Comic Book Clubs Sydney

Books and Bevvies

Welcome to **Books & Bevvies** — a casual book swap and drinks social in the Sydney CBD. This is not a book club with homework. It’s a simple, low-key way to meet people, chat about what you’ve been reading, and walk out with something new. **HOW IT WORKS** Bring a book you’re happy to part with. Pop it on the swap table when you arrive. Mingle, chat, and swap recommendations. When the swap opens, take a book that catches your eye. Stay for a drink and a conversation after. **WHAT TO BRING** One book, any genre and any reading level. **GOOD TO KNOW** The venue relies on accurate numbers for staffing, so if you can’t make it, please change your RSVP to “not going”. Repeated no-shows may result in removal from the group. The venue is kindly not enforcing a minimum spend, but please support them by buying a drink, soft drink, or some lunch during the swap if you can. There is no mandatory entry fee, but voluntary contributions are **very much** appreciated. The group costs around **$65 a month to keep running**, so if you enjoy the swap and are in a position to chip in, even $5 or $10 makes a real difference. Please feel free to contribute with cash or via PayID at any stage through the swap. **WHERE WE’LL BE** We’ll be in the Market Street Garden Bar, with a table full of books and bevvies.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Meeting at the usual place, upstairs at the Shakespeare Hotel, Surry Hills, Sydney, on Thursday 5 November 2026, we will be discussing *Lolita* (1955) by the Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov. This is one of the most famous and controversial novels of the 20th century. Humbert is a middle aged man obsessively attracted to to a 12-year-old girl whom he nicknames 'Lolita.' After he marries her mother, Humbert manipulates circumstances to gain control over Lolita after her mother's death. He then sexually abuses her over a long period of time, convincing himself that (despite her age) she is consenting and enjoying it. For me (Dale), the power of the novel is that morally Humbert is the lowest of the low — a serial child abuser. Yet he would probably be the most captivating guest at a dinner party: cultured, clever, witty and amusing. How do we distinguish between the morality of a person's words and ideas on the one hand, and the reality of their actions on the other? Nabokov forces us to confront an idea sometimes assumed by the ancient Greeks: that a person's intelligence, charm and artistic sensitivity somehow reflects their inner beauty. Or perhaps the most intelligent and witty people can be the most morally corrupt? The novel was initially rejected by several publishers because of its subject matter before being published in Paris. It later became an international bestseller and is now considered a classic. Easily available in hard copies from local libraries (free) or through inter-library loan ($3.50). About $13 from Amazon, ebay and bookshops. Soft copies from our friend Anna or a free pdf from me on request at dalemills@cantab.net We meet upstairs in the pub in a private room conducive to discussion. Look for the sign or ask at the bar for details. There will be about 30 of us. We talk about the book in big group for about 40 mins, before breaking up into small groups. Newcomers are very welcome.

Social meet-up: Western Classics Book Club

A social meet-up for those who come along to the Western Classics Book Club. There is no set book to discuss. Just come along and chill. Meeting at 7.00pm. NB. We normally meet in the Long Room (the large room). Our socials normally get about 10 people, so we will meet in the 'Two Tables Room.' This is on the same level, but at the top of the stairs turn right, instead of left. Look out for the sign. Contact dalemills@cantab.net for any extra info.

