Our book group partners
Book Group Partners - our grass roots supporters
Local book groups are the grass roots supporters of Eastbourne LitFest. Here is our little thank you to our book group donors - a celebration of all their stories and the books that they talk about, from the universally loved to those that split opinion!
The ABC
The Awesome Book Club is a book group of six women living in Eastbourne. Four of us are retired and between us we’ve done lots of jobs including teaching, book-keeping, nursing and selling houses.
When and where do you meet? We meet at each other’s homes every 2-3 months, and we always have food and a few drinks to help keep the conversation flowing.
How do you choose which books to read? We take turns to bring recommendations. We’re happy reading serious and comic books, in any genre, and we do nonfiction too. We choose two books to read each time – one lighter, and one a bit more serious or literary. Or we might choose a shorter and a longer one. For example, we read The Living Mountain, a short book about the Cairngorm mountains, alongside The Magus by John Fowles, which is more of a marathon at 700 pages.
Are you social chatters or serious book talkers? A bit of both! After a good catch up, we turn to the books. Because we have two to talk about each time, we always have a lot to say!
Are there any books that have divided opinion? Definitely! Babel by KF Kuang really split the group – one person couldn’t bear it and felt the author was showing off, but others adored it as a brilliant and involving blend of historical fiction and fantasy.
What books would you recommend to other book groups? Three that really got the conversation going are Life after Life by Kate Atkinson, The Trees by Percival Everett and There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak. We also enjoyed Hugh Bonneville’s memoir Playing Under the Piano: From Downton to Darkest Peru.
