Novel Reading

**How do we start creating change with the people we’d rather cancel?** *“Calling In”* is the next book we’re taking on in the Kokoro Book Club. We live in a world where algorithms amplify the loudest voices, where we increasingly curate our relationships based on beliefs, style, and social appearance. AI systems make everything smoother and more efficient — but sometimes they remove the frictions that help us grow, understand, and make sense of the world. In uncertain times like ours, it’s only natural to long for connection and belonging. It might even be the whole point of our lives. But is our desire to belong to a certain group making us lose the ability to connect with others? Disagreement — even painful, difficult conversations — is part of any living relationship. We disagree so we **can** connect. And if we want change to happen beyond our echo chambers, we need those connections. So choosing Loretta J. Ross’s *Calling In* for our next Kokoro Book Club was an easy decision after Alejandro Martinez recommended it. Truly grateful - and looking forward to the conversations ahead! When? Thursday 5th of February at 19:00 Where? @Bar Olinda in the Schönbrunnerstrasse 23, 1050 Vienna About the book: From a pioneering Black feminist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, this urgent and exhilarating memoir-manifesto-handbook provides bold, practical new ways to transform conflicts into connections, even with those we’re tempted to walk away from. In 1979, Loretta Ross was a single mother in Washington who’d had to drop out of Howard University. She was working at the DC Rape Crisis Center when the organization got a letter from a man in prison saying he wanted to learn how to not be a rapist anymore. At first, she was furious. As a survivor of sexual violence, she wanted to write back pouring out her rage. Instead, she made a different choice, a choice to reject the response her trauma was pushing her towards. This choice would set her on the path towards developing a framework that would come to guide her whole career: Rather than calling people out, try to call even your unlikeliest allies in. Hold them accountable—but with love.

Join us for a writing session! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at 18:00 on Thursdays at Café Pierre. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done. SCHEDULE: 18:00 - SESSION 1: quick intros. 18:15- timer starts 20:00 - (the end) chat / take off / keep writing / discussion group meeting. Café Pierre closes at 24:00 OPTIONAL SOCIALIZING happens when we're finished and before the writing session starts. Writing is very solitary. Connecting (and sometimes even commiserating) with other writers is a cool thing. BEING LATE IS OKAY: just show up and join us! Happy writing and I look forward to seeing you at Café Pierre! What Should I Bring? Whatever you need to be able to write! Bring earbuds/earplugs if you want to block the cafe’s overhead music or the occasional conversation by other patrons. Other Important Details: INTERNET: There is WLAN in the café. The staff will tell you the password if you ask them, or just ask me. TRAVEL / PARKING: U3 Neubaugasse, U4 Kettenbrückengasse. If you drive there, remember that Kurzparkzone applies. SEATING INFORMATION: plenty of seats available. It's the big oval table inside, but if the weather is nice in the summertime, we may be found outside. GUIDELINES: Please thank our hosts by purchasing something. Other information: There is no registration process for this meetup. Just click on the meetup you want to attend and then click on the red button "Teilnehmen" or "attend". If that doesn't work, you can attend the writing session anyway.

Discover Bachata Improver classes at Lento Dance Vienna – one of the city’s leading dance schools. Guided by internationally certified teachers with over 15 years of experience, our classes offer a welcoming environment where you can refine your technique, boost your confidence, and elevate your social dancing

⭐️Speed Networking Vienna Make connections. Find opportunities. Meet new friends. ⭐️Looking to expand your circle, meet inspiring people and actually enjoy the process? This is not just about business contacts — it’s about real human connection, shared interests and new friendships that can grow into something meaningful. 🔄 How it works: 10-minute one-to-one chats, new person each round. Easy, natural and relaxed — no awkward vibes, no forced conversations. ⭐️Perfect for people from different professions who want to connect, collaborate, exchange ideas and simply meet great new people. 📌 Limited spots – registration required. Come for the networking. Stay for the conversations. Leave with new contacts and new friends. 💬✨ Join us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/makegoodfriends?igsh=YjA2czVxNjF0cGJi&utm_source=qr

Discover Bachata Improver classes at Lento Dance Vienna – one of the city’s leading dance schools. Guided by internationally certified teachers with over 15 years of experience, our classes offer a welcoming environment where you can refine your technique, boost your confidence, and elevate your social dancing

