We are delighted to announce our next afternoon with lecturer Michael King will explore James Joyce’s enthralling collection of modernist short stories, which created a vivid picture of the day-to-day experience of Dublin life

Tea and coffee with be provide throughout the event.

To book your place, please click here.

About the book:

Joyce's first major work, written when he was only twenty-five, brought his city to the world for the first time. His stories are rooted in the rich detail of Dublin life, portraying ordinary, often defeated lives with unflinching realism.

From 'The Sisters', a vivid portrait of childhood faith and guilt, to 'Araby', a timeless evocation of the inexplicable yearnings of adolescence, to 'The Dead', in which Gabriel Conroy is gradually brought to a painful epiphany regarding the nature of his existence, Joyce draws a realistic and memorable cast of Dubliners together in an powerful exploration of overarching themes.

Writing of social decline, sexual desire and exploitation, corruption and personal failure, he creates a brilliantly compelling, unique vision of the world and of human experience.

James Joyce (1882-1941), the eldest of ten children, was born in Dublin, but exiled himself to Paris at twenty as a rebellion against his upbringing. He only returned to Ireland briefly from the continent but Dublin was at heart of his greatest works, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. He lived in poverty until the last ten years of his life and was plagued by near blindness and the grief of his daughter's mental illness.

The book club will be held upstairs in our reading rooms and are suitable for ages 18+ years. Tea and coffee will be provided.

To book your place, please click here, or to purchase a year-long subscription to our Text Book Club, please click here.

About the book -

From twice Booker-shortlisted author Deborah Levy, a moving and revelatory collection exploring the muses that have shaped her life and work as a writer.

In The Position of Spoons, Deborah Levy traces and measures her life against the backdrop of the literary and artistic muses that have shaped her – including a letter to her dying mother and to an absent friend.

This volume illuminates and celebrates a rich and varied intellectual inheritance – and reflects on how it has enriched the author’s own work.

Taking in questions of mortality, language, gender, place, consumerism and everyday living, the acclaimed novelist invites her reader behind the curtain of a creative life, ‘in which the position of the spoon is always changing’.

Join us in 2026 for a new reading group where we dive into genres, looking at the authors, books and themes that define them. We’ll cover everything from crime, fantasy and thrillers to classics, romance and more.

Whether you’re trying to read more, are a massive fan of the genre, or normally give it a miss, we’ll have plenty of book recommendations to choose from so that you’re bound to find something you like.

Books can transport us, change our perspectives and teach us more about the world, and about ourselves. And reading for pleasure can help you slow down, improve your attention span and benefit your mental health.

At each of the 10 monthly sessions, Ollie will give a quick background overview on the genre, followed by discussion of what you liked or didn't about your chosen book(s) and how they fit within the genre, leaving with even more recommendations to add to your To Be Read pile. And if you just read one book from each session, you’ll have read at least 10 over the year and be well on your way to a great habit.

So come along to our no-pressure sessions and help strengthen your reading muscle.

March - Get Into… SciFi

March takes us into a genre that speculates about the future of humanity and what it means to be human - science fiction. Since its birth with Frankenstein, this genre has asked serious questions that it's tried to answer through fantastic settings, from far-flung galaxies and dystopian worlds to alien attacks and medical marvels. This month’s reading list includes authors who really care about science and others who care more about fiction, providing a range of hilarious, thought-provoking or heart-rending journeys along the way.

Reading list:

• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (contemporary, literary)

• Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu (translated)

• The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin (modern classic)

• Exhalation by Ted Chiang (multi-award winning short stories)

• The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (series/LGBTQ)

• The Importance Of Being Interested by Robin Ince (non fiction)

•  The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (classic)

• Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes (modern classic, genre breaking)

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams (comedy/audiobook)

• Divergent by Veronica Roth (young adult)

Register now and you can get 15% off the books in the reading list. Once you have booked a place, you will be sent a password to access the catalogue of books at a discounted price.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Get Into… Reading (2026)

The full list of sessions is below - we’ll put up the reading lists against the events each month.

• Jan - Cinema/ Seen on Screen

• Feb - Crime

• Mar - Sci Fi 

• Apr - Classics

• May - Fantasy

• Jun - Cosy

• Jul - Dystopian

• Sep - Thriller

• Oct - Horror

• Nov - Romance

To book your place, please click here.

Once you have booked a place, you will be sent a password to access the catalogue of books at a discounted price.

To purchase these books once you have received the password, please click here.

We are delighted to announce that our next poetry afternoon with lecturer Michael King will explore the poetry of the Bronte sisters.