Stoics in the park: NEW LOCATION- Sydney Park

Unlike other philosophies, Stoicism was named after a place not a person, making it accessible to ALL people. In ancient greco-roman times people would meet at the Stoa, where they would discuss Stoic Philosophy. We can meet in the park just as the stoic sages 1000s of years ago. Join us to read through and discuss Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Google books has a FREE PDF you can download. No need to do any homework, we will read together and discuss. Am looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Event fee (optional) is $2, this goes to admin costs of running the group, please consider I am from Wollongong and wanted to keep this group when original organiser stepped down. I have significant travel expenses and am generally organising creative events that take resources. A gratuity would be a wonderful way to make me feel appreciated. Pay on the day, payID 0416147804, PayPal: paypal.me/jonnikaren or private message for direct deposit details. In lieu of event fee, you can buy me a coffee :)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Meeting at the usual place, upstairs at The Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Thursday 3 Dec, at 7.00pm, we will be discussing *A Christmas Carol*, by Charles Dickens. Published in 1843, it recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet-to-Come. In the process, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man. It is high on the list of books that people think they have read, but haven't. This fun 150-page novel was written at a time when the English-speaking world was re-imagining the holiday season. At a time when Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, played a major role in popularising what now seem 'ancient' traditions, such as the Christmas Tree and the eating of gingerbread at that special time of year. For those wanting extra reading, there is also the non-fiction work *The man who invented Christmas : how Charles Dickens's A Christmas carol rescued his career and revived our holiday spirits* by Les Standiford. Available through the local library system. There is also a small industry of movies, animations and commentaries. For those wanting even more of a reading fix, there are multiple academic commentaries and re-tellings: feminist, gay, black, Jewish, science fiction, steampunk, horror-zombie, coming-of-age, literary, philosophical and Marxist. You can also check out the NSW Dickens' Society at https://dickenssydney.com.au Hard copies of the book are available from local libraries and from amazon, and soft copies from [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46) There will be about 30 of us in a semi-private room, upstairs, conducive to discussion. We will discuss the book as a 'big group' for about 40 mins, before breaking up into informal small groups to further discuss the book or anything else. We are a friendly lot and newcomers are welcome. Contact Dale on [dalemills@cantab.net](mailto:dalemills@cantab.net) for more info.

What Do Christmas Movies Tell Us About Ourselves and Society?

Is *Love Actually* a celebration of love, or a two-hour HR incident with tinsel? Is *Home Alone* a cosy Christmas classic, or a study in how cheerfully American culture celebrates a kid maiming grown men with paint cans and a blowtorch? And, of course, is *Die Hard* actually a Christmas movie? This December, the Big Ideas Book Club is trading a book for a lively exploration of Christmas movies, with familiar favourites such as *Love Actually*, *Home Alone*, *Elf*, *The Holiday*, *Die Hard*, *It's a Wonderful Life* and *National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation* giving just a taste of what we might discuss. This will be a casual and social event, so there's no need to brush up on your Derridean deconstruction, Foucauldian discourse analysis or Žižekian cultural theory. That said, while there's no book to read for this event, we've prepared an optional guide (link below) to spark ideas about themes commonly explored in Christmas movies. These include nostalgia and invented tradition; love and romance; loneliness and forced festive cheer; redemption and second chances; and consumer capitalism vs the Christmas spirit. And if the theme of Christmas as a social institution that forces a dysfunctional group of people to perform family harmony once a year sounds familiar, may I also suggest you watch the wonderful Australian series *A Moody Christmas*, currently available on Netflix and Prime Video (sometimes listed as *The Moodys* Season 1). **Optional pre-reading guide: *[What Do Christmas Movies Tell Us About Ourselves and Society?](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQB0wZ7v4uFTTrcC4WtEu1wrAaaZL7y9KiF8YlJ17RHGbkQ?e=mhWaqu)*** (32 pages) We'll inevitably spend a lot of time in the Anglo-American Christmas universe, but we'd also love to hear what Christmas, or its closest equivalent, looks like on screen (and around the dinner table) in other countries and cultures. So join us for a Christmas drink (and optional meal) at 6:30pm on Monday, 7th December, on the 2nd floor of the Keg & Brew Hotel in Surry Hills (i.e. up two flights of stairs). The venue is conveniently located near Central Station and the Light Rail. We’ll see you there — unless, of course, you’re unexpectedly trapped at an airport, you’ve bumped into your teenage crush while doing some Christmas shopping, or you’re defending your house from burglars. P.S. Please adjust your RSVP if you have indicated that you will come but are no longer able to do so. This is courteous to others if there is a waitlist. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- These are just some further optional links to consider to supplement the reading of the prepared document. Feel free to pass on other useful links in the discussion section. **Videos and Podcasts:** * Dr Lauren Rosewarne, an academic at Melbourne University, shares what she learned after watching (or enduring) 1000 Christmas movies as research for her book *Analysing Christmas in Film: Santa to the Supernatural* (2018): [What I Learned Watching 1000 Christmas Movies (13 mins)](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sydney-drive/siw-christmas-films/104685880) [The Best (and Worst) Christmas Movies – by someone who’s watched over 1000 (9 mins)](https://www.2ser.com/best-worst-christmas-movies-someone-whos-watched-1000) [75 Christmas Films Worth Watching ](https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/5143-75-christmas-films-worth-watching) * Six short podcast clips on various aspects of Christmas movies (hit the play button near the top): [A Film Lover's Guide to Christmas Movies ](https://harkaudio.com/film-lovers-guide-christmas-movies-66440) * *Love Actually* \- an attack\, a defence\, and a therapist’s ranking of each relationship: [Toxic Takeaways - How Not to Love, Actually](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9NcbH371ek) [Love Actually is Good, Actually - BFI video essay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hMffxJim1M) [Relationship Therapist Ranks Love Actually Romances](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR6H4eGHZJM) **Written:** * Optional pre-reading guide: ***[What Do Christmas Movies Tell Us About Ourselves and Society?](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQB0wZ7v4uFTTrcC4WtEu1wrAaaZL7y9KiF8YlJ17RHGbkQ?e=mhWaqu)*** (32 pages) * A short piece on the benefits of watching Christmas movies: [Why Christmas Movies Make Us Feel Good](https://www.fielding.edu/why-christmas-movies-make-us-feel-good/) * A data geek's analysis of whether *Die Hard* is a Christmas movie: [Using data to determine if Die Hard is a Christmas movie](https://stephenfollows.com/p/using-data-to-determine-if-die-hard-is-a-christmas-movie) * Article on the sociology of Christmas: [What Our Favourite Festive Films Reveal About Society](https://thesociologyguy.com/2025/11/29/the-sociology-of-christmas-what-our-favourite-festive-films-reveal-about-society/)

