The First Gathering

Why would I want to start a book club if what I truly enjoy is silent reading by myself? I can already do that anytime I want, alone. That was the question that lingered in my head after our first Fallina Reading event.

Yesterday, we held our first Fallina Reading event in a flowery coffee shop. One Fallina member arrived carrying a random flower she had picked on her way there. “Flower” was our secret code for the very first event.

When we came together, the atmosphere shifted quickly. There was a palpable excitement in the air, simply from being in the same space. After all, anyone who chose to attend the Fallina book club must share at least one thing in common: a love for books. And once that initial excitement emerged, it was hard to quiet down.

Not surprisingly, the first gathering slowly turned into a familiar book-club scene. People talked too much, and too loudly. Nobody seemed to care about reading anymore. We were eager to share ideas, to exchange experiences, and somehow the reading event turned into more of a social gathering.

My Question About Silent Reading

This left me with a question: is it truly possible for people to simply show up, sit with strangers, and practice silent reading together?

That question stayed with me long after the event. It felt deeply etched on my forehead as I went for my daily run — breathing, moving, bathing in the sun.

I believe that anyone who joins a book club genuinely loves reading, or at least wants to read. And this kind of event is naturally a place where like-minded people meet. Once that similarity appears, conversation follows, and nothing can stop the passion of uncovering shared, bookish thoughts.

I think that’s a good thing. Dear book lovers find their tribe. Still, the original idea behind founding Fallina, for me, has always been simple: to create a book club centered on silent reading — where everyone just reads quietly, enjoying the presence of similar souls without needing to perform their love for books.

I know it’s unrealistic to idealize fellow book lovers into people who perfectly match my vibe, or even each other’s. No one is ever that similar. It’s already wonderful that we share one thing: the love of reading.

What upset me most about the first event wasn’t that only a few people showed up. It wasn’t even that our Super Assistant didn’t seem particularly passionate. It was that the people who did come weren’t quite my vibe.

What Fallina Might Become

After my run, I asked myself a sharper question: if someone showed up exactly like me, would I actually like her more?

I honestly don’t know.

So why did I start Fallina, knowing it would probably become more of a social event than a pure silent reading experience — something like people marching together, immersed in books, reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451?

Maybe it’s hope. Hope that Fallina could be different. Like opening a coffee shop in an oversaturated city simply because you believe your coffee is somehow different from everyone else’s. It feels reckless. And when I think about it, I see myself doing the same reckless thing.

People are interesting. We are complicated. And yet, we still hope to preserve a bit of simplicity, with our souls wrapped inside the covers of books.

These are just some scattered thoughts from Fallina’s first reading event — not as I envisioned, not worse, just different.

I hope you find Fallina. And I hope Fallina finds you. Until next time.