Book Swaps London

Book Swap Social Event - Make New Friends Who Love Books

Do you have spare books lying around your home? Do you want to read new interesting books for free while socializing with interesting people? This is the event for you. We will enjoy nice drinks and snacks together at a beautiful lounge bar in London. You can bring your books and exchange them with whoever has the books you want to read. Since this is a Science and Philosophy book club, it would be great for you to bring non-fiction books that are insightful and thought-provoking. If you want to bring fiction books that are scientifically or philosophically insightful, feel free to bring those as well. Since it is a social event, I encourage everyone to make deep meaningful conversations and make new friends. You can come alone or bring your friends with you. If you come alone, there is no need to be shy or scared. I will welcome you and introduce you to cool interesting people to speak with. Also feel free to come even if you forget to bring any books.

Book Swap 📚

Hi all, arranging our first book swap of the year! If you’d like to attend, please bring a book that you think highly of (or maybe one you want rid of!) and give a short summary. Once we’ve all shared we’ll then go around and pick the book we’d like to choose. Please be prepared to give your book up in exchange for someone else’s. We’ll draw numbers to see who goes first, second etc. Looking forward to seeing what everyone brings! Christina 🍾

LGBTQ+ Queer Fiction Book Club - Stag Dance by Torrey Peters

**QUEER FICTION BOOK CLUB!** Our next read will be ‘Stag Dance’ by Torrey Peters Synopsis: ***Book Description*** **The irresistible follow-up to the hit debut novel Detransition, Baby** A BOOK TO WATCH IN 2025 IN THE GUARDIAN, IRISH TIMES, ROLLING STONES AND THE BBC 'As innovative, insightful, funny, and confronting as we've come to expect from Peters' work' Independent, Best Books to Look Out for in 2025 'A shining talent' Stylist Best Books of 2025 'Hot, heartbreaking and thrillingly victorious' MIRANDA JULY 'Potent and surprising and takes no prisoners' CARMEN MARIA MACHADO 'Spellbinding. With pathos and wit, Peters explores characters on the brink of self-discovery' BRIT BENNETT Deep in the forest, a group of restless lumberjacks working an illegal logging outfit plan a winter dance that some will volunteer to attend as women; the broadest, strongest axeman finds himself caught in a rivalry with a pretty, young jack that culminates in jealousy, betrayal and an astonishing spectacle of transition. Meanwhile, in other times and places, the gender apocalypse is brought about by an unstable ex-girlfriend; an illicit boarding-school romance surfaces intrigue and cruelty; and a Las Vegas party weekend turns dark when a young crossdresser must choose between a thrilling mystery man or a veteran trans woman offering unglamorous sisterhood. In this quartet of tales, Torrey Peters' keen eye for the rough edges of desire reveals fresh possibilities. Acidly funny, boldly inventive and breathtaking in scope, Stag Dance provokes and unsettles, inspires and delights. Purchase the book here: [Amazon Link](https://amzn.eu/d/0gSZGUi1) 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).

May's book: The Mountains Sing + book swap.

Join to us to talk about The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is a multigenerational novel following the Trần family in Vietnam through the 20th century, focusing on two women, grandmother Trần Diệu Lan and granddaughter Hương, as they endure famine, war, and political upheaval, offering an intimate, human perspective on Vietnamese history. There will be a book swap as well so bring a book you would like to swap if you want!🧐🧐😌😌

Kennington Book Club: The Merge, Grace Walker

Kennington Book Club Pick #1: The Merge Thank you to all of you who have joined the group. For our very first read together, I thought we could dive into The Merge by Grace Walker. This book is set in a near-future world facing overpopulation and climate collapse. To address this society introduces a radical solution: merging two people into a single consciousness. But what begins as a bold fix quickly raises deeper questions about identity, love, and what it really means to be human. Looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts - I’m hoping this one should give us a lot to talk about. If it helps you to have something to focus on while you’re reading, you could think about: - Where do you draw the line between sacrifice and loss of self? - Who should have the power to make decisions like this? - Is this a solution… or a warning? Going forward we’ll pick the next read together at the end of each meet up. Happy reading! Rachael

Recommend April's book!

April is the time for recycled reads! This means that books we voted on before but didn't make the cut now can be chosen again! The winning book is: * The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Get it now!

