Comic Book Clubs Sydney

June Books and Bevvies

**Welcome along to Books & Bevvies** — a casual book swap + drinks social in the Sydney CBD. This is *not* a book club with homework. It’s a simple, low-key way to meet people, chat about what you’ve been reading, and walk out with something new. **How it works** *Bring a book you’re happy to part with - Pop it on the swap table when you arrive *Mingle, chat, and swap recommendations - When the swap opens, take a book that catches your eye! *Stay for a drink and a conversation after **What to bring** - 1 book (any genre, any reading level) **Good to know** *All genres and reading levels are welcome - No fee, but please purchase your own food/drinks from the venue - The venue relies on accurate numbers for staffing. If you can't make it please change your RSVP. Repeated no-shows = removal from the group. **Where we’ll be** We’ll be in the **Market Street Garden Bar**, with a table full of books and bevvies.

Enshittification and the Power of Platforms: Is There a Way Out?

Ever wonder why so many digital services you rely on seem to be getting simultaneously worse and more expensive? More ads. Sponsored search results. Subscription creep. Auto‑renew traps. Dubious 'surge' charges. Sneaky fees. Forced sign-ins. Cancel buttons hidden. There's a term for this phenomenon: enshittification — the gradual degradation of platforms that once seemed like technological miracles offering us convenience, connection, and democratisation. But enshittification - the Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2024 - is just the surface symptom of something far more corrosive. Beneath the declining user experience lies a fundamental reshaping of our economy where a handful of tech platforms have positioned themselves as inescapable gatekeepers, extracting unprecedented wealth from workers, businesses, and consumers while accumulating dangerous concentrations of power — what some are now calling technofeudalism. What happened to the internet's promise of widespread prosperity and a stronger democracy? How did we end up locked into systems that seem designed to serve everyone except us? And most importantly: what can we do about it? Come join us for a vital conversation about reclaiming our digital future and building an economy that works for everyone, not just the platform owners. **Book: *Enshittification – Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It* (2025) by Cory Doctorow** **Book (Alternative): *The Age of Extraction – How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity* (2025) by Tim Wu** **Pdf Resource:** ***[Infographics and Summary Tables](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQB0CITwHhHJSaFBbJDhZmMEAcDSAace_BN1Q6aSYILezCI?e=edqfP9)*** (A prepared document of selected ideas from the two books) This month you have two options to read depending on your preference towards the level of analysis, style of writing, and your ease in accessing the book. *Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It* by Cory Doctorow is a punchy, provocative, and highly readable take on why so many digital platforms seem to decline over time. Doctorow, who coined the term ‘enshittification’, argues that platforms follow a predictable lifecycle—starting out user-focused, then shifting to business customers, and finally extracting for themselves—in each stage squeezing the group it previously courted. The book is fast-paced, example-rich, and written in an accessible, almost conversational style, making it ideal if you enjoy sharp arguments, memorable concepts, and contemporary tech critique. It’s particularly appealing for readers who like books that spark immediate reactions and connect directly to everyday experiences online. *The Age of Extraction* by Tim Wu takes a broader, more analytical approach. Wu situates the problems of digital platforms within a larger historical and economic pattern, arguing that we are living in an “age of extraction” where powerful actors systematically draw value from users, workers, and society. The tone is more measured and reflective, with a focus on big-picture thinking and long-term trends. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy connecting ideas across economics, history, and politics, and who prefer a more structured, conceptual framework over a punchy polemic. Please read one (or both), depending on your interests. *The Age of Extraction* is 226 pages (or 6 hours) and *Enshittification* is 340 pages (or 10 hours, not available on Audible but is available on other platforms). Join us for a drink (and optional meal) at 6:30pm on Monday, 6th July, on the 2nd floor of the Keg & Brew Hotel in Surrey Hills (i.e. up two flights of stairs). The venue is conveniently located near Central Station and the Light Rail. Bring along an example of an app or digital service you used to really like that has since become enshittified—something you can have a quick rant about to kick off the conversation! 😊 Hope to see you there! P.S. Please adjust your RSVP if you have indicated that you will come but are no longer able to do so. This is courteous to other people if there is a waitlist. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- These are just optional links to consider to supplement the reading of the books. Feel free to pass on other useful links in the discussion section. **Videos & Podcasts** * Two-for-one: Cory Doctorow and Tim Wu together! (Curiously, as kids they were classmates in the same small primary school in Toronto!): [The Ezra Klein Show – We Didn't Ask for This Internet (1.5hrs)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yepnhe1T-9U&t) [The Oxford Internet Institute - Enshittification and Extraction (1.5hrs)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkYxMQJ9c94) * Cory Doctorow Interviews: [Prospect Magazine (28mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9XRREj1DSo&t) [Doctorow on The Daily Show (15 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2e-c9SF5nE) [The Guardian (24 mins)](https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2025/nov/24/enshittification-how-we-got-the-internet-no-one-asked-for-podcast) * Tim Wu Interviews: [The Majority Report (40 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpnMk3IhV6U) [The Commonwealth Club (1 hour)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mRvMEzjTVw) * Explainer Video: [Why Every App is Getting Worse on Purpose (10 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjEGRXVKQCQ) **Written** * Pdf Resource: [Infographics and Summary Tables](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQB0CITwHhHJSaFBbJDhZmMEAcDSAace_BN1Q6aSYILezCI?e=edqfP9) (A prepared document of selected ideas from the two books) * Enshittification Summaries and Reviews: [Wikipedia summary of Enshittification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification) [Transcript of Doctorow Lecture on Enshittification](https://doctorow.medium.com/my-mcluhan-lecture-on-enshittification-ea343342b9bc) [CounterFire Book Review ](https://www.counterfire.org/article/enshittification-why-everything-suddenly-got-worse-and-what-to-do-about-it-book-review/) * The Age of Extraction Reviews [Prospect Book Review](https://prospect.org/2025/12/10/internets-tollbooth-operators-wu-review/) [HowAustraliaReallyWorks Book Review](https://www.howaustraliareallyworks.com/2026/02/book-summary-age-of-extraction-how-tech.html) [Washington Monthly Book Review](https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/age-of-extraction-tim-wu/)

