The book club takes place the second Thursday of the month

ATASCADERO — On the evening of Thursday, Jan. 16, Marin’s Vineyard’s tasting room on Entrada was packed full of enthusiastic readers, their current books, and camaraderie. The night kicked off at 4:30 p.m. for Atascadero’s very ownSilent Book Club.

“I’ve never been part of a book club. I’ve always been intrigued, and whenever I see people post photos with, ‘Oh yeah, it’s book club,’ with a bunch of friends, I was like, ‘Oh, I want that,'” said Marin’s Vineyard owner Marin Wolgamott, who co-started the book club.

Silent Book Club is a global organization that brings together readers of all types in one spot to silently, or not so silently, dive into their current reads while making new friends. With no assigned reading, it’s more of a quiet social time, and Wolgamott (after some research) and her tasting room attendant, Natasha Garcia, decided that the tasting room would be a great place to start a new chapter in the North County.

“I started to look on the website for Silent Book Club, see what it’s about, how to get your club recognized. It was pretty easy, and so we just decided to do it,” Wolgamott added.

Wolgamott and Garcia originally bonded over their love of books when Garcia came into the new tasting room on Entrada looking for a second job before mentioning that she’s the librarian at Atascadero Middle School. Wolgamott added that she gives Garcia all of the credit for coming up with the idea of starting a silent book club.

“We talked about favorite authors, and then we talked about how we could transfer our love of reading into this environment because who doesn’t love wine and reading at the same time,” added Garcia.

Atascadero News attended the book club and, like everyone else in the tasting room, enjoyed the atmosphere of reading with friends and strangers alike. The evening followed a smooth schedule, with time to grab a drink and chat from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., followed by an hour of silent reading time, which started and ended with the ringing of a chime. Starting at 6:30 p.m., people could continue reading, but many readers started conversing about their current reads.

“Everyone shared what they were reading, and everyone was so positive about it,” Garcia said. “There was no judgment, and that’s what I wanted. It was this positive, happy, come be with like-minded people, and have some wine. It’s the end of the day, and just sit and be you and read. That was so cool to see that in action.”

The tasting room was packed with readers, and more chairs have been ordered for the next round of book club to meet the demand.

“Honestly, I was blown away with how many people showed up. We kind of underestimated the amount of seats. So it’s a good problem to have,” Wolgamott said. “I think the interest and the people who want to come, and everyone was really nice about sitting at our neighbor’s restaurant or being okay with sitting on a bench that’s maybe a little uncomfortable for reading. But people wanted to come out. I think it’s just a great thing for us to realize, but I was blown away by how many people showed up.”

“We were packed in here. People were so gracious about it and excited to be a part of this,” added Garcia.

Of course, Marin’s Vineyard wines were sold by the glass so readers could enjoy a drink with their book, but Wolgamott also created specialty non-alcoholic drinks for anyone participating in Dry January or those who prefer not to drink. 

“At the end, it was so cool to hear people be brave enough to say, ‘Wow, I really needed that. I had no idea. I feel so calm and settled,'” Garcia commented on readers saying how much they liked reading silently with other people. 

Atascadero’s Silent Book Club will take place every second Thursday of the month at Marin’s Vineyard’s tasting room from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. For more information, follow the book club on Instagram @silentbookclub.atascadero or email them at silentbookclubatasdcadero@gmail.com.

“I just want people to come and be themselves and enjoy reading,” Garcia added.

And if silence isn’t your thing, Wolgamott and Garcia also host a chatty book club (still without assigned reading) called Read Between the Wines on the fourth Thursday of the month.

Featured Image: Marin’s Vineyard owner Marin Wolgamott poses in front of the crowd that filled her tasting room for the first Atascadero Silent Book Club. Contributed Photo