Chris’ Book Club - Susan Nunes  - Activity Captain:

The  club has this name because Chris Rola, a founding member of IWP, started the club. The book club was created about 10 years ago.

There are 12 members.  (We cannot take any more members at the moment.)

We meet in person at the home of the member who has chosen the month’s book. Meet once a month, on the third Wednesday, at 11:30 am. There is no set time limit. After the meeting we generally go for lunch at a local restaurant.

We expect members to read the month’s book. If a member cannot come to a meeting, she is expected to send her vote on the book ranking and a short account of her thoughts on the book.  We read both fiction and nonfiction. Regarding book selection, we vote on suggestions from members.

The member whose book is chosen for that month leads the discussion. We rank books from 1 to 10, with a chance of giving a second vote. Our discussions are completely informal.

Distinguishing features: We try to read a wide variety of books, trying to include fiction, nonfiction, a classic, a Portuguese author, and a foreign author. We organise a few social events, e.g., two potluck lunches, visiting the Saramago Museum, dinner in Lisbon and then going to see the Christmas lights.

Summer reading:

Queen Hereafter by Susan Fraser King

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan 

Clean by Alia Trabucco Zeran

Favourite books:

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Blindness by Jose Saramago

Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Book Club Palacio -  Christine Rebet  - Activity Captain:

Our book club was created in 2017.  We have 9 active members and have one space available.

We meet in person once a month, on a Friday afternoon at 3:15 pm, for approx two hours  at the Hotel Cascais Miragem.

We’d like our members to read the book of the month and be able to hold a group discussion in French. Usually we read fiction. No specific theme or genre. We read a book preferably recommended by a member who has read it before.

A list is drawn of books recommended by members. We indicate our preferred titles, and the titles with the most votes are chosen. We have an open discussion of books streamlined by the captain. We each give our impressions and comments on the book and discuss around these. There’s no ranking of the books.

Distinguishing features: The discussion is in French, and many of the readings (but not all of them) are from francophone writers.

Summer reading:

Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen

La très catastrophique visite du zoo by Joël Dicker

L’invention de nos vies by Karine Tuil

Favourite books:

Le barman du Ritz by Philippe Collin

El Italiano by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Ce que je sais de toi (What I Know About You) by Eric Chacour

La papeterie Tsubaki (The Stationery Shop) by Ogawa Ito

Belle Greene by Alexandra Lapierre

Summer reading:

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear 

The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez

Favourite books:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

The Glass Pearls by Emeric Pressburger

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Restless by William Boyd

Booktopia  - Patti Fletcher - Activity Captain:

The book club was started in 2020.  We have about 6 to 8 active members and have available spaces. 

We meet virtually, on Google Meet, on the third Tuesday of the month, for two hours, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. 

We read both fiction and nonfiction. The group decides which books to read. Everyone submits several titles. We select the books through a popular vote process. We usually have a reading list for six to eight months in advance. If a member’s submitted title is selected, we ask her to facilitate the discussion. We see that everyone has a chance to lead a discussion.

Our discussions are open-ended. We ask questions that require critical thinking. If we read historical fiction or nonfiction, there are questions that address the historical aspects of the book. We ask  thought-provoking questions, not just about the story but also about the writing style of the author. The discussion lead usually provides more information about the author and the author’s works. The questions are sent in advance of the meeting, which encourages robust discussions.

The Captain maintains a list of books and the assigned discussion lead, on Google Drive. Each month the lead sends out a discussion guide, usually with 10-12 questions, to the group the weekend before our Tuesday meeting.  We not only have fun, but we further ideas and knowledge. Our members’ engagement is such that the discussion lead will sometimes have a slide presentation (though not required) providing more information.

Distinguishing features: Last year we invited an author and asked her questions about her book and her writing process. This year, as the group was reading This Gulf of Fire: The Great Lisbon Earthquake, some members visited the Quake Museum in Belem. 

Summer reading: 

A Wilder Shore: The Romantic Odyssey of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson by Camille Peri

Nothing to Be Frightened of by Julian Barnes

The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners, edited by Amor Towles

Favourite books:

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

James by Percival Everett

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us by Rachel Aviv

Evening Book Club - Niamh Moynihan  - Activity Captain:

Our book club was created on July 5, 2021. We have 10 members and we are full at that number.

We meet in person monthly, on the last Thursday of the month, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, at the Baia Hotel in Cascais.

We read a mix of books but mainly fiction and some classics. I lead the discussion, but we choose the books together – usually books that someone has read and recommended.

Distinguishing features: Sometimes we have food after the discussion. It’s a lovely mix of women.

Summer reading:

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji

Favourite books:

The Maias – a Portuguese classic by Eça de Queiroz

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Between the Lines - Heather Dennis  - Activity Captain (Oonagh Hodges is co-captain):

The book club was created in September 2022. We have 11 active members with no spaces at the moment. We take a break in August 

We meet in person upstairs at Auchan in Cascais, on the last Thursday of the month, at 6:00 pm for approximately two hours.

We require members to read the book for the month. We read generally fiction – although a book may be based on historical fact.

For book selection, we all put suggestions in a hat and then pull six, allotting each to a specific month. That way, we can read ahead if we wish.

I lead the book discussion. Everyone gives their thoughts about the book. Then we rate the book from 1 to 10.

Distinguishing features: Ability to do a little grocery shopping before or after our lively discussion!  One member listens to the book on audio, which offers a distinct experience of the story.

Summer reading:

Second Place by Rachel Cusk 

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Favourite books:

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Still Life by Sarah Winman

Summer reading:

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

James by Percival Everett

The August title has not yet been chosen.

Favourite books:

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

This Gulf of Fire: The Great Lisbon Earthquake, or Apocalypse in the Age of Science and Reason by Mark Molesky

The Surreal Life of Leonora Carrington by Joanna Moorhead 

Cascais Readers - Pauline Hunt - Activity Captain:

Our book club was created in February 2023. We have 8 active members and have space for more.

We meet in person upstairs at Auchan Cascais and meet, every second Wednesday of the month, at 2:30 pm for two hours. 

We try to look at a wide range of books. Books must be available electronically as well as in print. We read both fiction and nonfiction, but mainly fiction.

Some books are recommended by members; others are books other book clubs have recommended. We usually decide which book to read by vote.

We let everyone have a chance to give their thoughts about the book, and sometimes the discussion will naturally follow. I keep a list of questions ready should the discussion peter out. 

Questions typically asked: Did we like the book, did we like the characters, do we feel the plot was believable? If it is historical, do we think it accurately reflects the times? If it’s a biography, what did we learn about the person?

The questions are open-ended in the main, although our members’ diverse backgrounds really help us to look at the book in all sorts of ways we may not have recognized individually.

Distinguishing features: We are a friendly group of keen readers, willing to listen to and discuss all ideas and points of view.

Summer reading:

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Favourite books:

Horse by Geraldine Brooks 

The Women by Kristin Hannah 

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn 

Educated by Tara Westover 

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes 

The Well-Read Wine Club   - Julie Cain Activity Captain:

The book club was created in June 2024. We have 10 members and can take two more.

We meet in person on the first Tuesday of the month from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in Cascais. We sometimes meet in members’ houses, the Cidadela, or Auchan in Cascais.

Our only requirement for members is personal contribution to the group effort and respect for other members’ book choice.

We read a mixture of modern and classical fiction and biographies. Our members choose the books. We vote for which three we would like to read in the next three months.

The captain leads the discussion. The member who recommended the book presents the book and her thoughts on it, then all other members are invited to discuss what they thought about the book, the story and the style of writing, and specific characters. We have an open discussion about issues raised in the books and how they reflect on modern-day life or on us personally.

We do not rate books, but we take a general consensus on whether we would recommend a book to others as a good read. 

 Many of the books we read cause us to discuss moral issues, modern-day values, and the changing world. Generally, “we put the world to right.” For a short time anyway.

Distinguishing features: For our July read, we invited the author to our meeting.  Her book explores the lives and hidden secrets of three expat women from Cascais. She discussed her book with us and answered our questions. 

Summer reading:

The Guilty Can’t Say Goodbye, fiction by Mariam Navaid Ottimofiore 

The Henna Artist, fiction by Alka Joshi

The Salt Path, memoir by Raynor Winn

Favourite books:

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Laid Back Book Club - Robin Sullivan Activity Captain:

The book club was created in September 2024. There are 12 members; no space is available. 

We meet, on the third Tuesday of the month, at 5:00 pm, for an hour-and-a-half to two hours. We meet in person at Auchan in Cascais.

We read fiction, but are open to anything. There’s no rhyme or reason to how we select books. 

We all take turns in leading the book discussion. Our discussions start with “what did you think about the book” and go from there.

Distinguishing features:  Everyone is pretty laid back!