About us
Welcome to UNREAD – the mostly utopian book club, happening virtually via Zoom. We strive to understand the complex new world around us better, through casual discussion and exchanging experiences. This book club is not focused on a particular genre, instead we alternate between novels and non-fiction books, which have a utopian leaning. 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 six and twelve people who show up.
We discuss in English. 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
- “Microcosmos” / “Symbiotic Planet” by Margulis + Sagan
- “A Door Into Ocean” by Joan Slonczewski
- “The Mushroom at the End of the World” by Anna Tsing
- “The Word for World is Forest” by Ursula K. LeGuin
- “Automation and the Future of Work” by Aaron Benanav
- “What We Can Know” by Ian McEwan
- “The Dawn of Everything” by Graeber/Wengrow
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
2
Part 2: “The Dawn of Everything” by Graeber/Wengrow – from chapter 9 to the end!
·OnlineOnlineWelcome back, readers! In our last meeting (on February 17) we discussed chapters 1-8 of “The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity”. If you couldn’t join for that meeting, then you’re getting a second chance on March 17, as we’re dedicating another evening to Graeber’s/Wengrow’s magnum opus. This time we’re tackling the second half: chapters 9-11 and the conclusion. You’re very welcome to join, even if you weren’t there last time. It’s also not required to have finished the book.
During our previous discussion we jotted down some notes, which you can find as a lightly edited PDF here. They don’t capture the entire discussion, but you can get a feeling for what we talked about.
Looking forward to see some of you in March! Happy reading!
Here’s the book’s official description again:
> A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation.
> For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself.
> The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action.
You can find more information and reviews on the book’s GoodReads page, and its Wikipedia page is also worth checking out.
Curious to join us? Order a copy at your local book shop or online:
An e-book is of course also available, along with audio versions and translations into various languages.
Our meeting is scheduled for March 17, 2026 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 or whether you’ve attended before – everyone is welcome, as long as you have read at least a few pages and bring your impression.
11 attendees
“On a Sunbeam” by Tillie Walden – our first graphic novel! Let’s discuss!
·OnlineOnlineWelcome back, readers! For this round we’re doing something new, which has been requested by members for years: reading a graphic novel. Our choice fell on Tillie Walden’s “On a Sunbeam”. It came out in 2018, here’s the blurb:
> Throughout the deepest reaches of space, a crew rebuilds beautiful and broken-down structures, painstakingly putting the past together. As new member Mia gets to know her team, the story flashes back to her pivotal year in boarding school, where she fell in love with a mysterious new student. Soon, though, Mia reveals her true purpose for joining their ship—to track down her long-lost love. An inventive world, a breathtaking love story, and stunning art come together in this new work by award-winning artist Tillie Walden.
And the best thing is: You don’t even have to spend any money on the book, because it’s available as a web comic – find it under onasunbeam.com. Of course you can get yourself a physical copy as well, if you like.
You can find more information and reviews on the book’s GoodReads page, and its Wikipedia page is also worth checking out.
Curious to join us? Read the web comic, or order a copy at your local book shop, or online:
An e-book is of course also available, along with translations into various languages.
Our meeting is scheduled for April 14, 2026 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 or whether you’ve attended before – everyone is welcome, as long as you have read at least a few pages and bring your impression.
6 attendees
Past events
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