Candid Conversations

Candid Conversations with Ela Lee
14.03.2024

Another stellar event in the books for us and one we were all highly anticipating - an evening discussing Jaded with the fantastic Ela Lee herself! We were all very invested in this powerful debut and last night was the perfect chance to share that love with you all in the round at our beloved Waterstones Piccadilly home.

Jade/Ceyda’s story has heavy, serious themes and the book does not hold back, so we had plenty to dissect: from being a third culture kid in the corporate world, the power dynamics in the workplace and who should really be held accountable, her escape from a toxic relationship, right through to how justice is never truly served for women who have been subject to abuse and trauma.

Candid Conversations with Sara Jafari
15.02.2024

The day after Valentines Day, but there was no lack of love in the room last night for our amazing February event! We had a fantastic time with you all discussing the wonderful novel People Change by Sara Jafari. Back at our Waterstones Piccadilly home, it was the perfect bookish evening for this heartwarming book.

We delved into all things Kian and Shirin; how their childhoods and family lives shaped who they were and their relationship in the present, Shirin’s terrible friendships, and her toxic workplace tribulations. This all culminated in a twist on the classic will-they-won’t-they debate… it was more like should-they-shouldn’t-they, and it was certainly a lively debate to wrap things up!

An evening with Sairish Hussain
18.01.2024

Our first book launch and first event of 2024 was absolute magic. We spent the evening celebrating the wonderful Sairish Hussain on the launch of her new novel, Hidden Fires. Having a chance to host the book launch of one of the most talented writers was a total privilege and you could definitely feel all the love in the room at Waterstones Piccadilly!
We set the scene for Hidden Fires, and introduced everyone to Rubi, Yusuf and Hassan, the trio that is sure to steal your hearts. We talked as much as we could spoiler-free about the central themes, Sairish’s inspirations and creative process, and of course her brilliant debut book The Family Tree! As this book came out in lockdown, we really wanted to shine a light on both books as they truly deserve.

Candid Conversations with Taylor-Dior Rumble!
28.11.2023

We rounded off 2023 in style, discussing the much-loved debut novel from Taylor-Dior Rumble at Waterstones Piccadilly, with a sell out crowd and the author herself! In true Candid style, we sat in the round to talk all about The Situationship! Everyone was itching to discuss Nate versus Aaron and we were in firm agreement that our leading woman, Tia was better off without either! We went on to discuss Tia’s journey of self-love, her increasing maturity, the importance of communication and trying to navigate life whilst searching for identity, companionship and recognition in the corporate workplace. Tia’s world felt relatable to many of us and we could’ve kept the conversation going all night!

An Evening with Huma Qureshi!
09.11.2023

Making an exception to our usual book club deep dives, we hosted a fabulous celebration with the one and only Huma Qureshi on the UK publication of Playing Games at Waterstones Tottenham Court Road! We had the privilege to read Playing Games before the official launch and it is a five-star smash for all 5 of us. It was wonderful to talk about the novel with @humaqureshiwriter , her writing process and the theme of sisterhood and female relationships, and also have some fun getting to know Huma by playing a little game of ‘two truths and a lie’ too 😄 it’s not like us to talk spoiler-free but we managed it, and the excitement in the room to read this story was evident from every single person!

Candid Conversations with Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai!
11.10.2023

We hosted a truly one-of-a-kind Candid book club with one of our favourite authors and all you lovely people, coming together at Waterstones Piccadilly to talk about one of our favourite novels this year! We were so honoured to have Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai with us for the evening to discuss Dust Child, a few months after we hosted her book launch, and delved deep into this emotional and important story of the people affected by the Vietnam war.

Candid Conversations with Krystle Zara Appiah!
20.09.2023

The amazing novel by Krystle Zara Appiah definitely gave us much food for thought and we had the best evening in our reading circle with all you wonderful attendees to break this story down!
And break it down we did - we had some incredible input from everyone in the room on as many themes as we could pack into one hour, including motherhood, marriage, mental health and toxic families.

#BookFest2023 at Waterstones Piccadilly!

16.08.2023

It was such an honour to be invited by @piccadillywaterstones to be a part of their huge #BookFest2023!
We started the day with a social media drop in which gave us the opportunity to meet several budding writers, book bloggers and people looking for other bookish friends. It was great to meet you all, and we look forward to what the future has in store for you.

This was followed by our sold out book club which was all about the phenomenon that is Happy Place by Emily Henry and in true Candid style we really took a deep dive.

