Book Drives London

The Kind Worth Killing - Peter Swanson * Wine & Book Chat*

Come join us for a glass of wine and a chat about The Kind Worth Killing! Expect plot twists, suspicious characters, strong opinions and questionable theories. Whether you loved it or hated it, we want to hear it!

Book Swap Meetup 📚📚📚

Basic Ideas: 🌞 📚☕ Any books sitting there collecting dust? Some holiday gifts? Or it’s a book that has changed your life that you want to share? Feel free to bring book(s) to discuss or swap, we usually have more books than people in the end, so feel free to pop along just to have a chat as well. Aiming for every 4 weeks book swap meetup. Note: The event is free to attend, so the only cost for you will only be buying a drink at the location, so coffee/tea/beer etc.

Spooky Bingo Book Club : We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer 🏚️🔦

**We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer** 📖 320 pages (approx.) **Genre:** Horror • Psychological Thriller • Supernatural Mystery • LGBTQ+ Fiction **Summary:** Eve and Charlie, a young couple who make a living renovating and selling houses, think they’ve found the perfect property: an old house in a quiet neighbourhood purchased at an unbelievably low price. Then, one snowy evening, a man arrives at their door with his wife and children. He explains that he grew up in the house and asks if his family can come inside for a quick look around. Despite her unease, Eve reluctantly agrees. But the visit soon takes a disturbing turn. The family refuses to leave, their youngest child disappears inside the house, and impossible things begin happening in the basement. When Charlie suddenly vanishes too, Eve finds herself trapped in a nightmare where rooms shift, memories cannot be trusted, and reality seems to be changing around her. As Eve desperately searches for answers, *We Used to Live Here* explores anxiety, identity, manipulation, the meaning of home, and the terrifying possibility that your own memories may be lying to you. **Join Our Book Club Bingo! 🏚️🔦** For October, we’re stepping inside a house where nothing—and no one—is quite what it seems. Expect creeping dread, unreliable memories, hidden messages, impossible spaces, and plenty of unsettling mysteries to unravel as we fill in our Bingo cards. **How It Works:** 🏚️ **Grab Your Bingo Card:** Filled with themes of home, identity, anxiety, manipulation, shifting realities, suspicious strangers, hidden clues, and things lurking in the basement. ✅ **Mark Your Cards:** Check off squares as we discuss eerie encounters, questionable decisions, recurring symbols, coded messages, unsettling theories, and moments that made us want to shout, “Do not let them inside!” 🎉 **Shout “Bingo!”** Be the first to complete two rows, columns, or diagonals. 📚 **Win a Book:** Two readers will leave with a new addition to their TBR pile! Expect an intensely creepy atmosphere, unreliable narration, mysterious interludes, reality-bending twists, endless theories, and a lot to discuss about what truly happened inside the house. 📍 The Dog on Surrey Street, Croydon 📅 Wednesday 14th October at 7:00 PM

Theft of Fire by Devon Eriksen (5th October 2026)

October 2026 - War and Travel - Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton

For our October meeting, we will be reading a book from the War and Travel category of The Guardian's "*[1000 Novels Everyone Must Read](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction)*" list. The winner of the poll was 'Slaves of Solitude' by Patrick Hamilton. To find out why this was nominated please see the [discussion page](https://www.meetup.com/1000-books/discussions/?eventOrigin=home_groups_you_organize). You can find our Code of Conduct [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s3kphOY8w_uH_ay5RVpdwVkHgG6O3QYsCZ5wpaE6A1E/edit?usp=sharing).

Nutshell - Ian McEwan - Book Club 10 year anniversary!

For those of you who've not come along before, we'll read the book, then discuss it on the night guided by questions to keep us focused. It's relaxed and good fun. We'll do this over drinks. If it's your first time, I know it can be a bit daunting, but don't worry, we'll make you very welcome and before you know it you'll be stuck in! About the Book Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She's still in the marital home - a dilapidated, priceless London townhouse - but not with John. Instead, she's with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy's womb. (The hardback is available from Amazon and second hand, and also widely available from the library)

October Book Club Meetup: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

London's Friendly Book Club's pick for October is **Invisible Monsters** by **Chuck Palahniuk**. She's a catwalk model who has everything: a boyfriend, a career, a loyal best friend. But when a sudden motor 'accident' leaves her disfigured and incapable of speech, she goes from being the beautiful centre of attention to being an invisible monster, so hideous that no one will acknowledge she exists. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from being a real woman, who will teach her that reinventing yourself means erasing your past and making up something better, and that salvation hides in the last place you'll ever want to look. The narrator must exact revenge upon Evie, her best friend and fellow model; kidnap Manus, her two-timing ex-boyfriend; and hit the road with Brandy in search of a brand-new past, present and future. Please only RSVP if you think you'll be able to make this event. **We host three sessions per book, you only need to attend one.** Everyone is welcome! Grab your copy and join us for a relaxed and engaging discussion.

Whistler by Ann Patchett nominated by Susan

Friendly book group Please remember to change your RSVP if you can't make it so someone on the waitlist can take your slot. New books chosen by popular vote and read 2 months later. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Not-New-Books club

📚 The Big Idea Welcome! We are a community of readers aged 45+ who gather to discuss great books that have stood the test of time. We aim to choose books that should be readily available at your local library, or may even already be on your own shelf. Where possible, I'll provide a link to a YouTube audiobook. Let's work through our "I really must read that, one day" booklist, together. ⏳ What We Read We skip the brand-new releases. Instead, we dive into: * **Modern classics** from past decades. * **Hidden gems** you may have missed over the years. * **Forgotten favorites** worth re-reading with mature eyes. * **Biographies and histories** that offer deep perspective. 🍷 Why Join Us? * **Life experience:** Books that we read in our 20s can feel different, now. * **Less pressure:** We're aiming to meet every six weeks, which should hopefully give us enough time to actually finish a book. I'll send out a few 'discussion prompts', a week before each meeting, to give us some food for thought. * **Real connections:** This is a space to make genuine, lasting friendships with like-minded people who share your love of a good story. 🗓️ Our Routine * **When:** Saturday, every six weeks at 2 PM. 2026: Oct 10th, Dec 26, 2027: Feb 16, Mar 20, May 1, Jun 12, Jul 24, Sep 4, Oct 16. * **Where:** Currently at Pret in High Holborn, which has a quieter back room. * **Format:** 15 minutes of settling in, 90 minutes of book discussion, followed by 15 minutes of voting for our next book. You are welcome to nominate your favourite read, or we can randomly select one from The Guardian's "Readers' top 100 novels of all time" https://tinyurl.com/mwczm6d9 **October's book is '1984' by George Orwell** Did you know that, according to a [World Book Day](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/05/uk-reading-habits-1984) survey, 42% of respondents who admitted to lying about reading a book falsely claimed to have read George Orwell’s *1984*, making it the most commonly lied-about book? I started it as a teenager, and found it boring. I picked it up, recently, and found it terrifying. Still haven't finished it, though... As always, please only sign up if you are planning to attend. The event is free but the usual £1.50 is a non-refundable maintenance fee and meetup will also charge you £0.60. We would appreciate it if you cancelled no later than 2 days before the event and please avoid cancelling on the day as that may get you removed from the group.

London Queer Books Group 193rd Meetup - What I Know About You by Eric Chacour

Book club: The Assembly of the Dead by Saeida Rouass

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