Trident Booksellers & Cafe on Newbury Street hosts Back Bay’s outpost of the Silent Book Club movement — the self-described introvert happy hour where nobody assigns a book and nobody leads a discussion. Every other Monday evening, readers claim tables in the cafe, order dinner or a drink, and settle in with whatever they are currently reading.

The structure is gentle: a stretch of mingling and ordering, a full hour of blissfully silent reading, then optional chatter for swapping recommendations. That makes it ideal for people who love the idea of a book club but dread the homework, and for anyone hoping to meet fellow readers without small-talk pressure. Come solo, bring your current paperback or an e-reader, and let one of the city’s great indie bookstore-cafes handle the ambiance.