English Books & Literature

Join us for our March book club meetup :) We’ll be gathering on Wednesday, March 4th to discuss our next romantasy read, Divine Rivals! Expect good conversation, strong opinions, light chaos, and (of course) plenty of romance. Can’t wait to see you there 💫 PS: you're more than welcome to join, even if you haven't finished the book, as long as you're okay having a few parts spoiled :)

It was a very tight match and finally it's How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair that won!!! Enjoy your reading !!!

Notre meet-up réunit une fois par semaine anglophiles et francophiles de plus de cinquante ans afin de discuter de tout et de rien. Le but est d'offrir la possibilité aux uns et aux autres de pratiquer la langue dans laquelle ils souhaiteraient se perfectionner dans un cadre convivial. Nos directives sont de s'amuser et de respecter les différents points de vue et antécédents personnels. Il est interdit d'insulter ou de dénigrer d'autres membres en raison de leurs antécédents personnels. Le meet-up se termine précisément à 18h. Si vous souhaitez rester après 18h, veuillez vous déplacer dans une autre partie du café afin que la direction comprenne bien que la réunion est terminée. Nous vous invitons à prendre au moins une boisson pour soutenir le cafe. Si vous arrivez tard, vous pouvez commander au bar et le café vous apportera votre commande. Our meet-up group meets once a week. We are English and French speakers of a "certain age" (over 50), and we meet to talk about everything and nothing. The goal is to offer each of us the chance to practice whichever language he/she is learning, or just to have a conversation in either language with a friendly group in a relaxing atmosphere. Our guidelines are to have fun and to be respectful of different points of view and personal backgrounds. Insulting or disparaging other members because of their personal background is not permitted. Our meet-up ends promptly at 6pm. If you wish to remain after 6 pm, please move to a different section of the café so it is clear to management that the meet-up has ended. Please buy at least a drink to support the café. If you arrive late, you can order at the bar and they will bring your order to you.

**Welcome to the Paris Poetry Circle!** Now in its 30th year, our English-language poetry reading group continues to bring together lovers of verse and thought in the heart of Paris. 🎉 Join us this Wednesday evening for a gathering of minds and voices as we read and reflect on poems that move, challenge, and illuminate — all shared over a quiet cup of tea and biscuits. 🫖☕️🍪 We seek poems that are clear yet profound, sweet or serious — those that carry us forward and help us make sense of the world. We steer clear of the obscure or needlessly complex; we value clarity over cleverness, sincerity over show. Each poem is read anonymously to begin with, without revealing the author, allowing space for open, unbiased interpretation. We then explore it together — carefully, curiously — to uncover what lies beneath the surface. After the meeting, we write a letter of thanks to the living poets we have read at the group, to thank and congratulate them. We revere all the poets of this world. The group is small — usually six or seven thoughtful individuals, up to a maximum of ten. The conversation is warm, intelligent, and grounded. There is no performance, no pressure to contribute, and no cost. Only a shared pursuit of insight, beauty, and fellowship. If that resonates with you, we’d love to welcome you. Bring a poem, or simply bring yourself. 📚✨ \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* 65 rue Pascal, 75013 PARIS, courtyard chez Doctor Nagpal, in a pretty courtyard, ground floor left. Code on iron gate to courtyard 69A73 Phone: +33 686581272 E-mail: [parispoetrycircle@nip.com.fr](http://parispoetrycircle@nip.com.fr/) © Paris Poetry Circle