Book Club - Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

Spring is the perfect time to usher in some Romantasy reading so for the month of April we’re reading Olivia Atwater’s Half a Soul 💜🧚 You can find us at Foyles Charing Cross’s 5th floor cafe. This month’s book will be on the table for easy identification.

In-Person SBC at the London Night Cafe

April Book Club Meetup: Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna

London's Friendly Book Club's pick for April is **Evenings and Weekends** by **Oisín McKenna**. This city stops for no-one. Not the half-naked boozers, stoners, and cruisers, the hen parties glugging from bejewelled bottles, the drag queens puffing on hurried fags. It’s June 2019 in London and everyone has converged on the parks, beer gardens and street corners to revel in the collective joys of being alive. Everyone but Maggie. She’s 30, pregnant and broke. Faced with moving back to the town she fought to escape, she’s wondering if having a baby with boyfriend Ed will be the last spontaneous act of her life. Ed, meanwhile, is trying to run from his past with Maggie’s best friend Phil and harbouring secret dreams of his own. Phil hates his office job and is living for the weekend, while falling for his housemate, Keith. But there’s a problem: Keith has a boyfriend and there might not be room for three people in the relationship. Then there’s Rosaleen, Phil’s mother, who’s tired of feeling like a side character in her own life. She’s just been diagnosed with cancer and is travelling to London to tell Phil, if she can ever get hold of him. As Saturday night approaches, all their lives are set to change forever. It’s the hottest summer on record and the weekend is about to begin. 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.

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin

A quick note to say that if you would like to help me with the running costs of the book group, you can give a small contribution via Ko-fi: [https://ko-fi.com/annabookgroup](https://ko-fi.com/annabookgroup) Thank you to everyone who helped me with the Meetup fees in 2025! We will meet from 6:30 onwards at the pub and go to the room upstairs between 6:30 and 7:00. Please check with the bar staff before going up that the room is ready and please don't go up before our start time. We will start the discussion at around 7:00pm and talk about the book for an hour or so before having a break. Then we can vote on next month's book. If you have any suggestions for short (or shortish) books for the next shortlist, please message me ahead of time. Thanks! \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin (1968, 304 pages)** A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants spend most of their time without a gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction

April Meeting 2 - Mix Tape (Jane Sanderson)

For our second April meeting, we will read Jane Sanderson's 2020 novel, *Mix Tape*. The book is her fifth and was made into a television series in Australia that later aired on BBC2. This '[t]ouching, peppily nostalgic love story' set in Adelaide is a 'lovely novel, delicately drawn, with characters that really linger in the mind and memory.' 'You never forget the one that got away. But what if ‘what could have been’ is still to come?' -Book jacket https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45298339-mix-tape The meeting will be held at Milk Beach Soho. So join us for some Australian fare as we delve into this fun read. N.B. We will be charging an event fee of £3, non-refundable, to discourage no-shows and contribute to the running costs of the group. Please only sign up if you intend to come along as space is limited to make for an effective discussion!

April Book Club Meetup: Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna

London's Friendly Book Club's pick for April is **Evenings and Weekends** by **Oisín McKenna**. This city stops for no-one. Not the half-naked boozers, stoners, and cruisers, the hen parties glugging from bejewelled bottles, the drag queens puffing on hurried fags. It’s June 2019 in London and everyone has converged on the parks, beer gardens and street corners to revel in the collective joys of being alive. Everyone but Maggie. She’s 30, pregnant and broke. Faced with moving back to the town she fought to escape, she’s wondering if having a baby with boyfriend Ed will be the last spontaneous act of her life. Ed, meanwhile, is trying to run from his past with Maggie’s best friend Phil and harbouring secret dreams of his own. Phil hates his office job and is living for the weekend, while falling for his housemate, Keith. But there’s a problem: Keith has a boyfriend and there might not be room for three people in the relationship. Then there’s Rosaleen, Phil’s mother, who’s tired of feeling like a side character in her own life. She’s just been diagnosed with cancer and is travelling to London to tell Phil, if she can ever get hold of him. As Saturday night approaches, all their lives are set to change forever. It’s the hottest summer on record and the weekend is about to begin. 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.