
What we’re about
Join us for adventures in reading & real life! We are a community of readers who discuss books over paired outings. Like to explore? Like to read? You’ve found your people! Join us here in-person and for online discussions wherever you are on the socials! FB, Insta, TikTok, Website
Newsletter/FB group: Meetup isn’t great at sending out notifications, so to stay up to date with the latest book and activity pairings, sign up for the newsletter at https://mailchi.mp/fc5e0725650d/thenoveltourist and join the community on our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ I also post regularly on books and book pairings on Instagram via @thenoveltourist
What the Club Will Do for You
The purpose of all NTBC events is to give you the opportunity to socialize with likeminded readers who are life long learners and love to try new experiences. If your goal is read more books, do more stuff and meet more friends, being part of NTBC can be a life-changing experience!
What You Can Do for the Club
Bring your fun-loving, healthy attitude. Be committed to reading, showing up when promised, and being respectful of other members. We require that your profile includes a clear picture of yourself so others can identify you at our events.
Terms and Conditions
By joining the Novel Tourist Book Club or signing up for or attending any event offered by the Novel Tourist Book Club, you agree to the following terms and conditions:
- Readers please: NTBC is, first and foremost, a book club. We do a lot of amazing activities tied to the books. There are lots of Meetup groups that also do these fun activities. So, if you don’t like to read or don’t plan to read, we are sure there is another group out there that is more suited to your interests. Now, that said, it doesn’t mean you have to read the book or finish the book every time. Sometimes, you try and the book just doesn’t resonate with you. That’s okay! Come and tell us how much you didn’t like it! All we ask is that you try.
- No Guests: Sadness, we know! We are all about the more the merrier, but there must be a limit to the number of attendees at any one event. Events fill up really fast and so unless the event allows you to add a guest (which will be very rare) your guest must create a Meetup account and rsvp for themselves as a member. Yay new members!
- Liability Waiver: By signing up for an event, all members take full responsibility for their own actions and agree to adhere to the following terms and conditions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10ZE-yUJEcHUnXF_A8MUsfxWhEmrKxZEcojrHh8FjQzc/edit; and further agree to hold harmless the Novel Tourists Book Club organizers and members of this Meetup book club from any and all claims and liability in case of possible injuries as stated in Paragraph 6 of the Meetup Terms of Service Agreement ( https://help.meetup.com/hc/en-us/articles/360027447252-Terms-of-Service#h_9e385395-a405-4361-8afc-854a4f586c82 ). When attending an event, you acknowledge that you are doing this at your own risk.
- Event Payments:
- Name: If your name on your Meetup profile is different than your name on your payment profile (PayPal, Venmo), please provide your meetup name when you make your payment;
- Include Date or Event Title: Please include the date of the event or an indication of the event title (e.g. if we are going to a restaurant put the name of the restaurant not just “restaurant” or “book club.”)
- Be Open-minded, Kind and Courteous: We can’t imagine anyone who loves to read being anything but open-minded, kind and courteous. However, I also know we bibliophiles can have some pretty strong opinions about books! Whether you agree with someone or not, no doubt you came here for a welcoming environment. Healthy debates are natural, but kindness is required.
- No bullies: Personal attacks of any kind are not allowed. Period. I have zero tolerance for any bullying, degrading comments about another member’s race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity. We are an open and inclusive community and to keep it that way a$$holes will be removed from the group.
- Photos/Videos: Joining the group and attending an event means you’re a-okay with being photographed/video recorded during events. We always takes pics: for the memories and for promotion of future events and NTBC.
- Communication settings: This is just helpful guidance. Events fill up really fast. Make sure your settings are set to maximize communication: Click on your profile pic in Meetup, click Settings, under General select Email Updates, scroll down and find The Novel Tourists Book Club under “Updates about your Group”, click Edit next to The Novel Tourists Book Club and then make your choices. I suggest checking “New Event Announcements,” “Changes to Event Time or Locations,” “My RSVP is confirmed,” and, most importantly: "Announcements to Members About the Group" and “Event updates from Organizer.” Also, you may want to download the Meetup app.
- Carpooling: It’s great for the planet! However, any arrangements are between you and the person driving. The Novel Tourists Book Club organizers and hosts do not provide, endorse, sponsor or take responsibility for any carpool arrangements pertaining to any event. Please use your good judgment when deciding whether or not to carpool with other participants of the book club event you are attending.