Short Story Club: 'Bright Hearts' by Kaaron Warren

Short Story Club is a reading club for time-poor people who love speculative fiction. Just like other clubs we read the story and discuss it... though expect to go deeper into craft as writers. This session we're reading Ditmar finalist '[Bright Hearts](https://reactormag.com/bright-hearts-kaaron-warren/)' by Kaaron Warren. Kaaron Warren published her first short story in 1993 and has had fiction in print every year since. She has published six multi-award winning novels (*Slights*, *Walking the Tree*, *Mistification*, *The Grief Hole*, *Tide of Stone*, and *The Underhistory*) and eight short story collections, the most recent being *Calvaria Fell*, with Cat Sparks. No need to bring anything but your thoughts, having read the story.

The Builder's Stone by Melanie Phillips

**Meeting at the usual place, The Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, we will be discussing *The Builder's Stone* by Melanie Phillips.** *The Builder's Stone* argues that Western Civilisation is built on an uneasy alliance between Athens and Jerusalem - a fusion of Greek reason and Biblical morality. Phillips contends that the modern West is abandoning the moral and spiritual foundations that once gave it coherence and concludes with a 10-point 'rescue plan' for the West. The format of the meeting is that we talk about the book in a focused way for about 45 mins and then the meeting formally ends. The purpose of the discussion is to explore ideas and minority opinions are given a lot of space. After the meeting, almost all of us stay behind and speak informally about the book or anything else. The book is available from the usual places and the local library system. Otherwise, contact me if you are having issues getting a copy at dalemills@cantab.net

Scion by James Islington | Sun 1 Nov 2026

November Book Club: "End Times Fascism"

