Book Clubs Sydney

May Books and Bevvies

**Welcome along to Books & Bevvies** — a casual book swap + drinks social in the Sydney CBD. This is *not* a book club with homework. It’s a simple, low-key way to meet people, chat about what you’ve been reading, and walk out with something new. **How it works** *Bring a book you’re happy to part with - Pop it on the swap table when you arrive *Mingle, chat, and swap recommendations - When the swap opens, take a book that catches your eye! *Stay for a drink and a conversation after **What to bring** - 1 book (any genre, any reading level) **Good to know** *All genres and reading levels are welcome - No fee, but please purchase your own food/drinks from the venue - The venue relies on accurate numbers for staffing. If you can't make it please change your RSVP. Repeated no-shows = removal from the group. **Where we’ll be** We’ll be in the **Market Street Garden Bar**, with a table full of books and bevvies.

The Trolley Problem: Would you kill the fat man?

Chances are you've heard some version of this before, but it's worth revisiting. A runaway trolley is hurtling down the tracks toward five unsuspecting workers. You're standing on a footbridge above, and beside you is a large man. If you push him onto the tracks, his body will stop the trolley. He will die—but the five will live. Would you do it? What if pushing him saved a hundred people? This is no idle riddle. Our responses to this famous thought experiment (and many variants of it) reveal how we weigh consequences, rights, and intentions, and how our moral intuitions can clash with our moral reasoning. Moreover, these choices matter in the real world. From foreseeable risks to civilian lives in military action, to public‑health decisions about allocating scarce vaccines, to autonomous vehicles deciding who to save in a crash, trolley problems offer an accessible way to confront the hard edges of moral decision‑making in the modern age. Let's dive in. ***Primary Reading: [An Introduction to the Trolley Problem](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQCJWblmfROdQ57-BP0B6yCtAarIwZk1SPyFG157nZiDWN0?e=hjP4jO)*** (document prepared for this discussion) ***(Optional) Book: Would You Kill the Fat Man? The Trolley Problem and What Your Answer Tells Us About Right and Wrong (2014) by David Edmonds*** For this meetup, we’ve prepared a 40-page guide that introduces the Trolley Problem, its philosophical significance, and what neuroscience has learned from using it to study moral decision-making. The guide includes sixteen scenarios, each probing different aspects of moral thinking: How do we weigh consequences against rights? Does intention matter more than outcomes? Do personal relationships override impartial calculation? When is it acceptable to use one person to save many? These scenarios reveal the complexity of our moral intuitions and will form the heart of our discussion. Hopefully the prepared guide will leave you wanting more. If so, David Edmonds' *Would You Kill the Fat Man?