The reading group is open to everyone: you don't need to join the group formally to come along and are welcome to just show up on the night! We're a mix of regulars, casuals, and new people, every month. And not all of us manage to read the whole chapter so you're welcome to come just for the chat.

You can buy the book
@octoberbooks.bsky.social
but if you’re struggling to get hold of it for whatever reason, let us know and we’ll help you out! The group is free to attend but we appreciate it if you’re able to chuck in a few quid as October Books don’t charge us for use of the space.

….ok

The reading group is open to everyone: you don't need to join the group formally to come along and are welcome to just show up on the night! We're a mix of regulars, casuals, and new people, every month. And not all of us manage to read the whole chapter so you're welcome to come just for the chat.

You can buy the book @octoberbooks.bsky.social but if you’re struggling to get hold of it for whatever reason, let us know and we’ll help you out! The group is free to attend but we appreciate it if you’re able to chuck in a few quid as October Books don’t charge us for use of the space.

Hence this thread. If you're wondering about coming but not sure, get in touch and we can give you the info to make the right decision for you. If you have any other questions or anything you want to know, slide into our DMs or @ us.

This thread was written by Rose, who's not yet on Bluesky, but it might help you to know that her anxiety about new groups has stopped her joining many things in the past. We absolutely do not want that to be the case for anyone re this group!

We recognise it can be scary walking into a room where you don't know anyone, so if that's putting you off DM us. We can introduce ourselves properly, including what we look like, so when you do come you'll at least know us!

We don't stand for any sort of misogyny, racism, transphobia, homophobia, or any other kind of oppressive speech. But it's also worth mentioning that despite planning for it we've never had to challenge it yet. We recognise no space is "safe" for all people but we aim for "safer"

From here we pick up on things people have said and discuss key themes. Sometimes we work through the text but section but not always. The facilitators try hard to open up space for people who haven't previously spoken and limit anyone dominating discussion

We start by going around the group to say who we are and one thing we found interesting about the reading/theme. If you're more of a "sit back and observe" person this is the only point at which you need to talk. No one will be calling on you to answer questions. It's not a university seminar.

We meet @octoberbooks.bsky.social and there tend to be between 6-12 people each month. There are a core group of us (more on this shortly) but we also have people who dip in and out depending on the reading and their availability. Importantly, we are not cliquey + not everyone knows everyone

Are you interested in coming to the Reading Group but worried you won't know anyone? Worried you won't fit in? Not sure how it works? Generally shy/anxious? Read on...