There’s a new club in town at a “new” venue, but you’ll need to RSVP to get a seat because it was a full house at the inaugural Silent Book Club of Estes Park meeting in February.
This club was an immediate hit and will meet again this Friday, March 27. Patrons are invited to gather from 6 to 6:30 p.m. at Inkwell & Brew. They can bring a book, buy one in the book shop, and order a beverage. The silent reading hour begins at 6:30 p.m. in the recently renovated loft at the coffee shop and boutique stationery shop, located at 150 E Elkhorn Ave. The recently renovated loft was filled to capacity at the first meeting in February, with 30 people comfortably seated.
Estes resident Jessie Youtz created the Estes chapter of the Silent Book Club, a global community of readers that has nearly 2,000 chapters in over 55 countries.
Youtz had read about this global phenomenon and wanted to bring it to Estes Park. She spoke to Inkwell owner Staci Galloway Reed in January 2026 and got the go-ahead to plan monthly events, which began in February.
Galloway Reed and her husband, Kevin Reed, contributed the cozy venue because, she says, they always wanted this space to be a “community living room for Estes Park and to foster the artistic and literary culture” here.
The format for the evening includes 30 minutes before the silent reading to browse for a new book at Macdonald Book Shop next door, where staff members are available to make recommendations.
People can also buy beverages at Inkwell during the pre-reading time, socialize with other bibliophiles, and get settled in for an hour of silent reading or even silently listening to an audiobook with headphones.
The meetings are free, with no need to buy a book or refreshments, and no club dues. Bring a book from home and read with the community.
Galloway Reed says she deemed the new club a success when she witnessed “the excitement leading up to the quiet and how people stayed to chat afterward.”
This success was achieved with no advertising except on the Silent Book Club of Estes Park Facebook page created by Youtz, which was linked to the Facebook pages for Inkwell and the Macdonald Book Shop.
The loft at Inkwell has a new hardwood floor and furniture, including banquette seating and a variety of other seat options. Large windows, plants, and tables make this an inviting nook.
One of the cool things about the Silent Book Club, says Youtz, is “there’s no pressure. No pressure to read a particular book, no due date to finish your book, no pressure for a host to clean house and prepare snacks, and no pressure to speak to the group about the book you are reading.”
Why would people want to sit together to read silently at the Inkwell instead of reading at home? Galloway Reed noted that home life often has distractions, such as children or other family matters. The Silent Book Club offers “an uninterrupted guarantee of an hour to yourself.”
Anyone may participate, as long as they RSVP to secure a spot and adhere to the one requirement: Read or listen to a book silently for the entire hour.
Email estesparkbookclub@gmail.com to reserve a space, or scan the QR code on the Silent Book Club Estes Park Facebook page.
Additional meetings are scheduled for April 24 and May 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and Youtz said she will monitor RSVPs to ensure there is a seat for every attendee. In May, Youtz and Galloway Reed will make decisions about club dates this summer.
At the February meeting, Youtz credited staff members from both the book shop and the coffee bar with “fabulous, helpful, 10-out-of-10 service” for answering patrons’ questions about book recommendations before the silent reading part of the evening and for impressively keeping up with the drink orders.
Macdonald employee Michele Riedesel said about the February meeting, “The evening was really sweet, just quiet … because everyone was reading!”
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