Book clubs
To help slow the spread of the coronavirus, Council is taking a number of public health precautions including closing many of our facilities. In addition, many Council events and activities are cancelled. Please visit our COVID-19 page to see what is impacted and for more details about how coronavirus is impacting Randwick City.
Book club meetings are informal discussions about the current title and everyone is encouraged to contribute. The groups are small and inclusive of about 10-15 people in each book club.
Randwick City Library hosts eleven Book Clubs offering a space for book lovers to read and discuss books on a monthly basis.
- Six clubs mainly reading fiction titles
- Two clubs reading history titles only
- One Gothic/Horror book club
- Two children's book clubs
Randwick City Library also has a special collection for those who want to start their own book club. Book Club in a Box holds 10 books of the same title, discussion notes and a how-to guide to get anyone started with their own group.
What is discussed?
At the meetings aspects of the book are discussed, such as:
- Writing style
- Theme
- Author
- Impact it has had on the reader
- A favourite scene or passage from the book
Current Book Club Reading List
Fiction Book Clubs
Location | Date | Time | Title for discussion |
|---|---|---|---|
Lionel Bowen Library, Maroubra | 2nd Wednesday of the month | 1.30pm - 2.30pm | Dark emu by Bruce Pascoe |
Malabar Community Library, Matraville | 3rd Tuesday of the month | 10am - 11am | No friend but the mountains by Behrouz Boochani |
Margaret Martin Library, Randwick | 3rd Thursday of the month | 11am - 12pm | The hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams |
Margaret Martin Library, Randwick | 3rd Sunday of the month | 1 - 2pm | A man called Ove by Fredrik Backman |
Lionel Bowen Library, Maroubra | 4th Tuesday of the month | 6.30pm - 7.30pm | The fragments by Toni Jordan |
Lionel Bowen Library, Maroubra | 4th Tuesday of the month | 6:30pm - 7:30pm | Erotic stories for Punjabi widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal |
History Book Clubs
Location | Date | Time | Title for discussion |
|---|---|---|---|
Malabar Community Library, Matraville | 1st Tuesday of the month | 10am - 11am | The only woman in the room by Marie Benedict |
Margaret Martin Library, Randwick | 4th Thursday of the month | 6pm - 7pm | Theme: Music |
Gothic/Horror Book Club
Location | Date | Time | Title for discussion |
|---|---|---|---|
Lionel Bowen Library, Maroubra | 3rd Thursday of the month | 6.30pm - 7.30pm | Bird Box by Josh Malerman |
How do I join?
If you are interested in joining a book club, please contact us. Some book clubs have an annual fee, while some are free and require you to source your own copy of the title to be discussed.
What has been previously read?
See below for all the books that have been read across our different book clubs dating back as far as 2005:
Fiction Book Club
Books read in 2019
- The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley
- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
- Esther by Jessica North
- Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
- Five Bells by Gail Jones
- Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
- The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
- The Red and the Black by Stendal
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
- The True Deceiver by Trove Jansson
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- The Man in High Castle by Philip K. Dick
- The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst
- The Helpline by Katherine Collette
- No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani
- Amazons by John Man
- Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss
- Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
- Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmad Saadawi
- The Fragments by Toni Jordan
- The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre
- Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
- Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
- The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
Books read in 2018
- Eucalyptus by Murray Bail
- A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
- Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
- The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
- Plainsong by Kent Haruf
- Kim by Rudyard Kipling
- Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan
- The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
- Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale
- H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
- Sweet Caress by William Boyd
- The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst
- Aunts up the Cross by Robin Dalton
- Purity by Jonathan Franzen
- The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson
- Red and Black by Stendhal
- The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
- Five Bells by Gail Jones
- Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Books read in 2017
- Women in Black by Madeleine St John
- The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
- The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
- The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
- The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
- An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alemeddine
- Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
- Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
- House of the Spirits by Isabelle Allende
- The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan
- Sweet Caress by William Boyd
- The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
- Purity by Jonathan Franzen
- Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan
- Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale
- Eucalyptus by Murray Bail
- Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Books read in 2016
- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- The Golden Age by Joan London
- The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
- Rose Boys by Peter Rose
- A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
- The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
- Jonah by Louis Stone
- After Darkness by Christine Piper
- The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
- The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan
- Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
- An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine
- Women in Black by Madeleine St John
- The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
- The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
- The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
Books read in 2015
- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
- Perfume by Patrick Suskind
- The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
- Stoner by John Williams
- The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham
- The Collini Case by Ferdinand von Schirach
- The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane
- The Dinner by Herman Koch
- What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt
- A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
- Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
- Jonah by Louis Stone
- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- The Golden Age by Joan London
- The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
- A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
Books read in 2014
- Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
- Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
- Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
- The Collini Case by Ferdinand von Schirach
- A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
- The Fringe Dwellers by Nene Gare
- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
- Flaubert's Parrot by Wallace Stegner
- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
- Stoner by John Williams
- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Books read in 2013
- Yellow Birds by Kevin Power
- We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
- The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
- My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
- The Tree of Man by Patrick White
- The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard Morais
- Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook
- On the Beach by Nevil Shute
- Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre
Books read in 2012
- All That I Am by Anna Funder
- Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières
- The Old School by P.M. Newton
- Midnight in Peking by Paul French
- The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal
- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
- Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
- Tirra Lirra by the River by Jessica Anderson
- A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
- That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott
- A Town like Alice by Nevil Shute
- The Cartographer by Peter Twohig
- The Thousand Autumns of Jacob Zoet by David Mitchell
- The Mountain by Drusilla Modjeska
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
- Nemesis by Philip Roth
Books read in 2011
- Midnight's Children by Salmon Rushdie
- The Thousand Autumns of Jacob Zoet by David Mitchell
- Merry-Go-Round in the Sea by Randolph Stow
- Ransom by David Malouf
- Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- Foe by J. M. Coetzee
- Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
- Collected stories by Carson McCullers
- Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
- The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do
- The Outsider by Albert Camus
- The Man who Loved Children by Christina Stead
Books read in 2010
- Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
- The Outsider by Albert Camus
- The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea by Randolph Stow
- Foe by J. M. Coetzee
- Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama
- Wanting by Richard Flanagan
- The Art of the Engine Driver by Steven Carroll
- Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
- Lovesong by Alex Miller
- This is How by M.J. Hyland
- The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
- Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Books read in 2009
- The Boat by Nam Le
- The Spare Room by Helen Garner
- Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Shadow Catcher by Marianne Wiggins
- The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
- Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Books read in 2008
- Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
- Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers
- Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner
- On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
- Accordion Crimes by E. Annie Proulx
- Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
- Snow by Orhan Pamuk
- Things without a name by Joanne Fedler
- The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser
- Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
- People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Books read in 2007
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
- The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flanagan
- The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
- The Turning by Tim Winton
- The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
- We Need to Talk About Kevin: a novel by Lionel Shriver
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
- Romulus, My Father by Raimond Gaita
- Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
- Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living by Carrie Tiffany
