Book Clubs Los Angeles

Glendale 🥂 Speed Dating Party for Singles Online

**Rescheduled: the updated kickoff is 2:00 PM on October 4.** Authentic face to face encounters instead of virtual chats for gay singles in Glendale. [Reserve Online](https://juniper-da78d.theliveround.com/product?productId=666.0&productType=onlineSpeedDatingGay&city=Glendale&groupurlname=flowing-together-through-daily-tai-chi&face_v=7.0)

Los Angeles Gay Speed Dating for Local Men

An inviting virtual gay speed dating night tailored for Los Angeles singles, taking place over Zoom. We are a supportive and inclusive group where neighborhood residents connect with authentic individuals nearby. You can anticipate brief individual conversations, organized by age range, entirely from the convenience of your own living room. Sign up here: [Reserve your place](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=667.0&productType=onlineSpeedDatingGay&city=Los%20Angeles&groupurlname=court-crushers-squash-and-social-club&face_v=4.0) Selecting RSVP tells us you are interested. To participate in the sessions, please complete your registration at the link provided above.

Los Angeles Interactive Gay Speed Dating Home

An inviting virtual gay speed dating event tailored for Los Angeles singles, held via Zoom. We are a supportive and inclusive group where neighborhood residents connect with authentic people nearby. You can anticipate brief individual conversations, grouped by age, all while relaxing in your own space. Sign up here: [Reserve your place](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=667.0&productType=onlineSpeedDatingGay&city=Los%20Angeles&groupurlname=spin-city-pole-fitness-social-club&face_v=5.0) Selecting RSVP indicates your interest. To participate in the sessions, please complete your registration at the link provided above.

Los Angeles Rapid Dating for Young Professionals on Zoom

**Updated schedule: we have moved the start to 2:00 PM on October 4.** Private virtual meetings with residents of Los Angeles. [Register Below](https://juniper-7e665.theliveround.com/product?productId=658.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Los%20Angeles&groupurlname=level-up-your-esports-skills-together&face_v=7.0)

Chef's Kiss - Author conversation with Akanksha Aurora (Desi Buchanan)

We have the wonderful opportunity to sit down and talk with local author and friend of the book club Akanksha Aurora (pen name Desi Buchanan). We will be talking with her about her spicy novella Chef's Kiss. Newly laid off from her writing job in Los Angeles, Aasha has no choice but to return to Bombay, leaving her apartment, Pilates membership and polyamorous boyfriend behind. Enter Chef Aditya, a Bombay boy who knows how to throw it down in the kitchen and the bedroom. As sparks fly in their Diwali romance, Aasha can’t help but is Chef Aditya the missing ingredient she’s been looking for, or is this whole thing a recipe for disaster? You can follow and support Akanksha and her many adventures by following her on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bombay_satire

September Bookclub: The Correspondent — Virginia Evans

**📚 Our September Book Has Been Chosen!** Thanks to everyone who voted! Our next **Books & Brew** read is: ***The Correspondent — Virginia Evans*** Grab a copy, start reading, and join us for a great conversation! **About the Book** Sybil Van Antwerp has spent much of her life putting pen to paper. Through letters exchanged with family, friends, authors, and strangers, she shares her thoughts, frustrations, memories, and the pieces of herself that can sometimes be easier to express in writing than face-to-face. Told entirely through correspondence, *The Correspondent* gradually reveals the story of a complicated, sharp-witted woman confronting the relationships, regrets, and losses that have shaped her life. Warm, reflective, and deeply human, the novel explores connection, forgiveness, grief, and the ways we continue to grow and understand ourselves—even when we think we already know our own story.

Los Angeles Mastering the Art of Civil Discourse

We are getting together to practice the art of civil discourse in a world that often feels like it has forgotten how to talk through disagreements. If you have ever felt frustrated by how polarized public conversations have become or want to sharpen your ability to listen and share ideas without things devolving into shouting matches, this is the place for you. We aim to create a space where we can explore complex topics with curiosity rather than a desire to win. The session will involve structured discussions where we focus on empathy, clarity, and genuine inquiry. It is not about changing minds or debating for the sake of being right; it is about learning how to stay present and respectful even when we strongly disagree. Whether you consider yourself naturally agreeable or someone who enjoys a spirited challenge, your voice would be a welcome addition to the room. If you are interested in spending an evening with others who value thoughtful exchange, please go ahead and RSVP so we can get an accurate headcount for the space. We look forward to seeing you there.

📚 NOT OUR FIRST RODEO: BOOK CLUB

Literary Open Mic

Bring a five-minute (maximum) original reading to share with a community of writers. Or just come drink beer and soak in the poetry, short stories, songs, monologues, and more! It's free to attend and free to read. Check out our [merch](https://noholitmic.threadless.com/)! **Please note that the only way to reserve a spot to read is to follow this link to our [sign-up form](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sYc12KZ9c_P_6jbylgF1R1ER03S35XghUYgCR52Irf8/edit?tab=t.0) (or copy and paste the link below).** RSVPing on MeetUp doesn't guarantee you a spot! If you'd like to come listen without reading, you are very welcome to, and you do not need to sign up or RSVP. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sYc12KZ9c_P_6jbylgF1R1ER03S35XghUYgCR52Irf8/edit?tab=t.0](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sYc12KZ9c_P_6jbylgF1R1ER03S35XghUYgCR52Irf8/edit?tab=t.0)

Book Club: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing… Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective? Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet). But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer. Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth. Looking forward to enjoying tea during our discussion at Steep in Chinatown. The menu can be found here: https://steepla.com/ The event fee will secure your reservation and be applied to membership dues, which covers the cost of the website. The event fee is nonrefundable unless the event is canceled by the organizer. To join the waitlist comment on the event page. If you have RSVPed and can no longer attend, please contact me directly and I will contact the people on the waiting list and then move you to "not going" when I find a replacement. Thank you and happy reading!

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

Please note that this book is (at least in my opinion) amazing, but there are numerous heartbreaking trigger warnings (incest, rape, violence) that some readers may want to be aware of. The author does not shy away from writing about certain brutalities witnesses by the narrator. \*\*IN PARTICULAR, IF YOU WANT TO AVOID READING ABOUT ANIMAL CRUELTY, WHEN YOU GET TO A CHAPTER THAT DISCUSSES A CAT, SKIP TO THE NEXT CHAPTER\*\* **Summary from Goodreads:** "A girl comes of age against the knife." So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence--both from outside the family, and also, devastatingly, from within. The lush landscape, rich with birdsong, wild fruit, and blazing stars, becomes a kind of refuge for Betty, but when her family's darkest secrets are brought to light, she has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters in her rural town of Breathed, Ohio. But despite the hardship she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters, and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all she bears witness to, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write. She recounts the horrors of her family's past and present with pen and paper and buries them deep in the dirt--moments that has stung her so deeply, she could not tell them, until now.

[Book + Movie] HORROR BOOK CLUB (September): “American Psycho”