**Step into the laid-back charm of Cosy Cave Conversations**, a Parisian philosophy chat that's more relaxed than a cat in a sunbeam 🐈 🌞 Gather with a bunch of easygoing souls, share thoughts on the good life and its mysteries, enjoy a beverage, and have a good laugh. A few things to be aware of: * **Please** **don't show up without a spot** (we aim to keep it cosy and we always have a waiting list these days — check if you’re on the list or the waiting list) * If it's your first event, it's essential you **turn up early, or at the latest on time (<7pm)** so you understand how it works, what the topic is and don't interrupt the session * The **session runs from 7pm to 8:30pm** where we focus on the discussion, but don't worry, you'll have a chance to socialise, introduce yourselves and continue the chat after the session. **If you’re running late** (the curtains are closed), that’s okay, but please wait to join us in the break rather than interrupting the session. * Please read the **tips below** for a good session before coming along **How does it work?** We embrace the café-philo method — proposing intriguing topics on the night (up to 3), choosing one together, and diving into everything from consciousness, community, death and god, while managing to keep it light and easy 🦦 **Forget the stiff atmosphere**, we're all about small groups (\~10 people) and unpretentious chats with no homework required. No need for a philosophy degree, just bring your open mind and a dash of curiosity. **Join us every Wednesday 19h-20h30 at Les Acolytes** — because pondering the profound is better with good company (and a pint). See you there! 🎉 A few tips for a great session: * come with an **open and curious mind** 🧠 * **prioritise listening to others and asking questions** without interrupting or long monologues 👂 * we put a strong **emphasise on giving everyone a chance to contribute to the discussion**, so try and be aware of how much space and time you take up when speaking 🐻‍❄️ * we prioritise **intellectual accessibility**: this is not an academic group therefore we ask to keep any philosophy jargon to a minimum and instead explain any concepts in plain english 🤠 * we are an **apolitical group** that focuses on discussing and exploring philosophical ideas without endorsing or aligning with any specific political or religous ideologies. Our aim is to encourage open, unbiased dialogue centered on philosophical inquiry within a safe and respectful environment 🐥

Pour celles et ceux intéressé.es il faudrait se donner rendez-vous à 19h45 devant le Reflet Médicis (rue Champollion dans le Vème). Possibilité d'aller prendre un verre ensuite au café situé en face du cinéma.

(Pense à bien lire la description, il y a un billet à prendre pour la soirée sur atelatoi.fr) Tu veux rencontrer de nouvelles personnes ou élargir ton cercle d'amis ? La soirée au bar LES BERTHOM PARIS est faite pour toi ! Tu y trouveras : \- Une safe place pour t'exprimer librement \- Des habitués et nouveaux participants bienveillants & good vibes \- Une animation au top pour mettre tout le monde à l'aise \- Un concept idéal pour apprendre à connaître les autres en profondeur \- La promesse de passer une excellente soirée \- Des tarifs préférentiels rien que pour nous \- Une réduction de \-15% sur l'achat de nos jeux sur place \- Une activité surprise \! Des amitiés et des couples se sont formés grâce à nos soirées ! N'hésite pas à check notre insta @atelatoi pour voir comment se passent les évent. T'es prêt à venir kiffer avec nous ? Inscris-toi ici : atelatoi.fr, rubrique billetterie. Ne te fie pas au nombre d'inscrits ici, on sera bien plus nombreux. À bientôt !

Join us for our women's book club meet-up! The meetup address to be announced. Please note that as I'm going to be booking a table for dinner, the restaurant will be expecting that everyone orders something to eat. \*You will need to confirm your attendance through WhatsApp prior to the event. I will reach out to you personally though messages to add you to the WhatsApp chat\* Book details: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231127462-my-husband-s-wife

This book club event's theme is about art, writing, and one's passion to create! It encompasses a lot of literature surrounding *Writing, Artistic Passion, and the cost of an artistic life.* Many questions can be addressed, amongst them: \- What is it to write\, to create? \- Whether to make the choice to follow our passion and our calling\. \- What would be the cost of such a choice? \- How do artists navigate through life? \- What does it mean to write? This is a themed book club with no required reading! This topic is a wide topic and can include many books that relate to the theme, or explore ambition, creativity, purpose, or the tension between desire and duty, etc. Bring your favorite book(s) that feel close to the topic and discuss your reflections, favorite quotes, and engage in cozy conversations. (You’re also welcome to bring a physical copy for our group book photo tradition.✨📖📚) If you would like to take reference, here are some suggested books that would fit within this topic: – *Letters to a Young Poet* by Rainer Maria Rilke – *A Room of One’s Own* by Virginia Woolf – *Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man* by James Joyce – *The Cost of Living* by Deborah Levy – *Just Kids* by Patti Smith – *The Writing Life* by Annie Dillard – *On Writing* by Stephen King – *Big Magic* by Elizabeth Gilbert – *The Artist’s Way* by Julia Cameron (And you can refer to many more!) P.S. I’ll reach out before the event to confirm attendance. Please cancel in advance if plans change so I can adjust the reservation accordingly. Thank you\~