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
- Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Books read in 2006
- Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Red Queen by Margaret Drabble
- A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
- Saturday by Ian McEwan
- Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
- Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
- The Pomegranate Soup by Marsh Mehran
- On Beauty by Zadie Smith
- Secret River by Kate Grenville
- Child of the Revolution by Louis M Garcia
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Books read in 2005
- Resurrectionists by Kim Wilkins
- I for Isobel by Amy Witting
- A Dictionary of Maqiao by Han Shaogong
- Matthew Flinder's Cat by Bryce Courtenay
- Disgrace by J.M.Coetzee
- Butterfly Song by Terri Janke
- The Namesake by Jumpa Lahiri
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
- Feasting and Fasting by Anita Desai
- May Contain Nuts by John O'Farrell
- The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Dwakarum
Gothic/Horror Book Club
Books read so far in 2019
- Salem's Lot by Stephen King
- The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
- Frankenstein in Baghdad by Aḥmad Saadāwī
- The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
- I Always Find You by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Books read in 2018
- Various - HP Lovecraft
- My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
- The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott
- Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Trembley
- Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
- Horror Stories - E. Nesbit
- Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Books read in 2017
- I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
- A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
- Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
- Mister B Gone by Clive Barker
- The Monk by Matthew Lewis
- It by Stephen King
Books read in 2016
- The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
- Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
- Tale of Mystery & Imagination by Edgar Allen-Poe
- The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
- John Dies at the End by David Wong
- Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
- The Devil's Alphabet by Daryl Gregory
- The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorn
- An English Ghost Story by Kim Newman
- A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe
Books read in 2015
- Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
- Graveminder by Melissa Marr
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
- Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
- Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
- Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
- Perfume by Patrick Suskind
- American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
- War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
- In a Glass Darkly by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Three Ghost Stories by Charles Dickens
Books read in 2014
- 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
- Vathek by William Thomas Beckford
- Piercing by Ryu Murakami
- The Trial by Franz Kafka
- Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Warm Bodies by Issac Marion
- The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
- Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook
- The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham
- The Fog by James Herbert
- Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Books read in 2013
- From Hell by Alan Moore
- Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
- Nosferatu theatrical film
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
- Come Closer by Sara Gran
- Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
- Phantom of the Opera theatrical film
- Cabal by Clive Barker
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan
Books read in 2012
- Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
- Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
- Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
- Red Queen by Honey Brown
- Collected Works by Edgar Allan Poe
- House of Usher - Pit and the Pendulum - Tell Tale Heart - The Raven
- Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill
- Collected Works by H. P. Lovecraft: The Statement of Randolph Carter - Dreams in the Witch House - The Shadow Over Innsmouth - Herbert West-Reanimator - Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
- World War Z by Max Brooks
- The Monk by Matthew Lewis
- The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Books read in 2011
- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- The Shining by Stephen King
- Sleepy Hollow by Irving Washington
History Book Club
Books read so far in 2019
- Blood and Silk by Michael Vatikiotis
- Suffragettes by Joyce Marlow
- Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
- Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
- Lost Kingdom by Serhii Plokhy
Books read in 2018
- England Arise by Juliet Barker
- Germany by Neil McGregor
- The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore
- Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler
- Revolution by Peter Ackroyd
- The Silk Roads : A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan
- Mongol Empire by John Man
- Mythos by Stephen Fry
- Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler
- A Short History of Africa: from the Origin of the Human Race to Arab Spring by Gordon Kerr
- The Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Books read in 2017
- The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
- Agents of Empire by Noel Malcolm
- Sea of Dangers by Geoffrey Blainey
- The World of the Shining Prince by Ivan Morris
