Reading

For our June meeting, we will be reading a book from the Family and Self category of The Guardian's "*[1000 Novels Everyone Must Read](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction)*" list. The winner of the poll was 'To the Lighthouse' by Virginia Woolf. To find out why this was nominated please see the [discussion page](https://www.meetup.com/1000-books/discussions/?eventOrigin=home_groups_you_organize). You can find our Code of Conduct [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s3kphOY8w_uH_ay5RVpdwVkHgG6O3QYsCZ5wpaE6A1E/edit?usp=sharing).

Peter Sabor will be discussing letters in Persuasion with a short Q&A before dinner.

Join us to discuss "Blindness" by Jose Saramgo. We will be in the function room (please ask at the bar if you can’t find us) Please arrive from 6.30pm and order any food or drink for a 7pm start. Your first meet up is free and then it is £1.50 to cover Meet Up's costs. You are welcome to bring suggestions for August (we vote 2 months in advance) 😊

This month we will be reading/discussing ***[Wrong Place, Wrong Time - Gillian McAllister](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59947696-wrong-place-wrong-time?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=r5vHCnZ5rg&rank=1)***. If you have not read the book, you are more than welcome to join. Be aware, there will be spoilers! 18:30 - 18:45 - Meet, get drinks, get settled (at the back and upstairs) 18:45 - 19:45 - Discuss the book 19:45 onwards - pick book for next meet and socialize **The Venue: [Shinner and Sudtone](https://shinnerandsudtone.co.uk/)**[ ](https://shinnerandsudtone.co.uk/) A lovely little pub with a variety of craft beer. Usually quiet on a Monday and we get the upstairs area. They serve food and dogs are most welcome. **The Book:** ***[Wrong Place, Wrong Time - Gillian McAllister](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59947696-wrong-place-wrong-time?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=r5vHCnZ5rg&rank=1)*** It is midnight on the morning of Halloween, and Jen anxiously waits up for her 18-year-old son, Todd, to return home. But worries about his broken curfew transform into something much more dangerous when Todd finally emerges from the darkness. As Jen watches through the window, she sees her funny, seemingly happy teenage son stab a total stranger. She doesn’t know who the victim is, or why Todd has committed such a devastating act of violence. All she knows is that her life, and Todd’s, have been shattered. After her son is taken into custody, Jen falls asleep in despair. But when she wakes up… it is yesterday. The murder has not happened yet—and there may be a chance to stop it. Each morning, when Jen wakes, she is further back in the past, first weeks, then years, before the murder. And Jen realizes that somewhere in the past lies the trigger for Todd’s terrible crime…and it is her mission to find it, and prevent it from taking place.

**The Talbot Room at the George Inn** The George provides the room free of charge (they are awesome), and we encourage you to purchase drinks (and food – the burgers are great!). As it’s a pub and not a picnic area, please don’t consume your own food and drink there. We usually meet in the Talbot room which is on the top floor on the left hand side of the pub as viewed from the courtyard. If lost please send a message here shortly before the meeting starts. **We are sorry to say that there is no step-free access to the Talbot room, and it is at the end of three flights of stairs.** **Format** We start at 7pm and run until 9pm. We hear approximately six readings of 10 minutes (\~2000 words), then discuss the piece for 10 minutes. Email your work to: london60transmitter@emailitin.com as an attachment (It must be an attachment). A link for access to googledocs will be given at the start of each session to enable people to read along, which in turn enables more considered feedback. Work submitted will be automatically deleted after 10 days. We decide on readers/pieces at the beginning of each session. **Safe and respectful space** The group is run by volunteers, and we don’t have the capacity to read submitted work in advance. If there is anything in your work that might distress or disturb some readers, for example concerning any kind of abuse, please give a trigger warning before you read. Be specific and concise. If it becomes apparent during a reading that a piece is inappropriate, the moderator will stop the reading. In discussing others’ work, please be mindful of how you express yourself and do not use discriminatory language, even if such language features in the piece.

Fairly new to singing and wanting to find an outlet for your new skills or long-time singer and choir member looking for a new choir to join? Want a choir that will help coach and support your singing at all levels and increase your knowledge of music technique and sight singing - and make it all fun? Then London Sings! is the group for you. London Sings! is a no audition local community choir which is big in personality and looking to grow. We cater both for experienced singers and those still quite new to singing, with plenty of opportunities for interesting performances. We do ask members to commit to regular attendance as we want to ensure our performances continue to impress and can be enjoyed with confidence by our members. We sing a wide variety of pieces ranging from jazz and musical theatre to classical, and from unison through to four part harmony, while having a lot of fun in the process. We rehearse every Monday evening from 7.30pm to 9.30pm and from April 2026, we are in a new rehearsal venue; St Vincent's Centre, Talma Road, Brixton, SW2 1AS. We always welcome new members, whatever your level of experience. The ability to read music is very helpful, but we have audio aids available for much of the music we do and if you are not a sight reader, we may ask you to spend a short amount of time with these between rehearsals when we are working towards a performance, to make sure we can all progress towards a performance at a reasonable rate. You are welcome to try us out for a few sessions at no charge while deciding whether you want to become a member. If you do join us, fees are a very reasonable £15 a month. We are a very sociable bunch, so usually go to the pub after rehearsals for a good chat and we also organise various social events. Please do not hesitate to contact us on [chair@londonsings.org.uk](mailto:chair@londonsings.org.uk) or by telephone on 07785 905355 More information on who we are can be found on [http://www.londonsings.org.uk/](http://www.londonsings.org.uk/) Looking forward to seeing you...