Tea and coffee with be provide throughout the event.

To book your place, please click here.

About the book:

The Bronte sisters lives and works have become modern-day cultural touchstones.

Emily Bronte, best known for her novel WUTHERING HEIGHTS, began writing poetry first and, before her untimely death, wrote some of the most touching and emotive poems which often reflected the landscape of her Yorkshire home.

Charlotte Bronte, whose novel JANE EYRE has had numerous TV and film adaptations, took responsibility for finding a home for their work. In her own words, ' We had very early cherished the dream of one day becoming authors'.

Anne Bronte, author of AGNES GREY, often used autobiographical elements in her poems, giving us a hints of the struggles and turmoil of her life.

These poems offer glimpses of the joys and sorrows of the Brontes and are a beautifully compelling introduction to their writing and lives.

Join fellow local writers as the day begins and the light slowly changes. On the first Wednesday of every month, we open the shop at 6am and invite you to write alongside others while the sun comes up.

Arrive at opening time or drift in when you’re ready. Stay until the words run out or the morning carries you elsewhere. A great coffee or a comforting pot of tea is included to ease you gently into the page.

This is a silent writing session. No workshopping, no sharing, no pressure. Just the quiet motivation of being surrounded by people who, like you, have chosen to write while the world is still half-asleep. We can promise a magical atmosphere. Please be aware that our WIFI can be problematic being an old building.

Tickets: £10

Includes your first coffee or pot of tea.

To purchase a ticket to the event, please click here.

Why 6am? Because many writers rise early to write, and we wondered who else might be doing the same. This is a space for focus, intention, and beginning the day with words.

Tickets are non-refundable due to administration, but are transferable. If you wish to transfer your ticket, you’ll just need to email us the name of the person who will be attending instead.

Questions or feedback? Please contact office@books-on-the-hill.co.uk

Come write with us. Start the day the right way.

Here at Books On The Hill, we love all things books so thought it would be great to get people together over breakfast to have a chat about books. Discussions will be around books you love or books you are currently reading and how you are finding them. So if you love to talk about books, but don't have the time to read a set text, join us at 10 am in store for a fun-filled morning.

Book here for your individual book club ticket or click here to purchase a one-year ticket.

This event is charged and is suitable for 18+ years.

During the event, the team may ask if we can take pictures of the event to promote future events held in store. By purchasing a ticket you are consenting to the team using these pictures for our social media channels but you are able to withdraw your consent at any time during the event.

This event is now sold out.

Classics can be intimidating. They have a reputation of being too highbrow and incomprehensible for us mere mortals. We at Books on the Hill, however, think that is just not true. Classics speak of a universal theme we all have first hand experience of: love, loss, friendship, hope. They are for all of us. To tackle this, come along to our Book Club focusing on "The Classics" from recent and not so recent history.

For February, we have chosen Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte as our Classics Book Club book.

To book your place please click here, or to purchase a year long subscription to our Classics Book Club, please click here.

This Book Club will be held on the last Thursday of the month, and is suitable for ages 18+. Tea and coffee will be provided, as well as glasses should you chose to bring your own tipple.

About the book -

Emily Brontë's novel of impossible desires, violence and transgression is a masterpiece of intense, unsettling power. It begins in a snowstorm, when Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter at Wuthering Heights. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before: the intense passion between the foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, her betrayal of him and the bitter vengeance he now wreaks on the innocent heirs of the past.

We are delighted to announce our next text lecture with Michael King will explore Coming up for Air by George Orwell.

Tea and coffee with be provided.

To book your place, please click here.

About the book -

George Orwell's paean to the end of an idyllic era in British history, Coming Up for Air is a poignant account of one man's attempt to recapture childhood innocence as war looms on the horizon. George Bowling, forty-five, mortgaged, married with children, is an insurance salesman with an expanding waistline, a new set of false teeth - and a desperate desire to escape his dreary life. He fears modern times - since, in 1939, the Second World War is imminent - foreseeing food queues, soldiers, secret police and tyranny.

So he decides to escape to the world of his childhood, to the village he remembers as a rural haven of peace and tranquillity. But his return journey to Lower Binfield may bring only a more complete disillusionment . . .

The book club will be held upstairs in our reading rooms and are suitable for ages 18+ years.

To book your place, please click here, or to purchase a year-long subscription to our Text Book Club, please click here.

About the book - SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025.

DECEMBER 1962, THE WEST COUNTRY. Local doctor Eric Parry, mulling secrets, sets out on his rounds, while his pregnant wife sleeps on in the warmth of their cottage.