Notes from Underground by Dostoyevsky

Meeting at the usual place, the Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, Thursday 2 July 2026, at 7.00pm, we will be discussing Notes from Underground (1864) by Fyodor Dostoevsky. This is the same work which is sometimes called Notes From The Underground. It presents the monologue of an unnamed, alienated narrator—often called the “Underground Man”—who rejects rationalism, social harmony, and the idea that human beings can be explained or improved through reason. Instead, he insists on contradiction, self-sabotage and a love of cultivating resentment. It challenges optimistic 19th-century beliefs in progress and rational self-interest. Some of the themes may resonate with those who have recently read Fathers and Sons by Turgenev. Unlike a lot of works by Dostoyevsky, this one is quite short, and often described as a novella. We meet in the Long Room, upstairs at the Shakespeare Hotel. This is a private room with a closing door, so very conducive to conversation. We talk about the book for about 50 mins, and everyone gets a chance to speak. The meeting then formally ends and almost everyone stays behind to talk more about the book or anything else. Copies are easily available from local libraries and soft copies for free from https://www.gutenberg.org/

Book Club - 'The Names' by Florence Knapp

Civilization: The West and the Rest

Meeting at the usual place, The Shakespeare Hotel, 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, on Thursday June 25, we will discuss Civilization: The West and the Rest (2011) by Niall Ferguson. In my opinion (Dale) this is a remarkable work. It asks why a small portion of the earth – 7% of the world's land area – was able to establish capitalism and explore and colonise the world, from about the 1500s onwards. Ferguson argues that the West had a number of 'killer applications.' They included Competition (between states and firms), Science (systematic inquiry and technological innovation), the Rule of law / property rights. Also Medicine (especially modern public health and antibiotics), consumerism (mass markets and demand-driven economies) and the work ethic (especially Protestant-influenced discipline and saving). It is written for an intelligent, lay reader, and is not an 'academic' work. If people have a lot of time, you might also want to read a very short work with which this has been contrasted, *The West and the Rest: Globalization and the Terrorist Threat* (2002) by Roger Scruton. It has been suggested that the former is a serious work of social science, while the latter almost borders on the mystical. The format that seems to work best is that we discuss the book for about 50 minutes in a fairly disciplined way, where one person speaks at a time and everyone gets a turn to speak. My role as a facilitator is to ask provocative questions if everyone agrees. I will play Devil's Advocate where there is consensus. Then I might express my personal views in the last few minutes. The meeting then breaks up and everyone can stay back to further discuss the book or anything else! This books is fairly easily available from local libraries and our friend Anna. Contact me at dalemills (at) cantab.net for a free pdf.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty | Sat 13 Jun 2026

