I did something new recently. I joined a silent book club!
Yes, it's exactly that. It's a book club, and people gather together to read together, yet there's no assigned book to read. You can read whatever you want. And you don't have to discuss it. It's essentially a Happy Hour for Introverts.
When I first heard about it, I thought it was a weird idea. But at the same time, I thought it was perfect! I mean, I want my freedom to pick whatever book I want to read. And I don't feel like synchronising with others what book I would read. And I also don't want the pressure of discussing the book. So when I saw that there are regular meetings happening in Berlin, I started watching the event. And when there was a time when I had availability, I joined. And it was actually fun!
I met a few interesting people, and got to know a few interesting books. I also thought that it was a venue to encounter views that one typically doesn't bump into. There was a person who was reading about AI and who thought that Europe is backward with AI because of all the regulations against it, unlike in the USA and China. And in my head, I was thinking that I was actually fortunate to be in Europe, because I do not want to be in a surveillance state. There was another person who was scared about the advent of AI, while yet another person couldn't even relate to the conversation. In any case, I came across a few people who normally I wouldn't bump into, and that was actually a pleasant experience.
I would definitely repeat this, after all, I regularly read books, so this is just another venue to do it.
