Houston Reading Parties

# IMPORTANT NOTE: I usually take anywhere from 1 to 5 photos at events. If you don't want your picture taken or posted in the group photo album, please let me know via messages here or in person; I won't be offended and will leave you out. But you have to let me know. Don't suffer in silence :)

We do not all read the same book at our reading parties (held mostly at Houston-area coffee shops.) Instead, each person brings any book or text they are already reading or starting to read. It could be a textbook, fiction novel, non-fiction book, several articles, a technical piece, a training manual for work–ANYTHING you want to read.

We sit and read silently for 30 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes, we stop and share anything we feel like sharing about what we’re reading (interesting content, unique writing style, funny character exchange, controversial ideas, relevance to our lives, etc.) Others chime in if they have a comment or want to talk. This can make for quirky and interesting conversation. Of course, sharing and commenting are optional. Once we’ve shared and socialized for about 10 to 20 minutes, we go back to reading. (We cap the talk break at approximately 20 minutes so we don’t lose sight of what we came to do: read while relaxing with other readers).

Reading parties are FUN.

Reading is known to be a solitary endeavor, which not all of us want all the time because connection with others is a good thing. But traditional book clubs can be stressful because 1) we can’t always read a chosen book by the discussion date, 2) we might not have the funds to get hold of the book, or the time to find it online or at a library, 3) we may not be interested in texts others chose, 4) we’re already reading our own book selections and can’t add book club choices, 5) we don’t want ‘homework’ of preparing for preset discussion questions.

Reading parties are a great alternative for busy and self-contained but also friendly adults who want to connect. I hope you'll join Houston Reading Parties, meet new people, and enjoy the experience.

General group guidelines:

1. Open to anybody age 18+. If you're a parent, bringing a mature, well-behaved kid aged 12+ is okay.
2. We'll mostly be at coffee shops, but some places will have coffee and alcohol. Many will have food. I haven't decided on all locations yet, but we'll figure it out as the group grows.
3. At some point, a member may volunteer to host a reading party in their home.
4. Please be respectful of everyone else. Any harassment or abuse of other members, whether in person or via text or Meetup messages, will not be tolerated. Please don’t contact any members privately either before an in-person event or after unless you’ve already spoken in person and they’ve indicated they welcome communication with you.
5. Please stay true to the spirit of the group by reading at these parties. It doesn't matter if you read off your device rather than a hard-copy book, as long as you're reading rather than working on a school assignment or work task, scrolling on social media, shopping online, or whatever else. Of course, I cannot police people, nor do I want to, but know that I made this statement about treating a reading party like a reading party.
6. The "silent reading" period isn't rigidly silent. It mostly is, but we'll naturally speak sometimes for whatever reason even before we get into sharing mode.
7. We may eventually have some reading party + dinner (or drinks) events.

Feel free to message me if you have additional questions or concerns! :)

– Jane