Book Swaps Toronto

OSC #4 - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Welcome to our fourth meetup! The book for August is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. The first thirty minutes of the event is open social time while we allow attendees to arrive. The book discussion will begin at 8:00 PM. At the end of the meetup, we will accept nominations for the next book. We encourage attendees to stay afterwards and chat if they would like to as well. Out of respect for the venue and people on the waitlist, if you do not intend on attending we would appreciate you cancelling at least 48 hours in advance. We would like to keep these events free of charge, and continued last minute cancellations or no-shows may require us to introduce a small fee in the future. "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern "**Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in the spellbinding novel that captured the world's imagination.** The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called *Le Cirque des Rêves*, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart." Results from the vote: [https://app.rankedvote.co/rv/lflwev853sj5nle65d/results](https://app.rankedvote.co/rv/lflwev853sj5nle65d/results)

OSC #5 - Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Welcome to our 5th meetup for the Open Shelf Collective. We have selected Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid as our selection for this event. The first thirty minutes of the event is open social time while we allow attendees to arrive. The book discussion will begin at 8:00 PM. At the end of the meetup, we will accept nominations for the next book. We encourage attendees to stay afterwards and chat if they would like to as well. Out of respect for the venue and people on the waitlist, if you do not intend on attending please cancel as soon as possible and at the very latest 48 hours in advance. To ensure spots go to engaged members, we have limited new sign ups to two weeks before the event — existing RSVPs are not affected. We would like to keep these events free of charge, and continued last minute cancellations or no-shows may require us to introduce a small fee in the future. "Atmosphere" by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space. Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane. As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant. Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, *Atmosphere* is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.

First book club meeting!

Hello everyone! For the first TBR meeting, I want everyone to bring the book they think we should read for the month and create a short pitch explaining why. I want it to feel like a Shark Tank episode where everyone pitches their book! At the end of the meeting, we will vote for which book we would like to read for the month. I want this first meeting to be social and friendly. Bring your books and your pitches!

Where Books Start Conversations

Bring the book you're currently reading (or one you've recently enjoyed) and join us for a relaxed conversation about books, ideas, recommendations, podcasts, and whatever's caught your interest lately. No assigned reading, no pressure, just good books, curious minds, great company, and of course, coffee. Come to socialize, discover new reads, share ideas, and make friends along the way. 📚☕

The Girls Book Club: Fantasy/Romance Book Club Meetup #7

Hi everyone!! 💖 This is now our SIXTH book club meetup! I can’t wait to get to know you all more, hang out and talk books. For this meeting we’ll be STARTING Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross!!! Please read the first 14 chapters (part 1) before coming so that we have lots to discuss! The location MIGHT change. There is a new book bar that opened up in Toronto and I’d love to see if we can get a spot there. So stay tuned!!! Don’t stress if you’re new or didn’t make it to the last meetup! This is a super chill group and we’re mostly here to chat, vibe, and obsess over books together. Can’t wait to see you all!! 📚✨

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

For July, we'll read Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol 464 pages First published in 1842 About the book: Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in a provincial town and visits a succession of landowners to make each a strange offer. He proposes to buy the names of dead serfs still registered on the census, saving their owners from paying taxes on them, and to use these 'souls' as collateral to re-invent himself as a gentleman. In this ebullient masterpiece, Gogol created a grotesque gallery of human types, from the bear-like Sobakevich to the insubstantial fool Manilov, and, above all, the devilish con man Chichikov. *Dead Souls* is one of the most unusual works of nineteenth-century fiction and a devastating satire on social hypocrisy.

Roncesvalles Bookstore Walk & High Park

July's Book: The Wedding People

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, without luggage, alone. Everyone in the lobby mistakes her for one of the wedding people at an impending wedding on the site, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t there for the big event. Phoebe is there because she’s dreamed of coming for years. She hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other. In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s *The Wedding People* is a nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

Silent Bookclub Meeting #83

The next event is happening on Thursday July 30 at 6PM in the Wellington Market Food Hall at The Well! We'll be meeting in front of the Nord Lyon in The Wellington Market (food court!) Please RSVP if you're planning on coming so we can plan appropriately!

ABCD Reads "Go Gentle" by Maria Semple

ABCD Reads "[Go Gentle](https://tpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S234C4718443)" by Maria Semple. ([RESULTS](https://opavote.com/results/6419002495860736) of the poll for this event.) **:: ABOUT THE BOOK ::** "Adora Hazzard has it all figured out. A Stoic philosopher and divorcée, she lives a contented life on New York City’s Upper West Side. Having discovered that the secret to happiness is to desire only what you have, she’s applied this insight to blissful effect: relishing her teenage daughter, the freedom of being solo, and her job as a moral tutor for the twin boys of an old-money family. She’s even assembled a “coven”—like-minded women who live on the same floor in the legendary Ansonia—and is making active efforts to grow its membership. Adora’s carefully curated life is humming along brilliantly until a chance meeting with a handsome stranger." (from [Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239152335-go-gentle)) "ATV comedy writer turned popularizer of Stoic philosophy falls in love, is swept into an international art incident, and deals with buried trauma. For starters. A wild mess of a plot, but a fun wild mess, punctuated by Semple’s signature witty observations and punchlines." (from [Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/maria-semple/go-gentle/)) **:: ABOUT THE EVENT ::** You are welcome to arrive 30 minutes before the event and stay 30 minutes or longer afterward to connect with other attendees outside the book talk. Please ensure you have read the book before attending (though finishing any book is not a barrier to participating, as long as you don't mind spoilers). First-time attendees can join for free. If the event is full, we maintain an unofficial waitlist. Please send [Michael](https://www.meetup.com/members/55295192/) a direct message for more information, in either case. We request a $3 contribution from regular attendees to help cover our monthly meetup costs. **:: ABOUT OUR NEXT BOOK ::** At the end of each event, we will ask for nominees for our next book. If you have a good one in mind, please ensure it is between 200-400 pages long, available from the Toronto Public Library, and counts as contemporary literary fiction (though these are not hard and fast rules). When enough nominees are collected, Michael will send the members a direct message with a link where you can vote.

Let's discuss "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel

*Station Eleven* by Emily St. John Mandel is a post-apocalyptic novel tracing a devastating flu pandemic that wipes out most of human civilization. The story interweaves pre-collapse memories with life twenty years later, centered on an actress in a traveling Shakespeare troupe and how interconnected survivors endure through art and memory. We will start our discussion at 7:30. Food and drink are available for purchase.

Toronto Low-Key Speed Dating for Professionals

🌹 Toronto singles, live on Zoom A laid-back community night of speed dating with locals your age. Quick rounds, real chat, all from the couch. Pick your age group to join: Ages 18-32: [sign up](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=533&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Toronto&groupurlname=readers-rendezvous-book-club-circle&ar=18-32&face_v=6.0) Ages 30-46: [sign up](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=533&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Toronto&groupurlname=readers-rendezvous-book-club-circle&ar=30-46&face_v=6.0) Ages 40-58: [sign up](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=533&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Toronto&groupurlname=readers-rendezvous-book-club-circle&ar=40-58&face_v=6.0) Ages 55+: [sign up](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=533&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Toronto&groupurlname=readers-rendezvous-book-club-circle&ar=55+&face_v=6.0) RSVPing tells us you're keen, but your seat is only saved once you finish sign-up at your age link. Just bring an open mind. See you there. 💜