Book Drives Toronto

BOOK CLUB: Sinclair Ross, As For Me and My House

Join us for the first meeting of **World Fiction Club**, a new monthly book club in Toronto focused on fiction from around the world, published between 1500 and 1950. For our June pilot meeting, we are beginning locally with Canada. **Book:** Sinclair Ross, *As For Me and My House* **Region:** The Americas **Country:** Canada **Period:** 1900–1950 **Date:** Sunday, June 28, 2026 **Time:** 2:00–4:00 PM **Location:** Dineen Outpost - 1042 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1Z5 *As For Me and My House* was first published in 1941 and is now considered a major Canadian prairie novel. Written as a diary, it follows a minister's wife in a small prairie town during the Depression. **Discussion focus** * Voice and diary form * Marriage and emotional repression * Religion and small-town life * Prairie isolation * Depression-era Canada * Artistic ambition and failure * What makes a "Canadian" novel You do not need an academic background. Come prepared to discuss the book, ask questions, and listen carefully to others. Please RSVP only if you are reasonably sure you can attend. Spots are limited to keep the discussion focused.

The Girls Book Club: Fantasy/Romance Book Club Meetup #5

Hi everyone!! 💖 This is now our FIFTH book club meetup! I can’t wait to get to know you all more, hang out and talk books. For this meeting we’ll be continuing The Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole!!! Please read the first 34 chapters before coming so we have lots to discuss!!! Don’t stress if you’re new or didn’t make it to the last meetup! This is a super chill group and we’re mostly here to chat, vibe, and obsess over books together. Can’t wait to see you all!! 📚✨

ABCD Reads "Educated" by Tara Westover

ABCD Reads "**[Educated](https://tpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S234C3619554)**" by Tara Westover. ([RESULTS](https://opavote.com/results/5133360801513472) of the poll for this event.) **:: ABOUT THE BOOK ::** "Tara Westover’s new tale of escape, Educated, makes [J.D.] Vance’s seem tame by comparison ... The extremity of Westover’s upbringing emerges gradually through her telling, which only makes the telling more alluring and harrowing ... It is only when the final, wrenching break from most of her family arrives that one realizes just how courageous this testimonial really is. These disclosures will take a toll. But one is also left convinced that the costs are worth it. By the end, Westover has somehow managed not only to capture her unsurpassably exceptional upbringing, but to make her current situation seem not so exceptional at all, and resonant for many others." (from [BookMarks.reviews](https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/educated/)) "Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home." (from [Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35133922-educated)) **:: ABOUT THE EVENT ::** You are welcome to arrive 30 minutes before the event and stay 30 minutes or longer afterward to connect with other attendees outside the book talk. Please ensure you have read the book before attending (though finishing any book is not a barrier to participating, as long as you don't mind spoilers). First-time attendees can join for free. If the event is full, we maintain an unofficial waitlist. Please send [Michael](https://www.meetup.com/members/55295192/) a direct message for more information, in either case. We request a $3 contribution from regular attendees to help cover our monthly meetup costs. **:: ABOUT OUR NEXT BOOK ::** At the end of each event, we will ask for nominees for our next book. If you have a good one in mind, please ensure it is between 200-400 pages long, available from the Toronto Public Library, and counts as contemporary literary fiction (though these are not hard and fast rules). When enough nominees are collected, Michael will send the members a direct message with a link where you can vote.

OSC #2 - Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Welcome to the second meetup of the Open Shelf Collective! Our first three books have been selected to set the tone, and following the end of each meetup we will begin with the nominations for the next meetups. The first thirty minutes of the event is open social time while we allow attendees to arrive. The book discussion will begin at 8:00 PM. At the end of the meetup, we will accept nominations for the next book and have our book swap. We encourage attendees to stay afterwards and chat if they would like to as well. If the event is full, please DM us and we can put you on a waitlist. "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. "In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee—the chance to travel back in time. Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold. Prepare to meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the cafe’s time-travelling offer in order to: confront the man who left them; receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by Alzheimer's; see their sister one last time, and meet the daughter they never got the chance to know. Heartwarming, wistful, mysterious and delightfully quirky, Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s internationally bestselling novel explores the age-old question: What would you change if you could travel back in time?"

Books Up - Greet & Meet

**Meet & Greet – Books Up Circle** Join us for Books Up Circle meetup! This will be a relaxed, informal gathering where we chat, get to know each other, and share our love for books. **What to expect:** * Casual introductions and open conversation * Socializing with fellow book lovers **What to bring:** * Your book ideas or favorite recommendations * An open mind and a love for reading Come to socialize, discover new books, and make friends along the way. Sounds like a good deal to us—**come join the circle!** 📚

The parasitic mind: how infectious ideas are killing common sense - by Gad Saad

*USA Today* National Bestseller. There's a war against truth... and if we don't win it, intellectual freedom will be a casualty. The West’s commitment to freedom, reason, and true liberalism has never been more seriously threatened than it is today by the stifling forces of political correctness. Dr. Gad Saad, the host of the enormously popular YouTube show THE SAAD TRUTH, exposes the bad ideas—what he calls “idea pathogens”—that are killing common sense and rational debate. Incubated in our universities and spread through the tyranny of political correctness, these ideas are endangering our most basic freedoms—including freedom of thought and speech. The danger is grave, but as Dr. Saad shows, politically correct dogma is riddled with logical fallacies. We have powerful weapons to fight back with—if we have the courage to use them. A provocative guide to defending reason and intellectual freedom and a battle cry for the preservation of our fundamental rights, *The Parasitic Mind* will be the most controversial and talked-about book of the year. ═════ Discussion questions: TBD Facilitator: Andrii ═════ $$ Refundable deposit: We'd like to make sure everyone on the RSVP actually intends to join us and enjoy the event. Please make a **refundable** deposit of $5 to hold your spot, via Paypal or Interac e-transfer to [toronto.nonfiction@gmail.com](mailto:toronto.nonfiction@gmail.com), when you RSVP or shortly thereafter. If you are waitlisted please wait until a spot opens up for you before making a transfer. You'll get your $5 back in cash if you join us at the event. If you decide to drop out later or not attend, consider this a donation to support our meetup and zoom subscriptions, which aren't cheap. Thank you! ═════ Meeting format: * We meet to discuss the book after having read it beforehand. * A facilitator guides the discussion ensuring that everyone has a chance to speak, one person at a time. * Warning: Participation in a book club is a dangerous activity. You may encounter opinions different from yours. By joining the group you agree to assume all risks.

