Book Swaps London

Book Swap Meetup 📚📚📚

Basic Ideas: 🌞 📚☕ Any books sitting there collecting dust? Some holiday gifts? Or it’s a book that has changed your life that you want to share? Feel free to bring book(s) to discuss or swap, we usually have more books than people in the end, so feel free to pop along just to have a chat as well. Aiming for every 4 weeks book swap meetup. Note: The event is free to attend, so the only cost for you will only be buying a drink at the location, so coffee/tea/beer etc.

Book club: save the date/more details soon

LGBTQ+ Queer Fiction Book Club - Fruit Fly by Josh Silver

**QUEER FICTION BOOK CLUB!** Our next read will be ‘Fruit Fly’ by Josh Silver ***Synopsis:*** A mordantly dark literary satire about our insatiable desire for authenticity, the gripping adult debut from the author of Happy Head sees a struggling writer begin to unravel when she attempts to tell a troubled young addict's story. Anyone can write a bestseller. Here’s how… **Go gay.** It’s been seven years since Mallory shot to fame as a literary sensation. But after years of struggling with writer’s block, she’s desperate to resurrect her career before it spirals into obscurity. She needs inspiration to strike – and fast. **Go sad.** Enter Leo – a young struggling addict sleeping under bridges and trading sex for survival. He’s vulnerable. He’s enigmatic. He’s exactly what Mallory has been looking for. **Go dark.** Mallory needs Leo if she wants another bestseller. Authenticity sells, and there’s nothing more authentic than real life. She’s the perfect person to tell Leo’s story. Gay, sad, dark – just what the world needs right now. But as secrets threaten to unravel more than just her career, Mallory must decide: just how far will she go to pen the perfect story? A darkly funny literary satire that examines privilege, queer identity, and our modern obsession with authenticity, perfect for fans of Detransition, Baby, Evenings and Weekends and Eliza Clark. Purchase the book here: [LINK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fruit-Fly-Savage-darkly-hilarious/dp/1836432399/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0) At the end of the meeting we will set the next book, based on ideas and feedback from the group, giving everyone two months to read the book. All the books will be LGBTQ+ themed, by LGBTQ+ writers, or with themes likely to be of interest to LGBTQ+ people and communities. Please read the book ahead of the meeting and come with a view to share your opinions and views. If you would like to attend but are unable to afford the book, please email Chris on cwray@kingstonlgbtforum.org.uk who will be able to help out. **Support us**: Kingston LGBTQ+ Forum is run by unpaid volunteers and funded by the generosity of the local community. If you'd like to donate to Kingston LGBTQ+ Forum, [please click here](https://www.kingstonlgbtforum.org.uk/donate).

Zee Coffee & Book Club

Hey book lovers! Join us **in person** for the **Zee Book Club** — a chill spot to chat about your favorite reads, discover new authors, and meet fellow bookworms. Whether you're into thrillers, romance, or non-fiction, there's a place for you here. Next read is- They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Grab your latest read and swing by for some great convo, laughs, and awesome vibes. BYOB for the first meet up, then we'll discuss our next amazing read. Or borrow a book from our mini libarary. Event will be hosted by one of our lovely staff members. @Cafe Zee , Ealing Broadway Fri 4th Sept 2026 at 4pm. Great tasting, Coffee, Tea, Cakes, Pastries, Lunch available to purchase. Limited number of tickets. [Book free tickets](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/zee-coffee-book-club-tickets-1994795636447)

Books n’ Chill📚☕️📖🧁

National Year of Reading Blind Date with a Book SBC

August Book Club Meetup: Whistler by Ann Patchett

London's Friendly Book Club's pick for August is **Whistler** by **Ann Patchett**. When Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, who had been married to her mother for a little more than year when Daphne was nine. Now fifty-three, Daphne hasn’t seen Eddie for many years, not since the fateful event that changed the direction of both their lives. Meeting again, time falls away; while their relationship was brief, it had a profound impact on them both, and now that they are reunited, they have no intention of ever being separated again. *Whistler* is a story about two adults looking back over the choices they made, and the choices that were made for them. Please only RSVP if you think you'll be able to make this event. **We host three sessions per book, you only need to attend one.** Everyone is welcome! Grab your copy and join us for a relaxed and engaging discussion.

Discuss August's Book

In August, we read award-winning literature! This is a chance to discover stories that have been recognised for their exceptional writing, originality, or lasting impact. This month's winner is: Orbital by Samantha Harvey Get it now!

Make New Friends At A Bookshop

Do you want to meet new people in a relaxing chill atmosphere surrounded by new books? Do you dislike loud and smelly places like pubs and clubs? This is the event for you. Science and Philosophy Book Club is creating a new kind of meetup where people who love books and knowledge can meet new friends in a big book shop. We will explore around different sections of the book shop together as a group while making interesting conversations with each other. We will go to both fiction and non-fiction areas. If you feel shy and feel nervous to come alone, I will make sure you will feel comfortable and accomodate to your needs. I will help introduce you to others so you can go over the barrier of anxiety when approaching a new person. We will meet on the ground floor lounge area of Doubletree Hilton Hotel at 6 p.m. It is an amazing cosy bar with classy vibes. We will wait for everyone to show up while getting some drinks and socializing. At 7 p.m we will head to the Waterstones book store near Russel Square and UCL. After we explore the book store, we will come back to the hotel bar and stay there for the rest of the night. This event requires £5 donation to cover the venue fees. You can pay via cash or card. Thank you for helping the book club!

In-Person SBC at the London Night Cafe

September Book Club Meetup: The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams

London's Friendly Book Club's pick for September is **The Vivisectors** by **Missouri Williams**. In a famed but crumbling university city overrun by vegetation, where power is held in a fragile balance between the academics and a contingent of rogue gardeners, Agathe spends her days listlessly propping up the career of her fraudulent professor boss. One day, a campus scandal erupts: Adam, a contrarian and the pet student of her boss, comes into heated conflict with a rising young professor, with both men claiming discrimination. As the crisis consumes the university, Agathe’s boss instructs her to gather information by befriending Adam. Agathe soon finds herself both caught up in the events tearing the city apart and increasingly drawn towards the alluring student at the heart of it all. But can anyone be taken at their word in a struggle over the truth? Coursing with icy suspense and rendered with violent precision, The Vivisectors is a new kind of love story for a broken era. Missouri Williams holds up a mirror to humanity’s most intimate contradictions in a novel of blazing spiritual reckoning. Please only RSVP if you think you'll be able to make this event. **We host three sessions per book, you only need to attend one.** Everyone is welcome! Grab your copy and join us for a relaxed and engaging discussion.

SBC picnic games and read together