What if the best part of your week was reading silently with strangers?
That’s what happened at Silent Book Club Davao’s Sip, Read, Create—a unique meetup hosted by Bibimangki Bookbed at the cozy Daleachious Café in SM Lanang Premier. This wasn’t your usual book club. No required reading. No one’s asking what page you’re on. Just people showing up with books they love, quietly coexisting, and creating something new together.
What Is Silent Book Club, and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?
Photos from WIM in Davao
Silent Book Club is a global movement built for readers who love the idea of book clubs, but not the pressure. Instead of picking a shared title or sticking to a schedule, you bring your own book, settle in for 45 minutes of silent reading, and optionally stay after to chat.
No small talk required. Just stories, shared time, and soft company.
Davao’s chapter, powered by Bibimangki Bookbed, adds a little something extra to every session, and this one was no different.
Sip, Read, Create: A Silent Session with a Creative Twist
Held at Daleachious Café, the event invited attendees to do more than just read. After the reading period, participants were given the space and materials to express themselves through:
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Journaling prompts for self-reflection
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Bookmark-making to take home a piece of the day
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Comic book sketching with Renren Galeno, for those who see stories in lines as well as words
There were no rules; only options. Whether you stayed curled up with your book or moved to the art table, the vibe stayed the same: calm, open, and quietly connected.
Among the readers and creators that day was Renren Galeno, a Davao-born visual artist and Pulitzer Prize finalist for her work in The Washington Post’s “Searching for Maura.” Galeno, who holds a degree in fine arts from UP Diliman, is known for her compelling use of illustration in storytelling, often centering marginalized voices.
But at Silent Book Club, she was simply one of the readers. No announcement. No formal appearance. Just another person in the room—book in one hand, pen in the other—leaning into the quiet.
Why Silent Book Club Works So Well in Davao
Davao’s chapter continues to grow not because it’s loud or flashy, but because it makes space for quiet joy. It draws in fantasy lovers, poetry people, nonfiction nerds, and those just trying to read again after years away from books. There’s no right way to participate, and that’s exactly the point.
Bookbed, a local nonprofit that promotes reading and storytelling in all forms, curates these events with the community in mind, balancing structure with softness, and allowing every session to feel both intentional and free.
How to Join the Next Silent Book Club Session
If the idea of reading in silence, then painting a comic strip or journaling over iced coffee sounds like your kind of socializing, keep an eye out for the next Silent Book Club Davao meetup.
Follow @bookbed for updates, check out Daleachious Café for your next creative date, and maybe bring a friend who also finds peace in the quiet.
Because sometimes, community is built not in conversation, but in stillness.
Have you attended any meet-ups with Silent Book Club Davao?
ALSO READ: 7 Davao Communities That Will Make You Feel Less Alone
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