* is a wonderful next step. Edmonds traces the fascinating history of the Trolley Problem, examines philosophers who've wrestled with it, and explains the competing moral frameworks with clarity and wit. It's highly readable and brings real depth to these abstract dilemmas—but it's entirely optional. The guide has everything you need for our discussion. As always, we strongly encourage you to do the reading before attending. This will enrich both your experience and our collective discussion. We’ve also put links below on further resources on the topic. So join us for a drink (and optional meal) at 6:30pm on Monday, 1st June, on the 2nd floor of the Keg & Brew Hotel in Surrey Hills (i.e. up two flights of stairs). The venue is conveniently located near Central Station and the Light Rail. We look forward to seeing you there! P.S. Please adjust your RSVP if you have indicated that you will come but are no longer able to do so. This is courteous to other people if there is a waitlist. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- These are just optional links to consider. Feel free to pass on other useful links in the discussion section. **Videos** * A TED-Ed explainer on basic trolley problems: [Would you sacrifice one person to save five? (5 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg16u_bzjPE&t=1s) * Michael Sandel starts his famous Harvard justice lecture course with some trolley problems: [ Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdfcR-8hEY) * Podcast with David Edmonds, author of our book, on trolley problems: [Philosophy Bytes - Trolley Problems](https://philosophybites.com/podcast/david-edmonds-on-trolley-problems/) * Podcast with Prof Joshua Greene, a pioneer on applying neuroscience to the trolley problem: [Trolleyology with Dr Joshua Greene (1.22 hr)](https://www.alieward.com/ologies/trolleyology) * TED-Ed on self-driving car scenarios [The ethical dilemma of self-driving cars (4 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixIoDYVfKA0) * A real-life version of the trolley problem staged with unsuspecting participants!: [The trolley problem in real life (35 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sl5KJ69qiA&t=158s) * For fans of *The Good Place*, you’ll remember the ever-indecisive philosophy professor Chidi facing a real life trolley problem: [The Good Place – The Trolley Problem (3 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtRhrfhP5b4) * If you want to brush up on your utilitarianism and Kant’s categorical imperative, see these two Crash Course Philosophy videos: [Utilitarianism: Crash Course Philosophy (10 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a739VjqdSI) [Kant & Categorical Imperatives: Crash Course Philosophy (10 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bIys6JoEDw) **Written** * A nice easter egg for anyone who has read down the page this far (from the Utilitarianism.com website): [Would You Kill the Fat Man?](https://www.utilitarianism.com/trolley-problem.pdf) * Encyclopedia Entries: [Wikipedia - The Trolley Problem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem) [Wikipedia - Dual Process Theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_process_theory) [Britannica - The Trolley Problem](https://www.britannica.com/topic/trolley-problem) * A Conversation piece on AI systems and trolley problems [The self‑driving trolley problem](https://theconversation.com/the-self-driving-trolley-problem-how-will-future-ai-systems-make-the-most-ethical-choices-for-all-of-us-170961) * If you want to play with some moral dilemmas in autonomous vehicle crash scenarios and see how your choices compare globally: [Moral Machine - Moral Decisions and Machine Intelligence](https://www.moralmachine.net/)