Thank you so so much to everyone who bought a ticket and came along to share your thoughts about Harriet and Wyn’s love story! We chatted all about the escapism of rom-com books, the expected vs unexpected plot points in their love story, Harriet’s personality, the group friendship dynamics, and how the theme of communication was explored in this book. Let’s face it, if everyone communicated properly in this book, there’d be no story to tell!😂

Candid Conversations with Cecile Pin!
12.07.2023

We were back in the round for another amazing book club with the wonderful Cecile Pin unpack her novel, Wandering Souls! We took a deep dive into many of the themes of the book, including loss of childhood, the burden of grief, the UK immigration systems, assimilation and language barriers, and even the lessons we learn from spirituality and cultural beliefs.

These book clubs would be nothing without the views and opinions all our attendees bring to the table, and the discussion and debate is always illuminating and educating for everyone in the room. Thank you so much to everyone who joined us! And a huge thank you to Cecile for spending the evening with us as we dissected her characters, their decisions and the outcomes, and for sharing the behind the scenes insights to bring everything into context.

Candid Conversations with Zoulfa Katouh!
21.06.2023

On the longest day of the year, we held a spectacular book club with the one and only Zoulfa Katouh, author of As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow, at our favourite spot, @piccadillywaterstones. We don't know anyone who doesn't love this book, and as usual, we had A LOT to discuss in the round with so many of you wonderful people.

Our discussion flew by as we spoke about everyone's favourite characters; Salama and Kenan, their innocent love marked by fate despite their devastating circumstances, and the ability to read a halal romance without being catfished in some way. As Zoulfa re-confirmed to us, positive Muslim representation in the literature and on-screen remains scarce and this novel is certainly a blueprint for how it should be done.

Candid Conversations with Jessica George!
14.06.2023

The sun was shining, the drinks were flowing and the discussion was lively and then some - all in honour of the amazing debut novel Maame, from Jessica George. We unanimously loved this book and its protagonist Maddie, and we had a lot to unpack and debate, as always in the round at our beloved Waterstones Piccadilly 🥰

We could have talked for hours, but in the time we had we covered so much, from good female friendships, what bad romantic relationships teach us, the microaggressions and racism Maddie sees and faces throughout her story, and the complicated role of motherhood and its expectations within social and cultural confines. As always, you guys brought your insightful and articulate commentary, spicy takes and relatable scenarios, and we’re so thankful for you all! We’re also so grateful to Jess for taking the time to spend an evening with us, share some BTS on the book and characters, and hear about our love for the novel first hand.

Candid Conversations with Poorna Bell!
10.05.2023

We’re so glad that so many of you could join us to discuss In Case of Emergency with the author herself, it was an evening to remember!
In true unconventional Candid style, we started with all the spoilers in the middle of the book and worked our way through the themes in the story.
Our discussion took many twists and turns as we spoke about friendship breakups and misunderstandings in our formative years and the hold that these fallouts can have on our adult lives. In the limited time that we had, we covered as much about our leading woman, Bel, as we possibly could! From her growth and self-awareness, her insecurities and weaknesses in her personal life to her fiercely confident persona in the workplace. We could easily have gone on for another hour!

An evening with Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai!
20.04.2023

Making an exception to our usual book club deep dives, we hosted a fabulous celebration with the one and only Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai on the UK publication of Dust Child at Waterstones Piccadilly! We’re so glad that so many of you could join us to hear about this incredible story with the author herself, it was truly an evening to remember. And we’re so honoured, to have been asked to lead this event. Quế Mai’s energy was infectious and inspiring and there was a lot of love in the room! Quế Mai, we hope that this was the launch party you wished for ♥️

Candid Conversations with Ayobami Adebayo!
01.03.2023

We kicked off the month of March in style last night at Waterstones Piccadilly for an evening with the one and only Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ and her new novel, A Spell of Good Things 🧡We’re so glad that so many of you could join us to discuss this incredible story with the author herself, it was an evening to remember!

In true unconventional Candid style, we started at the end of the book and worked our way through all the themes in the story that brought us to that shocking ending - inequality, wealth, education, strong women and toxic men, the deep influence of politics on every aspect of Nigerian life, and the circumstances and choices the characters made throughout.

Candid Conversations with Jyoti Patel!
22.02.2023

We rounded off our February with a brilliant turnout last night in the company of debut novelist, Jyoti Patel at Waterstones Piccadilly. In true candid style we sat in the round to dissect the characters and the ending of The Things That We Lost. Having previously attended our event with Huma Qureshi, it was a pleasure to welcome Jyoti back in our midst as an established author.

