📚 🚶Announcing our first books of 2023
And some thrilling audio news with Monocle Radio
Dear walking book clubbers,
Firstly, I’d love to point you towards tonight’s episode - released at 9pm - of Monocle Radio’s Meet the Writers. From 9pm this evening, you’ll find the episode HERE, and on the usual podcast platforms, where you can also subscribe to their twice-weekly show, featuring guests including Melvyn Bragg, Katherine Rundell, Andrey Kurkov, and … well… me!
I was thrilled to be asked on to talk to Monocle Radio’s Georgina Godwin (pictured with me above) about Emily’s Walking Book Club, and answer a few other questions about the book world.
Tune in and let me know what you think! I’ve not heard it yet, so keeping fingers crossed it sounds ok…
The eagle-eyed amongst you might notice my curious footwear in the photo above, taken just after the interview. I broke my big toe (long story, short: I dropped a chopping board on it) and have spent the past month hobbling around in a heel-wedge sandal and a friend’s borrowed pink platform trainer.
I say this to reassure you that our walk this Sunday 11th December will be a gentle one! I know the Heath can be pretty treacherous this time of year, and it is going to be especially freezing cold. But fear not! We will stick to the paths and we will go slow. Please wrap yourself up warm, and remember to wrap up a book you’ve loved for our Christmas lucky dip too.
Below are full details for our December events. I have loved re-reading A Touch of Mistletoe, and can’t wait to discuss it with you. You can discover more about this classic Barbara Comyns book in our previous newsletter here:
Please scroll down for the big reveal of our first books of 2023, and a little about why I chose each of them.
Our December Discussions
THIS SUNDAY 11th December, 11.30-1pm:
Join us for a walk on Hampstead Heath, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB. Please make sure you’ve read the book!
N.B. Remember to bring a wrapped, pre-loved book to put in a lucky dip for another book clubber. (I will bring spares so if you can’t, don’t worry.)
Monday 12th December, 8-8.40pm:
Join us on Zoom - feel free to show up, even if you’ve not read it. This conversation is open to anyone who’s interested.
Friday 16th December, 2-2.30pm (Note the date change):
Live Discussion Thread - Join the thread (link will arrive on the day) to discuss the book & share what else you’ve been reading this December.
Buy A Touch of Mistletoe from Daunt Books HERE and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop.
Announcing our first books of 2023
Congratulations to those of you who guessed correctly, our first books of the New Year are:
January: Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido
February: Charlotte by David Foenkinos translated by Sam Taylor
March: Akenfield by Ronald Blythe.
Conveniently, you can see and book tickets to all the walks on Eventbrite HERE and all the Zooms on Eventbrite HERE.
Now for more on each of these wonderful books…
January
Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido
Katherine leaves drab suburban life for the wilds of university and the ebullient family of her Jewish leftist philosophy professor ... There follows romance, heartbreak, a spell in Rome, a return to London, and along the way masses of sex, wit, wild clothes, abject misery, utter joy ...
This widely admired and deeply adored classic is an absolute delight - I can't wait to share it with you!
Why did I pick it? When I finally got around to reading this book a few months’ ago, I couldn’t believe I’d missed out on its absolute joy for so long. It is a treasure about growing up, falling in love, losing and finding your way - and much of it is set in and around Hampstead. When I posted about it on Instagram (here), the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response encouraged me to fast-track this one. It’s in a not dissimilar vein to December’s Barbara Comyns, so for those of you who want to stay in the life-affirming, sad-but-funny, coming-of-age zone, this is your ideal next book.
Tickets are now on sale!
On the Heath: Sunday 22nd January, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB, £5-15
On Zoom: Monday 23rd January, 8-8.40pm, £1-10
Live Discussion Thread: Friday 27th January, 1.30-2pm We’re going to try these half an hour earlier in the hope of better coinciding with your lunch breaks. These threads are a chance to share what else we’ve been reading and watching and listeover the month, as well as discussing the book.
Buy Brother of the More Famous Jack from Daunt Books HERE and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop.
February
Charlotte by David Foenkinos translated by Sam Taylor
German Jewish artist Charlotte Salomon's short life was marked by Nazi persecution, a family riddled with suicides, and also by her extraordinary talent...
In this prize-winning novel, translated from the French by Sam Taylor, David Foenkinos tells Charlotte's gripping and tragic story, beautifully imagining her interior world while chronicling his own investigative journey. This highly unusual, deeply powerful book is both surprisingly life-affirming and heart-wrenchingly sad.
Why did I pick it? I have been longing to discuss this remarkable novel with you ever since I reviewed the paperback for the Guardian (here) a few years’ ago. My thanks to Julia who has periodically jogged my memory! Now is its moment.
Tickets go on sale: 1st January
On the Heath: Sunday 26th February, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB, £5-15
On Zoom: Monday 27th February, 8-8.40pm, £1-10
Live Discussion Thread: Friday 3rd March, 1.30-2pm (I do realise this is technically not in February, but it is too short a month!)
Buy Charlotte from Daunt Books HERE and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop.
March
Akenfield by Ronald Blythe
In this landmark, deeply affecting book, Ronald Blythe captures the words spoken by the people in his Suffolk village in 1967, portraying a now-vanished way of life.
We join around fifty villagers - including "The Survivors" of War, "The Orchard Men", teachers, bell-ringers, the vet, the wheelwright and even the gravedigger - to be transported back to the 1960s, and further back through childhood memories and lore passed down generations. This is a time when children were told to "Drink all you can at school" as there was no running water at home; a time of hand-made nails, and wooden wheels - made from wych-elm, unsplittable thanks to the twist in its growth; a time when a farm hand could join the army and gain a stone, as he was no longer being "worked to death"...
Blythe's fascinating book mines the deep tension between the villagers' respect for tradition and desire for progress, raising enduring questions about the relationship between memory and modernity, nature and human nature, silence and speech.
Why did I pick it? I noticed how much we were intrigued by the depiction of an all-but-vanished world in our discussions about Berger’s A Fortunate Man, and so chose this extraordinarily moving and fascinating work of oral history. It’s perfect for dipping into over the early days of Spring - transporting us back in time; although there’s masses of charm and much that’s been lost, you’ll be reassured to see how much is easier now!
Tickets go on sale: 1st February
NOTE THE DATE CHANGE!
On the Heath: Sunday 26th March, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB, £5-15
On Zoom: Monday 27th March, 8-8.40pm, £1-10
Live Discussion Thread: Friday 31st March, 1.30-2pm
Buy Akenfield from Daunt Books HERE and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop.
And finally …
In case you are still looking for the perfect Christmas present for the book lover in your life, how about giving them a subscription to this newsletter?
And a reminder that I am happy to arrange popular and successful bespoke literary consultations for our wildly supportive members:
Drop me a line if you’d like any more info!
Happy reading,
Emily