SHREWSBURY BOOK CLUB

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SHREWSBURY BOOK CLUB *

Shrewsbury Book Club was created based off a shared love of books, reading and people. Over the last 2 years, it has blossomed into an incredible community, where our members have formed lifelong friendships and travelled through many incredible worlds and stories together. 

While we love reading, we love our members more! Every person that joins book club becomes a part of our family - a family that will listen, respect one another and offer a sense of safety. 

We are currently running with our groups and waiting lists at full capacity (over 160 people attending every month!!) and we are in the process of exploring ways to expand so we are able to welcome more book lovers into our community.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

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SOCIAL ACTIVITIES *

Outside of book club, we try to organise a variety of activities that take place between meet ups. Book club is a safe place for many and we want to strengthen those bonds while doing everything we can to support our local businesses. With book themed cinema trips, pottery painting, yoga classes, murder mystery nights, book trips, ice hockey games, local tours and walks, we have it all covered. Suggestions from members are always welcome and we always try to cater to diverse interests.  

We were founded in April 2022, with the hope of bringing together a community based on one shared passion.

Based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, we are an active and enthusiastic Book Club with events and meet ups taking place monthly .

Each month we read a different book collectively as a group and share our honest views and opinions.

Our next book is then voted for by our attending members. We try to keep our books relevant, eg romance in February for Valentines, Thriller in October for Halloween, LGBTQIA+ focus in June for pride month. 

Members are always welcome to recommend books for the upcoming months. 

OUR STORY

OUR MISSION

At the Shrewsbury Book Club, our mission is to bring the community together through a shared love of reading.

We promote a safe and friendly environment, open to all and encourage our members to engage in fun and thought provoking discussions, while making friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime.

OUR CLUB

We offer free monthly face to face meetings for three groups, providing the opportunity to discuss our book of the month in a dynamic space where members can explore new genres, discover new authors and connect with fellow book lovers. 

In addition, we offer the chance to take part in social activities outside of book club to encourage friendships and built upon the sense of community.

We welcome members from all backgrounds. Everyone is welcome.

OUR FOUNDER

Hi there, I just thought I would do an introduction and share a little bit about myself. My name is Nadine and I am the founder of the Shrewsbury Book Club. I am 27 years old and have lived in Shrewsbury my whole life. I currently work full time as a Family Support Worker and run the Shrewsbury Book Club on the side. I would say that books, country music and sunsets are my 3 main personalities.

At the start of lockdown in 2020 I created a bookstagram account (@naaddssbooks) where I would share my book reviews and keep up to date with the latest trends. I was immediately immersed into a world of book bloggers that I didn't even knew existed. From this, I have been lucky enough to be invited to launch nights and collaborate with famous authors from across the world and attend exclusive events such as an evening with well known author, Lisa Jewell, which was hosted by Penguin Books at their London headquarters.

  • My love for books started when I was a child and is something I will carry with me forever, as my escape from reality and opportunity to adventure into new and unknown worlds - which certainly helped during the pandemic. When life returned to normal, I found myself wanting to join a face-to-face book club after taking part in an online club during lockdown but struggled to find one in the Shrewsbury area, so decided to set up my own. 

    I am not great at public speaking so when 15-20 people turned up to the first book club, I was SHAKING - back in April 2022 if you'd have told me I would be hosting 3 nights a month with over 160 people attending, I would have laughed because that so out of my comfort zone. Never in a million years did I imagine book club would turn into what it has, not only has it helped so many people, it has also helped me build my own confidence. 

  • Honestly, I have so many plans and so many dreams to scale it up. I think there is so much potential and I have no plans of going anywhere anytime soon.

  • It would be impossible for me to choose just one. My go to genre is thrillers with a special mention for What Lies Between Us by John Marrs, Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton and The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (this was our September book of the month for 2022 - thank you book club!).

    However, I also have a love for the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber and Harry Potter which are my 2 true escapes from reality and books I would re-read time and time again. I also LOVE the Good Girls Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson.

  • Eek! Too many to count, I will take a good guess and say 250-300. These are scattered around the house in 3 different sets of bookshelves (one of which is floor to ceiling), under the bed, in the wardrobe and random tote bags. I need a bigger house.

  • It very much depends on where I am / what I have access to, but either curled up on the sofa in front of a fire, in the bath or on a sun lounger next to a pool on holiday (this is where I get the most reading done).

  • All of the Harry Potter books, Jacqueline Wilson and Roald Dahl books. Again, I couldn't possibly choose just one. I also loved Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie, this was one that got me into thrillers in my teen years.