Book Drives Berlin

Writing Group Berlin ✍️ | FIRST DRAFT — Write Your Book Together

Hi, I’m Khushboo Sangwan, a left-handed creative writer and project manager living in Berlin. I’ve always dreamed of writing a book. 📖 But somehow, life keeps getting in the way. Work, responsibilities, other plans, and suddenly another year has passed and that first draft is still sitting somewhere in your head. 💻 I know how difficult it is to stay consistent when you’re doing it alone. ✍️ So I decided to stop waiting for the perfect time and create the kind of writing group I wished I had. And I’m not going to sit there and tell you what to do while you write. I’ll be writing my own book with you. 📕 Every Saturday, we’ll meet for focused writing time, take a couple of short breaks, and then spend some time talking about what we’re working on, helping each other through creative blocks and figuring out what comes next. 📚💡 I’ll also help you look at your book like a creative project. We can talk about planning, timelines, accountability, Notion, finishing your first draft and, eventually, how to start thinking about literary agents and getting published. 📑 Our first session 15:00 Arrive & settle in 15:10–16:00 Writing sprint ⏳ 16:00–16:10 Break 💛 16:10–17:00 Writing sprint ⏳ 17:00–17:10 Break 💛 17:10–18:00 Writing sprint ⏳ 18:00–18:30 Discussion, brainstorming & support 💬 This is completely free. I’m starting this because I genuinely believe that we can finish our books if we stop trying to do it alone. I want to see your first draft in your hands six months from now. 🍀 And I want mine there too. 📖 If you’ve been dreaming about becoming an author and you’re serious about finally doing something about it, come join me. ❤️ Bring your laptop. Bring your unfinished story. Bring the idea that’s been sitting in your head for years. Let’s write our books together. And let’s see if, six months from now, we can call ourselves published authors. ✍️

Women’s Book Club: Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

This time we will be discussing **Mieko Kawakami: Breasts and Eggs** We look forward to seeing you! If you have book suggestions, would like to vote on our next reads, or join us for additional activities, please ask someone at the meeting to add you to our WhatsApp group. As a quick note, the cafe is kind enough to let us host our meetings there for free and flexibly. In return, please make sure to order at least one drink and refrain from bringing your own food. And a heads up: **They only accept card payments for amounts over €10**, so you may want to bring some cash for smaller orders. Please remember to cancel your participation in good time if you are not coming. This will give someone else enough time to read the book and come to the meeting.

Launch: No Small Talk at Metis — our new non-fiction book club

Some conversations deserve more than small talk. That's the whole idea behind our new English-language book club: a room where we skip the weather and get straight to the books — and the questions — that actually matter. **No Small Talk at Metis** is a non-fiction reading group for people who like to argue (kindly), think out loud, and leave a little changed. We'll read the essays, reportage and ideas shaping the world right now — politics, society, history, the present moment — and talk about them properly, over a drink, in good company. **This is our launch evening.** Come meet the club, the hosts and your fellow readers, find out how it'll work, and pick up the first book together. No preparation needed for this one — just curiosity and an opinion or two. Whether you're a lifelong non-fiction reader or someone who's been meaning to read more of it, you're exactly who we're hoping to see. **Our first book:** *One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This* by **Omar El Akkad** — winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Nonfiction. A searing, deeply personal reckoning by the novelist and journalist with the war on Gaza and the moral failures of the West, taking its title from his own words that went around the world in October 2023. We'll dig into it together at our **first full discussion on Sunday, 18 October**. The book is available in the shop, so you can pick up your copy at the launch. Hosted by the team behind Metis. 📚 In English 🗓 **Sunday, 27 September · 17:00** (launch) — first discussion: Sunday, 18 October 📍 Metis Books & Café · Gleimstraße 21 · 10437 Berlin (Prenzlauer Berg) 🎟 **Free** — no ticket needed. We just kindly ask that you order something to eat or drink while you're here: it's what keeps these evenings, and the bookshop, alive. RSVP here so we know how many seats to set out. New faces always warmly welcome — and yes, small talk is allowed for the first five minutes.

