Our book community comes together each month to read, laugh and enjoy each other’s company.
Whether you’re an avid reader or just getting into it, come and join us as we explore a different genre or theme each month.
Upcoming Events
Meeting place: Arco Lounge, Harborne High Street
Book: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years.
Joyfully polyphonic and vibrantly contemporary, this is a gloriously new kind of history, a novel of our times: celebratory, ever-dynamic and utterly irresistible.
To ensure the venue is fully prepared, please RSVP on our Eventbrite page.
Meeting place: The Junction, Harborne High St
Book: Body of Lies by Jo Callaghan.
NOTE This is an author event! Jo will be joining us to talk to us about this 4th book in her debut series.
To ensure the venue is fully prepared, please RSVP on our Eventbrite page.
Meeting place: Arco Lounge, Harborne High Street
Book: TBC (theme is gothic literature)
To ensure the venue is fully prepared, please RSVP on our Eventbrite page.
Blog
As Harborne Book Club continues to grow, we're introducing a small £2 event fee. This helps manage attendance, reduce no-shows and support the time involved in running the club, while keeping events accessible and ensuring our thriving community of readers can continue to flourish.
Our first Writing Pop-Up collaboration with The Courtyard brought together both readers and writers for an evening quiet writing and yummy food and drink! There was a real range of writers and the event celebrated the connection between reading and writing. Let’s hope we can do it again soon!
Our biggest ever meeting launched 2026 at Arco Lounge with thoughtful discussion of Instructions for a Heatwave. Differing opinions sparked rich conversation but the real highlight was the growing community including new and familiar faces connecting through books. Happy New Year!
In 2025, I set out to read 50 books and ended up reading 55. This post reflects on how reading goals can motivate discovery and genre exploration while also creating pressure. Looking ahead, I’m choosing a gentler, more flexible approach for 2026.
Harborne Book Club’s first ever retreat took place in historic Stratford this July, blending book-themed adventures with laughter, quizzes and meaningful connection. This unforgettable weekend celebrated friendship and shared passions which reminded us that while books bring us together, it’s the community we build that makes each chapter richer.
In 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, Elif Shafak weaves a thoguhtful tale of memory, marginalisation and found family. Through Tequila Leila’s final moments, she explores a vibrant yet brutal Istanbul, where the dignity of the forgotten lives on in love, friendship, and the defiance of being remembered.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a raw, poetic stage adaptation that captures the heartbreak and resilience of Hosseini’s novel. With powerful performances and striking visuals, it tells a story of survival, sisterhood, and hope in war-torn Afghanistan. Unflinching and unforgettable—a triumph of storytelling on the stage.
Embark on a 2025 reading adventure with my 50-book challenge! Discover how Good Reads and Story Graph help track progress, offer personalised recommendations, and spark community engagement. From setting milestones to mixing genres, explore strategies to stay motivated and make this year a transformative journey through the pages of unforgettable stories.
Founded in 2015, Harborne Book Club began as a small group of friends sharing a love for books and has since grown into a thriving community of readers. Over the past decade, the club has evolved, expanding its membership, diversifying its reading list, and embracing digital meetings. With lively discussions, themed gatherings, and collaborations with authors and publishers, the club continues to foster meaningful connections through a shared passion for literature.
