Croydon Bookworms 📚🐛 (Book Club in-Person)

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak (372 pages)
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense (maybe a bit horror)

Summary:
Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.
Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body...

Join Our Book Club Bingo! 📚🎉
Get ready for a fun and interactive discussion of "Hidden Pictures" by Jason Rekulak with a twist! During our book club meeting, we'll be playing Bingo with a special book-themed twist.

How It Works:

• Grab Your Bingo Card: We’ll provide unique bingo cards filled with fun prompts related to our book.
• Mark Your Cards: As we discuss the book, mark off the squares that match what’s being talked about.
• Shout “Bingo!”: The first person to complete a row, column, or diagonal wins!

Prize Alert! 🎁 The winner will receive a free paperback book. Don’t miss your chance to win and dive into a lively discussion!

Join us for our next Croydon Bookworms pub meeting as we chat about "Hidden Pictures" by Jason Rekulak! If you're into psychological thrillers, mysterious illustrations, and spine-chilling twists, this is the discussion for you. We'll be meeting at the Dog & Bull in Croydon on the 20th of November at 7:00 PM.

See you there!

Vote for your January's pick : http://poll-maker.com/poll5308779x8ba24E2B-160

Books mentioned :

• Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Dystopian)
• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Light sci-fi/Time travel)
• Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (Horror)
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Contemporary Drama/Dystopian)
• The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (Russian literature/Magical realism)
• Severance by Ling Ma (Dystopian)
• Circe by Madeleine Miller (Greek mythology retelling)
• Rouge by Mona Awad (Horror/Magical realism)

Details
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (544 pages)
Genre: High Fantasy, Epic, Military Fantasy

⚠️ Look up for trigger warnings !!! ⚠️

Summary:
The Poppy War kicks off an epic trilogy, following Rin, a war orphan who lands a spot at a prestigious military academy—only to discover she has a dangerous connection to ancient powers. With war on the horizon and impossible choices ahead, Rin’s journey into magic and mayhem begins. Expect intense battles, high-stakes magic, and plenty of moral dilemmas.

Join the Fantasy Series Squad! 🐉✨
If you've ever gotten stuck halfway through a fantasy series and just needed some accountability to finish, welcome to the club! This new branch of Croydon Bookworms is all about reading fantasy series together—one book a month—so we can cheer each other on through the thick (and often intense) plots.

How It Works:

• Series Focus: We’ll tackle one book from a fantasy series each month. First up: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. If most of us like it, we’ll keep going with the entire series. If not, onto the next one!
• No Judgment Zone: Didn’t finish on time? No worries. We’re here to enjoy the ride and chat about epic world-building, memorable characters, and those wild twists.

Join us for our first Fantasy series meet-up as we dive into The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang! We’ll be meeting at the Dog & Bull in Croydon on the 29th of January at 7:00 PM. Come along, grab a drink, and let’s get through these fantasy series together—one book at a time!

Details
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (345 pages)
Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction

Summary:
Set in a future America ravaged by climate change, social collapse, and economic disparity, Parable of the Sower follows 15-year-old Lauren Olamina, a visionary with the ability to feel others' pain through her hyperempathy. As her walled community crumbles, Lauren sets out on a perilous journey north, hoping to build a new society founded on her radical philosophy, Earthseed. Along the way, she confronts the harsh realities of survival and questions what it takes to rebuild in a broken world.

Join Our Book Club Bingo! 📚🎉
Get ready for a fun and interactive discussion of Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler with a twist! During our book club meeting, we'll be playing Bingo with a special book-themed twist.
How It Works:

• Grab Your Bingo Card: We’ll provide unique bingo cards filled with fun prompts related to our book.
• Mark Your Cards: As we discuss the book, mark off the squares that match what’s being talked about.
• Shout “Bingo!” The first person to complete a row, column, or diagonal wins!

Prize Alert! 🎁 The winner will receive a free paperback book. Don’t miss your chance to win and dive into a lively discussion!

Join us for our next Croydon Bookworms pub meeting as we chat about Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler! If you're into dystopian worlds, powerful characters, and deep social commentary, this is the discussion for you. We'll be meeting at the Dog & Bull in Croydon on the 5th of February 2025 at 7:00 PM.

See you there!