Comic Book Clubs Sydney

July Books and Bevvies

Welcome to **Books & Bevvies** — a casual book swap and drinks social in the Sydney CBD. This is not a book club with homework. It’s a simple, low-key way to meet people, chat about what you’ve been reading, and walk out with something new. **HOW IT WORKS** Bring a book you’re happy to part with. Pop it on the swap table when you arrive. Mingle, chat, and swap recommendations. When the swap opens, take a book that catches your eye. Stay for a drink and a conversation after. **WHAT TO BRING** One book, any genre and any reading level. **GOOD TO KNOW** The venue relies on accurate numbers for staffing, so if you can’t make it, please change your RSVP to “not going”. Repeated no-shows may result in removal from the group. The venue is kindly not enforcing a minimum spend, but please support them by buying a drink, soft drink, or some lunch during the swap if you can. There is no mandatory entry fee, but voluntary contributions are **very much** appreciated. The group costs around **$65 a month to keep running**, so if you enjoy the swap and are in a position to chip in, even $5 or $10 makes a real difference. I’ll have a jar near the sign-in list on the day. Please feel free to contribute at any stage through the swap. **WHERE WE’LL BE** We’ll be in the Market Street Garden Bar, with a table full of books and bevvies.

July Book Club on Illness: The Myth of Normal

Welcome to Meet the Moment Book Club, where we read books that meet the moment and make sense of it all together. Please see our [group page](https://www.meetup.com/meet-the-moment-book-club/) for a list of upcoming books. After discussing AI, and as we enter deep into winter, our fourth book club will look at how the same toxic culture that produced the AI crisis as we know it, has also produced all manner of illnesses that threaten ourselves and our loved ones. From acclaimed physician Gabor Maté comes an empowering bestseller that shows us the role that our modern culture plays in getting us sick -- physically and mentally -- and how we can heal our health. "In this life-affirming book, Dr Gabor Maté connects the dots between trauma, mental health, and physical illness, showing how our health is shaped by the pressures and expectations of modern life. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, and real-life stories of people transforming their bodies and minds, Dr Gabor Maté offers a compassionate and hopeful path to healing, self-awareness and emotional wellbeing." https://www.amazon.com.au/Myth-Normal-Illness-Healing-Culture-ebook/dp/B0946LP9L8 An excerpt from the book: "If we could begin to see much illness itself not as a cruel twist of fate or some nefarious mystery but rather as an expected and therefore normal consequence of abnormal, unnatural circumstances, it would have revolutionary implications for how we approach everything health related. The ailing bodies and minds among us would no longer be regarded as expressions of individual pathology but as living alarms directing our attention toward where our society has gone askew, and where our prevailing certainties and assumptions around health are, in fact, fictions. Seen clearly, they might also give us clues as to what it would take to reverse course and build a healthier world." We will be meeting at The Erko Hotel - the outside area is unavailable this time, so please arrive a wee bit early and ask the staff where our table is. Reservation is under "Jane." We will start and end on time. There's no fee, but please purchase your own food/drinks from the venue. If you have trouble getting the book, message me. It's okay if you haven't finished the book by the time of the event, but please at least try -- the more the merrier! If the RSVP list is full, please join the waiting list as there will likely be fluctuations closer to the date. If you RSVP'ed and can't make it, please edit your RSVP so that others can attend. No-shows will be noted and barred from the book club. Look forward to seeing you there.

Western Classics Book Club Social

A social for those who come along to meetings of the Western Classics Book Club. 7.00pm to late in the Two Table Rooms, and just outside, and in the stairwell, etc. See you there! Dale

Book Club – London Falling AND The Correspondent!

National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democray by Goodwin and Eatwell

Meeting at the usual place, the Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, at 7.00pm, we will be discussing National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy (2018) by Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin. The authors argue that national populism has become more popular because of four things (1) the weakening of a national culture by multiculturalism and large-scale immigration (2) fewer opportunities because of slow economic growth and globalisation (3) a growing distrust by the bulk of the population towards liberal, cosmopolitan and urban-inhabiting media and political elites (4) and greater voter volatility. The discussion has greater importance now compared to when the book was first published, given the rising popularity of Pauline Hanson's One Nation in Australia, the AdF in Germany, Le Pen's RN in France, Trump in the USA and Nigel Farage in the UK. The format of the meeting is that we talk about the book in a fairly focused way for 50 mins, and then the meeting ends. Almost everyone stays back to talk more about the book or other things bookish in smaller groups. Dissenting opinions are welcome and everyone gets to have a say. The facilitator will play Devil's Advocate when there is consensus. We will be in a semi-private room upstairs, conducive to discussion. Look for the sign or ask at the bar.

