Phoenix Live Listening Club

I’m a 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫 who has spent years thinking about how people experience stories together.

I’ve also spent years 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛𝐬.

People fall behind. People feel guilty. People get trapped in books they’re no longer enjoying. Sometimes the conversation becomes more about sounding smart than actually experiencing the story. And some of my favorite forms of storytelling — audiobooks, stage plays, performed literature, audio drama, even musicals — rarely seem to fit comfortably into traditional reading spaces.

So I wanted to try something different:

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?

This is a one-off experimental listening club for curious people who love stories but don’t necessarily have the time (or desire) to sit down and read traditional books, attend plays, see musicals, etc.

Instead of reading beforehand, we listen together in real time.

This is a one-off experimental listening club for curious people who love stories but don’t necessarily have the time, desire, or lifestyle to keep up with traditional reading groups.

Instead of reading beforehand, we’ll experience the story together in real time.

The club is built around audiobooks, stage plays, performed literature, audio drama, musicals, short stories, and other forms of narrative listening.

During each two-hour session, we’ll listen together as a group. At any point, anyone in the room can pause the audio to share a thought, ask a question, point out a line they loved, or explore something the story stirred up in them. Sometimes those conversations may last thirty seconds. Sometimes they may grow into something much larger before we return to the story.

The goal isn’t to “get through” a certain amount of material.

The goal is shared listening, curiosity, conversation, and attention.

If the experiment proves meaningful, the group will continue meeting every two weeks to continue the same work — or begin a new one together.

• 𝐍𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.
• 𝐍𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭.
• 𝐍𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝.

Just listening, curiosity, conversation, and shared attention.

We meet at the Tempe Public Library.

I’ll post the exact library study room and selected audio on the event page.

Feel free to arrive early. I'll be in the library café area 30 minutes before we start. A few minutes before club, I'll head over to get setup. If you’d like to grab a drink or snack beforehand you may bring it into the club. We'll start promptly at 2pm and end on the nose at 4pm.

Seating is limited to seven total, myself included. Because seating is intentionally limited, please only RSVP if you genuinely plan to attend. If your plans change, simply update your RSVP as early as possible so another listener can take your place.

If the experiment is a success, I'll continue the club every two weeks.

I'm excited to discover what kind of experience we create.

~ Joey Robert Parks