| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Group email: | Book Club - Non Fiction group |
| When: | Monthly on Thursday evenings 7:15 pm-9:30 pm The second Thursday in each month |
| Venue: | Queen Victoria Pub - Theydon Bois |
The aim of this group is to read and discuss non-fiction books.
The non-fiction book club is where members read and discuss books grounded in reality. Unlike our fiction book club that explores imaginary worlds, the club will dive into topics like history, science, politics, economics, memoirs, and much more.
The group meets every month to review the books selected, looking at the context, content and the presentation, and discussing any issues raised.
Contact - Should you wish to join the group or have any questions, please send a message via the group email link above
UPCOMING BOOKS
| Date | Title | Author | Genre | Published | Suggested By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 November 2026 | Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup: | John Carreyrou | True crime / business scandal | 2023 | LB |
| 10 December 2026 | The Body: A Guide for Occupants | Bill Bryson | Human Biology | 2020 | RH |
| 14 January 2027 | Longitude | Dava Sobell | Historical Biography / Engineering | 2005 | DJ |
| 11 February 2027 | London Falling | Patrick Radden Keefe | True Crime | 2026 | DJ |
BOOK REVIEWS
The books we have read are listed below. Click on the name of the book for more details and our reviews.
| Date | Title | Author | Genre | Published | Rating Out of 10 | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 October 2026 | A Bunker in Kyiv | John Lyons | Biography - Ukraine History | 2025 | 6 - 7.5 | |
| 10 September 2026 | A Spy in the family | Paul Henderson/David Gardner | True crime / Biography / Memoir | 2005 | 7.9 | 7.5 - 10 |
| 13 August 2026 | A Walk in the Woods | Bill Bryson | Humorous Travel Memoir | 2015 | 9 | 6 - 9.75 |
| 9 July 2026 | Little Englanders, Britain in the Edwardian Era | Alwyn Turner | History (British social & cultural history) | 2024 | 7.1 | 5 - 9 |
| 11 June 2026 | The Burning Earth | Sunil Amrith | An Environmental History | 2025 | 6.9 | 3 - 10 |
| 14 May 2026 | The Finest Hotel in Kabul | Lyse Doucet | Modern History / Travel | 2025 | 6.3 | 4 - 8 |
| 9 April 2026 | Map of a Nation | Rachel Hewitt | History (cartography & cultural history) | 2011 | 6.6 | |
| 12 March 2026 | Paris 44, The Shame and the Glory | Patrick Bishop | History (World War II; military & social history) | 2024 | 8.5 | |
| February 2026 | Deep Sea and Foreign Going | Rose George | Investigative journalism & economic history (shipping/global trade) | 2015 | 7.9 | |
| January 2026 | PATRIOT: The Life Story and Secret Prison Diaries of Putin’s Most Feared Opponent | Alexei Navalny | Political Biography | 2025 | 7.3 | |
READING IDEAS FOR 2026
| Title | Author | Genre | Pages | Cost | Published | Suggested By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material World | Ed Conway | Materials Science | 512 | About £8 | 2023 | RH |
| Every Last Fish: What Fish Do for Us and What We Do to Them | Rose George | Fisheries | 320 | About £13 as new | 2025 | JM |
IDEAS FOR READING OUTSIDE OF THE BOOK CLUB
(THE BOOKS MAY BE TOO LONG OR TOO EXPENSIVE OR HAVE A LIMITED AUDIENCE)
| Title | Author | Genre | Pages | Cost | Published | Suggested by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Railways: Nation, Network and People | Simon Bradley | Railways History | 656 | Amazon £3.50 | 2016 | DJ |
THE FORMAT OF THE CLUB
Frequency and Location
- The Non-Fiction Book Club will meet on the second Thursday of the month, in a pub in Theydon Bois.
- The meeting will last about 2 hours.
Meeting Structure
- The member who proposed the book acts as Facilitator for that meeting.
- At the start of the meeting, the Facilitator will be asked to give a brief summary of the key points and start the discussion.
- The format of the discussion will depend on the book.
- It is not proposed to keep a record of the discussion, as that makes the whole evening too formal, but at the end of the meeting, the Group Coordinator will ask a few questions to update the website.
Book Selection
- Every 6 months or so, the Group Coordinator will ask members for new reading ideas.
- The Group Coordinator will collate the book suggestions and ask members to vote.
- The Group Coordinator will then publish a list of books for the next 6 months.
- Proposed books should be in the region of 350 to 600 pages long and where possible under £10 on Amazon or https://biblio.co.uk/ or https://www.betterworldbooks.com/ or https://uk.bookshop.org/
- Celebrity Memoirs and Car Maintenance Manuals are not allowed.
Communication
- The group will communicate via email rather than WhatsApp or Facebook.
- The Group Coordinator will email reminders of meeting and notify members of upcoming books.
Reading Log
- The Group Coordinator will keep a record of the books they read on a webpage.
Possible Discussion Topics.
| 📖General Impressions | 🤔 Surprises or Insights |
| Initial reactions, overall feel, or first takeaways. | Most interesting, unexpected, or thought-provoking points. |
| 📝 Summary of Key Ideas / Content and Themes | 🙋 Personal Impact |
| Main themes, arguments, or lessons from the book. | Did it change your perspective, habits, or understanding? |
| 🔍 Strengths | 🌍 Relevance / Broader Context |
| What the book did especially well (clarity, research, originality, etc.). | Connections to current events, history, or society. |
| ⚖️ Weaknesses / Limitations | 💬 Favourite Quotes / Passages |
| Gaps, biases, or areas where it fell short. | Lines that stuck with you. |
| 📝 Writing Style and Structure | |
| Clarity, flow and tone. |