Reading alone, together is all the rage at book doofs and reading parties. What makes it social?

It’s called a doof, but it’s actually all about quiet reading.

There are beanbags, some chairs and a few shared tables, where readers sit (or lie) down and read their separate books.

Maybe some music playing in the background.

Book Doof’s founder calls it a social experience .

But can people reading their separate books alone, together, really be social? Reading has long been a social activity.

One early precursor to the modern book club was Anne Hutchinson’s Bible study group in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634.

Women met to discuss weekly sermons and religious texts, creating a space for debate and intellectual exchange at a time when many women lacked access to formal education.

Since then, readers have gathered around books in homes, libraries, bars and literary societies.

Today, reading communities also extend into mediated spaces: television, radio, podcasts and social media.

The difference is in how these groups of readers connect through books.

Conventional book clubs unite readers by discussing a mutually agreed, shared book.

But in events like Book Doof, Silent Book Club, Reading Party and The Offline Club, there’s no assigned book: participants connect through the shared practice of reading.

These events let readers read alone, together.

Conversation is optional and people can come alone.