Looking for consistent rhythm in your work? Been putting something off for too long? Join us for our Weekly Co-Working Session in the excellent **Jaz in the City** — and let’s get it done, together. 📲 **Want** **to** **connect** with others before/after? Looking for extra support and accountability: Join our [WhatsApp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/K6LidaoQhe16wZ0Se9pNM6), Keep in touch via [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/nocrastinationclub/) This is a **reliable**, safe, supportive in-person space to move through procrastination with presence and companionship. Whether you’re working on admin tasks, tax returns, writing, creative/coding projects, or simply clearing up your inbox — bring whatever needs getting done and we’ll focus gently beside you. After a 30' intro and goal setting session, we will go through 3 **Pomodoro** **sessions** of 45' focused work and 15' breaks in between. 🕐 **Time**: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM 📍 **Location**: Jaz in the City – Ground Floor long table: Windmühlgasse 28, 1060 Vienna 💻 **Bring**: Your laptop(& charger), journal, creative tools, or anything you’ve been procrastinating on 🌿 **Hosted by**: NoCrastination. See you across from the ground floor bar ✨ you will see us sitting at the long table with our laptops ☕ Please do order something from the bar, so as to keep us in their good graces! Espresso: €3.5, Americano: €4.5, Latte: €5.5. Donations to support the community are voluntary and welcome. 🌱 **What to Expect** * **Welcoming space**: we meet in the creative, cozy lobby of the **Jaz in the City** * **Social start**: intro from **1:00 to 1:30 PM**, we mingle, get to know each other and share goals; our first focus session begins at **1:30 PM.** However, **drop in anytime** if you can't make the intro session — stay for a bit or settle in for the whole session * **Clarify your goals**: write down your measurable tasks for the day on a Post-it when you arrive, or join us for the 30' intro session where we introduce ourselves and share our goals for the day * **Enough spaces**: main table is for quiet focus, multiple nearby tables for casual conversation, and sofa's in the back for taking video calls(be mindful that the hotel music is always on in the background). After each focus session, if you’re still in the flow, feel free to remain seated — no need to move. If you're up for a chat, we can move to a social area for a relaxed break * **Pomodoro-style rhythm**: We work in 45' focus blocks followed by 15' social breaks. If 45' feels too long, feel free to break it into two 20' focus sessions with a short 5' reset in between. You’ll need to self-regulate these shorter cycles, just tune into your own flow and rejoin when ready * **Quiet companionship**: no pressure to talk during focus time — just shared presence and support 💡 **New to Pomodoro?** Don’t worry — we’ll guide you gently. No apps or timers needed. **🪑Seating information:** * If this is your first time joining us, please look for **Vlad** when you arrive in front of the **Ground Floor Bar** (not at the hotel reception). * There is a **long table with about 12 seats** for those joining the **peer accountability session** — please arrive on time if you’d like to sit here. * There are also **round tables nearby** for anyone who prefers a more flexible setup. * If you’d like to **work independently (without the Pomodoro sessions),** but still be part of the group energy, just let **Vlad** know — we’ll make sure you’re comfortably included. 💛 💬 Why Join? * Beat procrastination with gentle accountability * Reclaim your momentum without doing it alone * Enjoy a change of scenery that boosts your focus * Be part of a community that shows up — without hustle Bring your project. Bring your presence. Let’s work side-by-side. 💚

**\*\*\* Enrollment and all info** [https://www.iicv.at/intermediate-classes](https://www.iicv.at/intermediate-classes)**\*\*\*** **Description:** **Come join for a journey of some of the nitty-gritty of improv performance.** We’ll work on scene work, stage presence, breaking out of our patterns, finding fun in the stillness, and stillness in the craziness of Improv. This is for improvisers who understand the foundations and concepts of improv and want that extra challenge to perform or refine their performance skills. **Teacher:** Shawn Fisher Shawn Fisher is an improviser, performer, and educator. With over 15 years of experience in improv, you can see him with The English Lovers, one of Vienna’s longest-standing improv groups, Two-Buttons Short, and with Rainbow’s Last Wish. Originally from the US, he has taught classes, workshops and led open improv sessions in Vienna since 2018, fostering community where curiosity leads the way. ​ Whether directing, MCing, or coaching at venues like Vienna’s Maestro, Shawn thrives on the spontaneity and connection of live performance—especially when leaning into the fantastical.

