“Chill Readers” — A Bookclub that Saves My Quarantine

The slippery note in silence by Pierpaolo Rovero

“Chill Readers” is a book club established on September 15th, 2020. The club consists of 6 book readers (and hoarders) — Rifan, Jay, Tari, Laras, Meurah, and Syarif. The club was created out of pandemic boredom when these book lovers gathered and decided to survive the lockdown by reading and discussing what has been read. The virtual meeting is held every two weeks by rotating the host for each session. So far, “Chill Readers” has discussed a wide variety of books, from fiction to non-fiction, and the cultural impacts that entail. For example, the first E-meeting discussed an interesting topic, “Why do I read?” as an attempt to dig deeper into why each member started reading in the first place. A few other topics were World Literature, Historical Fiction, Children Literature, Books that were being read, Favorite Books (and why they were recommended), Reading Books and Its Connection to Writing, 2021 Reading Resolution, and Controversial Authors and the impacts that the controversies brought to their published works. The latest agenda that “Chill Readers” had was “Bookswap.”

“Bookswap” is an event of exchanging books between members and the idea was initiated by Tari.

I made it using Canva. Don’t use it without permission or a proper mention or link back.

Finally, we also have made the book swap plot! Here is the list,

1. Meurah ⇨ Rifan: Tank Merah Muda by Raisa Kamila, dkk.
2. Rifan ⇨ Laras: Pesta di Sarang Kelinci by Juan Pablo Villalobos, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar by Roald Dahl, and Sumur by Eka Kurniawan.
3. Laras ⇨ Jay: None to Accompany Me by Nadine Gordimer and 24 Jam Bersama Gaspar by Sabda Armandio.
4. Jay ⇨ Syarif: Selamat Tinggal Mitos, Selamat Datang Realitas by Kuntowijoyo, and Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
5. Syarif ⇨ Tari: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki, and Hidup Sederhana by Desi Anwar.
6. Tari ⇨ Meurah: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson, and Hunger by Roxane Gay.
7. Tari ⇨ Rifan: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Camilo, and Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot by John Kallhan.

One of our book club members, Meurah, is currently studying overseas. Technically, it’s possible to mail the books but it’ll take more than 2 days to arrive. As compensation, we have decided to send him Ebooks (1 title from Rifan and 2 from Tari).

Hopefully, this idea can inspire other book clubs that are looking for an activity during the pandemic. It’s a great way to maintain the bond among friends without having to meet in person due to COVID-19 restrictions as we also believe that the books you pick represent who you are, your personality, and your character. Cheerio!