The Not-New-Books club

📚 The Big Idea
Welcome! We are a community of readers aged 45+ who gather to discuss great books that have stood the test of time. We aim to choose books that should be readily available at your local library, or may even already be on your own shelf. Where possible, I'll provide a link to a YouTube audiobook. Let's work through our "I really must read that, one day" booklist, together.

⏳ What We Read
We skip the brand-new releases. Instead, we dive into:

Modern classics from past decades.
Hidden gems you may have missed over the years.
Forgotten favorites worth re-reading with mature eyes.
Biographies and histories that offer deep perspective.

🍷 Why Join Us?

Life experience: Books that we read in our 20s can feel different, now.
Less pressure: We're aiming to meet every six weeks, which should hopefully give us enough time to actually finish a book. I'll send out a few 'discussion prompts', a week before each meeting, to give us some food for thought.
Real connections: This is a space to make genuine, lasting friendships with like-minded people who share your love of a good story.

🗓️ Our Routine

When: Saturday, every six weeks at 2 PM.
2026: Oct 10th, Dec 5th,
2027: Feb 16, Mar 20, May 1, Jun 12, Jul 24, Sep 4, Oct 16.
Where: Currently at Pret in High Holborn, which has a quieter back room.
Format: 15 minutes of settling in, 90 minutes of book discussion, followed by 15 minutes of voting for our next book.

You are welcome to nominate your favourite read, or we can randomly select one from The Guardian's "Readers' top 100 novels of all time" https://tinyurl.com/mwczm6d9

December's book is "The Parasites" by Daphne du Maurier
The Parasites is a novel by Daphne du Maurier, first published in 1949. The novel follows an emotionally entangled bohemian family, the Delaneys, who lead complex and frequently scandalous lives, and their strange relationships with one another. The book explores both their childhood and adult life, creating a circle seemingly closed to all outsiders. The world in which they live is sophisticated, gay, and sometimes tragic (from Wikipedia).

Maria, Niall and Celia have grown up in the shadow of their famous parents - their father, a flamboyant singer and their mother, a talented dancer. Now pursuing their own creative dreams, all three siblings feel an undeniable bond, but it is Maria and Niall who share the secret of their parents' past affairs.
Alternately comic and poignant, The Parasites is based on the artistic milieu its author knew best, and draws the reader effortlessly into that magical world (from Goodreads).

As always, please only sign up if you are planning to attend. The event is free but the usual £1.50 is a non-refundable maintenance fee and meetup will also charge you £0.60.