if there is one then i'd like to join too. if not, we should start one.

ta i'll check it out.. i need it to be in the evenings though.

edit: found some info here. it is in the evening, 7-9.30. but it's on a tuesday. WHY IS EVERYTHING ON A TUESDAY??

this website looks pretty good to start searching on.

i thought i'd already posted this but it isn't here. hope it wasn't deleted for being too boring or something.

my original post said:

that website that i said looked good is very out of date i think.

looks from the haringey libraries website like the stroud green library reading group actually meet on a thursday. their next meeting is tomorrow (a thousand splendid suns).

on that haringey page there are loads of other reading groups, evening and daytime ones, at all the different haringey libraries (muswell hill, marcus garvey, hornsey, alexandra park, highgate, wood green).

Cool, well we should do it! Anyone else up for a book club at a home? We could rotate it each month.

My favourite day would be Monday.

we don't delete posts if they're boring...






....we simply don't have the time.

Not you Marquis. A Qu'ran reading book club with a former monk could be many things, but unlikely to be boring.

I was referring to Sophie above writing: "i thought i'd already posted this but it isn't here. hope it wasn't deleted for being too boring or something."

I followed the BBC Radio 4 Book Club for a couple of years but I gave up because they seemed to have an never ending agenda of emotional family sagas written by female novelists (Kate Atkinson, that type of stuff ad nauseam). There are only so many I can take.

I think the question to ask is - who chooses the books?

I can't imagine anyone else wants to read the stuff I read.

David could have first pick of book. He would pick something like "scaling enterprise frameworks in PHP"

You could all sit around and hope he doesn't ruin the end for you.

mondays are fine for me too. it would be lovely to go to different people's houses and every now and then we could go to a pub.

the whole point of it for me would be to read things that i wouldn't usually read, so i'm definitely up for taking turns to pick books. i'd hope for a mix of old/new, fiction/non-fiction, novels/short stories/poetry(?), bestsellers/classics, and different genres including all the things that other people don't think anyone else would want to read. i have a horrible habit of being prejudiced and dismissive of books that i think will be trashy or that are advertised on the tube. i need someone to kick me up the bum for that.

i'm also aware that i don't get the most from the books i read - i read loads but tend to just get the story from it where other people talk about subtexts & themes which i never even noticed. so i would like to go to a book group to learn from other people how to appreciate books. and also how to properly slag them off. because when i don't like a book i can never really explain why.

@marquis, i would love to read the qu'ran one day but i think i would need to do a lot of learning-to-read practice first. i just finished the satanic verses and found it incredibly tiring and difficult. i'm sure i would have enjoyed it a lot more if i had more knowledge of religious texts of all kinds. it sounds like a really good idea but i don't know if i could give it enough of my time at the moment (such a poor excuse).

It would be great to have a local book club and Mondays work for me also. Should we pick a Monday in February (1? 8?) and a location to get together? Just having a discussion about how it would work might be enough for the first time, unless someone wanted to suggest an initial book as well.

Come to think of it, I never read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell but it recently appeared in the Guardian best books of the decade list (for those of us who go in for that sort of thing). It sounds like the kind of book that lends itself to a good discussion. I suppose people may have read it already tho so a newer option may be best. A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif also comes recommended by a friend.

Hi, I'd really like to join too. I've been thinking about joining or starting a book group for a while! Mondays are best for me too - 8th Feb would be my preference. It sounds like a good idea to read one of the short ones for the first meeting - any of them would be interesting - have read a couple but wouldn't mind rereading them.

@taff bach - judging by the expressions of interest it looks like an almost all-female book club to me. I think you might have trouble getting Bravo Two Zero or The Dangerous Book for Boys on the list.

Big fan of Mulk Raj Anand here.

A friend's reading group chooses a year and then spends the following months reading its interesting releases. I think at the moment they're doing 1948.

Oh sorry just saw sophie's post. i could equally do 15th feb.

Yes, 15th feb would be good for me too. I'd be happy with any of the above list and then something more contemporary for the next one.

I love Marquis' friend's book of the year idea, and Mondays work for me too.

Monday 15th also sounds good to me - are we going for Untouchable? I'm pretty happy with anything on that list.

What's 'real life'? What's a 'book'?

Will read the Untouchables as soon as I finish The girl who kicked a Hornets nest.

This is brilliant!! Starting our own book group is great and I would love to come. Any suggestions for a venue?? I'm thinking maybe N4 on Fonthill Road or Old Diary.

The Old Dairy works for me. I guess it would be better if we met in a pub for the first time, just until we were all comfortable with each other, rather than posting our addresses? then we could see after that whether anyone wants to have it at their home.

So - are we all agreed on the following: - Monday 15th Feb - time? 7pm? 8pm? - Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand

Any other venue suggestions apart from the Old Dairy?

Yes me too, 7.30 is a good time. Look forward to meeting you all.

Just joined the forum and I'm really interested in the book club. I'm expecting a baby on 19th Feb but assuming he/she doesn't come early I'll be there on Monday 15th (don't worry I live VERY nearby).
Jenny

Hi Guys

Would be a pleasure to host a book club here and I would also be keen to join if that is ok ?
Monday the 15th is fine with me, let me know if you need anything else prior to the night.