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Welcome to Back of the Napkin, musings from Serviette for the cultured world. As temperatures begin to drop—at long last—Serviette has taken to mastering the art of cozying up with a good book. (Our current read, for those looking for an impromptu book club, is Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky’s The Return of Munchausen.) As such, we invite you to a special sort of “rave,” one where earplugs and club attire are hardly required.
Though silently flipping pages hardly necessitates a crowded dancefloor, that’s precisely what happened at a recent “book rave” in Tokyo, where readers thumbed through paperbacks instead of throwing elbows. A video of the event recently went viral, corroborating Vogue’s claim that reading is officially back in style. At the “JUCY Book Rave,” the Tokyo nightclub swapped its usual techno and disco balls in favor of ambient music, soft, atmospheric lighting, and an afternoon of quiet reading and reflection. Attendees are invited to peruse and discuss their latest reads, and exchange titles in what can only be described as an introvert’s dream setting—complete with the occasional break for dancing and socializing.
Of course, the Japanese haven't exactly invented the concept of reading in public. Similar gatherings, from Brooklyn’s “Reading Rhythms” to Melbourne’s delightfully named “Book Doof,” have been cropping up around the globe. Reading Rhythms, which began with ten friends on a Brooklyn rooftop in 2023, has since sold more than 50,000 tickets across six continents. Evidently, the prospect of sitting quietly with a book has become so irresistible that people are now paying for the privilege of doing it in the company of strangers. How novel!
Unlike Vogue, Serviette believes that reading never goes out of style. At the same time, it’s a relief to know that—despite all efforts to the contrary—the written word still prevails. As writer and content creator Sihaam Naik so shrewdly remarked, rather than emphasizing the material, Gen Z is “more aligned with investing in taste. You buy books, art books and niche ephemera to set yourself apart from peers or signal your taste.” And what better way to expand and explore one’s taste than in the company of like-minded literary aficionados (and offline, at that).
For those looking for either evidence or inspiration (though one could certainly argue they’re two sides of the same coin), Serviette highly recommends taking stock of the books one encounters in the wild—a de facto literary safari. Across subway platforms, cafés, and parks, there is no shortage of literary specimens to be observed. A few titles Serviette has spotted people reading in New York, to get you started:
- Martyr!, Kaveh Akbar
- Intermezzo, Sally Rooney
- Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
- Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu
- All About Love, bell hooks
We thank you for reading this week’s newsletter, preferably somewhere with a comfortable chair and a conspicuous absence of techno. Be sure to stay subscribed for further dispatches from the world of Serviette; there may even be a literary gathering of our very own on the horizon. Consider this your invitation to keep the evening free, and your reading glasses close at hand.