Across the field, funny, troubled Rita Simmons is also asleep, her head full of images of a past life her husband prefers to ignore. He's been up for hours, tending to the needs of the small dairy farm where he hoped to create a new version of himself, a project that's already faltering. But when the ordinary cold of an English December gives way to violent blizzards, the two couples find their lives beginning to unravel.

WHERE DO YOU HIDE WHEN YOU CAN'T LEAVE HOME? AND WHERE, IN A FROZEN WORLD, CAN YOU RUN TO?

Join us in 2026 for a new reading group where we dive into genres, looking at the authors, books and themes that define them. We’ll cover everything from crime, fantasy and thrillers to classics, romance and more.

Whether you’re trying to read more, are a massive fan of the genre, or normally give it a miss, we’ll have plenty of book recommendations to choose from so that you’re bound to find something you like.

Books can transport us, change our perspectives and teach us more about the world, and about ourselves. And reading for pleasure can help you slow down, improve your attention span and benefit your mental health.

At each of the 10 monthly sessions, Ollie will give a quick background overview on the genre, followed by discussion of what you liked or didn't about your chosen book(s) and how they fit within the genre, leaving with even more recommendations to add to your To Be Read pile. And if you just read one book from each session, you’ll have read at least 10 over the year and be well on your way to a great habit.

So come along to our no-pressure sessions and help strengthen your reading muscle.

February - Get Into… Crime

February’s session will cover one of the most popular genres - crime. From Sherlock Holmes to Elizabeth Best by way of Hercule Poirot and Philip Marlowe, we have been fascinated with detectives, villains and murder mysteries for the best part of two centuries. Whatever you’re looking for, crime has a subgenre for you, be it cosy (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency), espionage (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), psychological (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) or forensic (The Body Farm). But this range can make it hard to know if a book will really suit you before you start. This month’s reading list contains books across the spectrum of light to dark, with historical, YA and noir thrown in for good measure.

Reading list:

• Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard

• Dissolution by C. J. Sansom

• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

• The Appeal by Janice Hallett

• The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

• Slow Horses by Mick Herron

• My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

• The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Register now and you can get 15% off the books in the reading list. Once you have booked a place, you will be sent a password to access the catalogue of books at a discounted price.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Get Into Reading - session list

The full list of sessions is below - we’ll put up the reading lists against the events each month.

• Jan - Cinema/ Seen on Screen

• Feb - Crime

• Mar - Sci Fi 

• Apr - Classics

• May - Fantasy

• Jun - Cosy

• Jul - Dystopian

• Sep - Thriller

• Oct - Horror

• Nov - Romance

To book your place, please click here.

Once you have booked a place, you will be sent a password to access the catalogue of books at a discounted price.

To purchase these books once you have received the password, please click here.

We are delighted to announce our next poetry afternoon with lecturer Michael King will explore William Blake and the the Romantic poet’s visionary, imaginative and political work.

Tea and coffee with be provide throughout the event.

To book your place, please click here.

About the book -

'To see a World in a Grain of Sand/And a Heaven in a Wild Flower/Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand/And Eternity in an hour'

William Blake wrote some of the most moving and memorable verse in the English language. Deeply committed to visionary and imaginative experience, yet also fiercely engaged with the turbulent politics of his era, he is now recognised as a major contributor to the Romantic Movement. This edition presents Blake's poems in their literary categories and genres to which they belong: his much-loved lyrics, ballads, comic and satirical verse, descriptive and discursive poems, verse epistles, and, finally, his remarkable 'prophetic' poems, including the whole of his two diffuse epics, Milton and Jerusalem.

Blake's poetry is intellectually challenging as well as formally inventive, and this edition has a substantial critical introduction which places his ideas in the contemporary context of the Enlightenment and the artistic reaction against its key assumptions.

Join fellow local writers as the day begins and the light slowly changes. On the first Wednesday of every month, we open the shop at 6am and invite you to write alongside others while the sun comes up.

Arrive at opening time or drift in when you’re ready. Stay until the words run out or the morning carries you elsewhere. A great coffee or a comforting pot of tea is included to ease you gently into the page.

This is a silent writing session—no workshopping, no sharing, no pressure. Just the quiet motivation of being surrounded by people who, like you, have chosen to write while the world is still half-asleep. We can promise a magical atmosphere. Please be aware that our WIFI can be problematic being an old building.

Tickets: £10

Includes your first coffee or pot of tea.

To purchase a ticket to the event, please click here.

Why 6am? Because many writers rise early to write—and we wondered who else might be doing the same. This is a space for focus, intention, and beginning the day with words.