Queer Book Club meets at Villa Vida on Sunday, February 8 at 14.00 to discuss **Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta**. Set during the Biafran civil war in Nigeria, the novel follows Ijeoma as her life shifts after the loss of her father. Sent away by her mother in search of safety and stability, Ijeoma forms a deep bond with Amina. Their connection challenges faith, family expectations, and personal belief. This session centers love, survival, queerness, and coming of age under pressure. You are welcome whether you finished the book, read part of it, or want to join the conversation. Bring drinks and snacks to share, or you can get some from the cafe if you’d like! This book club is proudly co-organized with **Hint Wien** and **o\*books**. Books can be **purchased and ordered at a discount from o\*books**, but you don’t have to have read the book to join. Want to be part of the decision-making process? Members can **recommend future books, vote on upcoming selections, and stay updated** on all Queer Book Club events.

Welcome Book Lovers! Join our Meet Up Group to find like-minded book readers! This event is for everybody interested in listening or sharing new book content or comment on it. You are welcome just to come for inspiration. You definitely don't need to read books at the moment. It is a gathering for everybody to find like-minded people interested in learning something new. :) Feel free to bring your own book with you. The event will take place at the volunteer organisation MUT. It is an organisation to supports humans, animals and the environment especially in Vienna. I am happy to host it there. MUT or the Social Book Club look forward to some donation to cover the cost of this event. If you would like to help, please bring some cash with you. This is the address: Rechte Wienzeile 37, 1040 Wien Walk until the end of the main entrance hall. At the end of the hallway you find a big green gate with a sign of the Social Book Club. Please give your best to be on time so that we can have a nice introduction round together. If you can't attend anymore please cancel the event to give someone else the space to come. :) Check out the Social Book Club Website for more content: https://socialbookclub.de/ Looking forward to seeing you there! :)

Merging bookclub and brunch. The first book we will talk about is « the anxious generation » by J. Haidt. Please bring recommendations for the next round!

### ☕️ **Salon Deutsch – Bücher, die uns bewegt haben!** Zwischen Bücherregalen und Kaffeetassen im Café Vox Libri treffen wir uns wieder zu einem Abend für alle, die Geschichten lieben. **Jede\*r bringt ein Buch mit, das Spuren hinterlassen hat** – ein Roman, der begeistert, geärgert oder einfach nicht losgelassen hat. Erzähl uns auf Deutsch, worum es geht, warum du es gewählt hast – und wenn du magst, lies eine kleine Stelle daraus vor. Kein Druck, keine Vorbereitung – nur echte Begeisterung für Bücher und Sprache. Ob du regelmäßig auf Deutsch liest oder einfach dein Lieblingsbuch vorstellen möchtest – hier zählen der Austausch und die Freude am Erzählen. 🗓 **Wann:** Samstag, 7. Februar, 16:00 Uhr 📍 **Wo:** Café Vox Libri, Jörgerstraße 26, 1170 Wien 💬 **Bleib in Kontakt:** Tritt gern der **[WhatsApp-Gruppe](https://chat.whatsapp.com/E66zyHWrx972oDYFHdy4rh?mode=wwt)** bei, um über zukünftige Treffen und Themen informiert zu bleiben :)

Come write with us at Cafe Pierre every Sunday at 18:00-20:00! A message from Shut Up & Write: "Shut Up & Write hosts free, in-person and online writing events for writers all over the world. Our goal is to ensure that every writer—regardless of genre or skill level—has access to the resources, community, and accountability that they need to be successful in their personal writing goals." And what this looks like at our event: We chat and give short introductions to what we are working on at 18:00, then start writing at 18:15. Though we try to start on dot, being late isn't a problem—just find a spot and get to work! We write until 20:00 and then discuss how our writing went. From fiction to non-fiction, academic papers to poetry, applications to work-related writing—anything goes! Nothing is needed except for you to bring whatever is need to get stuff done, i.e. laptop, headphones, pen and paper, and so on. Optional socialising may happen before 18:00 and after 20:00, or you may choose to use this time to get some more done! Please do order something from the café (drink, meal, dessert, etc.) so as to keep us in their good graces!

