This meet-up has been running since 2008 and has a community of people interested in Books, Literature and Asian culture. The group is open to all nationalities and ethnicities. There is a variety of meet-ups and events organised for this group, all related to books, literature or Asian culture in some way. The aim of this group is to provide a forum for debate and discussion, to socialise and to inform. From December 2019, a small charge to cover admin and website fees and to reduce the false RSVPs will be added. <br>

The meet-ups in this group generally belong to one of the categories below: <br>

1. Monthly Book Club meeting.

This is a structured book discussion, held once a month, on a weekend. It is held in the afternoon on a Saturday or a Sunday at a Central London Location. It is hosted by different members in the group. The host selects a book for the discussion and posts it on the meet-up site 1 to 3 months in advance. The book can be fiction or non-fiction, anything that is likely to generate a good debate and discussion. The books are mostly from the Indian sub-continent but regularly also from elsewhere in Asia, whether the middle east or south Korea, and also includes diasporic writing. The host chairs the discussion with the objective making the discussion participatory, thought provoking and fun.

The book club meetings last for 1-2 hours, with the formal discussion followed by social drinks and sometimes dinner. Each meet-up is expected to have 10-20 people.

2. Meet the Author

From time to time we invite authors to sit in on a discussion of their work. The meet the author events can be on a weekend or a weekday and last for 2 to 3 hours.

It is expected that between 15 and 25 people would attend a Meet the Author Events

The meet the author events appear as featured events with the prefix Meet the Author followed by the name of the Author.

3. Events <br>

Any member is free to suggest and set-up an event which they feel may be of interest to other members of the group. These could be talks, exhibitions, films, cultural events or any other occasion remotely connected to books, authors or Asian culture. The events can be hosted events, where the host takes the responsibility of co-ordinating and managing the meet up or posted as for information only, that is not hosted, members can choose to go to these events if they wish but there will be no person co-ordinating or managing the meet-up.

Hosted events are posted on the meet-up with a prefix Event (hosted), the RSVP feature is enabled and the host is responsible for providing all the details of the events, such as tickets, where to meet and other details.

Non Hosted events will appear with a prefix Event (for Info). RSVPs to these events are blocked. If you are planning to go to one of these events you can post a comment and arrange to meet other people going to these events.

4. Special Events (Trips and Parties)

The book club also organises special events such as trips to literary or art festivals, in the UK or overseas. Each year there is a regular trip to the Hay-on-Wye literary festival in May and the Edinburgh fringe festivals in August, and other trips to places like Italy and India have also been organised in the past. These are fully organised trips, all the details including prices, itinerary, what to expect are posted on the meet-up site and it is advisable to book these well in advance as places are limited.

The book club also has a few large group social get-togethers every year. Traditionally there has been a book club anniversary party in October and a Christmas Party in December, however parties or picnics to mark other occasions may also be organised from time to time. These parties are at various venues around London.

All Special Events appear with the prefix Special Event and are marked as featured events and will appear on top of the list of meet-ups.