Come and idle away the winter months with **Shakespeare’s Sonnets**! It’s never too late to discover, or rediscover just how dazzling, intimate, and endlessly surprising Shakespeare’s incredible body of 154 sonnets can be. Over the next three months, we’ll wander through some of the most beautiful, piercing, and emotionally complex poems ever written. Think of it as falling in love with Shakespeare all over again one cluster of sonnets at a time. **In March:** We enter the world of the late sonnets; the so-called “*Dark Lady*” poems, where passion becomes more complicated, desire grows knotted and sharp, and Shakespeare confronts the darker edges of sexuality and self-knowledge. These poems are bold, unsettling, and unforgettable. **Our cluster**: Sonnets 127–152 (the full Dark Lady sequence), with optional additions of 129 (“Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame”) and 138 (“When my love swears that she is made of truth”) for special discussion. Across the winter, we’ll read, explore, puzzle over, and simply enjoy these poems together tracing how Shakespeare moves from youthful radiance to emotional turmoil to the shadowy brilliance of his final sonnets. Hope you will make it! Maryama Antoine

Ce soir, dans le cadre du cycle général, nous avons voté : **1 - "Le tumulte des flots" de Yukio Mishima** "Shinji est un jeune pêcheur travaillant sur le bateau Tabei-Maru, appartenant à Jukichi. Un jour, il voit une jeune fille, nommé Hatsue, et tombe amoureux d'elle. Il apprend quelques temps plus tard que Hatsue est la fille du plus riche habitant de l'île...." Babelio **2 - "Demian" de Hermann Hesse** "Roman d'initiation et de formation, Demian est l'un des chefs-d'œuvre de ce genre littéraire. Comment l'homme peut-il échapper au monde des miroirs et parvenir à être lui-même ?..." Babelio ***On peut lire l'un ou les deux livres programmés.*** **Pour les présentations d'auteurs :** -Carole va nous faire une présentation de Yukio Mishima pour donner du contexte à nos discussions ; \- Francisco fait la présentation d'auteur de Hermann Hesse de Stefan Zweig pendant une dizaine de minutes\. **Pour les focus sur l'oeuvre :** \- Je fais les deux focus sur l'oeuvre soit "Demian" et "Le Tumulte des flots"\. Et n'oubliez pas ! Partagez, si sous le souhaitez, quelques mots, passages et/ou citations qui vous ont marqués, touchés, et qui vous semblent importants à partager avec le groupe et les participants. Enfin, inscrivez-vous, je vous prie, uniquement si vous êtes sûrs d'être de la partie. Bien à vous tous, bonnes lectures, et à bientôt ! Jélila PS : la participation pour des raisons de frais liés à Meetup (240 euros par an) est de 2 euros par personne et par an. Mais elle reste facultative !

**Maigret et le Mort Amoureux - 𝒊𝒏 🇫🇷𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 🇬🇧𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔** **🎬 Date & Time: Friday, March 6th, Drinks at 7pm and Screening at 8pm** **📽️ Cinéma: L'Entrepôt, 7 Rue Francis de Pressensé, Paris 14** **🎟️ Movie Tickets: €5.30 – €12.20 [https://www.cinemalentrepot.fr/evenement/2196274-lost-in-frenchlation-maigret-et-le-mort-amoureux](https://www.cinemalentrepot.fr/evenement/2196274-lost-in-frenchlation-maigret-et-le-mort-amoureux)** **Commissioner Maigret is urgently called to the Quai d’Orsay after the murder of Monsieur Berthier-Lagès, a renowned former ambassador. As Maigret faces the members of both families and the suspicious silence of the diplomat's maid, he goes from one revelation to another...** **Watch the trailer with English subtitles: [https://youtu.be/o42K85O02Uc?si=NS0_8Hv-Evesk0Or](https://youtu.be/o42K85O02Uc?si=NS0_8Hv-Evesk0Or)**

