Plays

[close] The Sydney Short Bookclub (formerly the Glebe Short Bookclub), was started on Meetup.com in 2015. For years we met nearly every two weeks at pubs around Glebe and Pyrmont. With the black swan that is Covid-19 we have decided to try out some online meetups till the world is a little safer. The digital format is brand new for us and we are still finding our way with this style of bookclub. Since inception, books have been <200 pages. That includes novellas, short stories, famous letters, poems, plays, and other texts. We avoid chick lit, romance, and mainstream books. We have covered a lot of classic texts from the Russian Greats to other literary greats such as Fitzgerald, Atwood, Steinbeck, LeGuin, Camus, Salinger, Voltaire, Seneca, Kafka, Woolf and many others. In 2018 we introduced the concept of DDs (dialectic discursions). DDs are topical discussions focussed on a particular issue. DDs usually have just one or two key texts, sometimes members suggest extra links but the key texts are the main focus of the conversation. We have also run special events such as philosophy lunches focussed on texts such as Sapiens by Harari, and ideas of DeBeauvoir, Sarte, and the Stoics. We know that online will not be as fun as in person, but with Covid setting in for at least several months and many people either self-isolating or social-distancing, we thought we should try and carry on.

[close] We read plays and we talk about them.

[close] Hyrule has been consumed by darkness, and it is up to you to decide its fate. Will you bathe it in light or drench it in darkness? Will you equip your sword and shield or defend yourself with magic? These are the choices you must make. The future of Hyrule lies in your hands.

[close] About the Group Welcome! We’re a Vancouver-based reading crew for people who love the classics and want to read them in a friendly, low-pressure way. We rotate between plays (Shakespeare & friends), classic novels (Tolstoy, Austen, Ibsen, etc.), and a monthly Harvard Classics Coffee Club pick (short, actionable reads like Ben Franklin’s Autobiography). Think: big ideas, zero academic gatekeeping. Who this is for Readers who want thoughtful conversation without homework police People curious about “the great books” and how they apply to real life Vancouver locals who may meet in person—non-Vancouver readers still welcome to join threads and chats How we read 1–2 selections per month (mix of short plays, short stories, essays, or manageable chunks of longer books) Discussion threads open a week before meetups with prompts + key quotes In-person meetups (cafés / library rooms) when possible, plus ongoing online chats “Come even if you didn’t finish”—we’ll post summaries and passages Typical Picks Plays: Twelfth Night, A Doll’s House, Death of a Salesman Novels/Novellas: Hadji Murat, The Stranger, Jane Eyre (selections welcome) Harvard Classics: Franklin, Emerson essays, Marcus Aurelius selections, Montaigne, Plato dialogues (short!) Why join Because classics don’t have to be stuffy. We read to think better, live better, and have great conversations—with a warm, curious crowd.