On Sunday 6th November, I got two trains to arrive at Hampstead Heath Station, cold air filling my lungs. It was a chilly day, but nothing a scarf wouldn't fix. A short walk later, I arrived at Daunt Books, an independent bookseller that runs the monthly book club. I met Emily Rhodes, the founder of the club, a lovely woman with a clear passion for books.
Once a month Emily picks a book from the store – a hidden gem that she feels does not get enough recognition, and isn't a book the average person would choose. An email is sent to the list of regular participators, posters go up in-store, and a post on her blog. Participators have a couple of weeks to read the book, and develop some thoughts of their own, in preparation for the walk.
The idea behind the walking book club is that it is easier to discuss something whilst walking with one person, rather than sitting in a stuffy room working up the courage to say something in front of a room of people, so you leave with a richer and more fulfilling experience.
By 11:15, a small throng of people had gathered within the book store, clutching paperback copies of 'Giving Up the Ghost' and paper cups of coffee, giving me slightly more confidence about this experience. If several other people were here for this walk, then it must be reasonably popular and well liked?
At 11:30 we left the store, continuing down the road until we arrived at the entrance to Hampstead Heath, trudging through the mud, chatting away. After a while Emily stops us, and reads out a passage of the book, about one of Mantel's childhood memories, and how it is fluid and unreliable, and how sometimes you can't trust yourself.
We continued on through the cold and mud, discussing the ideas of these memories and how they relate to both the author, and ourselves. I had an interesting conversation with a lady named Audrey about this, which I wasn't particularly expecting.
Being far younger than the other participants, I was expecting to be left without a talking partner, but on the contrary, I found myself having great conversations with people, and gained great insight.
Overall, I found the experience wonderful, and I hope to eventually go back on another of these book walks in the future.
This sounds like it was a great experience, would you recommend the book to others after having gone on this? What other books has this club explored? I'd love to be able to attend one of these sessions, but I'm unfortunately not a local! A link to Emily's blog would be lovely, very jealous, looks like great fun!