When Reena was a child she loved the way that reading a book could transport her to another world. So when she realised that somewhere along the road to adulthood she had stopped reading for pleasure, except on holidays, she decided to do something about it.
How the group started
Apart from reading, the other great love in her life was cooking. In fact she was just about to start a Cordon Bleu course. So with a little thought she came up with a recipe that brought together her two great passions and The London Foodies Book Club was born.
She pitched the idea to a group of friends who were very excited by it. Foodie books, they decided, would be defined very loosely. If a book contained food in some form – even just a meal – and someone wanted to read it then the London Foodie Book Club would add it to the menu.
The membership reflects the cosmopolitan nature of England’s capital city. There are members from the US (via, Haiti, Thailand and India), Austria, the UK, Columbia and Australia. There are even two members who have moved to Texas and Chicago but keep in touch via Skype and always try to attend in person when they are visiting London.
The group has been running for four and a half years now and the range of titles they have digested is impressive. Everything from James and the Giant Peach to The Reluctant Fundamentalist. But it’s not just the writing that gets talked about. Being gourmets at heart, they are always keen to discuss the food in the books they read. Is it delicious or disgusting?
Naturally enough, not everyone is of the same opinion. So the conversation can get lively but it never gets bad-tempered. They are all friends, after all and with writing, as with food, some things are just a matter of personal taste.
Get involved
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