World Book Day is just around the corner, and Talking Teesside has teamed up with Robyn and Amy from The Open Book Club to share a few of their recent literary favourites.
The Open Book Club founders also share more about their increasingly popular series of monthly book club reading meet-ups and social events.
We’re The Open Book Club, a female-fuelled reading community which runs monthly reading meet-ups and social events.
Our story began back in March last year, born from a genuine desire to chat about the books we’ve been reading.
Founded by Teesside University alumni and current employee, Robyn, with primary school teacher Amy, the club was conceived out of a genuine desire to chat about the books we’ve been reading.
There’s nothing worse than finishing a book, with a brain full of thoughts and opinions and having nowhere to share them.
It has since blossomed into a humongous community of over 150 members, with monthly events spanning various venues across Teesside. Each month, our book club members will vote for a book they want to read. We try to keep things exciting by reading different genres from month to month.
At the end of the month, we gather to share our thoughts and opinions of the book. You’ll find us at either our flagship meet-up at Signals Taproom, in Saltburn-by-the-sea, or our new venue addition Play Brew Taproom in Middlesbrough.
And in true World Book Day spirit, we thought we’d share some of our book club’s most highly-rated books. Our book club has over 150 members, so they come highly recommended!
- First up is, Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book transports you back to the world of tennis in the eighties. Not the biggest fan of sport? Neither are we. But we’re confident you won’t be able to put this book down. As suggested by the title, Carrie Soto, a world-renowned tennis player, returns to the tennis world in an attempt to save her world record for a new rising star. It’s an addictive read, that left us all wanting to try our hand at tennis by the end of it.
- A close runner up is The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Packed with twists and turns, The Silent Patient follows Alicia, a woman who shoots her beloved husband in the face five times, and then never speaks another word. Theo, a psychotherapist, is captivated by Alicia’s story and wants to help her. He thinks he can get her to speak again and divulge why she killed her husband. What follows is a search for truth in what really happened between Alicia and her husband. It seems our book clubbers love a good thriller and this one certainly keeps you on your toes.
- And finally, our most recent read has proven to be one of our most popular – It Ends At Midnight by Harriet Tyce. This is a tension-filled suspense drama that will leave you on the edge of your seat. The book starts off at the end; two dead bodies being found at a lavish party in Edinburgh on New Year’s Eve. What follows is the timeline of how they come to get there. Throughout the book, you’ll find yourself asking who is the killer, and who is the victim?
Thanks for reading along! If you’d like to learn more about The Open Book Club, or even better, come along to one of our meet-ups, head over to our Instagram or Eventbrite page for more information.
- If you love books, you might also be interested in a new series of talks being launched by Teesside University. Beyond the Book provides an opportunity to hear from and chat to acclaimed and emerging authors as they discuss their latest work. Find out more about Beyond the Book and secure your free tickets HERE
Robyn & Amy – The Open Book Club