Book Club Meeting 9 - Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

***Goal*** Hey there Readers! We decided to face a tough yet super important read in September, a story about love, identity and truth. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about it! IMPORTANT: Bring a little sketch or drawing that was inspired by the book! ***Schedule*** 18:00 - Arrival and chitchats 18:20 - Small introduction of the book and first thoughts 18:30 - General discussion 19:30 - Show your drawing/painting! 19:50 - Choice of the book for November/December (bring some options if you have some books in mind :))

Sunday Silent Reading @ Bode Museum

Welcome to the **Silent Reading Club** – a cosy gathering for book lovers who enjoy the simple pleasure of reading together in good company. Bring any book you're excited about (or finally meaning to finish!) and spend a peaceful Sunday morning surrounded by fellow readers. **Everyone is welcome, and every book belongs here.** *(Please RSVP "Yes" only if you can attend, so we can save a seat for you and offer any remaining spots to readers on the waitlist.)* 📍 **Where:** Café (1st floor), Bode Museum There's no entrance fee. We simply ask that you support our wonderful host by ordering at least one drink or snack from the café, and please don't bring outside food or drinks. No assigned books. No discussions you have to join. No reading goals to hit. Just an hour of uninterrupted reading in a room full of people who love books as much as you do. We'll be spread across a few tables, so simply grab a seat wherever you like, settle in, and say hello if you're feeling social. **Schedule** **10:30–11:00** – Arrive, grab a coffee (or breakfast!), and chat with fellow readers **11:00–12:00** – Quiet reading hour **12:00–12:30** – Optional social time: talk about your current read, swap recommendations, or simply keep turning pages. Feel free to stay for lunch afterwards—you never know, your next favorite book (or a new friend) might be just one conversation away.

„Frost“ von Thomas Bernhard (1963)

Hi, dieses Mal besprechen wir „Frost“ von Thomas Bernhard (1963). Hier der Link zum Inhalt und Buch : https://www.suhrkamp.de/buch/thomas-bernhard-frost-t-9783518365472 Wir treffen uns diesmal im Chagall am Senefelder Platz. :)

September Sci-Fi #2.1: "The Freeze-Frame Revolution" by Peter Watts (186pp)

September Sci-Fi #2.2: "The Freeze-Frame Revolution" by Peter Watts (186pp)

October Sci-Fi #1.1: "The Centre" by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi (288pp)

Silent Reading / Creating Club at W66 (Saturday) [Luma to RSVP]

RSVP on Luma: https://luma.com/gakcu99i Silent Reading / Creating Club is a gathering for people who enjoy focusing together in public. Bring a book, a notebook, a sketchpad, knitting needles, whatever you’d like to spend a quiet hour doing. All projects and all participants are welcome. We’re building a community of readers and creators who value depth, presence, and shared silence. The reading and creating isn't the real highlight, though, it’s in the people who return and make it feel like a familiar room. (Please RSVP “yes” only if you can make it, so we can save a seat for you and others on the waitlist.) Our Meeting Point is the **W66 Café**. There’s no entrance fee, but please order at least one item from the café and don’t bring outside food or drinks 🙂 No assignments, expectations, or pressure. Just a shared hour of intentional silence, followed by the opportunity for good conversation. 🕰 Our Agenda **10:30 – 11:00** Arrivals, ordering drinks/food, light social time **11:00 – 12:00** The Great Quiet Hour (Read. Write. Sketch. Code. Think. Sit.) **12:00 – 12:30** Optional socializing: share what you were reading or creating, or simply continue in quiet focus. ## 🏡 House Guidelines To keep this space calm and welcoming for everyone: • Silence during the focus hour (no calls or conversations) • Put cellphones on silent mode • If using technology, please avoid meetings or audio (headphones please!) • Arrive before 11:00 if possible to minimize disruptions

LÜGEN ÜBER MEINE MUTTER von Daniela Dröscher

Berlin hat das Buch gelesen und drüber geredet, wer Rodrigos Hinweis gefolgt ist, hat die Autorin in der wunderschönen Pablo Neruda Bibliothek im Friedrichshain lesen und tolle Fragen beantworten hören und nun, kurz bevor der Film herauskommt, ist es Zeit über das Buch zu sprechen - Lügen über meine Mutter von Daniela Dröscher. Deutschlandfunk hat Folgendes über die Autorin und ihren Roman gesagt: „…so erzählt „Lügen über meine Mutter“ nicht nur eine unerhörte familiäre Tragödie, sondern weit über das Private hinaus ein immer noch unterbelichtetes Kapitel weiblicher Alltags- und Sozialgeschichte. Daniela Dröscher in einem Atemzug mit Annie Ernaux zu nennen, ist unbedingt angemessen.“ Viel Spaß beim Lesen und ich freue mich auf eure Gedanken zum Buch! Es gibt übrigens bereits ins Englische übersetzte Teile des Buche - wer also als DAF Lerner dazukommen möchte ich herzlich eingeladen.

An die Bücher!