The Reading Renaissance
GOING UNDERGROUND: Book groupies on the Picadilly Line
By Tim Dickens
When they tentatively set up a web page asking people to join them in enjoying good books, Southgate bookworms Paul Drinkwater and Dawn Barnes had no idea of the succesful literary society they might create.
But now the North London Reading Group they started has made the shortlist for the 2009 Penguin Orange Readers’ Group Prize, hatched a network of four book clubs with over one hundred members, and has to set up new book clubs for the scores of avid readers on their shortlist.
Paul and Dawn first met when they found themselves starting another book club, the Oxford Reading Group, in 2003. The club, and their relationship, quickly blossomed.
When they moved to Southgate, North London, in 2007, the couple decided to appeal for interested book lovers who wanted to meet new people and discover some cracking North London pubs along the way. As soon as the website was set up, they were inundated with interest.
When she found out that her reading group had been just pipped to the post for the Orange Penguin prize, thirty two-year-old self-confessed book addict Dawn Barnes was obviously a little deflated. “We were a bit gutted not to win,” she laughed.
“Our group is about bringing people together and being exposed to writers,” says Dawn. Indeed the readers group prize was originally set up to encourage clubs that make reading a more sociable pastime.
After admitting to being a bit glum about missing out on the top prize, Dawn said she was dismayed that the award went to a book club based entirely online.
“I suppose we weren’t surprised with the result, given the popularity of websites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.”
“But that’s a bit lonely really, with kids sitting on their own at home with only a computer.”
The North London Media Group does make good use of all types of online media. Members can find out about meetings on Facebook, or follow the club’s growing success through net phenomenon Twitter, but the real point is to meet up in person, over a refreshing pint, to talk books.
“By actually getting face to face, like we do, you get to meet new people and discover new places all over London.”
In these gloomy days of recession, it is clear that more and more Londoners are turning to books as a more affordable pastime. Reading Groups offer the perfect way to meet other people who share an interest that will not break the bank. They can use libraries and impressive discounts in bookshops to indulge in an old fashioned love of the printed word.
Books have also received a boost from popular TV book clubs, like Richard and Judy, and more recently the online group started by Jonathon Ross, the Wossy Book Club.
“Let’s face it, reading used to be a bit of a geek-fest, but now it’s becoming OK to read,” delights Dawn. The reading group has received over two hundred enquiries since it appeared on the Orange Penguin Prize shortlist a couple of months ago.
It is hard to ignore the social element of this rapidly growing society. As well as monthly meetings at watering holes up and down the Picadilly Line, the club has organised hugely successful literary walks, parties and meet-the-author events.
At a recent Enfieldian poetry evening, bibliophiles were entertained by poets like Anthony Fisher who read their work and answered questions.
“The local poets have such a sense of place and belonging that really comes through in their poems. It’s really beautiful,” says Dawn. Through this and other events she and her partner have met scores of different people while indulging their love of words.
With members mostly aged between 25 and 35, PR executive Dawn would certainly like to make the group more diverse. She sighs as she admits that: “the make-up of the group is a bit disappointing.”
“Although we have people working in a variety of different professions, from teachers to engineers, having people of different ages and from wider backgrounds would definitely make it more interesting.”
She hopes that publicity from the prize might attract more varied interest. In her Oxforn based group, one member was older than her mother.
Although the meet-ups can spark lively debate, all too often there is general agreement across the board, “and it’s rubbish when people agree on something.”
Do Paul and Dawn have any further plans for their extraordinary book group? “At the moment people come from as far away as Acton, so it would be really cool to set up a book group for each area across London.”
They say large trees grow from small acorns, and so a huge reading groups can spring from a solitary web page. And with Dawn and Paul at the helm, it seems certain that the North London Reading Group will continue to grow.