Paris Lit Up open mic (PLU) Every Thursday in English (other languages too – when in Rome, speak French) at the historic home of French Slam poetry, Culture Rapide (103 Rue Julien Lacroix, 75020). If you would like to read, dance, sing or otherwise express yourself, sign up is open and free to all, starting at 20.00-ish. We go until we drop or run out of performers! In any language. Or no language at all. No limits, just respect. Plus, each week featured performers from around the world are invited to strut their stuff before our rowdy but respectful audience. For this week's special guest, see: www.facebook.com/ParisLitUp Not in Paris? Join us online at "PLU Live on Zoom"! Every Wednesday from 9pm CET. Just like an open mic, but we chat a bit too. Always the same link, hosts rotate: http://tiny.cc/PLUopenmic

**Le Bonheur - 𝒊𝒏 🇫🇷𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 🇬🇧𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔 - Intl Women’s Day / Agnes Varda Movie Tour** **🎬Date & Time: Sunday, March 8th, Varda Tour at 4:30pm, Tea Bar at 7pm (bring your own mug!) and Screening at 7:30pm** **📽️Cinéma: Studio des Ursulines, 10 rue des Ursulines, Paris 5** **🎟️Tour Tickets: €18 [https://my.weezevent.com/lost-in-frenchlation-x-cine-balade-present-agnes-varda-movie-tour-5](https://my.weezevent.com/lost-in-frenchlation-x-cine-balade-present-agnes-varda-movie-tour-5)** **🎟️ Movie Tickets: €5.30 – €12.20 [https://parisstudioursulines.cine.boutique/media/1036?tab=soon&title=LE+BONHEUR&visanumber=29459&showId=5671](https://parisstudioursulines.cine.boutique/media/1036?tab=soon&title=LE+BONHEUR&visanumber=29459&showId=5671)** **Francois is a young carpenter married to Therese. All goes well until Francois meets Emilie; they fall in love and become lovers. He still loves his wife and wants to share his new greater happiness with her.** **“Le Bonheur is not a film that seeks to make people feel happy & hopeful; it wants to lay out the experience of women: how they are seen as interchangeable and quickly forgotten.” -PopCult** **Watch the trailer: [https://youtu.be/IRGTIIwjWl0?si=6mcld5IK_gb8PL0c](https://youtu.be/IRGTIIwjWl0?si=6mcld5IK_gb8PL0c)**

This will be the first ever Book Club Meet up for this group! * We will be discussing Dating After the End of the World by Jeneva Rose (if you would like a free EPUB copy of this book to read on kindle, message me & I can send you the ebook) * ***Changed the book from Daggermouth due to it being independently published and hard to find in print**** * Feel free to attend even if you haven't started or finished the book ◡̈ ! * Small snacks will be provided. You’re welcome to bring your own snacks & drinks too! * Even if the meetup event shows full, you are welcome to come. If you can no longer attend the event, no worries, just please try to update your status on meetup for it.

**Our March pick is *God of the Woods* by Liz Moore.** **This month’s novel is an award-winning literary mystery that blends family drama with psychological suspense. It explores women’s voices and relationships while delivering an exciting, eerie, and deeply suspenseful story. The book is 576 pages in print or 14 hours and 35 minutes on audiobook.** Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

Columbus libraries: [https://cml.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S105C3262835](https://cml.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S105C3262835) Location: [Knotty Pine Brewing](https://www.knottypinebrewing.net/) [Menu, scroll to the bottom](https://www.knottypinebrewing.net/menus-1) Book summary: Adunni is a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl who knows what she wants: an education. This, her mother has told her, is the only way to get a "louding voice" -- the ability to speak for herself and decide her own future. But instead, Adunni's father sells her to be the third wife of a local man who is eager for her to bear him a son and heir. When Adunni runs away to the city, hoping to make a better life, she finds that the only other option before her is servitude to a wealthy family. As a yielding daughter, a subservient wife, and a powerless slave, Adunni is told, by words and deeds, that she is nothing. But while misfortunes might muffle her voice for a time, they cannot mute it. And when she realizes that she must stand up not only for herself, but for other girls, for the ones who came before her and were lost, and for the next girls, who will inevitably follow, she finds the resolve to speak, however she can--in a whisper, in song, in broken English--until she is heard

Join us for our March Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *The Manor of Dreams* by Christina Li in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.

Let’s meet and discuss this fun but moving collection of wildly creative short stories. (Photo credit: TimesNowNews.com)