Welcome to Meet the Moment Book Club, where we read books that meet the moment and make sense of it all together. Please see our [group page](https://www.meetup.com/meet-the-moment-book-club/) for a list of upcoming books. *Nerd Reich* last month delved into tech fascism, and now we deepen our understanding of fascism beyond just tech, via the just-released *End Times Fascism*, the latest book by bestselling authors Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor. From what I've read so far, it's an extremely worthy companion to *Nerd Reich*, detailing fascism in a such a way that I finally get its context in today's political-economic system. \*\*\* "A blistering expose of the new far-right apocalyptic alliance that's on the move around the globe - and how we resist. The far right is on the march again - but this time it's different. A new, apocalyptic alliance of religious fundamentalists, billionaire Silicon Valley tech kings and ethno-nationalists is on the move. They're united in their belief that some kind of cleansing cataclysm is coming, and they welcome a future of shocks, scarcity and collapse, convinced they'll be among the saved on the other side. In this blistering reckoning with our age, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor take us deep into this man-made Armageddon complex - and show us how to resist it. Around the globe, they investigate how those who are making our world unliveable are preparing to protect themselves from the fallout, whether it's by repairing to luxurious private islands, or bunkering nations against a dehumanized 'other'. If we're to meet this critical moment and defend what's left of democracy before it's smashed up beyond repair, Klein and Taylor argue, we must break the doom loop, and tell a story not of end times - but of better times." https://www.penguin.com.au/books/end-times-fascism-9780241848395 'This urgent and essential book explains why we should be extremely frightened of, and extremely angry about, the man-made wreckage of the present. It is an indictment of those that engineer and profit from this apocalyptic moment. But it also a vital rallying call for a new universalism, a humane and inspiring project which might ensure our collective emergence from this crisis' Max Porter > [A] bold, clarifying intervention... Their valuable contribution is to map out the frightening new territory in which we find ourselves, and point to an escape > Daniel Trilling, Guardian > For those who since Trump’s first term have debated whether fascism is back, Klein and Taylor make a convincing argument in the affirmative... But they warn that history is not a repeating loop. Instead it spirals, taking us to places that look familiar but are changed by unpredictable new developments. Watch for yellow stars or jackboots and you’ll miss the facial-recognition databases... The value of *End Times Fascism*, as always with Klein, is in the connections it makes. She noted recently that her work is pattern recognition. The particular genius of her writing has been to combine compelling reporting with an ability to see the oblique lines linking apparently disparate trends > Anthea Lawson, Observer \*\*\* We will be meeting at The Erko Hotel. If it's sunny, we'll be outside in the back; if rainy, we'll be at the big square raised table next to the bar. We will start and end on time. There's no fee, but please purchase your own food/drinks from the venue. \*\*\* If you have trouble getting the book, message me. On reading the book: I encourage people to read the book over just interviews or summaries, because nothing beats the slow digesting of the beauty and nuances in a book. Especially for the books in this book club that challenge our worldviews and help us see the world as it truly is, these books need to be really grappled with, to be fully engaged with, to receive the full benefits. For reference, I use book clubs to motivate me to finish the books I want to read, so the date of the book club becomes a deadline to finish the book by. I calculate the number of pages in a book and the number of days I can realistically read, and work out how many pages on average I need to read each day. That's how I've finished many books. Invariably, they're worth reading to the end. Of course, life happens and we're all busy. If you really can't finish a book or can only watch videos this time, that's okay. Come by with an attitude of listening, open to being inspired, and take in what others have to say; perhaps you'll want to read/finish the book afterwards. Just know that books are like most things in life: what you put in is what you get out of it. A podcast or ChatGPT can give you the high-level points, sure, perhaps to BS your way to a decent grade in class; but we're not in school anymore, and we read these books because they better our lives and help us see more clearly. But they can only do so if we read them, because reading is what makes all the new concepts come to life enough to maybe change us. For the full magic, you just gotta read. Alright, thanks for reading my ode to reading. \*\*\* If the RSVP list is full, please join the waitlist as there will likely be fluctuations closer to the date. If you RSVP'ed and can't make it, please edit your RSVP so that others can attend. No-shows will be noted and barred from the book club. Look forward to seeing you there!

Scion by James Islington | Sat 7 Nov 2026

Halloween Drag Trivia hosted by Zephyr

Come to a night of fun, fangs and frivolity as we test your knowledge on all things horror and Halloween. 🎃 Get ready for an ooky spooky trivia night hosted by the masc, myth, legend - [Zephyr](https://www.instagram.com/zephyr.thedragking/)! 🦇We will test you on all things Halloween. Creepy true crime, scary movies, fearsome folklore and everything in between. 🧛Sink your fangs into sweet tricks and treats provided by us. 👹You are welcome to come as a group or on your own. This event is suitable for ghouls, ghosts and goblins 15 years and older. 👻Prizes for best dressed, and the winning team, so get those creative juices flowing. This fun and interactive night will have you screaming for more! 😱