What we’re about
Welcome to Chelmsford Book Club!
We are a friendly and inclusive group who meet once a month to discuss a book we have collectively read over the previous month.
We invite suggestions for books to read and ask the group to vote on those which are nominated. We try to cover a wide range of genres including classics, fiction and non-fiction and seek to make membership as inclusive as possible.
From time to time we try link the reading of plays with broadcasts by the National Theatre and showing at the local cinemas, arrange social meals and gatherings. Previous events include a walk at Wivenhoe to coincide with reading The Essex Serpent, a history trip to Manningtree in relation to The Witchfinders Sister, and a walk along the Essex Way referenced in A House for Essex at Wrabness and a link with the reading of Grayson Perry’s Portrait of the artist as a young girl.
Book Club Admin
Because we are a group run by volunteers we seek to minimise administration burdens and ask members to pay a yearly subscription of £10, which helps cover the Meetup website fees. Payment options can include either £5 every 6 months or £10 per year and we ask for these to be paid in June and December.
If you are new to the book club, we invite you to attend 2 meetings before paying the subscription fees providing you an opportunity to see if this is a group you would like to regularly participate in. We request new members pay £2 per meeting for subsequent meetings prior to the June or December subscription being paid.
Please note that any money we receive over and above the cost of Meetup fees is given back to the book club and either put towards the cost of our Christmas and summer outings or spent on Meetup drinks during book club events. We do not aim to make a profit from the group.
Book Club events
We ask members who have nominated books to run the sessions, so that the nominee has an opportunity to explore aspects of the books which they feel are important, and to share the running of the group. This is not compulsory. Please contact one of the organisers in advance if you either cannot make the session your book was nominated for, or if you do not wish to run the session.
The meetings are very informal and we often go off topic. We do not aim to be a high-brow set of intellectuals – just a group of friends doing the things we love.
Similar groups you wish to explore
Please see other local meetups including Chelmsford Ladies’ Book Club. There are also several reading groups and writing groups in the local public libraries (visit https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/events/ and search under Event type: Book Groups). Or you could start a book club yourself? You are welcome to contact us if you would like advice on this.
Thanks for taking a look at Chelmsford Book Club. We hope to see you soon!
Paul, Becky, Jill and Maria, your Chelmsford Book Club organisers