. If it’s ever just me, I’ll be completely fine. If it’s more or fewer, it’s all good. I just want to provide the opportunity for whoever wants to take it.
  • We read for about 90 minutes at the last meetup. I’m wondering if that’s too long for some people. Looking at other Silent Book Clubs worldwide, I see almost every other group reserves an hour for the quiet reading. I admit I got a little squirmy in that last half hour, but I was also grateful we still had it.
  • I did in fact bring a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle, and they made cleaning the table a lot faster and a lot better. I’m going to keep a spray bottle (just water and liquid dishwashing detergent) and a roll of paper towels in my Silent Book Club box, which doesn’t exist yet but will before Thursday.
  • When you’re playing host, you’re never fully in the book. However, this little shortcoming is more than made up for by seeing all the people around me fully in their books. It’s truly a joyful thing to see people just enjoying reading alone together.
  • The beer at the Puka is quite good, but I’m grateful there are other options. May just get coffee this week.
  • Today I sent an email to the proprietor of a local bookstore, to see what we can set up together. I’m super excited about the possibilities!
  • The hippos are just a thing. They are not meant to be permanent avatars for this silent book club, but I’m enjoying them while they’re around.
  • I am still riding really high on how successful the last meetup was, and will echo what one of the participants said last time: I’m socially very awkward, but everyone was so nice!

Hunakai Park Meetup

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Candace hosted our second meetup this month, Monday the 24th at Hunakai Park in Kahala. She and four other bookworms enjoyed the lovely Honolulu day and read these books:

Participants bounced around some ideas for future meetups, too, so watch this space as we explore the possibilities of being alone, together. Thank you everyone for showing up!

Thank you for a great first meetup!

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(originally posted on our IG)

My heart is so full. I asked Honolulu if anyone wanted to sit down with strangers and just read, and ten people joined me for two hours. When we wrapped up, my favorite thing someone said was, “I didn’t think about work once.” PERFECT.

Our first group shot. Thanks for the photo, Baron!

Later, someone said, “I’m awkward in social situations, but everyone was so nice!”

Two people said they had wished we had @silentbookclub in this town. At least one said she was interested in organizing and hosting future meetups.

Two participants who had genre interests in common stayed and chatted — one has a podcast in the genre, and I think they chatted about that.

Our second group shot. Thanks again, Baron!

At least three of us have been (or still are) secondary English teachers. So we talked a little about that.

One person showed up early and said she had attended silent book clubs in Seattle, so she shared some of what worked well for her there.

I had a burger and a couple of beers from The Puka. Delicious and quite a deal. As you can see, I wasn’t kidding about the hippos.

People bounced around ideas for future meetups. The amazing proprietor at @poindextersbooks messaged me to talk about hosting events in her fantastic store. One of the two cofounders of the original Silent Book Club lives on this island and while she couldn’t make this meetup, she wants to join us in July.

Seriously: could I have asked for a better first meetup?

The table was large enough for our group. If anyone wants to sit at some other table, please feel free! We’ll still be together!

We took two group photos because people came and went — which is great! — and then we took group photos of the guests of honor: Gary D. Schmidt, Isaac Asimov, Alan Brennert, Mike Bockoven, Arkaday Martin, Ann Patchett, Joe Abercrombie, David Mitchell, Allison Marchetti, and Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Ross Ishikawa, and Matt Sasaki.

We’ve got a couple more photos to share later this week. Thank you everyone for not thinking about work, for being so nice, and for loving books!

Next meetup is Thursday, July 11! We may have one sooner than that! Keep checking back!

We survived the test flight

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I’m declaring Thursday night a success. I arrived fifteen minutes before the scheduled 6:00 start and had no trouble getting the table I wanted. At this hour on this evening, I pretty much had my pick of tables, which means people not wishing to sit with the group (one hundred percent a welcome approach!) could have sat nearby while still being part of the activity.

Two physical books and an Amazon Kindle next to a glass of beer and two hippos.
If you see two hippos resting atop a book, you’ll know you’ve found me! Not necessarily these two hippos and not necessarily this book!

I received a few regrets from people who wanted to be there, and one person did join me, my friend Michelle, who I know from high school. Michelle read a Tana French novel. I finished Anne McCaffrey’s Dragondrums (a re-read from eighth grade) and began Dave Eggers’s The Eyes & the Impossible.

Here’s what was good:

  • Plenty of seating
  • Good food and drink nearby
  • …including affordable glasses of beer at the Puka, which you can drink at the outside tables
  • Chill vibe
  • No pressure to spend money if you don’t want to
  • Lots of free parking
  • All-ages friendly
  • Easy to find
  • Easy to scope out if you want to inspect the situation before joining or not joining
  • Pretty good bathrooms
  • Keeping in mind it’s impossible to call any location universally accessible, I think accessibility is especially good here

Here are the negatives:

  • Birds. And their leavings. I had to dip several napkins in my beer so I could wipe the table and benches. This wasn’t a HUGE problem, but who knows if the birds were just being kind this evening? I will bring paper towels and a spray bottle next time, just in case.
  • The seats get a little uncomfy after an hour. I stood and read for the last 45 minutes I was there.
  • The bathrooms are not especially close.
  • Last call at the Puka this evening was 7:15ish. The bar closes at 8 on most nights, and I’m not sure when last call is on a typical evening.
  • I didn’t save enough time before the event began for grabbing a bite at Whole Foods Market because the lines in there were long!
  • Diminishing light meant I used the light on my phone to read my physical book. It’s a minor inconvenience to me, but I can see how that might bother a lot of readers.
  • If it rains, we’ll have to seek tables inside, of which there were plenty this evening, but perhaps on a rainy evening there won’t be.
I’ll try to get this big round table. You, of course, are free to sit anywhere!

All in all, I consider this a strong location for this monthly activity because of the pluses. As we gain momentum, I would like to keep the one regular monthly meetup friendly to all ages with no pressure to spend money, while adding a second monthly meetup somewhere more grownup-oriented, such as a bar, a brewpub, or a lounge.

Our next meetup will be in the same place: Kahala Mall, outside, in front of Whole Foods Market. I’ll try again to be at the big round table, and you’ll know you’ve found me if you see two hippos resting atop a book. Hope to see you there!