The American & Canadian Reading Group
Once a month, our evening get-together is in the Brussels area.
On the second Wednesday of the month, from 19:00 to 21:00 you are invited to join our Reading Group to discuss the book-of-the-month, written by an American or Canadian author.
We often share a meal together while sharing views on the book-of-the-month.
And secondarily, good reads we have enjoyed. All contributions to the conversation are welcome!
Interested in participating? Please contact Kayali Lenssen:
klenssen@proximus.be
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Book-of-the-Month Discussions
October 12th
Money Men, by Dan McCrum, hosted by Madan Chaolla
"When journalist Dan McCrum followed a tip to investigate the hot new tech company challenging Silicon Valley, everything about Wirecard looked a little too good to be true: offices were sprouting up around the world, it was reporting runaway growth and the CEO even wore a black turtleneck in tribute to Steve Jobs. In the space of a few short years, the company had come from nowhere to overtake industry giants like Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank on the stock market. As McCrum dug deeper, he encountered a story stranger and more dangerous than he ever imagined. Money Men is the astonishing true story of Wirecard's multi-billion-dollar fraud, Europe's biggest new tech darling revealed as a house of cards."
November 9th
The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, hosted by Kayali Lenssen
“A remarkable novel aout J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation.
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J.P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books and artwork for his newly build Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle comes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection.”
We are also looking for book recommendations and hosts for our coming dates; please don’t hesitate to present your book for our December, January or February sessions.
Book club guidelines/criteria : This book club is comprised of members of the American Women’s Club of Brussels, the American Club of Brussels, and the Canadian Club of Belgium. We look for American or Canadian authors, available for purchase in shops or online, not more than 300-400 pages, and have a preference for those that have a score of at least 4/5 on Goodreads. The books do not have to be recent, they can also be ones you loved that we might have missed. We meet on the second Wednesday of the month in the evening, from 7pm to 9pm, either at a host’s home or a restaurant, in the greater Brussels area.
