What we’re about
Welcome to UNREAD – the mostly utopian book club, happening virtually via Zoom. We strive to understand the complex new world around us better, through discussion and exchanging experiences. This book club is not focused on a particular genre, instead we alternate between novels and non-fiction books. We like sci-fi, eye-opening popular science and occasionally revel in the absurd, but don’t shy away from classics either.
The book club has been going strong since August 2017, with a core group of returning participants, but also new faces joining each time. Usually we end up being between four and twelve people who show up.
We discuss in English and/or German, depending on which languages are present. Don’t worry if you aren’t fluent … we’ll make it work! You definitely don’t need a literature degree to participate either! It’s important to us to listen to each other, to treat everyone with respect and to create an inclusive setting.
The book club meets digitally via Zoom – the link will be added to the event on the day it happens. It doesn’t matter if you have actually finished the book – everyone is welcome, as long as they have read at least a few pages and bring their impression.
Books we have read so far:
- “The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. LeGuin
- “Kafka on the Shore” by Haruki Murakami
- “Positioning” by Al Ries and Jack Trout
- “Borderliners” by Peter Høeg
- “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari
- “Uncommon Type” by Tom Hanks
- “Homo Deus” by Yuval Noah Harari
- “Measuring the world” by Daniel Kehlmann
- “Why we sleep” by Matthew Walker
- “Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller
- “Invisible Women” by Caroline Criado Perez
- “Shikasta” by Doris Lessing
- “How to do Nothing” by Jenny Odell
- “The Testaments” by Margaret Atwood
- “Because Internet” by Gretchen McCulloch
- “Educated” by Tara Westover
- “You Look Like a Thing and I Love You” by Janelle Shane
- “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “The Future We Choose” by C. Figueres, T. Rivett-Carnac
- “The Overstory” by Richard Powers
- “User Friendly” by Cliff Kuang
- “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro
- “The New Breed” by Kate Darling
- “Dune” by Frank Herbert
- “I didn’t do the thing today” by Madeline Dore
- “The Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson
- “A Field Guide to Getting Lost” by Rebecca Solnit
- “The Wall” by Marlen Haushofer
- “Goodbye, Again” by Jonny Sun
- “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
- “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert
- “The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers
- “Everyday Utopia” by Kristen Ghodsee
- “Julia” by Sandra Newman
- “Doppelganger” by Naomi Klein
- “Moonbound” by Robin Sloan
- “Technofeudalism” by Yanis Varoufakis
- “Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke
The next book is always decided on the spot at the meeting, by the people who attend, or afterwards here on meetup – so bring suggestions! These days we gravitate towards books by authors from underrepresented groups!
Upcoming events (1)
See all- “A Door Into Ocean” by Joan Slonczewski: Let’s read and discuss!Link visible for attendees
Welcome back readers, it’s the fiction round and we’re sticking with our microbiology theme: “A Door Into Ocean” by Joan Slonczewski is our pick this time! An ecofeminist sci-fi classic from the late 80s, often compared to the works of Ursula K. LeGuin.
Slonczewski is not only a novelist, but also a scientist and professor of biology in the US. She weaves her scientific expertise into the stories, so this one is “science-fiction” in the truest sense of the words.
Summary from GoodReads:
> A ground-breaking work both of feminist sci-fi and world-building, it concerns the Sharers of Shora, a nation of women on a distant moon in the far future who are pacifists, highly advanced in biological sciences, and who reproduce by parthenogenesis (there are no males) and tells of the conflicts that erupt when a neighboring civilization decides to develop their ocean world, and send in an army.The book’s Wikipedia page adds:
> The novel's themes include ecofeminism and nonviolent revolution, as well as Slonczewski’s own knowledge in the field of biology.Interestingly, Joan Slonczewski has published a study guide on her website, providing background on the book’s core topics and revealing many of her real-world influences. It may contains spoilers, so it’s probably best to take a look after reading the novel.
Curious to join us? Then order a copy at your local book shop or online:
E-book versions, even without DRM, are also available. Unfortunately, it seems the novel has not been translated into many languages, so you might need to pick up the English version.
Our meeting is scheduled for June 3, 2025 and we usually discuss in English for 1.5-2 hours. You definitely don’t need a literature degree to participate! It’s important to us to listen to each other, to treat everyone with respect and to create a safe setting.
The discussion takes place virtually in Zoom and the meeting link will be added to this event on the day it happens. Just check back here half an hour before the meetup starts!
It doesn’t matter if you have actually finished the book – everyone is welcome, as long as you have read at least a few pages and bring your impression.