Tickets are non-refundable due to administration, but are transferable—just email us with the new attendee’s name.

Questions or feedback? Please contact office@books-on-the-hill.co.uk

Come write with us. Start the day the right way.

Here at Books On The Hill, we love all things books so thought it would be great to get people together over breakfast to have a chat about books. Discussions will be around books you love or books you are currently reading and how you are finding them. So if you love to talk about books, but don't have the time to read a set text, join us at 10 am in store for a fun-filled morning.

Book here for your individual book club ticket or click here to purchase a one-year ticket.

This event is charged and is suitable for 18+ years.

During the event, the team may ask if we can take pictures of the event to promote future events held in store. By purchasing a ticket you are consenting to the team using these pictures for our social media channels but you are able to withdraw your consent at any time during the event.

Classics can be intimidating. They have a reputation of being too highbrow and incomprehensible for us mere mortals. We at Books on the Hill, however, think that is just not true. Classics speak of a universal theme we all have first hand experience of: love, loss, friendship, hope. They are for all of us. To tackle this, come along to our Book Club focusing on "The Classics" from recent and not so recent history.

For January, we have chosen The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein as our Classics Book Club book.

To book your place please click here, or to purchase a year long subscription to our Classics Book Club, please click here.

This Book Club will be held on the last Thursday of the month, and is suitable for ages 18+. Tea and coffee will be provided, as well as glasses should you chose to bring your own tipple.

ABOUT THE BOOK - Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End.

But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon… The prelude to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century.

This course is intended for participants who have already completed the Introduction to Bibliotherapy course.

To register for the course and to embark on a journey for your wellbeing please click here and for further information please email bibliotherapyforme@outlook.com.

It will take a deeper dive into how to curate books to best address some of life’s challenges. Each week we will look at

texts that can directly resonate and help address a weekly theme such as loss, anxiety and change/transformation.

Course Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, participants will gain:

1. A deep dive into using literature as a form of remedy and healing within our daily lives, when dealing with anxiety/overwhelm; loss/grief and change/transformation.

2. The confidence to apply Bibliotherapy both towards themselves and others

3. Hands-on experience at collaborating in a small group, including development of empathetic listening skills

Course schedule – Spring 2026 Classes run at Books on the Hill on the Fridays listed below, from 2pm – 3.45pm

CLASS ONE - Friday 23 January

Anxiety and Bibliotherapy

What is anxiety/overwhelm and which texts and readings can best help address this?

We will explore the difference between anxiety and depression and its representation in literature, assessing useful texts

and reading strategies to help combat anxiety and overwhelm

Please bring along an extract or example of a book that has helped address or alleviate some form of anxiety/overwhelm – our focus this week

will be on the non-fiction genre so those examples are particularly welcome!

CLASS TWO - Friday 6 February

Meet directly in London, by the Laurence Olivier statue outside the National Theatre – Upper Ground, South

Bank, London, SE1 9PX at 2pm

Please note that because of the travel time included, class will run over but will finish by 1pm.

Visit to Southbank, including

· A guided visit to the Poetry Library, in the Royal Festival Hall · A guided visit to the National Theatre and its bookshop, with a focus on the power of drama in Bibliotherapy · A visit to the Book Market, in Southbank

CLASS THREE - Friday 27 February

Loss/grief and Bibliotherapy Loss is an inevitable part of life so why do we find it so painful and difficult? We will look at different texts with different representations of loss including grief, menopause and empty nesters. Please bring along a poem that has helped address or alleviate some form of loss – our focus this week will be on the poetry genre so those examples are particularly welcome!

CLASS FOUR - Friday 13 March

Activity: Excursion to Hampstead, with its rich literary tradition and bookstores, including a visit to John Keats’s house Options: Travel from St Albans or meet directly in London, Hampstead Guided visit to this historically rich literary area, including visits to Daunt Books, Burgh House and John Keats’s house · Optional tea and cake in a café (not included in the course fee).

CLASS FIVE – Friday 27 March

Change and transformation – Bibliotherapy

What does literature have to say about change and transformation? Through exploring specific texts we will view

different perspectives of change, transformation and altering our perspectives

What is included in the £145 fee?

Venue for classes in central St Albans at Books on the Hill, 1 Holywell Hill, St Albans, AL1 1ER

Instructor as guide to two excursions to London: Southbank and Hampstead

Reading materials, articles and online contact with the instructor throughout the course

NOT included

Travel to, from and around London on excursions

Tea and cake in cafés in London

Please email bibliotherapyforme@outlook.com for further information or to register for the course

and to embark on a journey for your wellbeing.

