Hackney Book Club

For August we are reading Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly. Book club will take place at @PemburyTavern on Sunday 10th August at 7pm, with book chat from 7:30. Everyone is welcome! goodreads.com/book/show/1764…

Butter definitely split the group, with scores from a 3 up to 8. Some found it overly long and too descriptive, others liked the depiction of friendships and the character progress

For July's book club we are reading Butter by Asako Yuzuki. Book club will take place on Sunday 13th July at @PemburyTavern. Meeting from 7pm, with book chat from 7:30. Everyone welcome!! goodreads.com/book/show/2007…

The Parable of the Sower got scores of between 6 and 8, with chat generally around how real the story felt, and the constant presence of violence. However, Earthseed and the related poems/passages didn't go down as well with the group

For June's book club we are reading The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler. We'll meet at @PemburyTavern on Sunday 15th June from 7pm, with book chat from 7:30pm. All wecome! goodreads.com/book/show/5239…

Crimson offered some good discussion, but really split the group, with scores from 4 up to 7.5. Some disliked the lack of depth and brief descriptions, others liked the respresentation of Greenlander life. Some discussion on the impact translation may have had

For May's book club we are reading Crimson by Niviaq Korneliussen. We're meeting on Sunday 18th May at @PemburyTavern from 7pm, with book chat from 7:30. Everyone welcome! goodreads.com/book/show/3776…

James mainly scored highly, with several giving 8s and 9s, but there was one 6 and a 7. The content and the power of the story was appreciated by everyone, but some felt the actual storytelling let it down

For April's book club we are reading James by Percival Everett. We will meet at @PemburyTavern from 7pm on Sunday 13th April, with book chat from 7:30pm. Everyone is welcome! goodreads.com/book/show/1737…

Such a Long Journey didn't get the highest of scores, from a 4 to a 7.5, with the general lack of plot and loose ends leaving readers feeling disjointed from the narrative

For March we will be reading Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry. We will meet on Sunday 16th March at the @PemburyTavern from 7pm, with book chat from 7:30. All welcome! goodreads.com/book/show/1966…

Fear and Loathing split the group, with scores from 3 up to a 9. The group overall enjoyed diving into Gonzo journalism, but the dated content and the drug culture we a bit much for some.

For February's book club we are reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson. We're meeting at @PemburyTavern on Sunday 16th from 7pm, with book chat from 7:30pm. Everyone is welcome! goodreads.com/book/show/7745…

Thanks to everyone who came to discuss The Map of Salt and Stars. The book split opinion and received between 3 and 9 out of 10

For December we are reading Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. Book club is 8th December at @PemburyTavern from 7pm, book chat from 7:30. Please also bring books for our annual festive book swap goodreads.com/book/show/4062…

Mr Loverman got consistently high scores, ranging from 6 though to several 9s. We enjoyed the detailed but flawed characters, the insight into the life of elderly gay Caribbean men, and Hackney being a character itself

If you’re on BlueSky we have an account over there too! bsky.app/profile/hackne…

For November we're reading Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo @BernardineEvari. We're meeting at @PemburyTavern on Sunday 24th November from 7pm, with book chat from 7:30. Everyone is welcome! goodreads.com/book/show/1787…

And Then She Fell saw a split in views from book club, from 4 to 9/10, with most scores around 7/10. The depiction of postpartum psychosis, which is rarely covered in literature, was appreciated in particular

For October we are reading And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliot @WordsandGuitar. We're meeting at @PemburyTavern on 27th October from 7pm, book chat from 7.30. Everyone welcome! goodreads.com/book/show/7550…