The Roncesvalles Quiet Book Club #4

Meet Sheila, a first-timer who arrived at 11:00 AM and still became the brand ambassador of The Roncy QBC #4!

The Roncy QBC #4 was yesterday, and if it weren't for my newfound obsession (the graphic novel series FENCE, by C. S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad, see previous Facebook post), I would've written about it yesterday.

It was raining rescued pets in Roncesvalles on the morning of April 28, 2026, and I had barely promoted the Roncesvalles Quiet Book Club over the weekend, less than 4 people had registered on Eventbrite and I think one cancelled their registration, so I was quite sure I'd be the only person showing up. I certainly wasn't!

I had written and read a lot the day before, so I was wondering: "What am I supposed to read/write at QBC today?" I didn't want to bring FENCE because I didn't need a quiet book club to find the motivation to read it (I was actually fighting the urge to stay home and binge-read it), and if I were to write, was it OK to write job applications? (I haven't sent a single one ever since I started working on QBC, almost 6 weeks ago, and my appointment with WoodGreen Employment Services is in less than a week, sh-sh-sh!t)

One of my goals this week is to reach out to French leftist media in France to promote my—err—something I want to promote. I've been sitting on it for YEARS (probably out of fear of rejection), so is the QBC a good place to write an email to those media outlets? I ended up deciding that I should keep writing my play.

I covered my big QBC box with a thick Monoprix plastic grocery bag, hoping it didn't have any holes, and I speed-walked in the heavy rain. I arrived at SAVA Crepes & Coffee at 8:54 AM. An employee I hadn't seen since the very first QBC opened the door for me (I kept calling them by a name I'm not sure I remembered correctly. But if I was wrong and they never corrected me, it's on them oh)

My table and “the table next to mine”

Chris (whom I keep calling Alex by mistake, because there's another Alex in the Roncy QBC, and my sister's name is Chris Alex) was the first to show up, to my great surprise! Remember Chris from Parkdale, whom I first met last week at the Roncy QBC #3? That’s the one. I was surprised that someone would come from that far in such weather.

They looked so good, wearing black from top to toe, with a fresh haircut and refreshed platinum blonde hair, and I particularly enjoyed the symmetry of their facial piercings that I hadn't noticed last week. Chris brought a new book: BIOGRAPHY OF X by Catherine Lacey.

Then came Buffy, who was there at QBC #1 and #3, and has been working on a manuscript since day 1. Their goal that day was to do some research for that manuscript. I showed Chris and Buffy the new donation I received: a clipboard for the sign-up sheet! (Thank you Beverly!) Buffy asked if they still needed to register on Eventbrite, and I said that it helped me contact them in case anything happened—last-minute updates to share, etc. But it also helps me manage the flow of participants and warn the venue. So far, we don't have a capacity issue. There’s no line outside, we don't need a bouncer, Margaret Atwood hasn't joined the club yet.

I also met a neighbor who wasn't there for the QBC, but was having breakfast with a little girl (who, I assumed, was her daughter) on her day off! We chatted for so long that I barely had time to greet the actual participants, but they were sharing a table together and catching up since last week: they didn't need me. The neighbor on her day off had heard of QBC, and she remembered the posters from the Facebook groups that I've been spamming. She said she was pretty sure the poster read SILENT book club instead of QUIET book club, and I explained the whole renaming story (Silent Book Club being trademarked, and blah blah blah).

She asked me what I was writing about, and I told her that it was a play about grief. Turns out she loves writing about grief, and she’s a journalist for CBC! We talked about grief for a bit, and she took a picture of the framed sign. When I said goodbye to the little family, I had less than two minutes to do a land acknowledgment, read the Roncesvalles Writer’s Mantra with Buffy, and start the quiet time. The neighbour and her daughter left around that time.

My writing session was pretty fun and productive. It was cool getting to talk again to someone who isn't with us anymore. Maybe I won't enjoy it as much when I get to the part when that someone dies. I forgot my earplugs at home, and I had the option to use the earplugs that were donated by Welcome Guardian Pharmacy Roncesvalles (encore merci). I preferred not to use them for some reason—my brain had decided that those were for the QBC participants and not me. Even though I am a QBC participant. Whatever. I put some music on to focus: my "Cool Beats Concentrés Sucrés" playlist on Spotify, and I had my usual blanket covering my head.

The alarm went off at 10:45 AM, announcing the end of the quiet session.

Chris introduced their book: turns out BIOGRAPHY OF X is a fictional biography! I loved the concept and got a bit jealous that I didn't come up with that. The footnotes of that biography included fake historical facts—it blew my mind, that's hilarious. I wish I had taken a picture. The new vocabulary entry from that book was: BIFURCATION. Let’s see what the Merriam-Webster Dictionary has to say about it:

BIFURCATION (n.): The point or area at which something divides into two branches or parts: the point at which bifurcating occurs. The state of being divided into two branches or parts: the act of bifurcating.

Buffy’s research went well. I think. Shewt, I haven't asked. Let's say it did.

At 11:00 AM, a new person entered the café, ordered something and came to me. The face was familiar. Her name was Sheila, and she had recently added me on Facebook! She said she had invited a friend to join the QBC with her that day, and I told her we were just wrapping up. I still had her fill out the sign-up sheet, and Sheila is picture-friendly, so that’s her in the pictures: the official brand ambassador of The Roncesvalles Quiet Book Club #4!

Sheila hosts writing workshops online, and she had one that afternoon, so she was there to prepare some writing prompts she had yet to find in a bunch of books she had brought. She also planned to read an essay: THEORY OF WATER by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. I hope we'll get to hear an extract next time she comes. I had Sheila read the Roncesvalles Writer's Mantra out loud, and she did, encouraged by Buffy. I put it back in my QBC box and put my windbreaker on.

As I was ready to step out and run into the arms of the unread FENCE volumes on my bed, Sheila’s friend Monica arrived. I told her to expect Quote and Vocabulary Cards to fill out next time if she came to read, and a mantra to say out loud if she came to write! I hope to see them all next week!

What I like about the Roncesvalles Quiet Book Club is that "there’s always next Tuesday." And sometimes, the magic happens between those Tuesdays. I was too broke to get a celebratory slice of pear-and-marzipan tart. But there's always next Tuesday. I’m very grateful for everybody.

#FunnyBrainyRoncy #QuietBookClub #Roncesvalles #roncesvallesvillage

This post was first published on Facebook on April 28, 2026.

All the books mentioned here can be ordered on anotherstory.ca or borrowed from the Toronto Public Library.