Places are limited – first come, first served!

www.bibliotherapyforme.com

To register for the course and to embark on a journey for your wellbeing please click here and for further information please email bibliotherapyforme@outlook.com.

Would you like to discover the link between reading and wellbeing and how this can enhance your everyday life?

“Literature offers us a powerful language that can help us understand ourselves and others and gives us the words and perspectives that can help us talk about difficult experiences.” Dr Jane Davis, Founder of The Reader

“One sheds one’s sicknesses in books – repeats and presents again one’s emotions, to be master of them.” DH Lawrence, The Letters of DH Lawrence

Bibliotherapy dates back to ancient times when libraries were seen as sacred places where answers and healing could be found. My course explores reading as an active strategy to help cope with life’s challenges, looking at the wider and deeper ways in which fiction and non-fiction can 'find' people, emotionally and imaginatively, helping develop self- esteem, emotional granularity and interpersonal relationships. Participants will be introduced to the neurological benefits of reading “for pleasure” and to a wellbeing model to help us tailor our book choices in order to thrive.

Course Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, participants will gain:

1. An understanding of the key principles of bibliotherapy and how to apply them, including choosing books ‘on prescription’ and making use of a practical, interactive approach

2. A powerful tool to foster group cohesion

3. The experience of using literature as a form of remedy and healing within our daily lives

The course does not require any prior reading ability or experience and absolutely everyone is welcome!

Fortnightly course schedule – Spring 2026 Classes run at Books on the Hill on the Fridays listed below, from 10.15am-12pm

CLASS ONE - Friday 23rd January

What is Bibliotherapy?

· A potted history of Bibliotherapy and its origins

· Differences approaches to bibliotherapy and what they mean

· The neurological processes behind reading and how they help us flourish.

CLASS TWO - Friday 6th February

Options:

Travel from St. Albans or meet directly in the lobby of the British Library, 96 Euston Road, (times TBC)

The Library

· The role of libraries as memory keepers for societies and as a ‘house of healing’ for the soul · The role of librarianship, libraries as ‘safe spaces’/warm hubs and the libraries of the future Activity: Journey through The British Library, Euston Road, London with your instructor as guide The British Library (BL) is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world’s largest libraries. Its collections include more than 150 million items, in over 400 languages including books, magazines, manuscripts, maps, music scores, newspapers, patents, databases, philatelic items, prints and drawings and sound recordings. The activity includes access to the Library “Treasures section” as a springboard for using literature as remedy

CLASS THREE – Friday 27th February

Poetry therapy and the benefits of therapeutic writing

· Poetry Therapy and the qualities that make poems particularly helpful as a wellbeing tool

· The link between reading poetry and therapeutic writing.

· How to apply an interactive approach to poetry

CLASS FOUR – Friday 13th March

Excursion to Spitalfields and its Bookstores

Options: Travel from St Albans or meet directly in London, Liverpool Street, for a guided tour of the Spitalfields area and its independent bookstores.

Guided visit to this historically rich and diverse area, including visits to Libreria and the Brick Lane Bookshop, to consider the changing face of the bookstore, its relationship with its local community and to our wellbeing.

• Optional tea and cake in a café (not included in the course fee).

CLASS FIVE – Friday 27th March

Putting bibliotherapy into practice

· Adopting a practical approach to bibliotherapy as an art therapy for ourselves and others

· How to set boundaries, create a safe environment and help select appropriate reading choices

· Incorporating reading for wellbeing into our daily routine · Wrap up and farewell

What is included in the course fee of £145?

Qualified, experienced and evaluated Bibliotherapy instructor

Venue for classes in central St Albans at Books on the Hill, 1 Holywell Hill, St Albans, AL1 1ER

Instructor as guide to two excursions to London: The British Library and the bookstores of Piccadilly

Reading materials, articles and online contact with the instructor throughout the course

NOT included-

Travel to, from and around London on excursions

Afternoon tea and cake (optional)

Places are limited – first come, first served!

www.bibliotherapyforme.com

• Tagged: Reading Rooms

Join Suzannah and Jesse by the fireside in the Great Hall at Gorhambury House in front of Francis Bacon’s portrait and the chimney piece from his Tudor house – Old Gorhambury, the first of many fireside talks we hope to host at Gorhambury.

Suzannah and Jesse will discuss the life and times of Francis Bacon – pioneering statesman, essayist and scientific thinker. Francis Bacon is most famous for his work in reforming the way we acquire knowledge, a project that laid the foundation for the modern scientific method.

