Book Drives Melbourne

Book swap brunch meet up

Book 147: Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

February Book of the month - White Nights

Book Club: [White Nights](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1772910.White_Nights) by Fyodor Dostoevsky Step into the quiet glow of sleepless streets and fleeting connection in White Nights, Dostoevsky’s tender, introspective tale of longing and imagination. Set over four luminous nights in St. Petersburg, the novella follows a solitary dreamer whose carefully constructed inner world is disrupted when he meets Nastenka, a young woman caught between hope and heartbreak. As their nocturnal conversations unfold, White Nights explores the fragile beauty of human connection—how intimacy can bloom suddenly, how love can be imagined as much as it is lived, and how solitude can both protect and imprison us. Dostoevsky captures the ache of yearning with remarkable sensitivity, tracing the line between fantasy and reality, courage and retreat. Quiet yet emotionally resonant, White Nights is a meditation on loneliness, romantic idealism, and the moments—brief but transformative—that leave an indelible mark on our inner lives. It asks what it means to truly see another person, even if only for a night. Discussion Points: How does the dreamer’s inner world shape his understanding of love and connection? In what ways do the “white nights” function as a metaphor for emotional intensity, impermanence, or illusion? How does Dostoevsky portray loneliness—as a refuge, a wound, or both? What role does honesty (or the lack of it) play in the relationship between the dreamer and Nastenka? Is White Nights ultimately a story of heartbreak, growth, or quiet hope—and why?

Dusk - February 2026 Big Ideas Book Club

**Dusk, by Robbie Arnott** A masterful, mythical tale of loss, love, redemption and survival. In the distant highlands, a puma named Dusk is killing shepherds. Down in the lowlands, twins Iris and Floyd are out of work, money and friends. When they hear that a bounty has been placed on Dusk, they reluctantly decide to join the hunt. As they journey up into this wild, haunted country, they discover there's far more to the land and people of the highlands than they imagined. And as they close in on their prey, they're forced to reckon with conflicts both ancient and deeply personal. **Joint winner of the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize: Adult category** **Winner of the 2025 Indie Book Awards for Fiction and Book of the Year Award** **Winner of the 2025 ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year**

February 2026 - James

Hello book lovers, Our book for February is "James" by Percival Everett When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. Brimming with nuanced humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim's agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. *James* is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first-century American literature. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/173754979-james

February - Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin

The Atom Station, Halldor Laxnuss (Nobel, 1955)

We have almost scheduled this author a few times and been indecisive on which book, based mainly on length and plot. Step in our resident expert on the author (PhD no less) who recommended this one both on length **and** plot. Sometimes it's tough to get a book up in this club! The Guardian (hacks) think we may be disappointed compared to Independent People, but then go on to say there's a lot to like in this satire. A drunken Icelandic PM allows the Yanks to build a nuclear power station. Enter Ugla, a country girl now working in an MP's house, the family turns out to be drunken, demented, self-destructive. The author's "rich" humour and humanism shines, but frankly you had me at "satire". I look forward to a robust discussion. And we may also need to read Independent People another time to compare. Since starting this book club a few years ago we have formed a nice core membership. If you haven't come yet, please look out for the books on the table, pull up a chair, order a wine and join us. We like to hear what everyone has to say and enjoy the conversation, we're not cliquey at all! Oh, and to defray the Meetup monthly bill I will accept gold coin contributions or wine if you want to pay for multiple in one hit. I hope to see everyone again at this one with some new faces.

Melbourne Horror Book Club

Come and join our friendly group of horror fans to discuss books and movies over dinner and a drink. All welcome! I kindly ask that you purchase a meal and a drink to help cover the room costs. We discuss two books and a movie, you don't need to read them all to attend. We meet in the dining rooms on the left hand side of the Mail Exchange. Contemporary novel House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski https://www.penguin.com.au/books/house-of-leaves-9780385603102 Classic novel The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Film The Thing

Pride Inside Book Club - March Meeting - Changing Planes

February Book Club: Dissolution by C. J. Sansom

THE LABYRINTH by Amanda Lohrey - Thursday 19th February Meeting

February Book club - The Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginsburg