BRICKS Book Club: Our Next Book is Poor Things

This month, we’re stepping into the fantastical world of Alastair Gray’s Poor Things for the BRICKS Book Club, free for learner platform members.

This week, we hosted the first instalment of the BRICKS Book Club: a brand new club sharing cult stories & creative classics with our BRICKS community. Each month, we’ll pick a book to discuss in a virtual club meeting, hosted by our Contributing Editor, Hannah Bertolino (Opens in a new window). In February, we read Julia Fox’s memoir Down The Drain, and discussed her unlikely rise to stardom and the valuable lessons she learned along the way.

For our March BRICKS Book Club pick, we’re calling all film lovers and Emma Stone fans – as we’re reading Poor Things by Alastair Gray. For our second-ever meeting, we’ll be discussing this postmodern adaptation of Frankenstein – popularly known for its Oscar-winning Yorgos Lanthimos film adaptation.

⁠Join us on Monday March 31st at 7PM BST (2PM ET) to chat about the book, which satirises men’s desire and unpacks womens’ independence, all through the hilarious and scandalous story of “monster” Bella Baxter.

Tickets are available to purchase for £5 on Eventbrite (Opens in a new window), and BRICKS Learner Platform members can attend for free by adding the free ticket discount code available via Steady. Sign up for your 30-day free trial to join, and – to chat as you read – be sure to log onto our BRICKS Book Club Community Discord (Opens in a new window). 

Below, we’ve included some further information regarding how the virtual book club will work. Any further questions, please drop them in our new Discord channel. Please scroll to the end of this email to access your free ticket discount code.

WHEN IS OUR NEXT MEETING? 

Monday March 31st at 7PM BST (2PM ET)

WHERE IS IT? 

This event will take place in a virtual Zoom webinar. You’ll receive the Zoom link in your email once you sign up. 

HOW DO I SIGN UP?

Tickets are available to purchase for £5 on Eventbrite here (Opens in a new window).

BRICKS Learner Platform members can attend for free by adding the free ticket discount code available via Steady. Check your email inbox or directly on our Steady page to find your free ticket discount code – Learner Platform members must still register via Eventbrite to gain access to the Zoom webinar link.

WHAT IS THIS MONTH’S BOOK?

For our second-ever meeting, we’ll be discussing the postmodern adaptation of Frankenstein, Poor Things by Alastair Gray, popularly known for its Oscar-winning Yorgos Lanthimos film adaptation.

WHERE CAN I GET THE BOOK?

If you’re looking for a physical copy and would like independent bookseller recommendations, we’ve started a Master Doc to share recommendations of where to support. If you’d like to add a recommendation to the Master Doc, please drop us a message on the Discord channel – this is being regularly updated.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM THE CLUB MEETING? 

This isn’t a book club where you have to come prepared with talking points, or even finish the book (but if you want to, that’s great!). Come chat and ask questions or just listen and enjoy the discussions – everyone is welcome to join in and feel creative, in whatever way feels most comfortable. 

UNDERSTANDING ZOOM WEBINARS

To allow everyone to join the virtual book club and get involved as much as they would like to, Hannah Bertolino will be managing the call via Zoom Webinars. Webinars allow hosts (Hannah) as well as extend permission for attendees to speak. Attendees' microphones are muted by default – Hannah will ask the chat if you would like to share your thoughts, and you will be promoted to a panellist to speak to the group.

Attendees who would not like to speak can still get involved via the Chat and can engage with polls and surveys created by Hannah.