The conversation will also touch on Jesse Norman’s historical novel, The Winding Stair, which explores the intense rivalry between Francis Bacon and his political nemesis, Edward Coke. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. If you wish to read it beforehand, please consider supporting Books on the Hill in St Albans, where a plentiful supply will be stocked.

Tickets are £50 and include a glass of sparkling wine.

Suzannah Lipscomb has written and edited several books, presented more than sixty history programmes and series on BBC, ITV, More4, Channel 5 and Netflix, and hosts the successful Not Just the Tudors podcast from History Hit.

Jesse Norman is a politician, philosopher and author of The Winding Stair, who is currently serving as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons.

Tickets

We are delighted to announce our next text lecture with Michael King will explore No One Writes to the Colonel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

To book your place, please click here.

Tea and coffee with be provided.

About the book - Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Márquez, author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, tells a powerful tale of poverty and undying hope in his moving novel No One Writes to the Colonel. 'The Colonel took the top off the coffee can and saw that there was only one spoonful left'Fridays are different. Every other day of the week, the Colonel and his ailing wife fight a constant battle against poverty and monotony, scraping together the dregs of their savings for the food and medicine that keeps them alive.

But on Fridays the postman comes - and that sets a fleeting wave of hope rushing through the Colonel's ageing heart. For fifteen years he's watched the mail launch come into harbour, hoping he'll be handed an envelope containing the army pension promised to him all those years ago. Whilst he waits for the cheque, his hopes are pinned on his prize bird and the upcoming cockfighting season.

But until then the bird - like the Colonel and his wife - must somehow be fed…

The book club will be held upstairs in our reading rooms and are suitable for ages 18+ years.

To book your place, please click here, or to purchase a year long subscription to our Text Book Club, please click here.

About the book - LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL is the story of two friends who ordinarily would remain uncelebrated. It finds a value and specialness in them that is not immediately apparent and prompts the idea that maybe we could learn from the people that we overlook in life. Leonard and Hungry Paul change the world differently to the rest of us: we try and change it by effort and force; they change it by discovering the small things they can do well and offering them to others.

Do you wish you could spend more time reading? Do you want to expand the areas of writing that you’ve explored? Or has it perhaps been years since you picked up a book to read for pleasure?

Get 2026 off to a great start by joining us for a year of reading. Each month, we’ll dive into a different genre, from fantasy, thrillers, to classics and more, with enough book recommendations that you can choose from so that you’re bound to find something you like. And if not, you can simply choose your own. Reading for pleasure can help you slow down, improve your attention span and benefit your mental health. Books can transport us, change our perspectives and teach us more about the world, and about ourselves.

During each of the 10 sessions, there'll be about 15-20 minutes of background on the genre from Oli, followed by discussion of what you liked or didn't like about your chosen book. The overall aim is to read (and share) at least 10 books from various broad genres over the course of the year.

Come along to our no-pressure sessions and help strengthen your reading muscle.

What does it involve?

Each month, we'll jump into a different genre, with a recommended reading list to help you get started - from well known classics to modern gems, from translated fiction to prize-winning nonfiction. The list is a guide, so read one if you can, more if you want - and if none take your fancy, choose your own, using it as a prompt to do your own deep dive.

All you need to do each month is read something you can bring along to the session. On the night, we'll run through the books and authors that made the genre famous and explore the styles and subgenres that make it work. Then share your thoughts - what you liked, disliked, would read more of or steer clear of - and hear others share their own, listening out for the great reads that you can add to your To Be Read pile.

Over the year, we'll jump into dystopian worlds and cosy corners, thrilling adventures and imagined futures. With a new list each month and recommendations on the night, there will always be something great to read.

So what are you waiting for? Join us for 2026 and stop scrolling, start reading.

The schedule is as follows:

• Jan- Intro + Cinema/ Seen on Screen

• Feb - Crime

• Mar - Sci Fi 

• Apr - Classics (provisional)

• May - Fantasy (provisional)

• Jun - Cosy (provisional)

• Jul - Dystopian (provisional)

• Sep - Thriller (provisional)

• Oct - Horror (provisional)

• Nov - Romance (provisional)

To book your place, please click here.

Once you have booked a place, you will be sent a password to access the catalogue of books at a discounted price.

To purchase these books once you have received the password, please click here.

