Book Drives New York

The Tombs of Atuan Discussion

Come join us for an in-depth discussion of themes and motifs in Ursula K. Le Guin's *The Tombs of Atuan*, an indirect sequel to *A Wizard of Earthsea*! (Note: You don't need to have read *Earthsea* before reading *Tombs*, so anyone can immediately pick it up.)

Book Swap @ Central Park

***The Meetup guest limit is 10 because of the free event limit, but we have unlimited space for people to join us.*** Book swap 11am-2pm at Sheep Meadow in Central Park. Look for books and the sign. This is a drop-in/drop-out event, meaning you don't have to stay the entire time. All genres, all sizes, and all conditions welcome. Leftover books will be recycled at future book swaps. **Don't have a book to contribute?** We'll have plenty of extras for you. **Not a big reader?** Come hang out anyway!

Manhattan Smutty Book Club -

The book for this month is Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon. You'd think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you'd be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they've left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet. And the only native inhabitant I've met? He's big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me... Please join us at Cornerstone Tavern, 961 2nd Ave, New York, NY (51st and 2nd) for great conversation, laughs, and friendship. Look for our signs, and listen for the laughter. We are often in the back of Cornerstone behind the curtain, which is actually a different restaurant called the Stags Head. We start at 7pm, but feel free to come early before happy hour ends at 7. People usually start to drift in by 6:30pm.

The Coast Road by Alan Murrin

A poignant debut novel set in 1994 County Donegal, Ireland, focusing on two women, housewife Izzy and poet Colette, navigating restrictive societal norms and troubled marriages as they seek independence. Their friendship deepens as Colette, who left her family for a married man, uses Izzy as a go-between to see her children, leading to a tragic and liberating outcome for them. The book explores themes of female confinement, gossip, and the price of freedom in a pre-divorce Ireland.

Vermilion Sands by JG Ballard

Vermilion Sands is a 1971 collection of science fiction short stories by J.G. Ballard, set in a fictional, futuristic desert resort town inspired by places like Palm Springs, where leisure and bizarre art forms dominate life. The stories explore themes of art, technology, and psychological decay through unique concepts like psychotropic houses that retain emotions, singing orchids, and automated poetry machines, often featuring jaded socialites and damaged adventurers. It's known for its playful, ironic tone, which is lighter than much of Ballard's other work. It's available on the Internet Archive.

NYC Romcom Book Club 💕 Elevator Pitch by Evelyn Leigh

At this meeting we will discuss the Elevator Pitch by Evelyn Leigh 😊

Queer Women Reading Whatever We Fancy: The Book Club for Troublesome Women

Hi all! After skipping April's, we're back with some fiction. I haven't read this one and it looked fun- hopefully it will be! Here is the [link](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216052751-the-book-club-for-troublesome-women?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=7ZPzg0YmKT&rank=3) to the description of the book. I also wanted to project out some books over the coming months (that might take longer from the library so you should request now if you want to go that route): June: [Woodworking](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217311813-woodworking?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=WghfDg1LrF&rank=1) July: [Yesteryear](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/238226942-yesteryear?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_10) Also glad to take some suggestions for after! Please only RSVP if you plan to attend and please update your RSVP status if your plans change. We'll have casual potluck so bring whatever you'd like to share with the group. See you soon! Rebecca

SSRC May Book Club

Come join Social Striders for our May Book Club discussion of the novel Smaller and Smaller Circles by author F. H. Batacan! Winner of the Philippines National Book Award, this thrilling novel follows 2 Jesuit priests as they investigate the murder of preteen boys in an impoverished Manila neighborhood in 1997. Forensic anthropologist Father Gus Saenz and psychologist Father Jerome Lucero are determined to protect their flock in Payatas, a 50-acre dump northeast of Manila’s Quezon City. Can they outwit a serial killer and seek justice for their people? Snacks and good company will be provided! 🧁 🤝

It’s No joke it’s April new book club book It Girl ..Allison Pataki

Okay so many of our members are 9-5 during weekdays and miss our mall walks in preparation for our outdoor activities for evening and weekends this spring So while we wait on Mother Nature Let’s exercise our mind. I’ve selected The book “It Girl” The story of the original Gibson girl the woman who captured the imagination of new yorkers while Becoming the face of beauty but the rise to the top was filled with heart ache ,pain determation and murder, encountering power hungry men , and the crime of the century . This book will lead to a future trip to learn more about the real life inspiration for this book Meetup time frame for book readers is April 1 st to end of may. But site won’t allow that to be posted. So please write finish date I. Your personal calendar

The Perks of Being a Wallflower discussion

We will discuss *The Perks of Being a Wallflower* by Stephen Chbosky on Wed., May 27 at 7 p.m. at Agora Taverna, 70-09 Austin St., Forest Hills. It is a block south of Queens Blvd. on the corner of 70th Ave., close to the 71st/Continental stop on the E/F/M/R trains. The menu is at https://agora-taverna.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/DINNER-MENU-2025-6.pdf

“Heartwood” - Amity Gaige: Brunch and Book Chat

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

WE ARE MEETING IN THE SECOND FLOOR OF BROOKFIELD PLACE NEAR THE TABLES BY "CLEAN MARKET" Dante’s Inferno meets Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own. Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek: The story of a hero’s descent to the underworld Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world. That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams…. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the very same conclusion. With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, enough chalk to draw the Pentagrams necessary for their spells, and the burning desire to make all the academic trauma mean anything, they set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like. But Hell is not like the storybooks say, Magick isn’t always the answer, and there’s something in Alice and Peter’s past that could forge them into the perfect allies…or lead to their doom.