OUR BOOK CLUBS
Hello book lovers! Welcome to your local book club.
Matilda Bookshop now hosts four book clubs for different ages.
All book clubbers receive a 20% discount on the book of the month.
To be involved, please join one of the book clubs described below and you’ll be emailed when our upcoming dates are announced.
Hope to see you soon at one of Matilda Bookshop book clubs!
MATILDA BOOK CLUB
ADULT READERS
WHEN: Tuesday evening, monthly at 6pm or 730pm
VENUE: Stirling Hotel Library Room
COST: $10
CONVENOR: Molly
OUR NEXT BOOK CLUB DATE: Tuesday May 21st at 6pm or 730pm.
Our Matilda Bookshop Book Club has been running for more than seven years and is a lively, informal and informative meeting where we chat over the best in Australian fiction, new-release fiction, classics and international fiction. The sessions are convened by Molly (who is an author and manager of the bookshop), who has experience teaching literature and creative writing at a tertiary level. But most importantly, the evenings are fun and engaging.
If you are interested in receiving regular information about the book club, please sign up to the newsletter below.
JOIN THE MATILDA BOOK CLUB MAILING LIST
MATILDA BOOK CLUB APRIL wrap up
In April book club we discussed the devastatingly honest and fearless short story collection, We All Lived in Bondi Then, by the late Georgia Blain. Published posthumously, this collection is a piercing arrow -- both the blazing words, and the fact that Georgia's sharpened voice is returned to us on the page. The stories navigate grief, bliss, sorrow, kinship, past selves, infidelity, and the complex relationships between mothers and daughters and brothers. We enjoyed thinking about the form of the short story -- what it asks of us -- and then putting our attention to one story at a time for deeper consideration. In discovering the elements that enthralled us, such as juxtaposition of stories, insightful characterisation, stunning evocation of place and time, intense emotional resonances, we agreed that Georgia's writing has a cumulative power. This was a beautiful and sometimes confronting discussion that honoured Georgia's legacy of words and compassion for the messiness of the human condition. MOLLY
To read the full wrap up of April book club, please click HERE.
THE RED DOOR BOOK CLUB
ADULT READERS
WHEN: Thursday evening, monthly, either 6.00pm OR 7.10pm
VENUE: Matilda Bookshop
COST: $12 (includes a glass of red or white wine or sparkling water on arrival)
CONVENOR: Emilie
OUR NEXT BOOK CLUB DATE: Thursday May 23rd 2024
The Red Door Book Club is our newest club! The sessions are convened by Emilie, an avid reader, writer, musician and bookseller at Matilda Bookshop.
If you are interested in receiving book club updates, please sign up to the newsletter below.
JOIN THE RED DOOR BOOK CLUB MAILING LIST
RED DOOR BOOK CLUB March WRAP UP
March’s Orbital is a novel that made us all wonder, wonder, wonder! One of our book club members likened the experience of reading this “space pastoral” to that of going camping as a child and looking up at the stars in awe. Though the six astronauts we meet in Orbital are viewing space (and Earth!) from a completely different perspective than us down on the ground, through Harvey’s stellar use of the adjective and profound voice, we found it easy to see through their eyes. Perspective was another interesting conversational path. The concept of perspective is explored in very interesting ways here, with the use of Velázquez’ painting Las Meninas providing a more concrete example for us readers as a brilliant representative in miniature of some of the grander themes.
We found ourselves being put into quite an introspective space through the reading of this month’s book. Some of you likened it to a kind of meditative trance. Others noticed that there was a melancholy element to the feelings evoked for the duration of our reading; sometimes welcomed, less so at other times!
At the end of both our sessions, I dare say there was a shared sense of tenderness towards our little blue marble floating in space. Emilie
TREMENDOUS TEENS BOOK CLUB
AGES 13-16
WHEN: Tuesday, twice a term, from 5.30pm - 6.30pm
VENUE: Matilda Bookshop
COST: $8
CONVENOR: Rosie
OUR NEXT BOOK CLUB DATES: Tuesday, May 21st and Tuesday, June 18th
Our Tremendous Teens Book Club is for 13-16 year olds who love books and reading and chatting! The sessions are convened by Rosie, an avid and passionate reader, lover of sushi and former teen!
Yummy snack provided.
If you are interested in joining us for book chat, reading inspiration and a whole lot of fun, join us by using the booking button to your left.
JOIN THE TREMENDOUS TEENS BOOK CLUB MAILING LIST
TEEn book club March wrap up
The group as a whole enjoyed the book and many said it was their first verse novel they had liked! We were all particularly interested in the history of Maralinga - many of us having never heard of it despite it having happened in our own state. We particularly loved Maddy and Levi’s friendship and how it helped Maddy come out of her shell. We would definitely recommend this novel for anyone looking for an introduction into reading in verse! Rosie
MAGICAL MINDS BOOK CLUB
AGES 9-12
WHEN: Monday, twice a term, from 5.00pm - 6.00pm AND 6.15pm - 7.15pm
VENUE: Matilda Bookshop
COST: $8
CONVENOR: Kasey
OUR NEXT BOOKCLUB DATES: Monday, May 20th and Monday, June 17th
Our Magical Minds Book Club is for 9-12 year olds with a magical mind and a love of books and reading. The sessions are convened by Kasey, an avid reader and experienced teacher, who makes the sessions just delightful and guides the group with reading prompts and discussion points.
Yummy snack provided.