Offline Night

**A mid-week escape with no distractions, new people, and good drinks.** ​ **Offline Night** is part of OffMode’s July event series - slow social gatherings for people who want more from their free time than rushing, scrolling, and saying they’ll make time for their hobbies “soon.” ​Think low lights, good drinks, shared tables, and easy conversations with people who also chose to spend their Thursday night differently. ​The night starts slow. ​Arrive, put your phone away, and step out of the week for a while. Read, journal, sketch, write, or simply do nothing and relax. We’ll have creative materials around if you feel like picking something up. ​Then, the room comes alive. ​Conversations start. Tables mix. Strangers become familiar. The night gets warmer, louder, and a little more unexpected - the way it does when people are actually in the room with each other. ​Come alone. Come curious. Come as you are. ​**A better mid-week ritual starts here.** ## How the night unfolds: ​**5:30pm – 5:45pm \| Arrive & settle in** Put your phone away, get cosy & grab a drink ​**6:00pm – 7:00pm \| Connect with yourself** Read the book you keep meaning to open. Journal. Sketch. Write. Explore a new hobby. This is time to slow down, rediscover your creativity, and remember what you enjoy when no one is asking you to be productive. ​**7:00pm – 8:00pm \| Connect with others** Join a game, follow a conversation, meet someone new. This part of the night is all about making connection feel easy - no pressure, just people in the same room choosing to be present. ​**8:00pm – 8:30pm \| Wrap\-up** Get your phone back and step into the rest of your week feeling lighter, calmer, and more present.

The Complete Works of Jane Austen (play at the Genesian)

A comedy of errors leads to two actors needing to perform the complete works of Jane Austen in one play. Can it be done? I (Dale) will be going along to the Genesian Theatre on Sunday 9 August 2026 to see this play. Come along and enjoy the fun! We can talk about the play at a local pub afterwards. Tickets are about $35 and need to be bought from the website at https://genesiantheatre.com.au/

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke | Sun 2 Aug 2026

Romance Writers of Australia - Sydney Meetup

This is our monthly meet-up!! This is a social group for local romance writers to discuss all things craft, publishing, and overall a chance to connect with other writers and refill the creative well. This is a group designated for ROMANCE writers (romantasy, paranormal romance, historical romance, etc.). Please review the group's description for further information. We do not read sections/give feedback during these meetings unlike many other writing groups. Please save some trees and do not print/bring copies of your work during the meet-up.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke | Sat 8 Aug 2026

Cloud of Unknowing (14th century)

*'For when I sey derknes, I mene a lackyng of knowyng; as alle that thing that thou knowest not, or elles that thou hast forgetyn, it is derk to thee, for thou seest it not with thi goostly ighe. And for this skile it is not clepid a cloude of the eire, bot a cloude of unknowyng, that is bitwix thee and thi God.'* Otherwise known as *The Cloude of Unknowyng* in the original Middle English, back in our salad days when you could spell words however you wanted and nobody would be upset if you didn't bathe much. The 14th century had a lot going for it - for example, ignorance! This is pre-Enlightenment, pre-Renaissance, a classic Dark Age if there ever was one, and this text is all about the value and virtue of Forgetting and Unknowing. To know without thinking, to enter a higher state of Being through love and without understanding. It all sounds very abstract, but mysticism is all about personal experience and requires essentially no prior knowledge other than your lived experience. An exploration of the Christian mystic tradition, we will not be reading this book as theology - whether you follow Christ, the Buddha, Krishna, Ricky Gervais or Haile Selassie as your god, all are welcome - we will not be attempting to preach or convert anyone to a particular way of thinking. What does an obscure text intended for medieval monks have to say for the contemporary troubled soul? You might be surprised how much these ideas resemble what is so frequently packaged and commercialised in mindfulness apps. What does it mean to be a 'mystic' in the age of AI? To have a private, intimate relationship with God - how can I show this off on Instagram? Lots of free translations, as well as the Olde Middle Englyishe texte, are available free online, but you might fare best with the accessible translation by AC Spearing, with regular spelling and without all the Thees and Thous - message me for a copy.

Bring your own book club

Bring yourself and your book. 1. Shoes off, kettle on. 2. Read quietly for an hour with soft lo fi music at low volume 3. Have a biscuit 4. Chat for 15 minutes at the end See you every month. *Note: this is my home, so please be respectful in the space.*