We loved Nikhil as a character and invested in his journey to discover more about his father and how he came to be. We found him and his group of friends to be authentic and enjoyed the positive and diverse support system when dealing with grief and depression at a young age. Whilst many of us were frustrated with Avani, by the end we empathised as we heard Jyoti speak about the extensive research and background to this novel. In trying to reverse the narrative and tropes around South Asian stereotypes, we meet a wonderful array of characters who do just that!

Candid Conversations with Joanna Glen!
31.01.2023

We kicked off 2023 in style, discussing the incredible novel from Joanna Glen at Waterstones Piccadilly, with a sell out crowd and the author herself! In true Candid style, we sat in the round to talk all about All My Mothers.

Joanna began with a reading from page 125 where we met Eva, adamant that her parents aren’t her parents, lost and uprooted as her childhood friend Bridget leaves London. We went on to discuss Eva at length, her self-awareness and surroundings and who was the best mother for Eva in the book - all the women shaping her formative years in their own way. Eva’s family ties, toxic upbringing and trying to navigate life whilst searching for identity, faith, love and home made for a discussion that could’ve gone on all evening!

Candid Conversations with Hafsa Zayyan!
01.12.2022

We can’t quite believe it’s almost the end of 2022 already, but we rounded off this year in style, discussing the incredible debut novel from Hafsa Zayyan at Waterstones Piccadilly, with a sell out crowd and the author herself! In true Candid style, we sat in the round to talk all about We Are All Birds of Uganda.

In a surprise move, we started the night at the end of the book with that dramatic open ending, and went on to discuss the imperfections of Sameer, his family ties, communication skills and toxic parents, and trying to navigate life whilst searching for identity, faith, love and home as an immigrant of any generation.

Thank you so much as always to our regulars and new faces who contributed to the conversation, so many of you with personal connections to the story; we’re so honoured and grateful to hear your viewpoints, experiences and spicy takes on the topics at hand! Of course a huge thank you to @haffy_22 for taking the time to join us, and adding context and dimension to our discussion, and for writing such a great novel that brought us all together ❤️

Candid Conversations with Jendella Benson!
11.10.2022

Autumn is well and truly here and we’re so happy to be spending these chilly evenings in our cosy happy place of @piccadillywaterstones. Thank you so much to everyone who joined us for our return to book club with the one and only Jendella Benson to discuss her excellent debut novel, Hope and Glory!

In true Candid style we did not back down from a discussion or a debate and everything was up for grabs last night! From whether we actually liked Glory herself, how powerful the connection between the twins could be in the future, the nature of sisterhood in general in this book, and forgiveness as a theme. We also learnt so much from @jendella about British Nigerian culture and what has shaped the community and their place in British history, as well as some amazing deep dives into the characters and why they behaved the way they did. As always we are so grateful to everyone who came for sharing your thoughts and bringing such a vibrant and lively discussion!! And a huge thanks to Jendella for your time and words, and congratulations on the success of your debut novel - we’re so excited for what’s next!

#BookTokFestival at Waterstones Piccadilly!
04.08.2022

It was such an honour to be invited by Waterstones to be a part of their huge BookTok festival at our beloved @piccadillywaterstones store! Our sold out book club was all about the phenomenon that is The Love Hypothesis by @alihazelwood and in true Candid style we really took a deep dive.

Thank you so so much to everyone who bought a ticket and came along to share how much you love Adam and Olive’s love story too! We chatted all about the escapism of rom-com books, the classic and unexpected plot points in their love story, Olive’s tenacity and strength, and how Adam slowly opened up to love (and of course how hot we all think he is 😂). Interestingly though, it seems we all agreed that though it’s light and fluffy on the surface, TLH really does bring to light some serious topics and important representation that means we can’t just dismiss it as fluff - there’s definitely more below the surface!

Primadonna Festival with Kit de Waal
30.07.2022

We are so honoured to have been a part of the 2022 Primadonna festival lined up @primadonnafestival in Stowmarket, Ipswich. Of course, the real highlight of the day was the opportunity to interview the inimitable @kitdewaal about her upcoming memoir, Without Warning & Only Sometimes: Scenes from an Unpredictable Childhood, on the main stage no less!
It was a dream to have Kit with us to provide context as we deep-dived into the creation of the memoir: how it came to be, the choice to write in the present tense and the impact of a childhood of extremes on adulthood, the bond with her siblings, and despite the unpredictability, the humour of it all.
Thank you so much to Kit for being so open and candid with us, and for sharing your experiences with the world - we could’ve gone on for hours.

