To read, or not to read, that is the question which has been plaguing me all summer. It is 6am, and there is not a lot that can get me out of bed at this hour, on a Saturday no less. However, I recently banned myself from buying new books until the number matched the pile of books being read. So, in the spirit of turning over a new leaf and pages, I have turned to the reading groups of Chennai to shake me out of this slump.
As I sit under the tower at Anna Nagar Tower Park, blinking away my sleep, people around me have gathered with their books. It is a practice the reading group, Tower Reads, has been keeping up for nearly three years now. Organised by Krishna Kumar, the group comes together under the tower from 6am to 9am every Saturday, bringing their own books to read in the company of others.
“There weren’t many reading groups around when we started, and none that would meet on Saturday,” says Krishna. “This is somewhere people can be in Nature, slow down, and find time for themselves.”
The Quiet Chapter at Bask by Coffee?
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Aside from reading, I stroll around the park, and in an attempt to be social, my question “What are you reading?” is met with various enthused responses. When Chennai remembers that it needs to be unrelentingly hot and sweat begins to drip from my forehead onto the pages of my book, I call it a day.
Despite the pages read, I will admit that this was an extreme way for me to get there. As much as I would like to be the 21-year-old who wakes up at the crack of dawn for some mindful reading, I foresee some struggles in maintaining this lifestyle. For the morning people among us, however, I believe that you will find this to be a delightful place with charming company.
My hesitancy to get back into reading also stems from the struggle of choosing the perfect next read. We must deal with the fact that there are just too many books and not enough time to go through them all. Do I finally start reading that copy of Crime and Punishment I promise to tackle every summer? Or would something more contemporary be a more realistic place to start?
A meeting of the Book Club of Chennai
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
When the Book Club of Chennai choose Martyr! by Kaveh Akhbar, a book that has been sitting on my shelf since October last year, I take it as a sign to make it my next read. Each month, members of the book club vote and choose two books. This time it was the aforementioned and Babel by RF Kuang. At the end of the month, the members gather in a cafe and discuss the books.
“There are a lot of digital clubs or reading groups,” says Deepanshi Sharma, founder of the book club. “But I wanted to have a community where people read and discuss the same book. Every month, the discussion gets quite intense.”
I find myself making time in the day to finish the book, reading in 20-minute increments as I take the metro, trying not to cry and scare unassuming commuters. While the promised animated discussion does not take place for this month’s books, a new favourite novel seems to have been found.
Readers at The Quiet Chapter at Bask by Coffee?
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Book clubs can give incredible new recommendations, but sometimes the book of the month just does not call out to you. In this regard, reading groups might reign supreme. While waking up to read may have proved to be difficult the first time, when the option of coffee is thrown into the mix, I am tempted to try again.
I sit cross-legged at a corner table at the cafe Bask, sipping coffee and reading. The Quiet Chapter, founded by Rajani Sashikanth, gathers here every Sunday for silent reading sessions. People bring a book of their choice, and between 8am and 10am in Bask’s Kasturi Rangan Road branch and 9am and 11am in the ECR branch, it is time to read. With the books, the food, and the beautiful cafe, Bask transforms into a book-lovers haven.
Books at Anna Nagar Tower Park
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“You have to just walk in with a book, order your coffee or your breakfast and find your spot,” says Rajani, who takes the time to visit every table and chat with the readers. “It’s for people to get back into the habit of reading and to remember what shared silence feels like. No pressure, just come and read with us.”
Chennai’s reading communities are eager to accept all kinds of readers and are worth checking out for anyone who is looking for fun ways to get back into reading. Back to my book, then.
Look up Instagram for more information about joining the groups: @the.quiet.chapter; @bookclubofchennai; and @towerreads. No registration is required.
Published – July 08, 2026 03:29 pm IST
#Chennai #reading #communities #book #clubs #helping #readers #rekindle #lost #habit