Enshittification and the Power of Platforms: Is There a Way Out?

Ever wonder why so many digital services you rely on seem to be getting simultaneously worse and more expensive? More ads. Sponsored search results. Subscription creep. Auto‑renew traps. Dubious 'surge' charges. Sneaky fees. Forced sign-ins. Cancel buttons hidden. There's a term for this phenomenon: enshittification — the gradual degradation of platforms that once seemed like technological miracles offering us convenience, connection, and democratisation. But enshittification is just the surface symptom of something far more corrosive. Beneath the declining user experience lies a fundamental reshaping of our economy where a handful of tech platforms have positioned themselves as inescapable gatekeepers, extracting unprecedented wealth from workers, businesses, and consumers while accumulating dangerous concentrations of power — what some are now calling technofeudalism. What happened to the internet's promise of widespread prosperity and a stronger democracy? How did we end up locked into systems that seem designed to serve everyone except us? And most importantly: what can we do about it? Come join us for a vital conversation about reclaiming our digital future and building an economy that works for everyone, not just the platform owners. **Book: *Enshittification – Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It* (2025) by Cory Doctorow** **Book (Alternative): *The Age of Extraction – How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity* (2025) by Tim Wu** **Pdf Resource:** ***[Infographics and Summary Tables](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQB0CITwHhHJSaFBbJDhZmMEAcDSAace_BN1Q6aSYILezCI?e=edqfP9)*** (A prepared document of selected ideas from the two books) This month you have two options to read depending on your preference towards the level of analysis, style of writing, and your ease in accessing the book. *Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It* by Cory Doctorow is a punchy, provocative, and highly readable take on why so many digital platforms seem to decline over time. Doctorow, who coined the term ‘enshittification’, argues that platforms follow a predictable lifecycle—starting out user-focused, then shifting to business customers, and finally extracting for themselves—in each stage squeezing the group it previously courted. The book is fast-paced, example-rich, and written in an accessible, almost conversational style, making it ideal if you enjoy sharp arguments, memorable concepts, and contemporary tech critique. It’s particularly appealing for readers who like books that spark immediate reactions and connect directly to everyday experiences online. *The Age of Extraction* by Tim Wu takes a broader, more analytical approach. Wu situates the problems of digital platforms within a larger historical and economic pattern, arguing that we are living in an “age of extraction” where powerful actors systematically draw value from users, workers, and society. The tone is more measured and reflective, with a focus on big-picture thinking and long-term trends. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy connecting ideas across economics, history, and politics, and who prefer a more structured, conceptual framework over a punchy polemic. Please read one (or both), depending on your interests. *The Age of Extraction* is 226 pages (or 6 hours) and *Enshittification* is 340 pages (or 10 hours, not available on Audible but is available on other platforms). Join us for a drink (and optional meal) at 6:30pm on Monday, 6th July, on the 2nd floor of the Keg & Brew Hotel in Surrey Hills (i.e. up two flights of stairs). The venue is conveniently located near Central Station and the Light Rail. Bring along an example of an app or digital service you used to really like that has since become enshittified—something you can have a quick rant about to kick off the conversation! 😊 Hope to see you there! P.S. Please adjust your RSVP if you have indicated that you will come but are no longer able to do so. This is courteous to other people if there is a waitlist. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- These are just optional links to consider to supplement the reading of the books. Feel free to pass on other useful links in the discussion section. **Videos & Podcasts** * Two-for-one: Cory Doctorow and Tim Wu together! (Curiously, as kids they were classmates in the same small primary school in Toronto!): [The Ezra Klein Show – We Didn't Ask for This Internet (1.5hrs)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yepnhe1T-9U&t) [The Oxford Internet Institute - Enshittification and Extraction (1.5hrs)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkYxMQJ9c94) * Cory Doctorow Interviews: [Prospect Magazine (28mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9XRREj1DSo&t) [Doctorow on The Daily Show (15 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2e-c9SF5nE) [The Guardian (24 mins)](https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2025/nov/24/enshittification-how-we-got-the-internet-no-one-asked-for-podcast) * Tim Wu Interviews: [The Majority Report (40 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpnMk3IhV6U) [The Commonwealth Club (1 hour)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mRvMEzjTVw) * Explainer Video: [Why Every App is Getting Worse on Purpose (10 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjEGRXVKQCQ) **Written** * Pdf Resource: [Infographics and Summary Tables](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQB0CITwHhHJSaFBbJDhZmMEAcDSAace_BN1Q6aSYILezCI?e=edqfP9) (A prepared document of selected ideas from the two books) * Enshittification Summaries and Reviews: [Wikipedia summary of Enshittification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification) [Transcript of Doctorow Lecture on Enshittification](https://doctorow.medium.com/my-mcluhan-lecture-on-enshittification-ea343342b9bc) [CounterFire Book Review ](https://www.counterfire.org/article/enshittification-why-everything-suddenly-got-worse-and-what-to-do-about-it-book-review/) * The Age of Extraction Reviews [Prospect Book Review](https://prospect.org/2025/12/10/internets-tollbooth-operators-wu-review/) [HowAustraliaReallyWorks Book Review](https://www.howaustraliareallyworks.com/2026/02/book-summary-age-of-extraction-how-tech.html) [Washington Monthly Book Review](https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/age-of-extraction-tim-wu/)