The 23rd AKO Caine Prize for African Writers
16.07.2022

Being a part of the 23rd AKO @caineprize for African fiction has been an incredible experience, as we delved into the stories from the brilliant five shortlisted candidates and travelled across the African continent through literature with Nana-Ama Danquah and Billie McTernan of Ghana, Joshua Chizoma of Nigeria, Hannah Giorgis of Ethiopia, and the winner of the 2022 prize, Idza Luhumyo of Kenya with her short story, Five Years Next Sunday.

Candid Conversations with Kasim Ali

Good Intentions
13.07.2022

We finally held the long awaited showdown of Team Nur vs Team Yasmina… I mean, we finally got to sit down with the author of one of the most divisive 2022 releases, Kasim Ali to talk all things Good Intentions!

When we say candid, we really mean candid, and no-one in attendance held back! We were so fortunate to have @juskasim with us to provide his perspective as we dissected the themes of the novel, the characters, their fears and motivations. It was so wide ranging - from parental expectations to mental health, culture clash and insecurity, and some very hot debate on whether Nur was actually a selfish wasteman or not!

We’re also so grateful to @piccadillywaterstones for the support & the space for us to hold these events that we love so much. And thank you as always to our attendees - you guys are so razor sharp in your analysis, open with your thoughts and hilariously funny, and we absolutely LOVE to hear it!

Candid Conversations with The Receipts

Keep the Receipts
22.06.22

We were so lucky to be hosting first time authors and long time superstars, the gorgeous and talented ladies of The Receipts Podcast at Waterstones Piccadilly! Although sadly Tolly @tolly_t wasn’t able to join, Milena @milenasanchezx and Audrey @just_callme_audrey sat with us in the round to talk all things Keep The Receipts! We dove deep into the big topics in their essays in true Candid style, including how friend break-ups are worse than boy break-ups, our definitions of success and happiness in our careers, and what it means to see yourself represented in the media in an authentic way, and so so much more! It was truly an inspiring evening for everyone in the room and we want to thank the ladies again for their time, honesty, advice and jokes! ❤️ Their book is full of awesome guidance on how to be the best version of you in any situation, so pick up the paperback today! Holding our events at @piccadillywaterstones is always a privilege, so a huge thank you to the team for their hospitality and organisation.

Candid Conversations with Elif Shafak

The Island of Missing Trees
17.05.22

An event we had on our vision boards for years finally came to life and what a dream evening it was! We had the absolute privilege and honour to host one of the most talented and well-respected writers of our time, the one and only Elif Shafak, for an intimate, in-the-round discussion of her novel The Island of Missing Trees. We touched on topics including family trauma, war and separation, spilling the family secrets, and whether young love is ever built to last. @shafakelif so graciously shared her thoughts and insights with us, and we all ended the evening with our minds educated and our hearts full. This was definitely an evening to remember and we’re so happy to have shared it with you! Holding our events at @piccadillywaterstones is always a privilege, so a huge thank you to the team for their hospitality and organisation.

Candid Conversations with Willy Vlautin

The Night Always Comes
11.05.22

For one night, we were officially the in-person London chapter of the Willy Vlautin Fan Club 😍 yet another pinch-me moment last night to finally be in the presence of one of our favourite authors and people, the inimitable Willy Vlautin! After meeting on Zoom last year, we knew we had to get an IRL event in the diary and it was truly a special evening. Thanks so much to everyone who made the time to spend the evening with us and Willy, it was such a great book club! Thank you as always to the Waterstones Piccadilly team for the hospitality and the hosting, we’re so grateful!

Candid Conversations with Huma Qureshi

Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love
27.01.22

Thank you so much to all of you for travelling from far and wide to share your thoughts with us! It was so great to connect with you all in person and we’re so looking forward to doing it again soon. Of course it would have been nothing without the wonderful hospitality and organisation of the team at @piccadillywaterstones, we’re so grateful for all you do to support us and help with hosting - a dream team! And finally we must thank Huma with all our hearts for your time, your insight and for sharing your talent with us, we are so lucky and your biggest fans!

