Unsheltered - 30th July

Our last book, A Brief History of Seven Killings, was a tough read. Those who finished it reported on it improving and enjoying it by the end, however the graphic violence and the lack of depth of the characters initially put many people off.

Our next book is Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver.

"Brilliantly executed and compulsively readable, Unsheltered is the story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum, as they navigate the challenges of surviving a world in the throes of major cultural shifts."

Other pitched books:

Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Incredible Journeys - David Barrie

Women and Power - Mary Beard

The Awakening - Kate Chopin

Our meeting is online this month, with the hope that we'll be able to return safely to the Rookery in August.

The Zoom meeting code will be posted on the Facebook event on the day of the meeting.

Pride Month - A Brief History of Seven Killings - 25th June

Our last book, My Sister the Serial Killer was enjoyed by most but some found it dull and in need of more action from the sister.

Our next book Is A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James.
"A Brief History of Seven Killings, tells the story of the attempted assassination of Bob Marley, who is referred to throughout as “the singer”, and its aftermath. But perhaps more importantly, it tells the story of Jamaica in the 1970s and early 80s, when the guns flooded in, CIA agents took up residence, and the island went through one of its most violently defining moments." - The Guardian

This month for Pride, all our pitches were LGBTQ authors and you are encouraged to rock the rainbow for our meeting, which will take place via Zoom. Details to be posted on the day of the event on Facebook.

Other pitches:
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
Go Tell it on the Mountain - James Baldwin
Permission - Saskia Vogel
The Year of Blue Water - Yanyi
Maurice - E.M. Forster

This month's book is a big one, please don't feel you can't attend if you have not finished it. At our next meeting, we'll be pitching our Summer Read, which is a larger than usual book (600+ pages) that we read over several months and have a themed meeting at the end of the summer, this is alongside our regular reads.

My Sister, The Serial Killer - 28th May 8.15pm

We discussed a range of books last meeting including The Night Circus. Some were blown away by the book however others weren't captured by it. It was a good meeting and nice to see people on Zoom. Its been decided that meetings will now take place at 8.15pm.

Our next book is My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

"Sibling loyalty comes under pressure in a Lagos-set debut that mixes crime, love story and family saga" - The Guardian

Other pitched books

The Swerve - Stephen Greenblatt

A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness

The Invisible Man - HG Wells

Unsheltered - Barbara Kingswood

The Overstory - Richard Powers

Extraordinary Insects - Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson

Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer

See our Facebook Event for the Zoom code, which will be released on the day of the meeting.

The Night Circus - Thursday 30th April - Zoom Meetup

We had our first digital meeting this week on Zoom, it was different but worked quite well. The general consensus about the last book, the Heart of the Sea, was that it was a bit dull to start with, but interesting although dark read.

For our next meeting, we're trying something a bit different. To avoid pressure on delivery services during the Corona virus, the pitches were for books our members are planning on reading next month. We asked members to then vote on books they've read/own/planning to read and so our next meeting will discuss a variety of books.

Books will be discussed in order of popularity, with the Night Circus being our main book. To join in with our next meeting, you don't need to have read a particular book and definitely not all of them! If you want to join in with one of the reads below that you don't already have at home, we recommend using Kindle, Audible or Waterstones (approved shop we're supporting as they have given their workers flexibility to not come in + not had their pay reduced).

Books to discuss:

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

An American Marriage - Tayari Jones

Becoming - Michelle Obama

Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evarosto

Unsheltered - Barbara Kingsolver

Heartburn - Nora Ephron

Other pitched books : (less than 5 votes)

Everything is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer

The Changeling - Matt Wesoloeski

Mrs Dalloway - Virgina Woolf

The Hobbit

Black Leopard, Red Wolf - Marlon James

The Invisible Man - H.G Wells

Women Who Fight Back - Stacey Dooley

Theodore Boone - John Grisham

In the Heart of the Sea - Tuesday 24th March

Our last book, When All Is Said, was loved by nearly everyone. People found it a moving and heart-warming book.

Our next book is In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

'In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex is a book by American writer Nathaniel Philbrick about the loss of the whaler Essex in the Pacific Ocean in 1820.' - Wikipedia

Other pitched books:

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

My Name is Leon - Kit De Waal

3 Women - Lisa Taddeo

The Glory of my Father and my Mother's Castle - Marcel Pagnol

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

My Cat Yugoslavia - Pajtim Statovci

Netherland - Joseph O'Neil

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Meetings take place in The Rookery in Clapham, in the upstairs room from 7pm.

