Burton Book Club (December 2023) at the Old House at Home

Meetings: third Monday of the month, 5pm

Meetings are an informal, lively mix of bookish chat and catching up with each other. Every member has the opportunity to nominate the book of the month, which is posted on this website. Our only ‘rule’ is for members to treat each other, and other’s opinions, with respect.

We have nine regular members, but we understand that not everyone can attend each meeting – and that’s fine. So, if you want to join us in person or, maybe just comment on the Book of the Month via the website for now, you can be sure of a warm welcome. Alternatively, if you are looking for book recommendations without any human interaction whatsoever, that’s all good, too (but do consider coming along to a meeting sometime, you might find you enjoy it!).

To view the Book Club’s reading list: Book Club Reading

Why join a book club?

A book club:

  • Introduces you to books and genres you may not otherwise come across.
  • Can dispel your preconceived opinions about an author’s work.
  • Gives you an opportunity to debate a book’s plot, structure and resolution, its themes, the writing style, what you have learnt. Some books just need to be discussed.
  • Introduces you to new friends with whom you get to socialise. 

Where to get hold of the books

Ask at the local library or buy from independent bookshops. You can buy the books and support independent bookshops through the Burton Book Club list at Bookshop.org. Most of the selected books are available on Audible.

Extracurricular activities

The Book Club has occasional visits to the theatre, cinema, galleries, stately homes and gardens.

Portrait of Thomas Cromwell by Hans Holbein the Younger 

The Tudors Exhibition at The Holburne Museum, April 2022

As a tie-in with a recent Book Club read, The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel, we took a trip to the Holburne Museum in Bath to view the Tudors: Passion, Power & Politics exhibition.

Iford Manor, 2021

In late Summer of 2021 the Book Club made our second visit to Iford Manor gardens which were designed by Harold Peto.

The Book Club: a retrospective

Further details

For further details about the book club generally, please leave a reply at the foot of this page. Even if we never see you at the meetings, please do use the comments section to add your thoughts on the Book of the Month, or perhaps to recommend a book you have read.

And if one book a month isn’t enough…

browse the monthly Bookmark blog of literary news, reviews and reading highlights.

12 Comments

Michelle Yim · 08/27/2019 at 1:27 pm

Dear Burton Book Club,

Grist to the Mill Theatre Productions is on their return from a successful Edinburgh Fringe and will visit the Irving Studio, Everyman Cheltenham from 8-11 October 2019, just in time for Cheltenham Literature Festival.

The new writing theatre company will bring a stunning adaptation of “Moby Dick”, in celebration of bicentennial of Herman Melville’s birth. Their Cheltenham programme will also include the critically acclaimed “Gratiano”, a thought-provoking adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”, which is now published by Methuen Drama, Bloomsbury; “An Evening with Miss Wong”, a cabaret-style tribute to 1930s Hollywood Star Anna May Wong; and “The Empress and Me”, a story about a Chinese princess who was raised in Victorian Europe and was recalled to China to be lady-in-waiting to the infamous Empress Dowager Cixi at the turn of the Century, harking inspirations from literature like “Empress Orchid”.

After our visit last year at Everyman Theatre with the moving, poetic and powerful The Unknown Soldier during WW1 Centenary, we are delighted to be coming back to Cheltenham. Let’s celebrate literature on stage together!

Everyman Theatre Bookings: 01242 572573 and online https://www.everymantheatre.org.uk

‘It’s a masterful performance, a smart spectacle and a further testament to Ericson’s growing magnificence as a modern playwright and performer.’
★★★★★British Theatre Guide (On “Gratiano”)

‘An original perspective on a story we think we all know… poignant and thought-provoking’
★★★★The Independent (On “The Unknown Soldier”)

‘Ericson’s carefully judged one-man play proves there is always room for another when the quality is right’
★★★★The Scotsman (On “The Unknown Soldier”)

‘You don’t have to be a movie fan to enjoy [An Evening with Miss Wong]’
★★★★The Scotsman (On “An Evening with Miss Wong”)

‘Fascinating… Full of ambition, politics and cultural tension’
★★★★Adelaide Theatre Guide (On “The Empress and Me”)

Best wishes,
Grist to the Mill
http://www.gristtheatre.co.uk

Web: http://www.gristtheatre.co.uk Twitter: @gristtheatre Facebook: gristtothemill

LISTING INFORMATION
Venue: Irving Studio, Everyman Theatre, Regent Street, Cheltenham GL50 1HQ
Dates: 08 – 11 October 2019,
MOBY DICK: 9 Oct @ 8:30pm, 10 Oct @ 2pm, 11 Oct 8:30pm;
GRATIANO: 8 Oct @ 7pm, 10 Oct @ 7pm;
AN EVENING WITH MISS WONG: 8 Oct @ 8:15pm, 10 Oct @ 8:15pm, 11 Oct @ 2pm;
THE EMPRESS AND ME: 9 Oct @ 7pm, 11 Oct @ 7pm

Tickets: £12.50 (£11 Concession)

Bookings: 01242 572573 and online https://www.everymantheatre.org.uk

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