Let’s face it:  sometimes you just get a literary itch. Being surrounded by a language as fascinating and complicated as Chinese can be great, but every once in a while, you just need an ol’ fashioned English book to revel in. You aren’t alone; Beijing is swarming with people who are looking for new books to read and discuss. The tricky part is that they can sometimes be difficult to find and connect to. Luckily, there are a few well-known events you can attend to get your foot in the door. Because of the international nature of the city, most of the public book clubs here tend toward international or China-specific books, so if you’re looking for people reading Oprah’s latest favourite, you’ll have to look to events other than the following.

 
The Bookworm

1) City Weekend Book Club at Bookworm
A free event at the Bookworm and hosted by City Weekend, this book club meets monthly to discuss their latest read.  They meet on the last Sunday of every month at 19:30.  Their last few selections have been novels from Chinese authors about their experiences in their native country. In the recent past, they have read Stick Out Your Tongue by Ma Jian and Socialism is Great! by Lijia Zhang. As with most events at the Bookworm, you can expect a variety of book-enthusiasts to be in attendance. 

The Bookworm BeijingView In Map
Add: Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
地址：北京朝阳区南三里屯路4号
Tel: 010 6586 9507
Time: 19:30, last Sunday of each month

2) Beijing Book Smugglers
The newest book club on the scene, this one meets at a bar with cheap drinks and aims to welcome those who are casual readers rather than literature snobs. They meet the first Monday of every month at Smugglers, a bar in Sanlitun. They’re all about readers who want to talk about the latest read without having to know it all.  Books they’ve covered include Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler and Trespassing by Uzma Aslam Khan.

Smugglers View In Map
Add: No. 43 Beisanlitun Nan, Sanlitun, Chaoyang District, Beijing
地址：北京市朝阳区三里屯北街开吧对面
Time: 20:30, the first Monday of every month

3) China Culture Center Book Club
Though most of the book clubs tend to read books on China, the CCC Book Club has specifically set out to do so, offering a book club for expatriates with a direct focus on Chinese culture. Their book selections tend more towards Chinese writers and classics in translation, and facilitators work to make sure the books are readily available either at the centre or at foreign bookstores. Two different meetings of this book club, morning and evening, happen the third Wednesday or Thursday of every month.  Books they have discussed in the recent past include Moment in Peking by Lin Yutang, Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin and The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun.

China Culture CenterView In Map
Add: Kent Centre A 101, Anjialou, No.29, Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
地址：北京市朝阳区亮马桥路29号安家楼101-A
Tel: 010 6432 9341
Time: 10:30, the third Wednesday of every month or 19:30, the third Thursday of every month

4) Book Swap and Board Games
One of the most established book events in Beijing is the monthly Book Swap and Board Games event at Sequoia Café.  Book lovers gather to trade their unwanted books for those others’ have brought.  There is also a chance to play games with board game enthusiasts for the afternoon, a lovely addition to an event that is already exciting.  Keep in mind that there are limitations for the types of books to swap: textbooks and classics are not allowed.  The books that people are looking to trade are the ones that are difficult to find here in China, not the ones that we all have on our shelves because they were 20 RMB at the local bookstore we found.

Sequoia CaféView In Map
Add: B1 Level, Kerry Center Mall Unit B36, No. 1 Guanghua Road, Beijing
地址：北京市朝阳区光华路1号嘉里中心地下1层B36商铺
Tel: 010 6501 5503
Time: 14:00-18:00, the first Saturday of every month

5) Beijing Writer’s Group
Instead of reading works which are already published, the Beijing Writer’s Group gives you a chance to read and discuss writing by fellow Beijingers as well as share your own writing.  The group meets weekly at The Bookworm and focuses on providing helpful critique for the improvement of the piece they’re discussing.  If you decide to bring a piece, make sure to make at least four copies so more than one person can read it at a time.  And be ready, of course, to offer helpful suggestions to your fellow writers.

The Bookworm BeijingView In Map
Add: Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
地址：北京朝阳区南三里屯路4号
Tel: 010 6586 9507
Time: 19:30, every Monday night

Many Beijingers are also involved in private book clubs, book swaps and writing groups, so make sure to explore your own network for even more opportunities to explore book culture in Beijing.  The important thing is to get out there and get your literary fix. 

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Keywords: Book culture Beijing literary events Beijing book clubs Beijing