📚 🚶Let's talk Patti Smith tonight at 8
Details for this evening's Zoom book club | What's next? | Christmas thoughts
Dear walking book clubbers,
I loved getting literally blown away on Hampstead Heath yesterday! It was a powerful combination of crazy wind and phenomenal book. Thank you so much to those who came, and thanks also to Ben for this pic (in which, for once, I’m listening not talking!).
If you missed our walk and would like the chance to talk about this inspiring, iconic memoir about being an artist, broke, in love and in New York in the 1960s-70s, then please join me on Zoom this evening. I’m rather strict about people only joining the walk if they’ve read the book as it impacts conversations between members (it’s not much fun wanting to get into the nitty gritty of a favourite moment with a walking companion only to discover they’ve not read it so have nothing to contribute), but in contrast our Zooms are open to everyone. Wonderful if you’ve read the book and would like to share your thoughts; also wonderful if you’ve yet to pick it up, but would like to tune in and listen to the discussion. I always read out a passage and our zoomers make some insightful points. Feel free to bring your knitting, or dinner, and certainly a drink.
In case you missed it, Pat’s book is now available in Daunt’s Hampstead. Here she is signing my copy. I love having some talented writers in our ranks!
Tonight’s Zoom
Hope to see you on Zoom, tonight at 8-8.40pm, £1-10: please decide where you are on this scale of what you can afford to pay.
If you are able to book in via Eventbrite using this button, so much the better, as it means you can pay and I can see how many of you to expect.
If you’d rather connect directly, here are the details:
Join HERE | Meeting ID: 796 0938 5814 | Passcode: Smith
What’s next?
Monday 27th November - Look out for The November Webcast: a 15-minute video with some thoughts on the book and a reading, arriving in your inbox this morning.
Friday 1st December at 1.30-2pm: On Our Reading Radar: November, New York
Special guest Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo from New York’s independent Greenlight Bookstore will be joining us. This month, our discussion thread will be a chance to share our cultural highlights from the past month, as well as any particular recommendations to do with NEW YORK: Where do you love in the Big Apple? And what books / films / music / art have proved to be reliable travelling companions for you?
Christmas with Emily’s Walking Book Club
This is a really challenging time of year for many of us, when a lot of issues seem to surface. The short days and long nights often bring loneliness, grief, families, and - at the very least - hangovers.
Fear not, for Emily’s walking book club is here to help us through!
Firstly, our December book, set in the run up to midwinter, absolutely transports you back to that feeling of childhood excitement - even while it undermines it with the insidious threat of the Dark. I hope it will provide an ideal escape on the evenings when you decide to draw the curtains and hide away from the world outside.
Secondly, our December walk includes our … Seasonal book swap!
Here’s what happens:
Everyone comes along to our December walk with a book chosen from their bookshelf that they’ve read, enjoyed, and would like to give away. Please wrap it up. Feel free to include a note saying who it’s from, or to keep it anonymous - up to you. Then, on our walk, I’ll collect them all up, shuffle them around, then give them out. (I might even manage a Ho ho ho…) You can open your present on the walk or take it home to put under your tree. I will bring a few spares for those who aren’t able to bring one. I’m already excited!
Finally, if you’re hunting for a good present for someone, how about a gift subscription to Emily’s Walking Book Club?
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
*** PLEASE NOTE THE DATE CHANGE!!***
When Will Stanton turns eleven on Midwinter’s Eve, he discovers that he has the power of the Old Ones, and must embark on a quest to vanquish the terrifying evil of The Dark… First published in 1973, this deeply loved, highly acclaimed children’s classic is both a thrilling imaginative adventure and a deep engagement with British folklore and landscape. With adult fans including Robert Macfarlane and Simon McBurney - and me! - it’s one to treasure, especially at this time of year.
By the way, various members have asked if it’s ok to read this, the second book in the series, without reading the first, Over Sea, Under Stone. Don’t worry, this one is a standalone, and you do NOT need to have read the first, which has different characters and setting, (and is also brilliant!). If you’d like to go on to read the third book in the series, Greenwitch, then you do need to have read the first and second beforehand, but it doesn’t matter at all which way round you read these first two.
N.B. Our walks are for grown-ups, but children who have read the book are certainly welcome to take part in this one too, in case you’d like to bring one along for a Christmas treat.
Join our Christmas walking book club, complete with a book swap (see above) on Hampstead Heath: Sunday 10th December, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB, £5-15
Meet on Zoom: Monday 11th December, 8-8.40pm, £1-10
Buy The Dark is Rising 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.
Happy reading!
Emily