By Alex Boersma, Literature columnist 25/26
For bookworm freshers or just those who want to broaden their bookish horizons, here's a little guide to book clubs around Bristol. There are a couple of student-run society book clubs, but also some external book clubs if you want to engage with the wider community or just keep an eye out for books you'd like to tick off that never-ending to be read list!
Student-led book clubs
Comparative literatures and cultures society book club:
The society’s president explained that the book club focuses on ‘short translated intersectional fiction from around the world, highlighting different cultures and lived experiences’ while simultaneously ‘decentering Eurocentric/Western narratives’. Past texts include: The Dangers of smoking in bed by Mariana Enríquez and Minor detail by Adania Shibli. This book club runs monthly so is easy to commit to and gives you plenty of time to read and familiarise yourself with the chosen text alongside your studies. They make each text easily accessible with a link each month detailing where to access the texts. Each book is chosen by the members themselves so you too will be able to submit a text of your choice and hear others’ thoughts on it. Their current read Heart lamp by Banu Mushtaq will be discussed at the end of September so keep an eye out. They also have a monthly international film club which pairs nicely with the book club and is perfect if you want a quicker cultural fix! They also have some great book recommendations on their Instagram so feel free to go have a guilt free stalk @complitbristol.
Intersectional feminist society’s book club (ifemsoc):
The intersectional feminist society places lots of emphasis on discussion with their regular discussion groups on feminist topics and their book club takes this one step further. Taking place every other Monday and usually held in Coffee #1 on Whiteladies road, it's the perfect excuse to buy a drink and rake up those loyalty stamps! Each book tends to have a specific focus such as eco feminism so they cover a wide range of feminist topics and accept recommendations for future reads. They also make the group very accessible using links in their Instagram bio to link book PDFs and note the chapters in longer texts that the discussion will be focused on for those unable to read a whole book. Previously discussed books include The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Book club posts can be found on their Instagram: @bristolifemsoc.
University of Bristol’s book society book club:
This book club has a brilliant formula in which they host two discussions. The first discussion is in the first half of the month once members are halfway through the book to discuss initial thoughts and see how everyone is getting along and then a second discussion occurs at the end of the month to discuss the book as a whole. There is no strict genre or type of book and their chosen books have ranged from romance novels to political fiction, all chosen democratically by the members. Aside from this, the group also holds Kahoots, pub quizzes and even book themed murder mysteries, making it a great place for freshers to make new friends. The society's treasurer notes he made some of his first friends at the book club during freshers and describes it as a 'lovely community' which 'encapsulates the fresher's spirit of trying and doing new things'. Membership costs only £3 for the year but you can also pay £1 for single sessions. Past reads include The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and Demon Copperfield by Barbara Kingsolver. Keep up to date with them on Instagram @uob_bookclub.
Local external book clubs
bookhaus book club:
Bookhaus holds four different book clubs in their stunning shop on Rope walk by Wapping Wharf every Thursday evening. On the first Thursday of the month they have a feminist book club which focuses on both fiction and non fiction that incorporate feminist ideas and themes. The second Thursday of the month holds the ‘weird’ fiction book club which centres around sci-fi, horror, fantasy and graphic literature. The third Thursday is centred around independent publishing which is what it says on the tin and selects different indie published books each month to discuss. The final Thursday of the month is the 'revolutionary' book club which explores texts like the ones associated with the English, French and American revolutions. Annoyingly the feminist and indie book clubs are currently full but you can join the waiting list by emailing info@bookhausbristol.com. Each group meets in the shop at 18:30-20:00 leaving plenty of time to still go out with friends! While the book club itself is free, they do ask you to purchase the chosen text from them so prices will range. As it may get a little pricey this could be a great present/wish list idea.
Max Minerva’s translated literature book club:
The lovely lot at Max Minerva’s bookshop run a monthly translated literature book club in the beautiful shop. This book club is completely free to attend though they advise registering online beforehand and have the option of buying the book from them. This is a great book club if you tried the comparative literature society's book club above and want to delve deeper into translated fiction. Their recent reads include The Little I Knew by Chiara Valerio, translated from the Italian by Alisa Wood and On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland from Danish. The bookshop has a creative range of events and have also just announced a new contemporary fiction book club which is well worth subscribing to their mailing list to hear more about.
Featured Image:Reshot
Which book club will you join?
