What we’re about
Welcome to the Surrey Book Club! We are a very social book club and look forward meeting new members.
The Book Club will meet at minimum once a month, usually on the first Monday of the month. Occasionally, we will have a second book or event during the month.
The primary format will be fiction and memoirs. From time to time I will announce other formats/topics/movies/meet-ups. Members, please feel free to message me with suggestions or requests.
What you can expect when we meet up: This is a casual and social group. The month's book is discussed and reviewed with all members sharing thoughts and insights. The conversation flows naturally, and we take time to get to know each other. We typically meet at a restaurant and our group members do order food and drink. Don't worry if you haven't read or completed the book; you're still welcome to attend.
Note: There is a $3 attendance fee for each Meetup, to help cover the organizer fees. Please remit payment online to complete your RSVP. To e-transfer your event fee, please submit to surreymeetups@gmail.com. If you have any issues with completing payment, please contact the group organizer, Satbir.
How are the books selected? We welcome and support all authors. The administrators research the books online via Goodreads and other platforms before books are added to the reading list. Our criteria for adding books to the reading list include availability of the books in different formats including a physical book, e-books, audiobooks etc., and availability at various locations or online, including purchasing in-store, online or borrowing from local libraries. The group administrators will request books be added to the library, however, this process may take several months.
2025 Book Club Update:
The Surrey Book Club event list is now available to December reading. Please note the below updates to the group information. I have posted a Google Sheets link in the discussion area, including all the recommendations which are available via Surrey Libraries, made by members and a full list of all the books we have read from September 2017 to-date.
Surrey Libraries:
I have checked availability at the Surrey Libraries and made a note in the Meetups, so you may anticipate how long you might be waiting for the book, in which formats and how soon you should get on the waitlist.
Estimated Reading Time:
I have now started including estimated reading time for each book, so that it is easier to plan to start reading or listening to the audiobook.
RSVPs are important!
RSVP as early as possible to your preferred events. For all future events, I will be closing RSVPs a few days prior to the event date each month. If nobody has signed up at least 7 days prior to the event, it will be cancelled.
Please feel free to come and enjoy the event whether you have read the book or not.
If you are unwell and/or cannot attend, keep your RSVP updated accordingly to "not attending".
Book Recommendations:
Recommendations are welcome via updating your member profile, message to the group chat, or message to the group owner. Please refer to the Google Sheets link to see which books have been recommended by members, and to view a full list of all the books we have read from September 2017 to-date.
Hosts Welcome:
I mostly post books in the genres of Historical Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, and Mystery. If you are interested in hosting Meetups for other genres, please reach out to me.
Active Members:
Group members are considered to be active if they attend Meetups and/or have visited the group in the past six months. If you have not done either of the aforementioned, you may be removed from the group, in an effort to maintain a current and active group, with member privacy and safety in mind.
Upcoming events
5
- CA$3.00
Thriller/Mystery: The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney
Royal Oak Restaurant, 15336 Fraser Hwy, Surrey, BC, CA## Details
This book is available through Surrey Public Libraries as a book, e-book, downloadable audiobook and CD audiobook. All versions are available.
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Book: The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney
Approximate Time to Read: 10 hoursSynopsis:
An enthralling psychological thriller that spins one woman's seemingly good fortune and another woman's mysterious fate through a kaleidoscope of duplicity, death, and deception.Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.
The request seems odd, even intrusive - and for the two women who answer, the consequences are devastating.
Emma
Reeling from a traumatic break-in, Emma wants a new place to live. But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece: a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules. The enigmatic architect who designed the house retains full control: no books, no throw pillows, no photos or clutter or personal effects of any kind. The space is intended to transform its occupant - and it does.
Jane
After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street, she is instantly drawn to the space - and to its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the home's previous tenant, a woman similar to Jane in age and appearance. As Jane tries to untangle truth from lies, she unwittingly follows the same patterns, makes the same choices, crosses paths with the same people, and experiences the same terror as the girl before.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28016509-the-girl-before?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=IfNwohIaLr&rank=17 attendees - CA$3.00
Historical Fiction: The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez
Royal Oak Restaurant, 15336 Fraser Hwy, Surrey, BC, CAThis book is available through Surrey Public Libraries in various formats (book, large print, downloadable audiobook).
Genres: Historical Fiction
Title: The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez
Approximate Reading Time: 13 hours
Synopsis: History remembers the great achievements of humanity, keeping the people who made them possible anonymous. Between Two Seas illuminates the lives of three admirable characters who dedicated themselves - with sacrifice and passion - to building the engineering miracle that changed the world in the 20th century: the Panama Canal.
Ada Bunting is only sixteen years old when she arrives in Panama as a stowaway. Alone and without resources, she looks for a job that will allow her to earn money to pay for the surgery her sister desperately needs. Her luck will be dictated by chance - when she sees a boy passed out on the street, Ada is the only person to help him.
Omar is a young local man who decides to work on the construction of the canal. His childhood was sheltered and lonely, and he finds in this work the possibility of becoming independent and meeting people. But for his father, Francisco, a fisherman angry at the interference of foreigners in his country, nothing is more disturbing than seeing his son join them.
Scientist John Oswald has been driven from afar by a mission: to eradicate malaria. But everything is put on hold when his wife, Marian, falls ill. One day, John witnesses an act of bravery and compassion from Ada and immediately hires her to care for Marian. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping story of ambition, loyalty and sacrifice.
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195853555-the-great-divide4 attendees - CA$3.00
Thriller/Crime/Mystery: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
Royal Oak Restaurant, 15336 Fraser Hwy, Surrey, BC, CAThis book is available through Surrey Public Libraries in e-book and book formats and has open availability as of August 2025.
Genres: Thriller/Crime/Mystery
Title: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
Approximate Reading Time: 10 hours
Synopsis: Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and worried police, but also a sinister voice from a past she has no memory of. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, recluse Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, finding independence, and learning that people don't always mean what they say.
But when messages start arriving from a stranger who knows far more about her past than she knows herself, Sally's life will be thrown into chaos once again . . .
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62322008-strange-sally-diamond?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=TCjoyrZeL1&rank=1
2 attendees - CA$3.00
Self-Help/Business: Atomic Habits by James Clear
Royal Oak Restaurant, 15336 Fraser Hwy, Surrey, BC, CAThis book is available through Surrey Public Libraries in book, audiobook, e-book, audiobook CD, superloan book formats and has long waits as of October 2025.
Genres: Self-Help/Business
Title: Atomic Habits by James Clear
Approximate Reading Time: 5.5 hours
Synopsis: No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving—every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.
Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.
Learn how to:
- Make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);
- Overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;
- Design your environment to make success easier;
- Get back on track when you fall off course;
...and much more.
Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40121378-atomic-habits?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=qopEDZTpZu&rank=1
1 attendee
Past events
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