Books are strong tools to open our eyes and our minds to new ideas and scenarios that are distinct from ours. And having the chance to discuss them after reading makes the practice even richer to figure out the society we live in. So if you enjoy books, you probably have already felt the need to participate on a book club where you would be able to talk about your impressions as much as discovering new ways to interpret the stories that touched you somehow.
So here goes a list of five presencial book clubs that you can participate for free and have a nice conversation about the literary world.
1. Café Literário
This book club happens every last sunday of the month in Biblioteca Mário de Andrade, and it is already in its 31th edition. Café Literário was idealized by the professor Janaina Soggia, who holds a Full Degree in Portuguese and English language and is currently doing a doctorate in Literature and Literary Critics.
The club started in 2016 with its first meetings in Casa das Rosas, another cultural centre in the city. But due to the massive public searching, they have changed its location to the library close to República subway station. Every meeting is mediated by Janaina and an invited guest, who is usually specialized on the picked book’s theme. Although it is not held by the Library’s organization, it was already included in the official calendar and the participation is for free. Tickets can be picked one hour before the event at the library’s reception.
The next meeting will be in November, 25th (15h to 17h30) about the book “15 contos escolhidos” (15 chosen short stories) , by Katherine Mansfield.
2. Clube de Leitura da Mário
Although Café Literário happens in Biblioteca Mário de Andrade, the library also has its own discussion group which is organized and divulged in its website and on the library’s Facebook agenda. Despite not having a fixed calendar, the meetings are planned a month in advance, so you can read the book before joining the discussion. It is also interesting to know that the library holds an extensive collection of books and you are able to borrow them! The meetings are held in the Hemeroteca Mário de Andrade and are mediated by library’s employees.
The last meeting happened in November, 14th (19h) about the book “Mrs. Dalloway”, by Virginia Woolf.
3. BSP’s Book Club
Another library that holds its own book club is Biblioteca de São Paulo, which was a finalist at the World Excellence Award, promoted by the London Book Fair, in 2018, in the Best Bookstore of the Year category. The library is located in Parque da Juventude, close to Carandiru station, and is known as a “living library” for its concept of valuing people through their knowledge and promoting the exchange of experiences.
Their book club happens one thursday of every month, from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. and is free to join. You can always check the next meeting on their website or their Facebook agenda. The São Paulo’s library also offers others cultural programs that are interesting to keep an eye on.
The next meeting will be in November, 22th (15:00 until 17:00) about the book “The Unwomanly Face of War”, by Svetlana Alexijevich.
4. Leia Mulheres
Inspired on a project created by a famous English writer, Joanna Walsh, in 2014, a group of friends decided to begin a presencial book club to read and discuss more feminine authors. Currently, groups of people gather together in the entire Brazilian territory (in a total of 99 cities, from São Paulo to Amazonas – and also in Porto, Portugal) and promote discussions in social medias too.
The club is important for the society to notice that we have a large number of incredible female authors who are also part of what the Academy nomite as classics. On their website is possible to check which cities held the meeting and its respective groups on Facebook, where is possible to check the next books that will be discussed.
The next meeting will be in November, 24th (16:00 until 18:00) about the book “Our Lady of the Nile”, by Scholastique Mukasonga at Centro Cultural de São Paulo.
5. Traçando Livros
Unlike the others, this book club is more informal and was created by a group that was participating in the Orkut’s community, Skoobers SP, and met to exchange books and ideas. Later, in January 2012, they gathered together to make their first meeting as a book club. Nowadays, the meetings happens in the penultimate sunday of each month, at Sesc Belenzinho – but it is not integrated on the official calendar, so you have to follow the group on Facebook to know the annual theme that will organize the choice of the books for each month.
Everyone can participate on the discussion, and the nicest part is that if you become a participative club’s member, you can also participate on the voting of the annual topic and also of the books. According to the groups moderators, Traçando Livros tries to be the most democratic as possible and it is a casual and relaxed book club so people can share their own experiences with the literature.
The next meeting will be in November, 18th (16h30 until 19h30) about the book “Sleep”, by Haruki Murakami.
Plus: Lendo Mulheres Negras
“How many female black authors do you know?”. That is the main reflection created by this book club. With a strong presence in Salvador, Bahia, the club still doesn’t hold reunions in São Paulo, however, they promote discussions about important books in our society history along with social representation discussion. Even if you are not able to participate in the meetings, you can follow them on Instagram and Facebook to know more about books and be aware of a literature which was set aside for many years, but represents an important reality of the world we live in.