Example reading list for one session:

Cinema/Seen On Screen in 2025/26

1. Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell (prize winning)

2. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (classic)

3. The Running Man, Stephen King (horror)

4. Three bags full, Leonie Swann (translated, crime)

5. Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir (Sci Fi)

6. Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe (non-fiction)

7. The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins (YA)

8. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë (classic)

9. The Odyssey, Homer (ancient/translated)

10. People We Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry (romance)

We are delighted to announce our next poetry afternoon with lecturer Michael King will explore the energetic and witty poetry of Adrian Henri, Roger McGough, and Brian Patten AKA The Mersey Sound.

Tea and coffee with be provide throughout the event.

To book your place, please click here.

Once you have entered your email at the checkout, the option for ‘store collection’ will appear. This will prevent you from being charged any fees when purchasing event tickets. If you are purchasing a book with your ticket, postage is only required if you wish to have it delivered.

About the book - The Mersey Sound brought poetry down from the shelf and on to the street, capturing the mood of the Sixties and speaking to real lives with its irreverent, wry, freewheeling verses of young love, petrol-pump attendants, CND leaflets and bus journey capers. Bringing together the hugely influential work of Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten - the 'Liverpool Poets' - this perennially beloved volume is the bestselling poetry anthology of all time. Now, for its fiftieth anniversary, this edition restores the original text of the book as it first appeared in 1967: energetic, raw and a true record of its era.

Here at Books On The Hill, we love all things books so thought it would be great to get people together over breakfast to have a chat about books. Discussions will be around books you love or books you are currently reading and how you are finding them. So if you love to talk about books, but don't have the time to read a set text, join us at 10 am in store for a fun-filled morning.

This event is charged and is suitable for 18+ years.

Book here for your individual book club ticket or click here to purchase a one-year ticket.

Once you have entered your email at the checkout, the option for ‘store collection’ will appear. This will prevent you from being charged any fees when purchasing event tickets. If you are purchasing a book with your ticket, postage is only required if you wish to have it delivered.

During the event, the team may ask if we can take pictures of the event to promote future events held in store. By purchasing a ticket you are consenting to the team using these pictures for our social media channels but you are able to withdraw your consent at any time during the event.

We are delighted to announce our next text lecture with Michael King will explore various authors from A Literary Christmas: An Anthology including Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, D. H. Lawrence, George Mackay Brown and P.G. Wodehouse.

Tea and coffee with be provided.

To book your place, please click here.

Once you have entered your email at the checkout, the option for ‘store collection’ will appear. This will prevent you from being charged any fees when purchasing event tickets. If you are purchasing a book with your ticket, postage is only required if you wish to have it delivered.

About the book -

This seasonal compendium collects together poems, short stories, and prose extracts by some of the greatest poets and writers in the English language. Like Charles Dickens's ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, they are representative of times old and new--from John Donne's Elizabethan hymn over the baby Jesus to Benjamin Zephaniah's "Talking Turkeys," from Thomas Tusser counting the cost of a Tudor feast to P. G.

Wodehouse's wry story about Christmas on a diet. Enjoy a Christmas Day as described by Samuel Pepys, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, or Nancy Mitford. Venture out into the snow in the company of Jane Austen, Henry James, and Dickens's Mr. Pickwick. Entertain the children with the seasonal tales of Dylan Thomas, Kenneth Grahame, and Oscar Wilde.

To book your place please click here.

Join beloved historian Lucy Worsley for a fascinating journey into the life and mind of one of the world’s most treasured novelists. In this special anniversary event, Lucy opens the doors to the real rooms Jane Austen lived in — revealing how this celebrated author quietly changed the world and transformed literature.

Far from the genteel world of ballrooms and bonnets glimpsed in her books, discover the fierce determination, heartbreak, and passion behind Jane's 'life without incident'. With fresh research and compelling new insights, Lucy brings to life the story of a woman who defied expectations — and dismissed five marriage prospects — and became one of our most cherished wordsmiths. 

Don’t miss this powerful celebration of Jane Austen’s life, love, and legacy. 

We are delighted to announce our next poetry afternoon with lecturer Michael King will explore various poets from A Literary Christmas: An Anthology including Christina Rossetti, G. K. Chesterton, Thomas Hardy and William Wordsworth.

Tea and coffee with be provide throughout the event.

To book your place, please click here.

Once you have entered your email at the checkout, the option for ‘store collection’ will appear. This will prevent you from being charged any fees when purchasing event tickets. If you are purchasing a book with your ticket, postage is only required if you wish to have it delivered.

About the book -

This seasonal compendium collects together poems, short stories, and prose extracts by some of the greatest poets and writers in the English language. Like Charles Dickens's ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, they are representative of times old and new--from John Donne's Elizabethan hymn over the baby Jesus to Benjamin Zephaniah's "Talking Turkeys," from Thomas Tusser counting the cost of a Tudor feast to P. G.