When All is Said - 27th February

Our last book, Hitchhiker's Guide, was enjoyed by most. It was a fun, unpredictable read.

Our next book is When All is Said by Anne Griffin. 'Through one man’s twilight-hour toasts to five people who defined his life, Griffin weaves a powerful and tender depiction of ordinary existence in all its flawed and quiet glory. Warm, compassionate and wryly funny, When All Is Said is an understated literary gem.' - Waterstones

Other pitches:

Bookworm - Lucy Mangan

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John le Carré

The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter - Erika L. Sanchez

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

Middle England - Jonathan Coe

Uncommon Type - Tom Hanks

Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

Once Upon a River - Diane Setterfield

My Sister, the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - 23rd January

There was lots of varied opinion for our last book, Coal Black Morning. Everyone agreed it was well written, but many found the author's arrogance a bit much.

Our next book is Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
"To read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is to step into the garden shed of a maverick genius while he’s out, to discover what ideas he has left lying around." - Guardian

Other pitched books:
Putney - Sofka Zinovieff
Spacekid Ilk - Andrew Hammond
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace - Jeff Hobbs
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Let it Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
Kiss Kiss - Roald Dahl

For our meetings, new members are always welcome. We meet in the upstairs room of the Rookery from 7pm which gives people time to eat and get drinks. Book chat starts at 7.30pm and pitches for the next month's book are afterwards.

Please join our Facebook page for the most up to date information, including our socials https://www.facebook.com/groups/claphambookclub/

Rebecca - 2nd September

For our last book, Pigeon English, people felt it was a world that is hard to comprehend but those with experience of this type of community felt is was authentic and the situations were not as unusual as you'd hope. Many (but not all) warmed to the character's naivety and funny situations.

Our next book is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

" Rebecca is a Gothic novel by English author Dame Daphne du Maurier. A best-seller, Rebecca sold 2.8 million copies between its publication in 1938 and 1965, and the book has never gone out of print." Wikipedia

Other pitched books:

Handmaid's Tale - Margret Attwood

Sweet Sorry - David Nicholls

The Perfect Nanny - Leila Smith

Rules of Seeing - Joe Heap

White Teeth - Zadie Smith

Blind Assassin - Margret Attwood

Wild - Cheryl Strayed

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society

Ducks, Newburyport - Lucy Ellmann

We meet upstairs in the Rookery from 7 with official 'book chat' starting at 7:30.

New members always welcome.

Small Island - Summer Read - 14th September - Black Cultural Archives (Brixton)

It's time for our summer read again! This is a longer book that we read over the summer and have a themed meeting for in addition to our regular meetings. Our meeting will be on Saturday 14th September at the Black Cultural Archives to see their Windrush exhibition (£3), after we'll be heading to a restaurant in the area - to be confirmed soon. Meeting will be roughly 11am, check back or join our Facebook page for exact time.

Our book this summer is Small Island by Andrea Levy

Synopsis: It is 1948, and England is recovering from a war. But at 21 Nevern Street, London, the conflict has only just begun. Queenie Bligh's neighbours do not approve when she agrees to take in Jamaican lodgers, but Queenie doesn't know when her husband will return, or if he will come back at all. What else can she do? Gilbert Joseph was one of the several thousand Jamaican men who joined the RAF to fight against Hitler. Returning to England as a civilian he finds himself treated very differently. It's desperation that makes him remember a wartime friendship with Queenie and knock at her door. Gilbert's wife Hortense, too, had longed to leave Jamaica and start a better life in England. But when she joins him she is shocked to find London shabby, decrepit, and far from the golden city of her dreams. Even Gilbert is not the man she thought he was.

'A brilliantly deft and humane account of two ordinary couples in post-war London' - Evening Standard

Other pitched books:
Shanteram - Gregory David Roberts
The Nix - Nathan Hill
Testament of Youth - Veva Brutten
Burning Chambers - Kate Mosse
Cloud Atlas

Pigeon English - 31st July

Our next book is Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
"Stephen Kelman's [first novel] has a powerful story, a pacy plot and engaging characters. It paints a vivid portrait with honesty, sympathy and wit, of a much neglected milieu, and it addresses urgent social questions. It is horrifying, tender and funny ... Brilliant " -Daily Telegraph

Other pitched books:
1984 - George Orwell
Beyond all Reasonable Doubt - Malin Persson
The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walk
Celestial Bodies - Jokha Alharthi
Transription - Kate Atkinson
The Water Cure - Sophie Mackintosh
Wild - Cheryl Strayed

24th April - The Secret Life of Cows

Our last book was The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (follow our facebook group for most up to date info on meetings), which was probably our most popular read yet.