- Lancaster and York : the Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir
- And Man Created God : Kings, Cults and Conquests at the Time of Jesus by Selina O'Grady
- Candide and Other Works by Voltaire
- Sydney Noir by Michael Duffy and Nick Hordern
- Murder at Myall Creek by Mark Tedeschi
- Aunts Up the Cross by Robin Dalton
Books read in 2016
- The Queen, Her Lover and the Most Notorious Spy in History by Roland Perry
- The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume
- Joan of Arc by Helen Castor
- Antony and Cleopatra by Adrian Goldsworthy
- Empire of Cotton by Sven Beckert
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
- Baghdad : City of Peace, City of Blood by Justin Marozzi
- Australian History in 7 Questions by John Hirst
- A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre
- The World of the Shining Prince by Ivan Morris
- And a Bottle of Rum by Wayne Curtis
- The Great Betrayal by Ben MacIntyre
- The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale
Books read in 2015
- A Brief History of the Crusades by Geoffrey Hindley
- A Gambling Man: George XI and the Restoration by Jen Uglow
- Jonah by Louis Stone
- The Sex Lives of Australians: A History by Frank Bongiorno
- Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
- The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Clare Wright
- The Great Plague by Stephen Porter
- Joan of Arc by Helen Castor
- Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
- Devil's Knot by Mara Levritt
- The Mystery of the Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume
Books read in 2014
- Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan by William Dalrymple
- The Norman Conquest by Marc Morris
- America Aflame by David Goldfield
- To Bonegilla From Somewhere by Wanda Skowronska
- Mrs Robinson's Disgrace by Kate Summerscale
- The History of England Vol II, The Tudors by Peter Ackroyd
- The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark
- In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland
- Lancaster and York: The War of the Roses by Alison Weir
- Arthur Phillip: Sailor, Mercenary, Governor and Spy by Christopher Clark
- Jonah by Louis Stone
- The Tyrannicide Brief by Geoffrey Robertson
Books read in 2013
- The Great Race by David Hill
- My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
- Conspirator: Lenin in Exile by Helen Rappaport
- The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson
- Captain Thunderbold and His Lady by Carol Baxtor
- Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Rielly
- 1913: The Year Before the Storm by Florian Illies
- The Dreyfus Affair by Piers Paul Read
Books read in 2012
- The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal
- Spanish Gold by David Cordingly
- Mawson by Peter Fitzsimons
- Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
- Glenrowan by Ian Shaw
- The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale
- A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
- A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
- Batavia by Peter Fitzsimons
- Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres
- Desert Queen by Janet Wallach
Books read in 2011
- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
- American Civil War by John Keegan
- Conquistadors by Michael Wood
- The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss
- The Judgement of Paris by Ross King
- Macquarie: From Colony to Country by David Hill
- Blood, Iron and Gold: How the Railroads Transformed the World by Christian Wolmar
- At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
- Atlantic by Simon Winchester
- Empires of the Sea by Roger Crawley
- Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres
Books read in 2010
- Manhunt by James L Swanson
- Gold!: The Fever that Forever Changed Australia by David Hill
- Salt by Mark Kurlansky
- Ekateringburg by Helen Rappaport
- Zulu by Saul David
- The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius
- The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower by Robert Baer
- Khomenies Ghost by Con Coughlan
- Love and Louis IV by Antonia Fraser
- The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper
Books read in 2009
- The French Revolution by Christopher Hibbert
- The Forgotten Children by David Hill
- Marie Antoinette by Evelyne Lever
- Thermopylae by Paul Cartledge
- Mussolini by Christopher Hibbert
- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque
- The Duchess by Amanda Foreman
Books read in 2008
- The Vietnam Years: From the Jungle to the Australian Suburbs by Michael Caulfield
- Secret Germany by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh
- The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang
- The Man Who Stole the Cyprus: A True Story of Escape by Warwick Hirst
- Hitler and the Holocaust by Rober S. Wistrich
- Wild Ride: The Rise and Fall of Cobb & Co by Sam Everingham
- Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Closing Hell's Gates: The Death of a Convict Station by Hamish Maxwell-Stewart
- Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World by Niall Ferguson
Books read in 2007
- Mr Stuart's Track: The Forgotten Life of Australia's Greatest Explorer by John Bailey
- Stasiland by Anna Funder
- The Geneva Convention: The Hidden Origins of the Red Cross by Angela Bennett
- Hellfire: The Story of Australia, Japan and the Prisoners of War by Cameron Forbes
- The Long March: The True Story Behind the Legendary Journey that Made Mao's China by Ed Jocelyn
- Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion by Charles Townshend
- The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi 1857 by William Dalrymple
- King, Kaiser, Tsar: Three Royal Cousins Who Led the World to War by Catrine Clay
- 1932: A Hell of a Year by Gerald Stone
- Ataturk by Andrew Mango
- The Last Explorer: Hubert Wilkins Australia's Unknown Hero by Simon Nasht