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| At the Diana Green History lecture by Elif Shafak, |
Following on from last week’s post about Asia Bookroom, the
bookshop in Australia devoted to books with Asian interest, here’s a guest post
from Mariam Mathew, organizer of a book club in London devoted to discussing books by
Asian authors, and books about Asia.
In a city like London, it is possible to walk by hundreds of
people in a day, but not really connect with a single person. Perhaps more than
most places, it is here that one craves the opportunity for building a sense of community. There are many ways
to find community, but one of the most powerful methods of the past decade in
major cities around the world has been through meetup.com. I found and happily joined one such group, Asian Authors/Books about Asia Meetup during a
difficult period of my life several years ago when I experienced a serious
relationship breakup and realized that I had not built up a network of friends
outside of my professional work.
Asian Authors/Books From Asia Meetup was launched in 2008, by Vineet Vijh. One of the best decisions of this group was to allow people in the membership to create their own events. The group has participated in events such as author talks, gallery visits, and movie and theatre evenings. In fact, Vineet hosted the group at his own home for some special events, such as Diwali or Christmas celebrations, or our group’s anniversary in October. Members have even participated in literary festivals such as the long-established Hay-on-Wye, in Wales, and the new-kid-on-the block, Jaipur Literary Festival. After five years, Vineet decided to hand over the baton of Organizer to an Englishman named Peter Latham, last year while I recently had the honour of taking over the role, having to fill some rather large shoes after being a member for the past six years.
During the last seven years, the group has collectively read
over 100 books, and hosted 300 meetup events. Books and the location for the
meeting are generally chosen by the host of the book discussion for the month,
which is passed along by volunteers from the group membership. Sometimes, these
choices are tied to an event, such as the decision to read The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak, as we were planning to
attend a lecture conducted by the Turkish author.
Last year, under the guidance of Peter, the group decided to
allow non-fiction options as well, but fiction still reigns in most of the
choices. While we tend towards books originally written in English, we do
discuss translations and once veered off our regular course enough to choose
two Manga comic books, Vampire
Knight and Emma. Most
of our members read physical books, though a few of us opt for eBooks on our
Kindles or tablets. Regardless of form, the genre is generally tied to the idea
of reading books about Asia and/or by Asian authors (Asian diaspora included).
After a broad survey a couple of years ago, our members indicated that this is
a special feature in a city crawling with literary groups hosting book
discussions.
Book discussions take place at restaurants, cafes or hotel
bars around London. A meeting typically starts with each participant rating the
book out of 5 (decimal values allowed) and then the host poses various
questions, often on small, finely folded pieces of paper to pass out. Our most
recent discussion was about a book set mainly in China and Japan and the host
actually used origami paper for this! At the end of the discussion, each member
gives a new rating to see if their opinion has changed after the lively and
controversial conversations. We even do some quick mental math to get an
average rating for the book.
We recently crossed 900-strong membership and we are still
steadily growing. While our membership is predominantly women and those of
South Asian descent, we nevertheless represent the diversity that is the city
of London. With people from all parts of the world, from Europe to North and
South America, Africa, Asia and Australia, we get wonderfully diverse
viewpoints and experiences at the book discussions. In fact, whenever we
discuss a book with a cultural context different than that of the majority of
the group, it is amazing to see the stories and connections which are drawn out
like spider silk from the members participating in the discussion. Whether the
books are set in Trinidad or Turkey, Cambodia or Iran, China, Japan, India
or Sri Lanka, we have seen this time and again. It is no wonder that we leave
with a sense of wonder about the complexity and majesty of our world and yet
recognize that this round orb on which we reside is actually quite a connected
little neighbourhood.
While people join for a variety of reasons, most join
through meetup.com and then stay and participate for
sometimes a different set of reasons. Some members have made life-long friends
and get together beyond the formal events of the book group, keep connected
through Facebook and other social media, and support each other through special
challenges, events and milestones. Others come once in a while, but when they
do they receive a warm welcome. For all, it is an opportunity to learn more
about the world around us and be challenged in our thinking. Rare is the time
when someone hasn’t changed their rating for a book after the lively discussion!
This year, we have some special events planned including a
literary chocolate tour of London and a barbecue event at a member’s home, as
well as our annual visit to Hay-on-Wye, regular book discussions, and various
cultural outings. My hope, as ever, for the group, is that we will be able to
continue to have a vibrant and supportive group that may provide a bit of salve
for those who reach for connection among a group of people who love books or
all things Asia or just want to connect with those who do.