If you are interested in a fun, informal and friendly catch up about the very best in middle fiction, join us by using the booking button to your left.
JOIN THE MAGICAL MINDS BOOK CLUB MAILING LIST
MAGICAL MINDS BOOK CLUB march WRAP UP
Parallel universes certainly have been a theme in middle years fiction lately, and this month’s bookclub book brought parallel universes to us in spades!
We loved exploring different worlds with Andromache and contemplating where we might like her to visit next, and which world we would want to visit as well. Many of us really loved Andromache’s best friend Rylee, we appreciated her sassiness, rebelliousness and support of Andromache. Overall, we really enjoyed this world-bending extravaganza! Kasey
PAST BOOK CLUB BOOKS
MATILDA BOOK CLUB
2024
We All Lived in Bondi Then by Georgia Blain
The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt
Days of Innocence and Wonder by Lucy Treloar
2023
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
Chai Time at the Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
Small Things Like These & Foster by Claire Keegan
August Blue by Deborah Levy
The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
Out of Africa by Karen Blixen
Euphoria by Elin Cullhed
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane
2022
Limberlost by Robbie Arnott
This Devastating Fever by Sophie Cunningham
Faithless by Alice Nelson
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Bedtime Story by Chloe Hooper
Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes
Loveland by Robert Lukins
The Colony by Audrey Magee
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
2021
Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
Real Estate by Deborah Levy
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Stranger Care by Sarah Sentilles
From Where I Fell by Susan Johnson
The Performance by Claire Thomas
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stewart
Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson
2020
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Greenwood by Michael Christie
The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott
The Things She Owned by Katherine Tamiko Arguile
A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry
The Scent of Eucalyptus by Barbara Hanrahan
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey
In Search of the Woman Who Sailed the World by Danielle Clode
2019
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Walking on the Ceiling by Aysegul Savas
Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
The White Girl by Tony Birch
Lanny by Max Porter
The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie
Islands by Peggy Frew
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
Heart of the Grass Tree by Molly Murn
2018
The Children’s House by Alice Nelson
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
Flames by Robbie Arnott
Monkey Grip by Helen Garner
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
In the Garden of the Fugitives by Ceridwen Dovey
The Only Story by Julian Barnes
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
The Choke by Sofie Laguna
2017
The Passage of Love by Alex Miller
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry
Tin Man by Sarah Winman
The Last Garden by Eva Hornung
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
House of Names by Colm Tóibín
Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
Barking Dogs by Rebekah Clarkson
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
2016
The Good People by Hannah Kent
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
LaRose by Louise Erdrich
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar
2015
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
Nora Webster by Colm Toibin
The Golden Age by Joan London
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick de Witt
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
Sweet Caress by William Boyd
THE RED DOOR BOOK CLUB
2024
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Held by Anne Michaels
2023
The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto
North Woods by Daniel Mason
Strangers at the Port by Lauren Aimee Curtis
Cousins by Aurora Venturini
Ghost Music by An Yu
Shy by Max Porter
When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
A Sunday in Ville d’Avray by Dominique Barberis
Delphi by Clare Pollard
2022
Limberlost by Robbie Arnott
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
The Lovers by Paolo Cognetti
Pure Colour by Sheila Heti
TREMENDOUS TEENS BOOK CLUB
2024
Birdy by Sharon Kernot
The Space Between Here & Now by Sarah Suk
2023
The Faint of Heart by Kerilynn Wilson
Island by David Almond
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
Animal Life by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
A Dark Inheritance by H.S. Askwith
Grace Notes by Karen Comer
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
2022
Something About Alaska by JA Cooper
Forestfall by Lyndall Clipstone
The Snow Laundry by Mette Jakobsen
Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin
You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
The Revelry by Katherine Webber
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
Medusa by Jessie Burton and illustrated by Olivia Lomenech Gill
2021
Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
Henry Hamlet’s Heart by Rhiannon Wilde
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Game Changer by Neal Schusterman
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
2020
Call Down the Hawke by Maggie Stiefvater
Taking Down Evelyn Tait by Poppy Nwosu
Thorn by Intisar Khanani
Snow by Gina Inverarity
You Were Made For Me by Jenna Guillaume
Future Girl by Asphyxia
2019
It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
MAGICAL MINDS BOOK CLUB
2024
Andromache Between Worlds by Gabriel Bergmoser
Tyger by SF Said
2023
Ghost Book by Remy Lai
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell
Sunshine on Vinegar Street by Karen Comer
Wilder by Penny Chrimes
Odder by Katherine Applegate
The Book of Stolen Dreams by David Farr
Honour Among Ghosts by Sean Williams
2022
The Great Fox Illusion by Justyn Edwards
What About Thao? by Oliver Phommavanh
Gus and The Starlight by Victoria Carless
The Lost Whale by Hannah Gold
When the War Came Home by Lesley Parr
The Howling Hag Mystery by Nicki Thornton
The Bird Singers by Eve Wersocki Morris
Following Frankenstein by Catherine Bruton
2021
The Memory Thief by Leonie Agnew
Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows by Denis Knight and Cristy Burne
The Shark Caller by Zillah Bethell
The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
We Are Wolves by Katrina Nannestad
2020
Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker
Threads of Magic by Alison Croggon
Wonderscape by Jennifer Bell
The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke
Return to Roar by Jenny McLachlan
The Grandest Bookshop in the World by Amelia Mellor
2019
The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan
The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell
The Monster Who Wasn’t by TC Shelley