- Refund Policy:
- Events with a fee of less than $5: No refunds, even if someone takes your spot. The events fill fast and the only way to really try to make sure that those who are truly interested and able to come get a seat, is a nominal fee. This fee is offered to the event host to pay for their entrance/meal/etc as a way of saying thank you for your time and for putting this together for us.
- Events with a fee greater than $5: The general policy is if the Organizer/Host can get their money back, you’ll get your money back - if you timely cancelled. Once an event location has been paid, however, many times they won’t issue a refund. If they don’t refund us, we can’t refund you regardless of how far in advance you cancelled. That said, sometimes a refund can be issued IF you cancel at least a week in advance AND someone takes your spot. If you want to request a refund, message Audrey via Meetup to discuss. Please note, if you cancel the day before or the day of an event, there are refunds - regardless of the reason and regardless if someone takes your spot.
- If you do not agree to the above terms and conditions, do not sign up for the club. There is probably a different club out there that will better meet your needs.
Happy reading and adventuring!
- Audrey
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Let’s ✨Bedazzle a Book! 📕Kahn Park, Philadelphia, PA$8.00
Join Audrey for a ✨ sparkly ✨ night of bedazzling books!📚
We’re going to transform ordinary book into glittery, jeweled masterpieces! All supplies (think gems, glue, and applicators) will be provided, but please bring your own paperback book.🍷 🥨 BYOB / I’ll put out some light snacks.
🏠_Note_: Because this is at my home, this event is only for members who have attended at least one prior event. If I haven’t met you before, I encourage you to sign up for an upcoming public event and we can be crafty friends next time!
💰FEE: $8 covers supplies. Limited to 10 people. First pay, first sparkle!
HOW TO PAY: Use Friends and Family! Do not use the business option because it charges a fee. Please note the event name or date on your payment.
Venmo - @audrey-Heller1 (phone ends in 4478)
PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/AudreyBug
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🎉Stay Connected! Join the Novel Tourist online community:
📸Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thenoveltourist/
🌟Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNovelTourist
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🖌️THE CRAFT: Bedazzled BooksThink glitzy, gaudy, or glam—whatever your sparkle style, we’ll turn plain books into conversation pieces.
All bedazzling supplies provided, but please bring your own paperback book to use for your project.
📍WHERE: Audrey’s house
Washington Square West, Philadelphia (Exact location provided after your RSVP is confirmed).🚗 🚏Parking & Transit: Street parking is available but not always easy to find. There’s a garage nearby at 11th & Walnut. The PATCO line and bus stops are an easy walk.
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Bring your creativity and curiosity to craft-centered event and be social and make new adventurous book loving friends. We’ll chat about our current hobbies and book club passions and picks while engaging in hands-on DIY craft projects—perfect for readers who love turning literary inspiration and books into art. great for people to socialize and do hobbies together. book club hobbies are the best fun.
- Pick (online) October's Member Choice Book! Theme: Gothic books🗳️Vote today!Link visible for attendees
Time to VOTE for October's Gothic book! Find out which books made the cut and cast your vote here: https://forms.gle/v9e8UUp2EJGRfh2JA
(copy and paste to your browser if needed)Vote now! This is not an "event" it is just a post to share the link to vote for the Member Choice Book.
Stay tuned for the paired in person adventure AND online discussion!
The poll will close Sept. 3 so without further ado - cast your vote!
💥 Want to be more social? We're on Facebook and Instagram, too!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNovelTourist
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenoveltourist/
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Thanks for participating! Reading books and doing stuff together as a book club brings us all so much joy. 🤩- Audrey
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NO NEED TO READ BELOW - it’s just for the algorithm 😝
Book Club is so much fun. I love going to Book Club and voting for books and these events are perfect for book lovers who like to socialize and meet other people and practice hobbies. All over Philadelphia we read books there’s so many fun things to do to meet other people like going to restaurants and dining out and voting for books and it’s just the best Book Club in the world. Meet friends and hang out in Philadelphia reading books and practicing hobbies while we socialize with book lovers.
- Foodie (Non)Fiction: Discuss The Third Plate at Urban FarmerUrban Farmer, Philadelphia, PA$3.00
Your plate isn’t just dinner — it’s a story about soil, farmers, and flavor. 🍽✨ Join Audrey for a farm-to-table meal at Urban Farmer to discuss Dan Barber’s groundbreaking book
The Third Plate_Fee: $3 holds your seat and helps support the fees Meetup charges me to run a club ($400/year)
HOW TO PAY: Use Friends and Family! Do not use the business option because it charges a service fee. Please note the event name or date on your payment. If your payment name is different than your Meetup name please make sure you note your Meetup name.
