What we’re about
Do you keep meaning to read more of the great classics of literature? Then this book group is for you. From To Kill a Mockingbird to A Tale of Two Cities, Anna Karenina to Slaughterhouse-Five, Catch-22 to The Great Gatsby, we read novels that have stood the test of time, whether they were written in 1780, 1880 or even 1980.
Check out this handy spreadsheet of all the books we have read since the group started in 2013: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c8GLoxKOJkWsInMDnEUm9YXPSVcvsIxgOReo67G0jzI/edit?usp=sharing
What do you want to read next?
Upcoming events (3)
See all- Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher StoweThe Library, Wellington
Our October book is Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 abolitionist novel Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly. Her book changed American hearts and minds about slavery.
The influence of Uncle Tom's Cabin was so immense that the story arose that when Abraham Lincoln welcomed Stowe to the White House during the American Civil War he reportedly declared, "So this is the little lady who started this great war."
In the US, it was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and the second best-selling book of all after the Bible.
Project Gutenberg link for those e-reading:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/203VENUE
We meet in the ‘Games Room’, The Library's private area overlooking Courtenay Place. After you enter the bar, head to your right (up the step) and through a smaller space with booths to the large carpeted space beyond. - The Prophet by Kahlil GibranThe Library, Wellington
Our first work of poetry: Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet (1923). Born in Lebanon in 1883 and later emigrating to the United States, Kahlil Gibran bridged East and West. His writings, poetry and art explore themes of love, spirituality and humanity.
The Prophet, his classic work of prose poetry, has been translated into more than 100 languages and is one of the best-selling books of all time. It has never gone out of print.
Project Gutenberg link for those e-reading:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58585SUMMER READ
At this session we’ll also choose our long summer read for next February’s book group, our first of 2026 (we don’t meet in January). In recent years we’ve read East of Eden, Les Miserables, Vanity Fair and Lonesome Dove. Bring your ideas for this summer’s book!VENUE
We meet in the ‘Games Room’, The Library's private area overlooking Courtenay Place. After you enter the bar, head to your right (up the step) and through a smaller space with booths to the large carpeted space beyond. - Persuasion by Jane Austen + Christmas drinksThe Library, Wellington
This year marks 250 years of Jane Austen, who was born shortly before Christmas 1775. To celebrate, we're reading Persuasion, her last-completed (and much-loved) novel, which was published right at the end of 1817, five months after her untimely death.
Project Gutenberg link for those e-reading:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/105Our December session runs on into Christmas drinks (from 7-ish), so even if you haven't read the book, you're welcome to stop by to meet us or reconnect.
We’ll also be choosing the books we’ll read in the first half of next year.
Plus Secret Santa time… If you'd like to take part, bring along a book to swap in our book group Secret Santa (classic literature, of course). If you don't want to, or don't get a chance to, that's absolutely fine too :)
It’s all happening!
VENUE
We meet in the ‘Games Room’, The Library's private area overlooking Courtenay Place. After you enter the bar, head to your right (up the step) and through a smaller space with booths to the large carpeted space beyond.