Next book is The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young, a book about what cows get up to on a farm and their different personalities.

Other pitched books

1984 - George Orwell

Long Way Down - Jason Reynold

Tangerine - Christie ...

Alys, Always - Harriet Lane

As always, we'll be in the upstairs room of the Rookery in Clapham from 7pm but official book chat is at 7.30. After 8pm we'll have our pitches, where anyone can pitch a suggestion for our next read that we all vote on.

10th January - This is Going to Hurt

The Clapham Book Club meets monthly at the Rookery, 7pm, where we eat, drink and talk about the book. New people welcome! Check our our facebook page for more information https://www.facebook.com/groups/claphambookclub/

Our next book is This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay, 'Painfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable.' - Stephen Fry

Other pitched books:

Kiss Kiss - Roald Dahl

Black Tudor - Miranda Kanfmann

Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

Book Thief - Marcus Zusah

Handmaid's Tale - Margret Atwoods

The Cabin at the End of the World - 26th September

For our next meeting, we are reading Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay.
"The Cabin at the End of the World is a terrific, disturbing, desperate novel, one that profoundly reflects the current political climate of North America and our ambiguous times."--Mariana Enriquez, author of Things We Lost in the Fire

Other pitched books:
Lullaby - Leila Slimani
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
The Martain - Andy Weir
The Long Goodbye - Raymond Chandler
The Water Cure - Sophie Mackintosh
Burial Rites - Hannah Kent

We are meeting at the Rookery from 7pm in the upstairs room. Official book chat starts at 7.30pm.

Mythos - 8th May

Our last book, The Master and Margarita was enjoyed by lots of people despite how confusing it was. We had lots of discussion trying to figure out the story and the characters.

Our next book is Mythos by Stephan Fry.

Other pitched books:

The Travelling Cat Chronicles - Hiro Arikawa

The Good Immigrant

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

Lullaby - Leila Siliwani

Reservoir 13 - Jon Macgregor

The Savage Detectives 

Oluo Kettridge - Elizabeth Stout

Station II - Emily St...

The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon

We're branching out at another venue for our next meeting, we'll be meeting at the Avalon.

We will be back at the Rookery the month after.

The Mandibles - 5th March

Our last book, 'How to Stop Time', had a mix of opinions. Some loved it, some hated it and some people felt a mix. The story started of pretty enjoyable, but parts of the book were quite weak.

Our next book is The Manibles by Lionel Shriver "The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047” approaches the imminent collapse of American society from the right side of the political spectrum." - Washington Post.

Other pitched books:

Beowulf - Michael Morpurgo

A brief History of Seven Killings - Maclon James

The Woman in the Window - AJ Finn

The left Hand of Darkness - Losula K Le Guin

Mythos - Stephen Fry

We're going to be returning to our old venue, The Rookery, in Clapham

Meeting at 7pm

How to Stop Time - 7th February

Our last meeting was interesting, we tried a new location but it was too noisy so our voting was done based only on a picture and a few words. General views on the book were it was an enjoyable read but too much time not spent on the trial.

Out next book is How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

"An author who blurs the lines between genres, blending fantasy, myth and science fiction to create some of the most inventive and enduringly popular contemporary fiction,"

Other pitched books:

Swing Time - Zadie Smith

Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly

Heartburn - Nora Ephron

The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter

Brooklyn - Colm Toibin

The Rainbow - D.H. Lawrence

Our new venue is Minnow by Clapham Common tube station. We have a table booked there for 7pm and a 20% discount.

http://minnowclapham.co.uk/ 

The Power - 4th December

The next book is The Power by Naomi Alderman "Excitement about Naomi Alderman’s dystopian novel “The Power” has been arcing across the Atlantic since it won the Baileys Prize for Women’s Fiction earlier this year in England. Now, finally, Americans can feel the jolt of this extraordinary book for themselves... “The Power” is one of those essential feminist works that terrifies and illuminates, enrages and encourages."

Other pitched books:
Mistletoe Bride and Other Haunting Tales - Kate Mosse
The Hate You Give - Angie Thomas
Before I Go to Sleep - SJ Watson
How I Paid for College - Marc Aato
Men Without Women - Haruki Murakami
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
Lincoln at the Bards - George Saunders

A Gentleman in Moscow - 12th of September

On the whole Slade House was admired. It wasn't seen as a great work but as diverting, spirted and spooky. It provoked a lot of debate.

Our next book is A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. "Abundant in humour, history and humanity" Sunday Telegraph

Meeting at The Rookery, Clapham at 7pm, upstairs.