Venmo - @audrey-Heller1 (phone ends in 4478)
PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/AudreyBugDETAILS:
🧑🌾FOODIE: Urban Farmer Steakhouse
📍 Urban Farmer Steakhouse
Menu: Farm-to-Table Steakhouse with vegetarian and vegan options✅ Locally sourced, seasonal menu
✅ Root-to-bone, zero-waste philosophy
✅ A meal that tells the story of sustainability📚 (NON)FICTION: The Third Plate by Dan Barber
Genre: NonFiction“Dan Barber's tales are engaging, funny and delicious . . . The Third Plate serves as a brilliant culinary manifesto with a message as obvious as it is overlooked. . . . It's an inspiring message that could truly help save our water, air and land before it's too late.” —The Chicago Tribune
Today’s optimistic farm-to-table food culture has a dark secret: the local food movement has failed to change how we eat. It has also offered a false promise for the future of food. In his visionary New York Times–bestselling book, chef Dan Barber, recently showcased on Netflix’s Chef’s Table, offers a radical new way of thinking about food that will heal the land and taste good, too. Looking to the detrimental cooking of our past, and the misguided dining of our present, Barber points to a future “third plate”: a new form of American eating where good farming and good food intersect. Barber’s The Third Plate charts a bright path forward for eaters and chefs alike, daring everyone to imagine a future for our national cuisine that is as sustainable as it is delicious.
Happy reading!
Audrey
Club’s Basic Rules and Liability Release. You should read them because by signing up for an event you agree to them! 🙂
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No need to read this part. It's just for Meetup's algorithm to help these events get seen. Grrr. We love to read books and do fun stuff to celebrate our hobbies and reading. We do many things that involve books and reading and book club. We are adventurous and like to seek out urban adventures and walking tours and like to silent read books and practice hobbies and socialize a lot! Book clubs are the best thing to meet new friends and make friends and socialize and explore for when you are new in town and want to meet people and socialize to talk about books and explore museums and other places.
Philadelphia Book Cub; Book Club; Literary Adventures; Novels; Tours; Philly Book Club; silent reading - FOODIE FICTION: Discuss "The Sympathizer" at Hen Vietnamese Eatery (Cherry Hill)Hen Vietnamese, Cherry Hill, NJ$3.00
Join Joanne for an evening where Vietnamese cuisine becomes the backdrop for a discussion of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, The Synpathizer, a witty, daring novel set in Vietnam about identity, politics, and life caught between two worlds.
💰Fee: $3 holds your seat and supports the club
💵Cash: Bring cash to pay for your meal as they cannot do separate checks.
HOW TO PAY:
Use Friends and Family! Do not use the business option because it charges a service fee. Please note the event name or date on your payment. If your payment name is different than your Meetup name, please make sure you note your Meetup name;
Venmo: @Joanne-McNally-1 (last four of phone is 0918)🍲 FOODIE: Hen Vietnamese Restaurant
📍 2087 Marlton Pike East, Cherry Hill Township, NJ 08003
Menu: Modern Vietnamese cuisine with fresh herbs, noodles, rice dishes, and vibrant flavors📚FICTION: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Genre: Historical Fiction, Asia, War
One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st CenturyThe winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as seven other awards. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Saul Bellow, The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. The narrator, a communist double agent, is a “man of two minds,” a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.
The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping espionage novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.🎉Follow for more bookish fun:
📸Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thenoveltourist/
🌟Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNovelTouristRules and Liability Waiver:
Here are the Club’s Basic Rules and Liability Release. You should read them because by signing up for an event you agree to them.Affiliate notice. Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you make your purchase through that link, it supports the Club at no cost to you. Thanks!
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You can ignore all this part. It’s just for the Meetup algorithm. To make sure our Book Club events get seen. The Novel Tourist Book Club is a fantastic book club where people social can get to know each other meet new friends have fun, exploring hobbies dining out at restaurants. We read books. Make new friends. Lots of fun with Book Club. Socializing. Social event. Books and food and dining out at restaurants with cool cuisine. Passions and social and hobbies galore especially for those new in town and looking to make friends Lots of hobbies dining out is great fun. We read a lot of fun books. we visit libraries and eat food at restaurants. love to explore and meet new people to try out hobby. socializing is great and we love to read books and explore our hobbies we meet new friends and socialize.