London's Friendly Book Club's pick for June is **Yesteryear** by **Caro Claire Burke**. Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and has the social media accounts to prove it. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What Natalie’s followers don’t know won’t hurt them. Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn't her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible. [[Now being adapted into a major film starring Anne Hathaway.]] 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.

Let's catch up to discuss The temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima. Come and join us!!!

**Agenda:** * 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm: Introduction and housekeeping * 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm: Book discussion * 8:15 pm - 8:30 pm: Next books

*“One of the most stunning trick stories in the history of detective fiction…”.* For our next read, we will discuss one of the all-time great mystery novels: *The Poisoned Chocolates Case* **About the book:** * This classic story by Anthony Berkeley features multiple plausible solutions to the same mystery; a group of armchair detectives each propose a completely different explanation for the crime. * The book can be viewed as a meta-commentary on the mystery genre (but it's a lot more entertaining than that sounds). * The fictional "Crimes Circle" of armchair detectives in the book is based on real crime authors including Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. **About the event:** * Location: The Mad Hatter Pub, 3-7 Stamford St, London SE1 9NY * Timing: Saturday 13th June from 3-5pm. * I'll have a sign on the table and a copy of the book so it should be easy to spot where we're meeting. * Our table is booked for six - please update your RSVP if you are unable to attend so that other people can join. * We have a WhatsApp group - totally optional but message me on Meetup if you want to join. Happy reading!

The foundational adventure story of Western literature and the quintessential hero's journey. Homer's Odyssey follows Odysseus, king of Ithaca, on his ten-year voyage home from the Trojan War — past Cyclopes, Sirens, vengeful gods and treacherous seas — while his wife Penelope holds off a houseful of suitors and his son Telemachus goes searching for him. We're reading the E.V. Rieu translation for Penguin Classics, which turned the poem into vivid, pacy English prose and has been a gateway to Homer for millions of readers since 1946. Timely with Christopher Nolan's film adaptation landing this July. Look forward to discussing at the Metronome.

Join us for a Q&A with **Fanny Chiarello**, writer, musician and author of *Basta Now: Women, Trans & Non-Binary in Experimental Music*. In this powerful and wide-ranging book, Chiarello gives voice to artists who have historically been marginalised within experimental and avant-garde music scenes, challenging dominant narratives and rethinking who gets heard. Chiarello will discuss the making of *Basta Now*, her approach to storytelling, and the political importance of documenting alternative musical histories. The event will explore experimental music as a site of resistance, collaboration and possibility, as well as the intersections of gender, creativity and cultural access. This Q&A offers an opportunity to reflect on listening practices, visibility, and the urgent need for more inclusive archives of sound and practice. Fanny Chiarello is the author of novels, poetry and children's literature, edited by numerous renowned French publishers. She notably wrote *A happy woman*, telling one month in New York with Meredith Monk. *Basta Now (Women, Trans and Non-Binary in Experimental Music)* is her first essay, and her first book in English; it has been released on Permanent Draft, a music label dedicated to finta\* artists that she cofounded with Valentina Magaletti. Her work around *Basta Now* also takes the form of a column in a French quarterly dedicated to avant-garde music, *Revue & Corrigée*, a show on LYL Radio ([https://lyl.live/show/basta-now](https://lyl.live/show/basta-now)) and an Instagram account, @basta_now, a daily rendez-vous with a finta\* musician. This event forms part of Raised Voices, a day‑long immersive celebration of storytelling beyond the page, exploring how stories come to life through music, zines, and audiobooks. For full listings, head to https://libraries.lewisham.gov.uk/events/category/raised-voices

