We read a book a month in French in advance of each meeting, drawing mainly on recent French novels and other literary works from the mainland and francophone world. Members propose titles and we vote to choose which to read. We conduct our meetings and email exchanges entirely in French. Your French needs to be at level 5/B2/C1. Group members take it in turns to formulate some questions or views on the book which that member introduces in French at the start of each meeting to stimulate discussion. The three books chosen to read and discuss in the autumn term 2025 are:
9 octobre: 'Jacaranda' de Gaël Faye
13 novembre: 'Perspective(s)' de Laurent Binet
11 décembre: 'Retour à Reims' de Didier Eribon.
The meeting dates and the books we will be reading for the spring term 2026 are:
8 janvier: 'Être ici est une splendeur: Vie de Paula M. Becker' de Marie Darrieussecq
12 février: 'Le Train' de Georges Simenon
12 mars: 'Le vin de solitude' de Irène Némirovsky.
And the dates for the summer term 2026 are (books still to be decided): 9 avril; 14 mai; 11 juin. The Group takes a break over the summer months and reconvenes on the second Thursday in October.