Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Book Club is here to stay, whether the purpose of joining one is truly to relive your English Literature 'A' Level days or purely an excuse for a good, old-fashioned girlie catch up.

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Personally, my experience of joining a Book Club verged on painful. Last-minute panic-reading, smacking of missed school homework….followed by the humiliation of “fessing up” in front of friends who were better-educated, wider-read and more time-rich, that once again, I hadn’t managed to finish the book. My apologetic mumblings and tired excuses seemed to hang heavily in the air and my self-esteem hit rock bottom.

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But hey, this isn’t about me and I understand that Book Clubs have an ardent following and an extremely healthy subscription list. The process of choosing the next Book Club book to pour over is filled with anticipation, excitement and a healthy sprinkling of heated debates & passionate pleas. Sometimes resorting to rock-paper-scissors battles to choose the next read, it’s literature’s version of a gladiator showdown.

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Upon meeting back up to discuss the month’s great read, discussions can go off on tangents....you can learn an awful lot about someone you thought you knew all there was to know…sometimes it feels like the book is merely a conversation starter. And I get that, after finishing a book whose title threatened to take you way out of your comfort zone and into a world of the unknown, uncomfortable & self-challenging, the sense of accomplishment, puffed-up pride & fulfilment, can be second to none.

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But let’s face it, those Book Club nibbles, are perhaps the real star of the show. You can pretend you’re there for the literary discourse, whilst strategically placing yourself closest to the toasted chickpea houmous and salty snacks. One’s self-loathing based on yet another failure to get further than the end of Chapter Three, can so easily, and tastily, be soothed into submission by a piping hot, honey-glazed cocktail sausage & glass of Merlot.

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At White Coco, we’ve got into books in a BIG way! Hours have been enjoyed wandering around publisher’s stands at Trade Shows, happily curating what we think is a fabulous little collection of books that make the most welcome gifts for all ages. Now very much settled on our coffee table in the Chelsea shop, there’s a positive library of "browsey" books, novels, pick up & put down books, research material for good days out, where to stay (with or without the dog) and what to do. There are books to languish on the smartest of coffee tables, little books to nestle secretively in the downstairs loo, foodie books groaning with delicious recipes to try and wickedly naughty novels to keep you company on cold nights. And then there’s a divine collection of children’s books, chosen carefully and guaranteed to be received with squeals of delight.

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Editor’s Favourites are:

Flora Sheddon’s “SUPPER – Recipes worth staying in for” (who can’t fail to be tempted by the promise of ideas that will transform a mundane eating-at-home experience into a not-going-out extravaganza.)

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Plan your next break with help from Sian Anna Lewis’ book, “Wild Escapes” and her suggestions for journeying to unforgettable getaways in Britain’s wildest corners, from floating cabins to miniature castles, tree pods to moored boats.

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Wallow in a bubble bath peeping into the House of Dior by Karen Homer. Not only a great little read but her pale pink cover with black lettering is the ultimate in chic for a cover…well, what would you expect from Dior?

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Light the fire, pour a glass of wine and snuggle down to tiptoe into the life of Stella Shakespeare and her quest to find the perfect man. It's Sophia Money-Coutts' fourth novel and she certainly knows how to bring the house down with her sniggeringly funny antics and crushingly embarrassing situations…”Looking Out for Love” will tick all the boxes if you’re looking for a light read that’s pure escapism.

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And the Children’s Books are so good, you might just keep them for yourself. “Mouses Wood – A Year in Nature” by Alice Melvin is our best-selling. It follows Mouse on a  journey from friend to friend mapping out the changes in seasons from January through to December, from picnicking among the bluebells with Mole in May and picking berries with Dormouse in June, to taking refuge in Fox’s cosy caravan as winter draws in. Oh, come on!!! It's heaven.

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And of course, the “Little People, Big Ideas” range is fabulous for any age. Learn, in a jolly way, all about these pivotal people who have changed the world. Choose from Marcus Rashford to Anna Pavlova, from David Attenborough to Florence Nightingale. There’s someone out there for everyone and so much to learn…

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So, what’s not to like about your very own private Book Club. You choose what you read and it doesn’t matter whether it takes 2 years and 7 months to finish. No one is judging you & nobody minds. Now, where did I put that houmous……

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STOP PRESS!!

We are going to start regularly hosting Book Clubs in our Chelsea shop!

On Thursday 26th October, we are kicking off with Kara Gnodde's

"The Theory of Not Quite Everything"

Apple "Best of Month"

Barnes & Noble Monthly Pick

WH Smith Airport Favourite

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Kara will be in our store at 227 King's Road from 3.30pm until 8.00pm, chatting about her book and signing copies.

Please join us for glasses of fizz and lots of chat!

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With love from White Coco

x

P.S. Why not get your lovely Book Club to hold their next meeting in our shop! We’ll provide the sofa, the velvet chairs, wine, the houmous (other nibbles are available) and the lovely clothes to look at! Call us on 0207 352 0791 to chat or email us at info@whitecoco.co.uk, if you fancy the idea….