Join authors Lloyd Bradley, Dan Hancox and Emma Warren for an in‑conversation panel exploring how music shaped their formative years and creative paths. Through stories and shared listening, they’ll reflect on music as a powerful tool for storytelling and self‑expression. Lloyd Bradley is one of the UK’s foremost black music experts and a seasoned cultural commentator both in print and in person. His book ***Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King*** (Penguin) remains the world’s best-selling book on Jamaican music and culture; the internationally acclaimed ***Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital*** (Serpents Tail) is the first and only to explore Britain’s modern black music as one continuous thread; he co-authored ***Ian Wright: A Life In Football*** (Little Brown), positioning the Arsenal legend firmly in context as a contemporary black icon. This year sees the publication of the third in his black music trilogy, ***Funk Is Its Own Reward*** (Little Brown) – American black music from 1968 to 1979 – which, as with its predecessors, reconnects the music to the culture that created it. Dan Hancox is a writer and editor from south London, interested in grassroots culture, radical politics, cities, crowds, riots, social history, food, gentrification and proper binmen, working mostly for The Guardian. He is co-host of the Cursed Objects podcast, and author of three books: ***The Village Against the World, Inner City Pressure*** and ***Multitudes*.** Emma Warren has been documenting grassroots music and culture for decades. Her latest book ***Up the Youth Club*** was published by Faber last year. She is also the author of ***Dance Your Way Home*** (Faber, 2023), which was a *Sunday Times* book of the week, a *Guardian* book of the year, and formed the basis of the Southbank Centre’s 2025 summer season. Other works include ***Steam Down: Or How Things Begin*** (Rough Trade Books, 2019), which was an *Irish Times* read of the year. ***Make Some Space*** and ***Document Your Culture*** were published on her own Sweet Machine imprint. The British-Irish dual national and south east Londoner worked as a journalist on magazines including The Face, and as a mentor at youth-run Brixton publication ***Live***. She currently runs a weekly writer’s programme at Woolwich Creative Club, a free after-school music project for 9-16 year olds. Her radio show on Worldwide FM ran for six years.

Welcome, readers! Our June read is ***Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible*** ***Voyage*** **by Alfred Lansing.** A work of nonfiction, and one of the most astonishing survival stories in history, we follow Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew after their ship is crushed by Antarctic ice. Stranded in one of the harshest environments on Earth, the men endure months of isolation, freezing temperatures, and near starvation—yet refuse to give up hope. Lansing brings their ordeal to life through vivid detail and firsthand accounts, capturing both the brutality of nature and the resilience of the human spirit. At its core, the story is a powerful testament to leadership, perseverance, and the unbreakable will to survive against impossible odds. Looking forward to discussing with everyone! We will meet at Zaftig Brewing Co in their event room in the back. We are welcome to bring in our own food, but **all** **drinks must be purchased at the bar.** Happy reading! 📖

Welcome, readers! Our July read is ***A Short Walk Through a Wide World*** *by Douglas Westerbeke*. We'll follow a young woman bound by a mysterious condition that forces her to keep moving across the globe. As she journeys through vibrant cities, quiet landscapes, and centuries of time, each stop reveals new connections, fleeting relationships, and deeper questions about belonging. The novel blends adventure with introspection, exploring what it means to search for home when you can never stay in one place. It’s both a love letter to the vastness of the world and a poignant meditation on identity, memory, and human connection. Looking forward to discussing with everyone We will meet at Zaftig Brewing Co in their event room in the back. We are welcome to bring in our own food, but **drinks must be purchased at the bar** Happy reading!

Join us as we discuss our June pick: Metal Slinger by Rachel Schneider! Book description: Even though she's not one of them, Brynn has spent her life among the Alaha, training to be a guard and waiting for the chance to attend the annual market hosted by the Kenta–the very same people who exiled her adopted community to a life at sea. Going to the market is a rite of passage eagerly anticipated by all young guards, but Brynn does not anticipate breaking a century-long peace treaty while there. Nor does she plan for the intense encounter with an enemy soldier that now threatens to unwind the fragile coexistence between their people–and everything Brynn once believed about herself to be true. Brynn's loyalty to the Alaha is tested when the truth of her identity is brought to light by this soldier who's taken an oath to bring her back to where she belongs. Narrowly escaping death on the violent high seas, Brynn's connection to the Alaha is further tested when she learns about the world of magic she's been denied. She was once certain of her fate and where she belonged, but the dark, knowing eyes of this stranger have her questioning everything, including her heart. Packed with knife fights and seafaring adventure, METAL SLINGER is the smash-hit start to the romantic fantasy duology, the Fire & Metal series

Come join us to discuss our July pick "Tusk Love" by Thea Guanzon! Book description: A merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars. “A true delight of a book! Spicy and heartfelt—this one is a winner all around.”—Katee Robert, author of Neon Gods As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure. Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack. Unlike Guinevere, Oskar’s path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that’s left is a long, lonely walk to a land he’s never seen to find family he’s never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down—even if the spark between them sizzles with promise. Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance. Written by New York Times bestselling author Thea Guanzon at the behest of Critical Role’s Jester Lavorre, Tusk Love brings the most romantic story on Exandrian bookshelves to life.

This month we’ll be reading Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel. Feel free to come even if you don’t finish the book!

Join us for Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn! Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the unsolved murder of a preteen girl and the disappearance of another. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story-and survive this homecoming.

We’re still working to get more people into these Meetups, but our goal is to give PlayYourCourt members a few social tennis outings each week in addition to your practice sessions and Challenge League matches. These Meetups are co-ed, super laid back, and all skill levels are welcome. Post your skill level and a suggested court in the comments section so we can round up as many players as we can for some tennis fun! Also, if you’re looking to meet new practice partners or play some matches and you aren’t already in the PlayYourCourt Community, you can go here to see what we’re all about and sign up: https://www.playyourcourt.com/tennis-community/columbus-oh/meetup/ If you love tennis, we’d love to have you! Be sure and watch the quick video that explains how everything works. Happy hitting! - Scott