Join us for some focused writing time. All writers and all experience levels are welcome and don’t worry, no one will see what you've written. This session is about getting your writing done and meeting other writers in your area. When you show up, say hello to everyone, grab a drink, and get your writing tools ready. Once you’re all settled, take some time to chat with your fellow writers. Once everyone’s arrived, I will lead quick introductions and then set the timer for our quiet and focused writing session. Afterward, we’ll have time to chat and get to know each other. We often talk about our successes and challenges as writers. If you don’t have time to stick around, no worries! Schedule (tentative): 9:00 - 9:15: Arrive, set up, order some coffee, short introductions. 9:15 - 10:15: Timer starts. Time to write. 10:15 - 10:30: End. Short exchange, settle your bill, takeoff. **A note about the format** We don’t host critiques or readings. These events are a safe space for writers of all skill levels and genres to work on their craft, so no one will read or critique your writing. For our full event schedule, visit [https://shutupwrite.com](https://www.shutupwrite.com). **Other Important Details:** WiFi: Available Travel / Parking: Hietzing station (U4, 10, 60, 51A, 56A, 56B, 58A and 58B). Very limited public parking (Kurzparkzone), Parkgarage Hietzing nearby.

PCE - "Philosophic Conversation in English" is a discussion event in English language which focuses on psychology, philosophy, self-consciousness and self-realization. The conversation is based on inclusive discussion rules. We will meet at at a restaurant where we will have a private room exclusively reserved for our event. At the beginning we will choose the topic to discuss. Everybody can suggest a topic. Then we will vote what to discuss. The person who suggested the winning topic will then explain his idea of the topic. Afterwards everybody gets his/her chance to make a statement. But you can also decide to remain silent and only listen, if you prefer that. We have a time limit for statements, so that everybody has enough time to speak. It is not allowed to interrupt somebody who is speaking. After a statement everybody can ask a question and the speaker will answer. After the first part there will be a 10 minutes break before we start the second part. Everybody is welcome to our event: We are interested in your thoughts and opinions! It is no problem if you arrive late and you can also leave whenever you want. Please check out last event's topics via this link: [http://pce-topic.project-website.org](http://pce-topic.project-website.org/)

**First Gathering: Love as Transformation** Reading: **The Forty Rules of Love** by **Elif Shafak** We begin Men, Meaning, and Madness with a novel that treats love not as sentiment, but as a force that disrupts, humbles, and reshapes the self. The Forty Rules of Love explores love as discipline, surrender, and moral risk. It asks what happens when certainty breaks, when the ego is wounded, and when meaning is found not through control, but through transformation. This gathering is for men interested in serious literature and honest inquiry into how love shapes character, responsibility, and the inner life. Discussion will be guided by questions rather than summaries. The aim is depth, not debate. Come having read the book or engaged with it seriously.

**I’m planning future book club meetups and would love your input. Please choose your top three from the list below—your picks will help decide what we read next!** **Book Options** *The Hong Kong Widow* – Kristen Loesch *American Spy* – Lauren Wilkinson *God of the Woods* – Liz Moore *Listen for the Lie* – Amy Tintera *The Swallows* – Lisa Lutz *The Drowning Kind* – Jennifer McMahon *The Eights* – Joanna Miller *The Quiet Librarian* – Allen Eskens Thanks so much for sharing your pick! Please **reply in the comments** with your top three. I can’t wait to see which books rise to the top and to discuss them together at our next meetups.

Welcome, readers! Our February read is **_1984 by George Orwell._** In 1984, George Orwell imagines a world where the government watches everyone, rewrites reality, and punishes even private thoughts. Winston Smith dares to question this system, believing that truth and love might still exist. His rebellion draws him into a chilling struggle against a power that knows him better than he knows himself. The novel leaves readers asking whether freedom is possible when reality itself can be controlled. 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! 📖

**Our February novel is: Julia by Sandra Newman** **This month is a classic, dystopian, fiction, literary fiction, women’s fiction, and science fiction novel. The book is 394 pages in print and 14 hours and 20 minutes on audiobook.** **An imaginative, feminist, and brilliantly relevant-to-today retelling of Orwell’s 1984, from the point of view of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia, by critically acclaimed novelist Sandra Newman.** Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell’s 1984. All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal citizen: cheerfully cynical, always ready with a bribe, piously repeating every political slogan while believing in nothing. She routinely breaks the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia. Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story. Julia takes us on a surprising journey through Orwell’s now-iconic dystopia, with twists that reveal unexpected sides not only to Julia, but to other familiar figures in the 1984 universe. This unique perspective lays bare our own world in haunting and provocative ways, just as the original did almost seventy-five years ago.

This month we’ll be reading Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

Join us for our February Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *A Master of Djinn* by P. Djèlí Clark in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.