Candid Conversations with Elizabeth Day

Magpie
02.12.2021
We are so so grateful to everyone who came to our IRL Candid Conversations event with the wonderful @elizabday last night at the beautiful @piccadillywaterstones - it was our first in person event in 2 years, and we needn’t have been nervous as it was so much fun and the atmosphere was insane! We couldn’t think of a better way to round off 2021.
We had some fascinating discussions and honest discourse about the topics Elizabeth wrote about in her book, Magpie, from alternative endings, deep dives into each character, the class system and our love for Jane Fonda - all but to name a few! We could’ve gone on all evening💜

Candid Conversations with Susan Abulhawa

Against the Loveless World
21.10.2021
Last night we had the honour and privilege of hosting a book club with the amazing Susan Abulhawa to discuss her novel, one of the most impactful and moving books we’ve read as a group, Against the Loveless World.
We are so grateful that @susanabulhawa was able to join us to discuss not only Nahr’s powerful life story, but everything from her writing process, representation of brown women and Arab people in literature, and the real stories behind freedom fighters and exiled people in the Middle East. We know everyone present last night was captivated and educated, and we thank Susan so much for sharing her words and knowledge with us.

Candid Conversations with Bella Mackie

How To Kill Your Family
30.09.2021

We got to chat about one of our books of the year, How To Kill Your Family, with you lovely people and the author herself, Bella Mackie! We got stuck into Grace Bernard’s revenge spree right down to the mechanics; her childhood and her mindset, our favourite murder of the many in the novel (dark, we know, but hilarious in context!), and also, did we truly like our protagonist, or just like rooting for her to win? Thanks to all our attendees for sharing your thoughts, these discussions always enrich our reading experience. And of course, a huge thank you to our favourite person @mackie_bella for taking time in your evening to join the chat and share your insight and insider secrets!

Candid Conversations with Willy Vlautin

The Night Always Comes
08.07.2021

You must all know how much we love Willy Vlautin’s writing, so this event was a really special one for us at TCBC and the wonderful people that joined us, cos we got to meet and chat with Willy Vlautin himself!! There was definitely a lot of swooning and and falling in love last night from the five of us, and we know the audience fell in love with him too!

Candid Conversations with Deepa Anappara

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
13.06.2021

We were lucky enough to spend a Sunday evening with the amazing Deepa Anappara to celebrate the release of her debut novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, out now in paperback! Djinn Patrol is a brilliant own voice novel; Deepa told us she strived to ensure the communities in her book are sensitively and joyfully represented, and the authenticity in the language was a non-negotiable facet to allow her to tell this story. Own voices novels are so vital for us all, to immerse ourselves into a culture from the perspective of a participant. It’s educational, nuanced and beautifully descriptive, and those that complain about the “difficulty” in understanding or needing a glossary are missing out. With imagination and a quick google, you’ll find yourself immersed in a full-colour world that will expand your horizons and this is what we need more of!

Candid Conversations with Saima Mir

The Khan
27.05.2021

We had a wonderful cosy night in with Saima Mir, the amazing author of The Khan, and we definitely could have talked all night! Thanks so much to our attendees for all the insightful and hilarious contributions. Together with you guys, we unpacked this fascinating read, talking about power, likeability, family, and trust. Of course, we got candid about which characters we loved and didn’t love, with some great insight from Saima herself on the inner workings of Jia and her world.

Candid Conversations with Kate Elizabeth Russell

My Dark Vanessa
07.04.2021

As soon as we got our hands on My Dark Vanessa way back in 2019 we knew it was something we wanted to put forward for a book club one day... last night was that night! And not only did we get to discuss it with so many of you, but also the amazing author herself Kate Elizabeth Russell! A HUGE thank you to Kate for your time, all of your insight and honesty, and for being so willing to answer all of our questions. The reading in particular was amazing and gave us all goosebumps for sure!

Candid Conversations with Nikesh Shukla

Brown Baby: A Memoir of Race, Family and Home
11.03.2021

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us last night to discuss parenthood, overcoming stereotypes and how food truly is love - plus a sprinkle of Marvel metaphors thrown in by our amazing guest @nikeshshuklawriter!
His memoir Brown Baby made us consider our vulnerabilities and our sense of home and belonging, and gives us hope for the future generation of babies, brown or otherwise, being sure and confident humans in their identities.
A huge amount of love and hugs to Nikesh too, your candour and vulnerability is brave and wonderful, and we are always grateful for your words 💖

Candid Conversations with Huma Qureshi

How We Met: A Memoir of Love and Other Misadventures
25.02.2021

Thank you to everyone who joined us last night to share your musings on the wonderful memoir How We Met by @Humaqureshiwriter. As always, you’re all so insightful and open and we loved sharing this amazing story with all of you 🧡

Candid Conversations with Louise Hare

This Lovely City
28.01.2021

Starting the year as we mean to go on with an amazing first event to kick things off! We are so grateful to everyone who joined us to discuss This Lovely City with the author herself, @lourhare. Talking about the twists, turns, angels and evils of this love-story-murder-mystery was such a joy! All of your contributions to our chat were invaluable, and we hope you all had as great a time as we did.

