Kreis 6 English book club
Find out about our upcoming books and remind yourself of some of the things we learned in book club. Not sure what to read? How about getting some inspiration from this article recommending 15 short novels only one of which we've read so far.
2027 Dates
January - The Things we Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
2026 Dates
Wednesday 21 January - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Wednesday 18 March - Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Thursday 21 May - The Pelican Child by Joy Williams
Wednesday 8 July - Free by Lea Ypi
Wednesday 16 September - Heart the Lover by Lily King
Thursday 26 November - The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy
Possible books
As usual we'll decide together which book we want to read next. Here are some ideas.
Ex Wife by Ursula Parrott (281 pages
The Names by Florence Knapp (343 pages)
The Good Lord Bird by James McBride (417)
Susan Sontag - Against Interpretation (read about it here)
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (379 pages)
James by Percival Everett (320 pages)
The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy (187 pages)
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy (233 pages)
Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo (307 pages)
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (240 pages)
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (386 pages)
Hamnett by Maggie O'Farell (384 pages)
More by Molly Roden Winter (304 pages)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (389 pages)
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (160 pages)
We have always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (176 pages)
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson (145 pages)
The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta (260 pages)
The First Bad Man by Miranda July (288 pages)
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley (277 pages)
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (163 pages of fairly large font)
2026
Wednesday 16 September 2026
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Overall this book was a hit with the book club. Some people really liked it, others were a bit more ambivalent. The language was fairly straightforward but it took a while for some readers to get into it.
The good thing about this book was that there was a lot to discuss, such as the emotions (or lack thereof) of the narrator, the events in the book (how realistic were they), the name of the protagonist (Casey or Jordan) and what success looks like.
It might by time to have another look at Euphoria again, also written by Lily King, to see how this book compares to Heart the Lover. Here's a review if you want a quick reminder of the story.
Wednesday 8 July 2026
Free by Lea Ypi
Everyone loved this book. One person enjoyed it so much they straight away moved onto its 'sequel'/ 'prequel', Indignity: A Life Reimagined. There was so much packed into the tale of Ypi’s childhood – the influence of teacher Nora, the lack of political discussions at home, family secrets, biographies and what freedom means. Later, the regime collapses and people are forced to flee Albania to escape violence and poverty.
Definitely one for me to re-read so that I can get a better idea of who everyone was. Then, I’ll hunt down Indignity at the library to find out more about Ypi’s very special grandmother.
Thursday 21 May 2026
The Pelican Child by Joy Williams
A weird collection of difficult to remember short stories. No one could recall much of the stories and few of us managed to read the full collection. And yet, after discussing them, people were intrigued and wanted to dip into them again. The stories were compared to poetry – they take work to unravel. It’s better to read these stories slowly, one at a time, rather than rush through the book.
Perhaps it is helpful to know a bit about the author before embarking on this book – she likes animals and worries about the danger we are doing to our planet. You can read more about her in this review of the book.
If I had to recommend a few of the stories, I would suggest:
The Pelican Child
Chicken Hill
Stuff
The Beach House
Wednesday 18 March
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
As usual I'd like you to bring the following to the lesson:
one word you've learned
one quote you liked
one question about the book
Wednesday 21 January
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
There was a mixed reception to this book. Some of us loved it, others gave up on it fairly early on. Published in the 1950s, the book is set in late nineteenth century Africa in what is now Nigeria. The main character was flawed and the society described seemed brutal at times. But was the society replaced by something better? What about the morals of those who colonised this part of the world? Was their justice better than that of Okwonko's? The story stops in the early period of colonisation and leaves us with lots of questions to ponder.
What we've read
The books are in order with our most recent ones at the top of the list.
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Free by Lea Ypi
The Pelican Child by Joy Williams
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
The Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee
Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Baumgartner by Paul Auster
You are Here by David Nicholls
Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Appliance by J O Morgan
Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
On Connection by Kae Tempest
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Vesper Flights by Helen McDonald
Stories I Forgot to Tell you by Dorothy Gallagher
Mrs Caliban by Rachel Ingalls
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
A Life's Work by Rachel Cusk
Whatever Happened to Interracial Love by Kathleen Collins
We are Attempting to Survive our Time by A L Kennedy
My Name is Why by Lemn Sissay
Euphoria by Lily King
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
Cold Spring Harbor by Richard Yates
The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
Milkman by Anna Burns
Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
Will you Please be Quiet, Please by Raymond Carver
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Normal People by Sally Rooney
The Beacon by Susan Hill
Animal Farm by George Orwell
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
Q&A by Vikas Swarup
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
The Children Act by Ian McEwan
Let me be like Water by S.K. Perry
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Black Faces, White Faces by Jane Gardam
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin
Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Thing around your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Dear Life by Alice Munro
An Education by Nick Hornby
The 2025 sessions
Wednesday 19 November
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
We all liked this one but some of us wondered whether the messages was a bit too conservative. However, the generally positive consensus on the book meant that we didn't have quite as much to discuss as we sometimes do.
The idiom quiz at the end proved tricky. The expression that really got up people's noses (it was annoying) was 'mutton dressed as lamb'. A ram is a male sheep, mutton is the meat that comes from an old sheep.
Wednesday 27 August
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
It seems that the stories were not particularly memorable and yet we mostly enjoyed reading them. I think this is a book that needs to be read more than once.
Tuesday 24 June
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Our favourite word to describe the book was 'fascinating'. It seems we were all fascinated by the lives of the fictitious astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the ISS. It was a truly thought-provoking book. Actually my favourite part of the discussion was when we started talking about art and whether it is possible to appreciate it if you haven't had the 'appropriate' education. I'll send you an Instagram reel on this theme.
Wednesday 14 May
The Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee - PH Zurich
This book kept us talking for almost 90 minutes so was definitely a successful choice in that regard. We talked about the emotion in the book. Did we feel sad at the life being led? We also discussed perspectives - how much do we really know about what Michael K is thinking, how do the people he meets respond to him - and the themes - is it about war or more about society? How much of the book is about fate? Finally we thought we had detected some hope in the end of the book as he plans to set off on his journey again but this time with slightly different plans.
Tuesday 4 March
Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel - PH Zurich
Less of a mixed bag this time. From what I remember no-one particularly enjoyed this book. Some of us had stronger feelings about it.
Monday 6 January
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney - Kontrast, Josefstrasse
This was a mixed bag. A few of us really enjoyed the book but others didn't like it at all. Some of us kind of liked it but didn't really approve of the ending.
Would you like to maintain and improve your advanced English skills by taking part in one of my book clubs? Send me a message via the contact form if you would like to join us.
Comments