Undeterred by the damp Dutch weather, 9 TIC members made their way to my house in Tilburg north – 5 by bike! – to discuss our latest book – Rosanna. After getting drinks and some snacks taken care of, we got right into talking about the book. While most had liked it, no one was really thrilled with the book.

On the 23rd  of January we had our first Book Club of the year. Although January can be a cold and gray time of the year here in the Netherlands, the chosen book, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, was an easy read, bringing hope and light to the new year. It was the story of Nora Seed, a woman who is given the opportunity to experience different lives she might have had if she had made different choices.

Tuesday 19th of December 2023 might go down in history as a sad rainy day, but hereby there will be a mention about the brave people that travelled all the way from Tilburg to the tiny village of Alphen to discuss The Discomfort of Evening written by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld. While we choose this book from the options of Dutch literature masterpieces, this contemporary award-winning novel divided opinions amongst the book club members.

On 7 November 2023 TIC’s Book Club met to discuss Goodbye Sarajevo, which is a poignant and gripping memoir that offers a deeply personal account of the Bosnian War’s impact on one family. Written by Atka Reid and Hana Schofield, the book provides a unique perspective on the conflict, focusing on the experiences of two sisters, Atka and Hana, who find themselves on opposite sides of the world as war tears apart their hometown of Sarajevo.

The TIC Book Club met recently to discuss our book choice, Berlin, by Bea Setton. The author had lived in Paris, London, and Berlin, so she chose the latter to tell a story of young Daphne, a 26-year-old woman who was trying to find her way. There had been considerable expectations on her from her well-to-do parents, however Daphne took ludicrous jobs and lived in borrowed apartments.

We had a nice first Book Club after the summer, giving everyone had plenty of time to read Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks. But first we took some time to catch up and hear about everyone’s summer and fun vacations. It was also a lovely warm evening, so we sat outside to soak up some of the last of summer time.

The book (a mix of romance and time-travel genres) centres around Tom Hazard, a man who has a condition that makes him age extremely slowly. He looks 40 but he’s been alive for centuries. There are others like him in the world, known as ‘Albas’, and many of them have been coerced to join a secret society (more like a cult) run by a manipulative time-traveller named Hendrich.

Good Reads gives this book a 4.35, and suggests that “With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn’t offer easy answers.”

The book is certainly challenging, not only raising difficult topics, but challenging our own beliefs and prejudices.  This did not sit comfortably with all of our readers, with some finding Picoult’s observations about white subconscious prejudice to be a broad generalisation which could cause offense. 

On February 8th we met to discuss the book ‘The Readers Room’, by Antoine Laurain. It is a short book, translated from French (everyone agreed the translation was excellent!), with a lot of suspense. We discussed how the author’s greatest source of inspiration – fairytales – might show up in the story, mental health, artificial intelligence and how art/fiction can inspire or even foretell (!!)

January 12th was a cold and rainy evening, but seven TIC members braved the elements – ALL except one came by bike! – and made their way to Donna’s home to discuss our latest book. After getting warm drinks and hovering around a table full of delicious sweet and savory snacks, we made our way to the living room to sit and talk about the book.