We’re taking a short break in January and will be back in February with our first book club of the year! We picked a book based on your TBR and the final vote went to I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. It was originally published in 1995 in French, but recent reprint put it back on our radar. The blurb says it’s about 40 women being kept in an underground cage in isolation and trying to escape into the strange world that awaits them above. I’ve been recommended to avoid spoilers, so all I’ll say is, get yourself a copy and prepare for February!
Here are the important details:
We are meeting on the 7th of February at 20:00.
The book club is at Opzoomerstraat 12C, Studio Tideland
The book club is Bring Your Own Booze, so bring drinks (at least) for yourself.
Want to join? Email me at boredtodeathbookclub@gmail.com to reserve your seat. I will email you back with a confirmation. I only take email reservations because social media sign ups are a bit more uncertain.
The book club is free, but donations are welcome to help cover the location costs. You can buy me a coffee or use a tikkie. Everyone who has donated, thanks so much! It’s greatly appreciated.
We are coming up to our 100th book club, so if you have any ideas for a celebration, please let me know!
Best books of 2023
Every year we make a big big list of all our favorite books read in 2023. And every year we ask you to join us. I love making this list because it’s such a great way to spread word about your favorite books and it gives me a lot of inspiration for our book club next year.
What to do is really simple:
Think which 5 books were the best you read this year. They don’t need to have been published in 2023. We love all books equally!
Take a look at our previous lists for inspiration. You can make a simple list, write little reviews, make a video, whatever you fancy!
Add your social media handles if you want to me link to anything.
Email or DM me your top list before Friday the 22nd of December 12 PM. The list will go out on the 24th of December.
What to read next if you enjoyed The Lonely Hearts Hotel
Heather O’Neill has written a bunch of other books already, but I’m really excited about her latest one When We Lost our Heads, a historical novel about two young women in 19th century Montreal. Obvious recommendations are of course The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter. I am finding it hard to recommend other books quite like it, but interesting companion reads might be Conjure Women by Afia Atakora or On Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. If you have any other recommendations, please leave them for us in the comments!
The Lonely Hearts Hotel Recap
I read The Lonely Hearts Hotel for the second time and again really loved it. It was really fun to hear everyone’s take on the book which ranged from magical to depressing. I was a little worried that the book was a bit too extreme, but we could all find some beauty in the dark and depressing content as well. We did have a very interesting discussion about whether Pierrot and Rose were really magical performers and if the ‘magic’ of their work really got through to the reader. Some of us found the big performance a bit lackluster, while others loved the clowns and wanted more.
If you have any thoughts still about the book, please let me know! I’d love to hear it.
I’m determined to make our 100th book club in March a fun one and am not sure yet what kind of book we should read. Do you have the good ideas? Share them please!