Sydney Interactive First Timers Speed Dating

**🌈 Speed Dating without the Venue for Sydney People Ready to Meet — Personality First** Throughout the event, you'll cycle through curated Zoom speed rounds with Sydney singles matched by age and personality, with a real host running the session throughout. Before you join, a two-minute quiz captures your personality — the matching data comes from to match you with Sydney people who are actually compatible, so every round is informed by more than just looks. Once the event finishes, we reveal your mutual connections — only when the interest is confirmed mutual — and from that point you call the shots. **Register under your age group:** - **Ages 18-32** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=499.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Sydney&groupurlname=club-for-meaningful-connections-and-brunch&ar=18-32&face_v=3.0) - **Ages 30-46** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=499.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Sydney&groupurlname=club-for-meaningful-connections-and-brunch&ar=30-46&face_v=3.0) - **Ages 40-58** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=499.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Sydney&groupurlname=club-for-meaningful-connections-and-brunch&ar=40-58&face_v=3.0) - **Ages 55+** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=499.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Sydney&groupurlname=club-for-meaningful-connections-and-brunch&ar=55+&face_v=3.0) **⚠️ Two steps needed:** Clicking rsvp is only the first step not the whole process, so use your age group link above to register and complete the short personality quiz — spots are kept small by design so register promptly, and only the combination of both confirms your attendance. --- **This is for you if:** - Those across Sydney leaving behind conversations that fizzle before a first date and prefer meeting people in person first. - Individuals in the Sydney area fed up with shallow connections that never lead anywhere and want real chemistry over profile photos. - Professionals across Sydney getting away from app fatigue and empty match queues and are ready for something genuine instead. - First-timers around Sydney done with digital dating that never converts to anything real and are ready for something that feels natural. **The evening in four steps** 1. **Select your age range** – via your age group registration link, then finish the compatibility quiz, since this is how you are officially confirmed. 2. **Launch Zoom** – via your Zoom registration link at the right time, works on any modern device with a camera, and from that moment the host runs the whole show. 3. **Speed date** – quick back-to-back rounds with Sydney singles tailored to your age bracket, with the host managing every round transition, as the work of finding compatible people was done for you. 4. **Discover your matches** – mutual connections are confirmed and sent after the session, so your info only reaches someone who also chose you, and you connect whenever you would like to with no pressure. ⭐ *"Went in sceptical, left happy — I matched with someone I genuinely liked"* – Sydney speed dater --- ✨ Your next match could be one Zoom call away — book your spot above and we will do the rest this week. The rounds are better than you think. 💖 ✨

The Tempest - William Shakespeare (1611)

Here at Really Old Books we've so far covered The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey, two poems with unknown or apocryphal authors - so I decided it would be good to choose a play whose authorship is beyond doubt. The Tempest is Shakespeare's last solo play - after writing it, Shakespeare gave up the theatre and joined up with Christopher Marlowe and Francis Bacon, forming a band called The Real Shakespeare. (Will on drums, Marlowe on bass, Bacon lead guitar. Emilia Lanier joined later as a vocalist.) According to my Arden Shakespeare edition, The Tempest "has been a play for all eras, all continents and many ideologies." It is richly ambiguous in its characters and has been a source of inspiration for painters and writers alike, as well as being one of the central texts in the development of postcolonial theory. As residents of Britain's sixth favourite colony this should be of interest to many Australians. It also features a shipwreck, so it should be of interest to Odyssey fans. I haven't read it before so I can't vouch for how homoerotic Prospero and Caliban's relationship is, so for Gilgamesh fans my recommendation is less certain. I wrote a more serious and straightforward event description earlier but the Meetup app decided to delete all my hard work, so here we are. Come one, come all! Let's enjoy a major work of world literature that doesn't have quite the same name recognition as a Hamlet or Macbeth, but stands proudly beside them as one of Shakespeare's very best works. Feel free to find the play in bookshops or on Project Gutenberg, or I'm sure you can watch it for free on YouTube or elsewhere too.

Book Club - 'The Names' by Florence Knapp

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Meeting at the usual place, The Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, on June 4, 2026, at 7.00pm, we will be discussing To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This is the most recent 'classic' we have discussed in the group. Published in 1960, the novel is a cornerstone of American literature. Set in Alabama during the Great Depression, the story is narrated by 'Scout,' a young girl who grows up while observing the racial politics of the Deep South. Scout's father, Atticus Finich, is appointed to defend a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Despite evidence showing that Tom could not have raped her, the all-white jury convicts. There is a vast industry discussing this novel. The still photo shows the characters Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson from the 1963 movie (available on youtube). The format of the meeting is that we chat about the book in a focused way for about an hour. Then the meeting formally ends. Almost everyone stay behind to chat more about the book and other things bookish.

