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 31 October 2019

The Bloody Chamber — Angela Carter

Book cover for Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber in the South Manchester, Chorlton, and Didsbury book group Angela Carter's fairy tales: ‘The Bloody Chamber’, ‘The Courtship of Mr Lyon’, ‘The Tiger's Bride’, ‘Puss-in-Boots’, ‘The Erl-King’, ‘The Snow Child’, ‘The Lady of the House of Love’, ‘The Werewolf’, ‘The Company of Wolves’, and ‘Wolf-Alice’.

This week's book is Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and we'll be meeting at The Fletcher Moss on William Street in Didsbury.

Thursday 17 October 2019

The Master and Margarita — Mikhail Bulgakov

Book cover for Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita in the South Manchester, Chorlton, and Didsbury book group In Soviet Moscow, God is dead, but the devil — to say nothing of his retinue of demons, from a loudmouthed, gun-toting tomcat, to the fanged fallen angel Koroviev — is very much alive. As death and destruction spread through the city like wildfire, condemning Moscow's cultural elite to prison cells and body bags, only a madman, the Master, and Margarita, his beautiful, courageous lover, can hope to end the chaos.

Written in secret during the darkest days of Stalin's reign and circulated in samizdat form for decades, when The Master and the Margarita was finally published it became an overnight literary phenomenon, signalling artistic freedom for Russians everywhere.

This week's book is Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita and we'll be meeting at The Fletcher Moss on William Street in Didsbury.

Thursday 3 October 2019

Tangerine — Christine Mangan

Book cover for Christine Mangan's Tangerine in the South Manchester, Chorlton, and Didsbury book group The last person Alice Shipley expected to see since arriving in Tangier with her new husband was Lucy Mason. After the horrific accident at Bennington, the two friends — once inseparable roommates — haven't spoken in over a year. But Lucy is standing there, trying to make things right.

Perhaps Alice should be happy. She has not adjusted to life in Morocco, too afraid to venture out into the bustling medinas and oppressive heat. Lucy, always fearless and independent, helps Alice emerge from her flat and explore the country.

But soon a familiar feeling starts to overtake Alice — she feels controlled and stifled by Lucy at every turn. Then Alice's husband, John, goes missing, and Alice starts to question everything around her: her relationship with her enigmatic friend, her decision to ever come to Tangier, and her very own state of mind.

This week's book is Christine Mangan's Tangerine and we'll be meeting at The Fletcher Moss on William Street in Didsbury.