Book Club: President

Book Club has been one of my favourite parts of this year at UCL. It’s been really refreshing to step away from the readings we do for our degrees and simply enjoy literature with other people who love books.  Through the society I’ve met some wonderful people and had many riveting conversations about the books we’ve read together—two of my favourites being The Metamorphosis and The Stranger.

First and foremost, I’d love to introduce a few more relaxed socials to change the scenery a little. This could include “bring your own book” pub nights where members can share and discuss books they love, as well as reading picnics in the sunshine where we can enjoy literature together outside the usual setting.

I’d also like to make the sessions themselves even more interactive. Occasionally we could invite members to bring along a short passage from one of their favourite books and share why it’s meaningful to them before opening it up for discussion. Once a month we could also gather suggestions and choose a book at random using a fortune wheel, giving everyone a chance to influence what we read. I would also aim to announce each weekly book a few weeks in advance so everyone has plenty of time to read alongside their academic commitments.

Thanks for reading, and I’d love the opportunity to help run Book Club next year! :)

I have always been a really passionate reader, and absolutely love having a chat about books with anyone who will listen. I have previously ran a few book clubs and have found it to be so much fun and a really enriching experience, and I believe I would be a great president of Book Club! I think one of the best parts about a book club is being able to find like-minded people in a no-pressure environment, so you can make new friends and talk about whatever interests you as an individual: fostering this open atmosphere would be my main goal as president. Having participated in book club for the past year, I would love to maintain the wonderful way in which it has been currently run, and would hope to continue making book club a relaxed, friendly and inclusive space to discuss books, poems and short stories, as well as whatever literary-related issues and discourses are relevant at the moment. I would also incorporate more events outside of the weekly discussions, such as book shop crawls and socials. In addition, I would plan to reach out to other societies in order to have special themed weeks, where we bring in new perspectives and ideas so that our UCL book club becomes a great place to discuss all things literary!