Short Story Club: 'Missing Helen' by Tia Tashiro

Short Story Club is a reading club for time-poor people who love speculative fiction. Just like other clubs we read the story and discuss it... though expect to go deeper into craft as writers. This session we're reading Tia Tashiro's 'Missing Helen', a 2026 Hugo and Locus Award-nominated story. This is available free to read through [Clarkesworld #226](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/tashiro_07_25/) and its [audio version](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/audio_07_25). June's Short Story Club is co-hosted with 2026 Parramatta Laureate **Eda Gunaydin** at Western Sydney University. Meet at noon for a light lunch (provided) and we'll start the main event at 12.30pm. No need to bring anything but your thoughts, having read the story. Please indicate any dietary requirements when you RSVP. *Image credit: 'Alone' by Matt Dixon*

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty | Sun 7 Jun 2026

Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig

**Meeting at the usual place, The Shakespeare Hotel (upstairs) at 200 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills on Thursday 11 June 2026 at 7.00pm, we will be discussing *Kiss of the Spider Woman* (1976) by** Manuel Puig. The novel explores the relationship between two cellmates in an Argentine prison. One has been imprisoned for 'corrupting a minor,' while the other is a Marxist revolutionary. The narrative has a unique structure, primarily consisting of the two men's dialogue and the use of (fictional) footnotes discussing the psychology of homosexuality and gender. The novel is celebrated for how it weaves together themes of political oppression and sexual liberation, suggesting that personal and political freedom are inextricably linked. The novel was faithfully adapted into the 1985 film of the same name, available on youtube. Available from local libraries. Soft copies available from the usual places. Contact [dalemills@cantab.net](mailto:dalemills@cantab.net) for a free pdf. We meet upstairs in a semi-private room conducive to discussion. We talk about the book in a fairly focused way for about 45 mins and then the meeting formally ends. Almost everyone stays back to talk more about the book or anything else. Although the meeting starts at 7.00pm, people start to arrive up to an hour earlier for drinks and food.

June Book Club on AI: Empire of AI

Welcome to Meet the Moment Book Club, where we read books that meet the moment and make sense of it all together. Please see our [group page](https://www.meetup.com/meet-the-moment-book-club/) for a list of upcoming books. After discussing collapse, our third book club will examine one of the key drivers of collapse: artificial intelligence. Karen Hao's international bestseller "Empire of AI" is as illuminating as it is brilliantly written. It's precisely the book we need to be clear-eyed about the much-hyped sector of AI. "An eye-opening account of the tech arms race shaping out planet, from an award-winning journalist and AI insider to the world of Sam Altman and OpenAI... In exhilarating prose and with unparalleled access to those closest to Sam Altman, Hao recounts the meteoric rise of OpenAI and shows us the sinister impact that this industry is having on society." https://www.amazon.com.au/Empire-AI-Inside-reckless-domination/dp/1802064656/ We will be meeting at the Erko Hotel, in the open area in the back. There's no fee, but please purchase your own food/drinks from the venue. If you have trouble getting the book, message me. It's okay if you haven't finished the book by the time of the event, but please at least try -- the more the merrier! If the RSVP list is full, please join the waiting list as there will likely be fluctuations closer to the date. If you RSVP'ed and can't make it, please edit your RSVP so that others can attend. No-shows will be noted and barred from the book club. Please try to be on time as we start and end on time. Look forward to seeing you there.

Western Classics Book Club Social

A social for those who come along to meetings of the Western Classics Book Club. 7.00pm to late in the Two Table Rooms, and just outside, and in the stairwell, etc. See you there! Dale

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler | Sat 11 Jul 2026