About us
‼️ SCAM WARNING: Scammers are impersonating this group, contacting authors under my name (Harry Keller), offering paid packages to get featured in our group. We would never ask for money to pick a book or prey on authors in this way. Don’t fall for it, don’t wire them money. Please report their email address as spam/phishing in your email app! ‼️
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Welcome to UNREAD – the mostly utopian book club, happening virtually via Zoom. We strive to understand the complex new world around us better, through casual discussion and exchanging experiences. This book club is not focused on a particular genre, instead we alternate between novels and non-fiction books, which have a utopian leaning. We like sci-fi, eye-opening popular science and occasionally revel in the absurd, but don’t shy away from classics either.
The book club has been going strong since August 2017, with a core group of returning participants, but also new faces joining each time. Usually we end up being between six and twelve people who show up.
We discuss in English. Don’t worry if you aren’t fluent … we’ll make it work! You definitely don’t need a literature degree to participate either! It’s important to us to listen to each other, to treat everyone with respect and to create an inclusive setting.
The book club meets digitally via Zoom – the link will be added to the event on the day it happens. It doesn’t matter if you have actually finished the book – everyone is welcome, as long as they have read at least a few pages and bring their impression.
Books we have read so far:
- “The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. LeGuin
- “Kafka on the Shore” by Haruki Murakami
- “Positioning” by Al Ries and Jack Trout
- “Borderliners” by Peter Høeg
- “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari
- “Uncommon Type” by Tom Hanks
- “Homo Deus” by Yuval Noah Harari
- “Measuring the world” by Daniel Kehlmann
- “Why we sleep” by Matthew Walker
- “Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller
- “Invisible Women” by Caroline Criado Perez
- “Shikasta” by Doris Lessing
- “How to do Nothing” by Jenny Odell
- “The Testaments” by Margaret Atwood
- “Because Internet” by Gretchen McCulloch
- “Educated” by Tara Westover
- “You Look Like a Thing and I Love You” by Janelle Shane
- “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “The Future We Choose” by C. Figueres, T. Rivett-Carnac
- “The Overstory” by Richard Powers
- “User Friendly” by Cliff Kuang
- “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro
- “The New Breed” by Kate Darling
- “Dune” by Frank Herbert
- “I didn’t do the thing today” by Madeline Dore
- “The Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson
- “A Field Guide to Getting Lost” by Rebecca Solnit
- “The Wall” by Marlen Haushofer
- “Goodbye, Again” by Jonny Sun
- “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
- “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert
- “The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers
- “Everyday Utopia” by Kristen Ghodsee
- “Julia” by Sandra Newman
- “Doppelganger” by Naomi Klein
- “Moonbound” by Robin Sloan
- “Technofeudalism” by Yanis Varoufakis
- “Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke
- “Microcosmos” / “Symbiotic Planet” by Margulis + Sagan
- “A Door Into Ocean” by Joan Slonczewski
- “The Mushroom at the End of the World” by Anna Tsing
- “The Word for World is Forest” by Ursula K. LeGuin
- “Automation and the Future of Work” by Aaron Benanav
- “What We Can Know” by Ian McEwan
- “The Dawn of Everything” by Graeber/Wengrow
The next book is always decided on the spot at the meeting, by the people who attend, or afterwards here on meetup – so bring suggestions! These days we gravitate towards books by authors from underrepresented groups!
Upcoming events
1
“Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi – let’s read and discuss!
·OnlineOnlineWelcome back, readers! For the second time in this book club, we have picked a graphic novel: “Persepolis” by
Marjane Satrapi, already a classic and often described as the best graphic novel of all time.This one is a memoir. Summary:
> Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming—both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up.> Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom—Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.
This graphic novel was first published in 2000, and followed up by a sequel. Today, you can usually buy the complete series as one volume (circa 350 pages), which is what we will be discussing. Marjane Satrapi unfortunately passed away earlier this year, at the age of 56.
As always, you can find more information on the book’s GoodReads page and there’s also a film adaption under the same title, from 2007.
Curious to join us? Order a copy at your local book shop or online:
Our meeting is scheduled for September 29, 2026 and we usually discuss in English for 1.5-2 hours. You definitely don’t need a literature degree to participate! It’s important to us to listen to each other, to treat everyone with respect and to create a safe setting.
The discussion takes place virtually in Zoom and the meeting link will be added to this event on the day it happens. Just check back here half an hour before the meetup starts!
It doesn’t matter if you have actually finished the book or whether you’ve attended before – everyone is welcome, as long as you have read at least a few pages and bring your impression.
5 attendees
Past events
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