Coffee, Cake & Classics

Join us at Brompton Library every 3rd Wednesday of the month for coffee (or tea), some delicious cake and a chat about books.

We have chosen some of our favourite classics to discuss, please see below for the list:

• September 2023 - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• October 2023 - If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
• November 2023 - The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
• December 2023 - The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

• January 2024 - The Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
• February 2024 – How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino
• March 2024 – Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
• April 2024 – Romeo and Juliet by W. Shakespeare, and other famous literary lovers
• May 2024 - The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and other Sci-Fi classics
• June 2024 - Tea, Madeleine and Proust
• July 2024 - Clock Dance by Anne Tyler
• August 2024 - Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
• September 2024 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• October 2024 - Small Island by Andrea Levy
• November 2024 - Atonement by Ian McEwan

The War of the Worlds is considered a landmark work of science fiction. When H.G. Wells published his novel in 1897, he probably could not imagine the impact of his work.

Science-Fiction turns our dreams of distant worlds, unearthly creatures, parallel universes, artificial intelligence, expendable employees, into fiction. It evokes a sense of wonder and inspires a spirit of questioning what makes us and keeps us human.

Whether you’ve read Wells, Ishiguro, Ursula Le Guin, or enjoyed Edward Ashton’s troubled Mickey7’s adventures, join us for Coffee, Cake & Classics in May.

Come to tell us about your favourite Sci-Fi novel, or film.

150 years ago, on 15 April 1874, the first impressionist exhibition opened in Paris.

Remembering her childhood, Lélia Pissarro reaches for Proust’s image of the “petite madeleine”, a cake that opens the floodgates of memory. Monet’s poppy field does that for me because we had an Athena framed print of it in the living room when I was a kid. Looking into it, now as then, I am released from time.

Monet - 'The Poppy Field', 1873

Join us for “Tea, Madeleine and Proust” at Brompton Library, on Wednesday, 19 June.

In July we discussing Clock Dance by Anne Tyler.

Clock Dance is the story of Willa, someone who has always done something to please others without considering herself.

But, when a stranger asks her to help out another stranger, she says yes and finds her own happiness.

Join us in August for Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

In an unassuming cafe, there is an urban legend which the strong-willed yet heartbroken Fumiko wants to uncover. She takes us on her own journey, and along the way we meet the other proprietors of the cafe, who share three more heartbreaking yet life-affirming journeys they take to relive the past.

In September we are disccussing Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen to mark the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s Festival in Bath.

Jane Austen was born in Steventon Hampshire on December 16, 1775.

Next year, 2025, marks 250 years since this remarkable author came into the world. To celebrate this momentous year in Austen history, the Jane Austen Festival will be holding some extra special events throughout the 2025, in addition to the ten days of Jane Austen themed events which make up the September Jane Austen Festival.

The 2025 Jane Austen Festival will take place from Friday 12 to Sunday 21 September 2025.

The Jane Austen Festival

Ten wonderful days of celebrating all things Austen in the beautiful city of Bath.

The Jane Austen Festival in Bath is the largest and longest running Jane Austen Festival in the world. The first Festival in 2001 took place over a single weekend and has since grown into a 10 day programme, drawing over 5000 people from around the world.
The festival begins with our Regency Costumed Promenade, which has been filling the streets of Bath with over 900 people in Regency dress and since 2004 holds the Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest gathering of people dressed in Regency costumes’. Full of bonnets, soldiers, and drummers the backdrop of Georgian Bath transports visitors back to the time of Jane Austen.

In October, we are celebrating Black History Month. We are disccusing Small Island by Andrea Levy.

British writer Andrea Levy explores her Jamaican roots in her novel Small Island.

“I am English, but all my writing has been trying to understand my Jamaican heritage, family, ancestry. Everything I get excited about is because I have that heritage. “

This year’s theme for Black History Month is “Reclaiming Narratives” and marks a significant shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture.

In November we will be disccusing Atonement by Ian McEwan.

“This is a book about how a single event ripples through time. But more importantly it is about perspective and how that same event can differ wildly.”

Book review by Christopher Hook

“Ian McEwan's symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative.”

Good Reads

BYOB - Bring Your Own Book

December book will be your choice! Which books come to mind when you hear 'classics'? Tell us about it in our December session of Coffee, Cake and Classics.

Host or Publisher Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Libraries