Stoics in the park: Centennial Park Sydney

Unlike other philosophies, Stoicism was named after a place not a person, making it accessible to ALL people. In ancient greco-roman times people would meet at the Stoa, where they would discuss Stoic Philosophy. We can meet in the park just as the stoic sages 1000s of years ago. Join us to read through and discuss Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Google books has a FREE PDF you can download. No need to do any homework, we will read together and discuss. Am looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Event fee (optional) is $2, this goes to admin costs of running the group, please consider I am from Wollongong and wanted to keep this group when original organiser stepped down. I have significant travel expenses and am generally organising creative events that take resources. A gratuity would be a wonderful way to make me feel appreciated. Pay on the day, payID 0416147804, PayPal: paypal.me/jonnikaren or private message for direct deposit details. In lieu of event fee, you can buy me a coffee :)

Notes from Underground by Dostoyevsky

Meeting at the usual place, the Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, Thursday 2 July 2026, at 7.00pm, we will be discussing Notes from Underground (1864) by Fyodor Dostoevsky. This is the same work which is sometimes called Notes From The Underground. It presents the monologue of an unnamed, alienated narrator—often called the “Underground Man”—who rejects rationalism, social harmony, and the idea that human beings can be explained or improved through reason. Instead, he insists on contradiction, self-sabotage and a love of cultivating resentment. It challenges optimistic 19th-century beliefs in progress and rational self-interest. Some of the themes may resonate with those who have recently read Fathers and Sons by Turgenev. Unlike a lot of works by Dostoyevsky, this one is quite short, and often described as a novella. We meet in the Long Room, upstairs at the Shakespeare Hotel. This is a private room with a closing door, so very conducive to conversation. We talk about the book for about 50 mins, and everyone gets a chance to speak. The meeting then formally ends and almost everyone stays behind to talk more about the book or anything else. Copies are easily available from local libraries and soft copies for free from https://www.gutenberg.org/

Sunday Coffee + Kinokuniya Bookshop Browsing

Hello, we are back! **✨** Lets grab coffee/tea/matcha/sweet treat at the dulcet cafe (the cafe right next to the bookshop) and browse Kinokuniya bookshop on 31/5/26 Sunday **Address**: Located in Books Kinokuniya, Level 2/500 George St, Sydney NSW 2000 (Only 3 mins walk from Townhall station!)

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty | Sun 7 Jun 2026

After the Pogrom by Brendan O'Neill

Meeting at the usual place (upstairs) at The Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, on Thursday 28 May 2026, we will be discussing *After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation* by Brendan O'Neill. The author is a former member of the Revolutionary Communist Party and writer for *Living Marxism*. He currently writes for *The Australian* and the UK-based website spiked-online.com O'Neill argues that the attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists has exposed a pre-existing moral and intellectual decay within Western culture. The 'justification' of terrorism through the lens of 'resistance' reveals a collapse of foundational Western values. O’Neill suggests that woke ideology and identity politics have created a framework where perceived historical victimhood has been used to rationalise contemporary atrocities. Underlying the shouty protesters against Israel in the West, he argues, is the Western elites deep discomfort with ideas of nationhood, traditional morality, and the Enlightenment. What is the way forward from what, he says, is nothing short of a civilisational crisis? The format of the meeting is that we talk about the book in a focused way for about 50 mins. Opinions for and against the arguments in the book are encouraged. The facilitator will play Devil's Advocate if there is a consensus of opinion. The meeting then formally closes, but almost everyone stays back to talk more about the book or anything else. Many of us of start arriving just after 6.00pm, so feel free to arrive early for food or drinks. Copies of the book are available from the usual places. A soft copy is available from Dale on request at dalemills@cantab.net