Wodehouse's wry story about Christmas on a diet. Enjoy a Christmas Day as described by Samuel Pepys, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, or Nancy Mitford. Venture out into the snow in the company of Jane Austen, Henry James, and Dickens's Mr.Pickwick. Entertain the children with the seasonal tales of Dylan Thomas, Kenneth Grahame, and Oscar Wilde.

To book your place please click here.

In 1290, England mourned the death of a queen, Eleanor of Castile, beloved wife of King Edward I. Her body was carried on a 200-mile journey from Lincoln to London, a solemn procession that would become immortalized in stone. To mark the places where her cortege rested, a heartbroken Edward commissioned twelve magnificent Eleanor Crosses.

More than seven centuries later, bestselling historian Alice Loxton set herself an epic challenge: following in history's footsteps by walking the entire 200-mile funeral route on the corresponding dates. As Alice journeys in search of England’s forgotten queen, over ancient paths and modern motorways, history comes alive in surprising ways. Lively and entertaining, Eleanor uncovers the extraordinary life and formidable character of this lesser-known royal, revealing her inspiring legacy and the hidden history of Britain.

Classics can be intimidating. They have a reputation of being too highbrow and incomprehensible for us mere mortals. We at Books on the Hill, however, think that is just not true. Classics speak of a universal theme we all have first hand experience of: love, loss, friendship, hope. They are for all of us. To tackle this, come along to our Book Club focusing on "The Classics" from recent and not so recent history.

For October, we have chosen The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle as our Classics Book Club book.

To book your place please click here, or to purchase a year long subscription to our Classics Book Club, please click here.

Once you have entered your email at the checkout, the option for ‘store collection’ will appear. This will prevent you from being charged any fees when purchasing event tickets. If you are purchasing a book with your ticket, postage is only required if you wish to have it delivered.

This Book Club will be held on the last Thursday of the month, and is suitable for ages 18+. Tea and coffee will be provided, as well as glasses should you chose to bring your own tipple.

Here at Books On The Hill, we love all things books so thought it would be great to get people together to have a chat about books. Discussions will be around books you love or books you are currently reading and how you are finding them. So if you love to talk about books, but don't have the time to read a set text, join us at 7pm in store for a fun-filled evening.

To reserve your space please click here or to purchase a year long subscription to our afterhours book club, please click here.

Once you have entered your email at the checkout, the option for ‘store collection’ will appear. This will prevent you from being charged any fees when purchasing event tickets. If you are purchasing a book with your ticket, postage is only required if you wish to have it delivered.

Tea & coffee will be available for free on the night or if you prefer please feel free to bring your own alcoholic drinks with you (glasses will be provided).

We are delighted to announce our next text lecture with Michael King will explore The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.

Tea and coffee with be provided.

To book your place, please click here.

Once you have entered your email at the checkout, the option for ‘store collection’ will appear. This will prevent you from being charged any fees when purchasing event tickets. If you are purchasing a book with your ticket, postage is only required if you wish to have it delivered.

About the book -

Step into the unsettling world of Shirley Jackson with a collection of her finest, creepiest short stories, revealing the queen of American gothic at her mesmerising best. This selection includes 'The Lottery', Jackson's masterpiece and one of the most terrifying and iconic stories of the twentieth century.

The book club will be held upstairs in our reading rooms and are suitable for ages 18+ years.

To book your place, please click here.

Once you have entered your email at the checkout, the option for ‘store collection’ will appear. This will prevent you from being charged any fees when purchasing event tickets. If you are purchasing a book with your ticket, postage is only required if you wish to have it delivered.

About the book -

Edward Carey's witty and entrancing story of a young woman trapped in a ramshackle English playhouse – and the mysterious figure who threatens its very survival.

Norwich, 1901. Edith Holler spends her days among the eccentric denizens of the Holler Theatre, warned by her domineering father that the playhouse will literally tumble down if she should ever leave. Fascinated by tales of the city she knows only from afar, young Edith decides to write a play of her own about Mawther Meg, a monstrous figure said to have used the blood of countless children to make the local delicacy, Beetle Spread. But when her father suddenly announces his engagement to a peculiar woman named Margaret Unthank, Edith scrambles to protect her father, the theatre, and her play – the one thing that’s truly hers – from the newcomer’s sinister designs. Teeming with unforgettable characters and illuminated by Carey’s trademark illustrations, Edith Holler is a surprisingly modern fable of one young woman’s struggle to escape her family’s control and craft her own creative destiny.