📚 🚶Looking back on 2023 ... and forward to 2024
Discover more about what we've read and what we're reading next
Dear walking book clubbers,
Thank you for a wonderful year of reading and walking together. I’ve loved getting your thoughts on our books, whether that’s been in person on the windswept Heath, or over zoom, by email or text message - it’s always a treat to hear from you.
I’m taking a break now to hunker down, eat too many mince pies and lose myself in our January book, The Ginger Tree. I’ve already had several emails from you enthusing about this book - thanks! Our next newsletter, with my introduction to this book, including ideas and discussion points, along with useful links to discover more about the book and author, will be with you on Monday 8th January. (At least that’s the plan!) I’m also excited to announce a special guest for our January On Our Reading Radar …
More for 2024
For those who can’t wait, here is a short introduction to our first four books of 2024, in which I fail to walk Alfie on Hampstead Heath.
Our 2024 Books and Dates
January The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd
Friday 19 Regent’s Park | Sunday 21 Hampstead Heath | Monday 22 Zoom
February My Ántonia by Willa Cather
Friday 23 Regent’s Park | Sunday 25 Hampstead Heath | Monday 26 Zoom
March The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks
Friday 15 Regent’s Park | Sunday 17 Hampstead Heath | Monday 18 Zoom
April Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson translated by Anne Born
Friday 12 Regent’s Park | Sunday 14 Hampstead Heath | Monday 15 Zoom
If you’d like to book on to all of our Spring walking book clubs, you can do so here: N.B. The March Regent’s Park walk is only being sold via Daunt as part of the Daunt Books Festival.
The combination of a gift subscription to this weekly newsletter and tickets onto our first four walks of 2024 (or any of the individual events) makes an inspiring literary Christmas present.
I’m also happy to sort out bespoke packages - just email me with XMAS in the subject line and I’ll get back to you (thanks to those who’ve already done this!).
Find out more about our first four books of 2024 here:
Scroll down for details and booking links for January at the bottom of this email.
Looking back on 2023
Our books for 2023 were:
January: Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido
February: Charlotte by David Foenkinos, translated by Sam Taylor
March: Akenfield by Ronald Blythe
April: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
May: The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg, translated by Dick Davies
June: A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
July: Saplings by Noel Streatfeild
September: The World my Wilderness by Rose Macaulay
October: To Sir with Love by ER Benson
November: Just Kids by Patti Smith
December: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Do you have a favourite? Or a top three? I would love to know!
Five highlights of our year were:
Starting the year off with our most popular walk, pictured above! 70 of you wonderful people trooped across Hampstead Heath with me on a beautiful, freezing bright day to discuss Brother of the More Famous Jack.
Being joined by author Rachel Joyce on our April walk, and then treated to an exclusive advance screening of the film adaptation at the Everyman Hampstead.
Being featured by Substack in THIS POST about book clubs.
Deep diving together into England’s experience of The Second World War and the post-war years with our three picks: Saplings, The World my Wilderness and To Sir with Love.
Our October On Our Reading Radar HERE about race relations with phenomenally inspiring writer Ashley Hickson-Lovence.
Feedback
Our community of readers (and walkers) stretches far from our Hampstead Heath roots. It’s incredible to think that we have readers in 71 countries, including New Zealand, India, Sweden, Morocco, and Peru. A quarter of you are in America - hello! If you are reading this from abroad, feel free to drop me a line to introduce yourself anytime, it’d be wonderful to know a bit more about your reading life in sunnier climes to rainy old England. And I love seeing some of you on Zoom, dialling in from all over the place. (I do realise that in this day and age, a global community shouldn’t feel quite so incredible, but I am still happily amazed by it!)
This is a long preamble to say please let me know how I’m doing. If there’s anything you’d like to see more - or less - of in this newsletter, tell me. Am I getting the balance of books right? Are you enjoying the Our Walkers’ Walks features? Is there anything else I could and should be doing?
When you told me that our Hampstead Heath walks were getting a bit too crowded at the start of this year, I listened, so now I’m launching Regent’s Park Friday walks from January.
And thank you for the many positive things you’ve said over the past year. Here are a few especially lovely quotes:
Thank you, Emily, for bringing the walking book club to readers like me who live far from London and Hampstead Heath and for including us in your reading community. I look forward each month to your diverse book selections, rich blogs, and insightful webcasts. Carry on!
I am so glad I discovered you … I have enjoyed joining several walking book club meetings and each of the unique books that we’ve read. You make this lover of books and walking feel happy…
I find your choice of books interesting and appealing, your newsletter is hugely informative and well researched and I love the links to other sources, films, blogs etc.
A big thank you for all your wonderful book choices and general very infectious enthusiasm for the pleasures of reading, plus all the extra fun things you include. It is an amazingly rich and stimulating book club.
January
The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd
In 1903, young, sheltered Mary Mackenzie sails to China to marry the British military attaché: a man she’s met only a few times and who turns out to be disappointingly devoid of passion. She attempts to fit in to the expat scene, has a daughter, and endures a joyless circumscribed existence, until a wild affair with a Japanese soldier leaves her pregnant. Rejected by husband, mother and country, Mary flees to Japan … Written as a series of compelling diary entries, this is a captivating portrait of a young woman’s adventure into waters unknown.
Why did I choose it? January can be even more of a struggle than Christmas - often we’re broke, we’ve given up booze, and it’s bitterly cold and dark outside. In other words, it’s the ideal time to immerse ourselves in a huge, utterly transporting novel, to journey to a different time and place, and escape into the astonishing emotional adventures of a great young heroine. This book was always being recommended by fellow booksellers, and I found this copy when going through my late mother’s books, in the painful process of emptying a storage room: It had been waiting for me! I sat down to read it, was utterly sucked in by the directness of Mary’s diary entries, and didn’t get up for hours…
Intrigued? You may enjoy THIS New York Times review from when it was originally published in 1978.
In Regent’s Park: Friday 19th January, 12-1.45pm, setting off from Daunt Books, 84 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QW, £8-15
On Hampstead Heath: Sunday 21st January, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB, £8-15
On Zoom: Monday 22nd January, 8-8.40pm, £1-10
On Our Reading Radar: Friday 26th January, 1.30-2pm: Living abroad Join this month’s discussion thread to share your cultural highlights from the month, as well as your recommendations on the theme of LIVING ABROAD - What have you read or watched that has opened your eyes to the experience of living in a culture not your own? Look out for our first newsletter of the year to discover our special guest!
Buy The Ginger Tree 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, Happy Christmas and Happy New Year!
Emily
Many thanks to Roy, who shared these stats with me:
8/11 books were published in the 20th century
All of them were published in the 2nd half of the century except for Saplings (1945)
3/11 were from the 21st century (with Charlotte-2014 being the most recent book)
7 books were written by women and 4 by men.
All were written by white authors except To Sir With Love.
In terms of the location for where they were set:
England-7
America-2
Germany-1
Italy-1
Looking forward to 2024. The Ginger Tree sounds fascinating. .Of last year's readings, To Sir With Love was my favorite. Have a Happy Holiday Season. JMishol