June's Book: The Dutch House

*The Dutch House* is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and of who we really are. At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures. Set over the course of five decades, *The Dutch House* is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

For June, we'll read the modern classic The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 294 pages First published in 1963 The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.

Bookish Bi Reading Club

Bookstore Tour & Picnic

Bromptons and books are a perfect bookend for the first weekend in June! Join us for a literary tour of three unique bookstores within Toronto. Meet at **[Pedaal](https://www.pedaal.com/)** for a coffee & pastry at 10am. Get yourself sorted for the ride, make a new friend, and please check your air, brakes, and chain. **10:30am** departure Bring an appetite for Canadian independent bookstores: * [Little Ghosts Books](https://www.littleghostsbooks.com/) * [Hopeless Romantic Bookshop](https://hopelessromanticbooks.ca/) * [Another Story Bookshop](https://anotherstory.ca/i/1157949/landing-page/index.html) While on Roncesvalles, you can pick up a falafel wrap, pizza, sandwich, etc, *or bring your own*, for a picnic in High Park. View the route at this link: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/387255612?privacy_code=0PKAhb5UiEs9r4dMYGZLZ7b5RMc2P801 WEATHER: if a heat wave or thunderstorm this ride will be cancelled. Please register as an email will be sent the day before with cancellation notice. Ride level: Chill / Relaxed Distance: less than 10 km Everyone welcome. No one will be left behind. All riders who are comfortable with the pace and distance are welcome! Our Community Rules: 1. Be kind. Welcome and encourage other riders. Insults, shaming, and hate will be removed, and offenders will be banned. 1. Your safety is your responsibility. Helmets are required. Lights are required if riding in darkness. It is each rider’s responsibility to ensure their bike is clean, well-maintained, and fully functional. 1. All bikes are welcome. Occasional Brompton-only events will be clearly labeled. Contact your local Brompton dealer if you'd like to borrow a Brompton for an event (participation may vary). 1. If your plans change, please update your RSVP. BY ATTENDING this event you ACKNOWLEDGE and ACCEPT the following: 1. I ACKNOWLEDGE, agree, and represent that I understand the nature of bicycling activities and that I am qualified, in good health, and in proper physical condition to participate in such activity. I further acknowledge that the ride-out will be conducted over public pavements and facilities open to the public, and upon which the hazards of traveling are to be expected. I further agree and warrant that if, at any time, I believe conditions to be unsafe, I will immediately discontinue further participation. 1. I FULLY UNDERSTAND that (a) BICYCLING ACTIVITIES INVOLVE RISKS AND DANGERS OF SERIOUS BODILY INJURY, INCLUDING PERMANENT DISABILITY, PARALYSIS AND DEATH ("Risks"); (b) these Risks and dangers may be caused by my own actions or inactions, the actions or inactions of others participating in the ride-out, the conditions in which the ride-out takes place, or the negligence of others; (c) there may be OTHER RISKS AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LOSSES either not known to me or not readily foreseeable at this time; and I FULLY ACCEPT AND ASSUME ALL SUCH RISKS AND ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSSES, COSTS, AND DAMAGES I may incur as a result of my participation; (d) I acknowledge that Brompton Bicycle, event organizers, ride leaders, and volunteers will not be liable for any accidents or damages through this ride-out. 1. PHOTO RELEASE: I CONSENT to my voice, name, and/or likeness being used, without compensation, in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised, for eternity, and release Brompton Bicycle, its successors, assigns and licensees from any liability whatsoever of any nature. DO NOT REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE SUBJECT TO THE FOREGOING.

Whispers in the Rain: The Impact Tour

📚 **Whispers in the Rain: The Impact Tour – Toronto** Join authors, speakers, wellness practitioners, and changemakers for four unforgettable days of storytelling, connection, personal growth, and community. To view the full schedule and purchase tickets, please visit: [https://www.storiesandsweets.ca/the-impact-tour#toronto](https://www.storiesandsweets.ca/the-impact-tour#toronto) Whispers in the Rain brings together a diverse lineup of authors and thought leaders for a unique experience featuring: 📚 Author Readings & Book Signings 🎤 Workshops & Panel Discussions 🤝 Networking Opportunities 🧘 Wellness Activities 🎸 Live Music 💛 Community Impact Initiatives Whether you're a reader, writer, entrepreneur, creative, or someone who believes in the power of stories, this event was designed for you. 📍 Toronto, Ontario 📅 June 11–14, 2026 We look forward to welcoming you for a weekend of meaningful conversations, inspiring stories, and lasting connections.

The Toronto Artist's Way Meetup Monthly Meetup

The purpose of the group, based on the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, is for people to meet and talk about their artistic challenges in any field (painting, writing, music etc.) and encourage each other to break their creative blocks and fulfill themselves in their art. If you find people who are sympathetic, you may want to form your own group, meeting regularly to explore the book and supporting each other in their artistic journeys. I have gone through 2 such clusters and can say that it is a very powerful experience. Why not come to a meeting and see for yourself?