North Books’ third book club edges away from the usual convention of only inviting readers to discuss a single book (though this can happen from time to time) to opening up our evenings to a more general celebration of our shared love of storytelling and the people behind the words on the page. We’ll frame a forward plan in our first meeting but are open to all your ideas. Together we can create a set of events that keeps everyone curious and excited.
Thoughts in the pot so far include asking readers to choose any work from a given writer to encourage a wider discussion of the author’s creativity and output. We are also interested in dedicated genre events as well as putting poets, journalists, songwriters and historians in the mix. Fiction, non-fiction and everything in between.
It’s a book club but it’s a changing one. It will be one thing one month and something else the next time we meet – always, though, it will belong to the group and it will be shaped by you. The only common denominator will be words – and a conversation about them.
JOIN US
Participation will cost £5 (or free if the book is purchased in advance from North Books at a 10% discount). To join the group, please email Jules on jules@northbooks.co.uk.
THE BOOK
On our third evening, Wednesday 26 July, let's talk about the stories of Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a writer with many headline novels to her name (Purple Hibiscus/ Half of A Yellow Sun/ Americanah) and non-fiction essay collections. Choose any you like, have a read, and bring your thoughts to the group. All of her novels have received notoriety and are worth the investigation.
Half of a Yellow Sun recreates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra’s impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria and the chilling violence that followed. Published in 2006, Half of A Yellow Sun garnered numerous accolades and was awarded the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007.
Purple Hibiscus is a book about the promise of freedom; about the blurred lines between childhood and adulthood; between love and hatred; between the old gods and the new.
Purple Hibiscus is licensed for publication in 28 languages.
All available to order.