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08 Sep 2020

Who They Was - Readers' Guide

In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Who They Was by Gabriel Krauze by clicking below.

08 Sep 2020

Burnt Sugar - Readers' Guide

In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi by clicking below.

08 Sep 2020

This Mournable Body - Readers' Guide

In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga by clicking below.

08 Sep 2020

The New Wilderness - Readers' Guide

In July 2020 the Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The New Wilderness by Diane Cook by clicking below.

27 Aug 2020

Reading group guide for For When I'm Gone by Rebecca Ley

Sylvia knows that she’s running out of time. Very soon, she will exist only in the memories of those who loved her most and the pieces of her life she’s left behind. So she begins to write her husband a handbook for when she’s gone, somewhere to capture the small moments of ordinary, precious happiness in their married lives. But Sylvia also has a secret, one that she’s saved until the very last pages. And it’s a moment in her past that could change everything… Use these free reading group...

13 Jul 2020

National Poetry Day reading group resource

This list of ten books is perfect for reading groups thinking of dipping into poetry, often edited or written by great names who love poetry so much that they want to share it – Clive James, John Carey, Kate Clanchy, Cerys Matthews and Carol Rumens.

09 Jul 2020

The Dordogne Mystery series digital pack

Quercus are excited to invite libraries and reading groups across the country to celebrate Martin Walker’s Dordogne Mysteries series. A hugely popular series in Germany and the United States, Martin Walker’s novels take you to the Dordogne region of France where readers follow Bruno, Chief of Police as he investigates crimes and mysteries in the area. This is not just a gripping crime series as Martin transports you to the gastronomic heart of South-West France by incorporating its rich...

09 Jul 2020

Heatstroke by Hazel Barkworth digital pack

Headline would like to invite libraries and reading groups across the UK to share their excitement about this summer’s hottest debut novel – Hazel Barkworth’s Heatstroke. We don’t want readers across the country to miss this gripping page-turner, described by the Evening Standard this week as ‘a perfect sun-lounger read: a sizzling page-turner with twists, turns and revelations in all the right places’. DIGITAL PACK CONTENTS: - An extract from Heatstroke - Reading Group questions - A Spotify...

30 Apr 2020

The Reading Agency Hub

Here you can access The Reading Agency at home. You’ll find ideas, activities and challenges from across our programmes to entertain and educate yourself, your family or those you are teaching remotely. The activities will be refreshed every couple of weeks and we have The Reading Agency Toolkit available for you to download, which gives some great hints and tips for keeping well and reading during this time of isolation.

17 Apr 2020

On Chapel Sands - reading group guide

Waterstones Book of the Month for April 2020 A deeply moving story of family and community that is striking and unforgettable, On Chapel Sands is part-true crime narrative, part-investigation into the subjectivity of memory and part-witness to a vanishing provincial way of life. Why not start reading with your Zoom book club with Vintage’s reading group discussion pack, available here. More about Laura Cumming Laura Cumming is the art critic for the Observer. Previously, she was a presenter...

31 Mar 2020

The Farm - Book Club Kit

The Farm was chosen for the Radio 2 Book Club. Ambitious businesswoman Mae Yu runs Golden Oaks – a luxury retreat transforming the fertility industry – where women get the very best of everything, so long as they play by the rules. Jane is a young immigrant in search of a better future. Stuck living in a cramped dorm with her baby daughter and her shrewd aunt Ate, she sees an unmissable chance to change her life. But at what cost? A brilliant, darkly funny novel that explores the role of luck...

31 Mar 2020

The Farm by Joanne Ramos - First Chapter

The Farm was chosen for the Radio 2 Book Club. Ambitious businesswoman Mae Yu runs Golden Oaks – a luxury retreat transforming the fertility industry – where women get the very best of everything, so long as they play by the rules. Jane is a young immigrant in search of a better future. Stuck living in a cramped dorm with her baby daughter and her shrewd aunt Ate, she sees an unmissable chance to change her life. But at what cost? A brilliant, darkly funny novel that explores the role of luck...

31 Mar 2020

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal - First Chapter

The Doll Factory was chosen for the Radio 2 Book Club. London. 1850. The greatest spectacle the city has ever seen is being built in Hyde Park, and among the crowd watching two people meet. For Iris, an aspiring artist, it is the encounter of a moment – forgotten seconds later, but for Silas, a collector entranced by the strange and beautiful, that meeting marks a new beginning. When Iris is asked to model for pre-Raphaelite artist Louis Frost, she agrees on the condition that he will also...

31 Mar 2020

The Beekeeper of Aleppo - Reading Group questions

The Beekeeper of Aleppo was chosen for the Radio 2 Book Club. Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo – until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and so they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain. On the way, Nuri is...

31 Mar 2020

The Beekeeper of Aleppo - First Chapter

The Beekeeper of Aleppo was chosen for the Radio 2 Book Club. Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo – until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and so they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain. On the way, Nuri is...

27 Mar 2020

Tyll - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

The Other Name: Septology I-II - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

The Memory Police - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar, anonymous translor, by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

The Discomfort of Evening - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

The Adventures of China Iron - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated by Iona Macintyre and Fiona Mackintosh by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

Serotonin - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq, translated by Shaun Whiteside by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

Red Dog - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Red Dog by Willem Anker, translated by Michel Heyns by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

Mac and His Problem - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Mac and His Problem by Enrique Vila-Matas, translated by Margaret Jull Costa and Sophie Hughes by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

Little Eyes - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

Hurricane Season - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

Faces on the Tip of My Tongue - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title Faces on the Tip of My Tongue by Emmanuelle Pagano, translated by Sophie Lewis and Jennifer Higgins by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

The Eighth Life - Readers' Guide

On 27 February the International Booker Prize revealed the longlist for the 2020 prize. You can download a Readers’ Guide for longlisted title The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili, translated by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin by clicking below.

27 Mar 2020

Leonard and Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession - Discussion Questions

Leonard and Hungry Paul are two friends who see the world differently. They use humour, board games and silence to steer their way through the maelstrom that is the 21st century. ‘The figure in Munch’s painting isn’t actually screaming!’ Hungry Paul said. ‘Really, are you sure?’ Replied Leonard. ‘Absolutely. That’s the whole thing. The figure is actually closing his ears to block out a scream. Isn’t that amazing? A painting can be so misunderstood and still become so famous.’ Leonard and...

27 Mar 2020

Golden Child by Claire Adam - First Chapter

It’s dark now; the bats are out. Insects knock against the light on the patio and the dog sits at the gate. A boy has not returned home and a family anxiously awaits. A father steps out into the night to search for his son. As the hours turn into days, this man will learn many things. He will learn about being a father to twin boys who are in no way alike. He will learn how dangerous hopes and dreams can be. He will learn truths about Trinidad, about his family, and himself. He will question...

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