South Manchester Book Group

We're a friendly and open reading group, and we share a love of books and discussing them with other people. We meet every fortnight, but you don't have to come to them all. It's dead simple; choose a book you like the sound of, read it (or even part of it) beforehand and turn up with a few ideas and money for beer / wine / flirtinis. It's very informal, and we're quite a friendly bunch.

We meet at a pub in Didsbury around 8 pm. We can usually be found on the table with the books and flirtinis.

We've become rather popular recently so unfortunately aren't accepting new members just at the moment. But please drop us a line on the Contact Us form and we'll add you to our mailing list.

Our reading list, past, present, and future, appears here and a short version of what we’re reading next is here.

Thursday 25 August 2016

The Night Manager — John le Carré

Book cover for John le Carré's The Night Manager in the South Manchester, Chorlton, and Didsbury book groupAt the start of it all, Jonathan Pine is merely the night manager at a luxury hotel. But when an attempt to pass on information to the British authorities - about an international businessman at the hotel with suspicious dealings - backfires terribly, and people close to Pine begin to die, he commits himself to a battle against powerful forces he cannot begin to imagine. His quest takes him from the cliffs of west Cornwall, via northern Quebec and the Caribbean, to the jungles of Panama. His quarry is the worst man in the world.

This week's book is John le Carré's The Night Manager and we'll be meeting at The Fletcher Moss on William Street in Didsbury.

Thursday 11 August 2016

Thérèse Raquin — Émile Zola

Book cover for Émile Zola's Thérèse Raquin in the South Manchester, Chorlton, and Didsbury book groupThey dared not peer down into their own natures, down into the feverish confusion that filled their minds with a kind of dense, acrid mist.

In the claustrophobic atmosphere of a dingy haberdasher's shop on the Passage du Pont-Neuf in Paris, Thérèse Raquin is trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille. The numbing tedium of her life is suddenly shattered when she embarks on a turbulent affair with her husband's earthy friend Laurent, but their animal passion for each other soon compels the lovers to commit a crime that will haunt them forever.

This week's book is Émile Zola's Thérèse Raquin and we'll be meeting at The Fletcher Moss on William Street in Didsbury.

As we're coming to the end of our reading list, we'll be choosing books at the meeting. You may like to consider the unread books list and the unreadable books list.