Candid Conversations with Abi Daré

The Girl with the Louding Voice
10.12.2020

We couldn’t think of a better way to round off 2020 than with one of our favourite books of the year - and the amazing author too! Our final meet-up of the year was dedicated to The Girl With The Louding Voice, one of the debuts of this year and we were so lucky and honoured to have the wonderful Abi Daré join us to discuss Adunni’s world.

Candid Conversations with Sairish Hussain

The Family Tree
02.07.2020

In collaboration with Leeds Lit Club we were joined by Sairish Hussain to discuss her epic debut novel The Family Tree. With a story that spans 3 decades and with 3 central characters we definitely had a lot to unpack and could have chatted all night!⁣⁣

Candid Conversations with Luan Goldie

Nightingale Point
02.06.2020

Well, after the read-along comes the meet-up! We’re not stopping in lockdown, and last night on Zoom was such a special fun edition of Candid Conversations! We want to thank everyone that could come along and talk about the wonderful Nightingale Point by Luan Goldie!

Candid Conversations with Bella Mackie

Jog On: How Running Saved My Life
21.04.2020

As a culmination of our read-along of Jog On, we held a special Candid Conversations over ZOOM with our followers, and the author of the book herself Bella Mackie as a special guest! Yes, we are still pinching ourselves! ⁣

We had an amazing discussion, and it seemed everyone who contributed felt moved by Bella’s story. It’s so great to talk about mental health in a way that isn’t fluffy or dressed down at all. We got to hear so many honest and real stories from all of you about how the themes in the book spoke to you in so many ways, from loneliness, motivation, fear and even in finding a community, and we’re so grateful to be able to hear from Bella first hand with her amazing insight and knowledge. ⁣

Candid Conversations with Alya Mooro

The Greater Freedom: Life as a Middle Eastern Woman Outside the Stereotypes by Alya Mooro
16.01.2020

In this “part-memoir, part social exploration”, Alya speaks unapologetically about her experiences of being “othered” in both Cairo and the UK. To the western audience, the expectations of matriarchs in contemporary MENA society are little known and Alya’s breakthrough writing increases awareness of how it is to be not of one culture or the other, but both. Essential and timely reading.

We had some fascinating discussions and honest discourse from the gap between first generation children & our parents to Westernised ideals of beauty and beyond.

A Candid Meet-Up

Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
26.11.2020

We had a really lively discussion with opinions across the spectrum on the acclaimed author Haruki Murakami (we finally picked a male author!) and his collection of short stories, Men Without Women. Are these stories about romance? Is it okay to not like Murakami? And what can the short story format offer us as readers that more long form writing can’t?

Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
26.03.2020

This novel, based in Nigeria, explores themes of honesty, love, social pressures and more as we follow the story of a couple who are yet to fulfil their duty of having a child.

Don’t Skip Out On Me by Willy Vlautin
28.11.2019

The gripping tale of Horace, a young ranch hand pursuing his big dreams, covers many important issues like men’s mental health, identity, adoption and non-traditional families. The tone is melancholy but the theme of unconditional love shines through.

Educated by Tara Westover
02.07.2019

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
28.03.2019

Feminism/ˈfɛmɪnɪz(ə)m - the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of equality of the sexes.

If you agree with the basic definition listed above, it’s impossible NOT to agree with every single sentence that Adichie articulates with eloquence and personal experience.
I must admit that at the time of reading, I wasn’t sure why something this self-explanatory needed to be written down like this, but if you’re a woman or know a woman then you’ll most certainly be aware that not everyone in this world is an advocate of women’s rights. 
Before we held this event, I had someone approach me under the impression that they couldn’t read this or attend as he was male. Well at least we know that the word “feminist” is a powerful one…powerfully misused more like and commonly associated with anything anti-men. Having then gone away and read the essay, he returned and agreed with every single point made. If that isn’t a testament to Chimamanda’s masterpiece then I don’t know what is. 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
17.01.2019

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realises that the only way to survive is to open your heart.