What we’re about
Are you interested in learning more about world literature or looking for a book club geared towards 20 & 30somethings?
This North Herts based group aims to bring people together in a friendly and relaxed environment to discuss a range of fiction from a diverse array of international authors.
Sounds interesting! What kinds of books will I be reading?
We’re super keen on the idea of creating a reading list that centres around books with global voices, contemporary perspectives, and (perhaps most importantly) don’t require a massive amount of time to get through. As such we’ll be using the following guidelines to help pick our titles:
• Must have been translated into English from another language
• Should ideally be no longer than 350 pages
So, how will the sessions be structured?
We’ll kick off each session by going around the group, asking everyone to introduce themselves and give their brief impressions of the book. We’ll then split into smaller groups and present a series of open-ended questions exploring the title’s themes, characters, language and style. The discussions will be moderated to allow everyone the chance to speak (or not if they choose, that’s perfectly fine!).
After the group questions we’ll come back together to gather everyone’s final review scores. There will then be a social period where members are free to chat and get to know one another better 😊
Understood! When and where do we meet?
Meetups will be held on a Sunday morning once a month in Hitchin (see individual events for times & locations). Meetups are free to attend but out of courtesy to our hosts please do remember to purchase something to drink or eat from the café or bar where the event is held.
Oh! And if you are planning on attending a session, remember to RSVP!
Upcoming events (2)
See all- Book Club Meetup: Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel by Yáng Shuang-ziHitchin Coffee Lab, Hitchin
For January we’ll be reading Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel by Yáng Shuang-zi; Translated from the Mandarin Chinese by Lin King
Available at Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/taiwan-travelogue/y-ng-shuang-zi/y-ng-shuang-zi/9781644453155 | 320 pages |
May 1938. The young novelist Aoyama Chizuko has sailed from her home in Nagasaki, Japan, and arrived in Taiwan. She’s been invited there by the Japanese government ruling the island, though she has no interest in their official banquets or imperialist agenda. Instead, Chizuko longs to experience real island life and to taste as much of its authentic cuisine as her famously monstrous appetite can bear.
Soon a Taiwanese woman—who is younger even than she is, and who shares the characters of her name—is hired as her interpreter and makes her dreams come true. The charming, erudite, meticulous Chizuru arranges Chizuko’s travels all over the Land of the South and also proves to be an exceptional cook. Over scenic train rides and braised pork rice, lively banter and winter melon tea, Chizuko grows infatuated with her companion and intent on drawing her closer. But something causes Chizuru to keep her distance. It’s only after a heartbreaking separation that Chizuko begins to grasp what the “something” is.
Disguised as a translation of a rediscovered text by a Japanese writer, this novel was a sensation on its first publication in Mandarin Chinese in 2020 and won Taiwan’s highest literary honor, the Golden Tripod Award. Taiwan Travelogue unburies lost colonial histories and deftly reveals how power dynamics inflect our most intimate relationships.
Winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature
- Book Club Meetup: What You Can See From Here by Mariana LekyHitchin Coffee Lab, Hitchin
For February we’ll be reading What You Can See From Here by Mariana Leky; Translated from the German by Tess Lewis
Available at Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/what-you-can-see-from-here/mariana-leky/9781526638540 | 336 pages |
On a beautiful spring day, a small village in Western Germany wakes up to an omen: Selma has dreamed of an okapi. Someone is about to die. But who?
As the residents of the village begin acting strangely (despite protestations that they are not superstitious), Selma's granddaughter Luise looks on as the imminent threat brings long carried secrets to the surface. And when death comes, it comes in a way none of them could have predicted...
A story about the absurdity of life and death, a bittersweet portrait of village life and the wider world that beckons beyond, What You Can See from Here is a story about the way loss and love shape not just a person, but a community.
