Our Ukraine fundraising success & what to read next
Catching up on our Ukraine Fundraiser, and looking ahead to June
Dear walking book clubbers,
Thank you so much for your amazing support for our Ukraine fundraiser!
Here we are in the pouring rain on our Friday Regent’s Park walk - which I think must have been our soggiest ever!
And here we are in Sunday’s glorious sun on Hampstead Heath:
It is hard to believe that these were taken just two days apart and in the same city. A special shout out has to go to Tom and Rojean, who came all the way from Minnesota. Thank you for making the journey; we loved having you, and I’m so sorry that you got the soggy walk!!
Catching up on Death & The Penguin
I’m thrilled to announce that we together WE RAISED £420 for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Just think of all those lives that we have helped through our walking and talking. And how important it is that we were talking about a Ukrainian book, set in Kyiv in the 1990s, which helped us all to understand this country and its plight a little better.
I hope you enjoy this month’s webcast, in which I delve into a few of the best points raised in our discussions.
A reminder that you can watch webcasts about all our books from the last couple of years over on MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL. And, in light of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next week, you may especially enjoy THIS ONE about Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader, which - for reasons unknown - is by far and away my most popular webcast!
Thanks also to those of you (namechecked in the article!) who were so kind and chatty to journalism student Laura, who joined us on the Heath. Luckily our discussion about the perils of journalism wasn’t too off-putting, and she wrote a lovely piece about our fundraiser for the Ham & High, which you can read HERE.
I am posting HERE AGAIN the link to the BBC World Book Club episode featuring Andrey Kurkov, as it really is such a fruitful one, so do check it out if you’ve read the book. And many thanks to Lara and Roy for forwarding me THIS NEW, FASCINATING, IN-DEPTH PIECE from the New York Times Magazine about Kurkov. (You can find links to more about Kurkov in the previous post.)
*** I am 100% committed to keeping this newsletter free for those who need it to be, but if you enjoy being part of this community and are able to support Emily’s Walking Book Club financially by paying a small annual subscription of £20/year, then please do. Alternatively, you can pay £50/year to include a bespoke literary consultation with me. Feel free to drop me a line for more info. ***
June: Childhood by Tove Ditlevsen translated by Tiina Nunnally
Tickets are NOW ON SALE for our June walk and Zoom. I’m so glad that so many of you are already excited about reading this book together - what a relief when I pick one that meets such enthusiasm!
Tove knows she is a misfit, deemed odd for her love of words and writing ... This is a visceral depiction of the author's girlhood in working-class Copenhagen 100 years ago - a time and place that Tove knows she must leave behind.
Striking emotion, luminous images, and unforgettable statements abound in Ditlevsen's disarmingly pared-back prose, such as: "Childhood is long and narrow like a coffin, and you can't get out of it on your own." This astonishing work of autofiction is the first in Ditlevsen’s celebrated Copenhagen Trilogy.
On the Heath: Sunday 26th June, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB
On Zoom: Monday 27th June, 8-8.30pm
Buy Childhood, Youth, Dependency 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. N.B. Childhood is only available new as part of the complete Copenhagen trilogy, so please bear in mind we’re just discussing the first part of this book (though of course do feel free to read on).
Another great walking experience…
I was so glad that some of you stuck around at the festival on Friday after our walk, to see Dr Matthew Green talk about his stunning new book Shadowlands. Matt and I are old friends from university, and I love the way he talks and writes about lost worlds that feel tantalisingly close when he’s describing them. When he’s not busy writing, he also leads incredible historical tours through London, ingeniously brought to life by actors and musicians hidden along the route (and powered by free drinks). Matt has kindly agreed to give us a 15 % discount on the tours, if we use the code Emily22 when booking.
You can explore how "bitter Mohammedan gruel" made the modern world on the Coffeehouse Tour, sip medieval rosé in a City plague pit on the Medieval Wine Tour, experience how Mother’s Ruin ravaged London on the Gin Tour or book onto a 3-part History of London course in Hampstead. Public tours run on Saturday afternoons or you can book your own private event here. Don’t forget to use code Emily22 for our 15% discount. Enjoy!
July: The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles by Giorgio Bassani translated by Jamie McKendrick
Tickets for our July walk and Zoom, about Giorgio Bassani’s powerful novella about a gay doctor in 1930s Italy, go on sale on 1st June. Watch this space for some exciting news about this event!
On the Heath: Sunday 24th July, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB
On Zoom: Monday 25th July, 8-8.30pm
Buy The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles 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.
Look out for more about Tove Ditlevsen’s stunning work of autofiction in the next newsletter. In the meantime, happy reading, and stay in touch - it is always a treat to hear from you.
Emily