Silent Book Club meet-ups and similar reading parties are drawing growing crowds worldwide, turning quiet group reading into a social event meant to help people carve out time for books.
A 2025 study of more than 236,000 American Time Use Survey participants found reading for pleasure has declined in the United States over the past 20 years, giving those gatherings a clear backdrop.
Researchers and librarians say structured reading time can help counter phone-driven distraction, while some groups discourage screens because notifications and social media can reinforce dopamine-reward scrolling.
Studies cited in the report link regular reading to lower stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, better sleep, reduced cognitive decline risk in older adults, and even lower mortality.
Organizers and experts say the broader appeal is flexibility: attendees can bring nearly any reading material, follow curiosity rather than quotas, and build a sustainable habit through short, repeatable sessions.