Check out our upcoming Story Club themes below. This page will be updated through the year with more information and the Zoom booking links, so check back regularly!
Upcoming Story Club themes
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Tuesday 27th January 2026, 5pm-6pm
Our first Story Club is on the theme of Education. WEA tutor Mark Crees will be leading the session and we'll start off with a poetry reading. Mark will suggest some broad questions on the theme of education and then we'll move into break out rooms to talk about our stories in smaller groups.
Story Suggestions
Educated by Tara Westover.
A memoir about one woman’s journey from growing up in a survivalist family in the United States with very little formal education, to discovering the power of education and finally being awarded a PhD from the University of Cambridge.I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
This is available in several formats, including a Quick Reads version.
This tells the story of Malala who shares details of her life growing up in Pakistan and how she fought to ensure girls have access to education. Malala was awarded a Nobel Prize for her important work.Educating Rita by Willie Russell
Play and film.
This tells the story of Rita, a hairdresser who decides to complete her education, and Frank, a university lecturer. It looks at issues of class, education and self-development. If you have a TV Licence, this is available to watch free of charge on ITVX.The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson
This is the story of a young woman who makes new friends and finds a new purpose when her relationship breaks down. Several of the characters have dreams of going back to college.Hate that Dog by Sharon Creech
This book, aimed at children, is a collections of letters from a boy to his English teacher. It shows the boy grow in confidence as he develops a love of poetry and opens up about his life, confiding in his teacher and using his poetry as an outlet for his emotions.Mr Burton
Film
This film tells the story of actor Richard Burton - his early life growing up in Wales and his relationship with a teacher who believed in him.
If you have a TV Licence, this film is available to watch on iPlayer.A New Year by Leila Aboulela
A Quick Reads story that tells the story of newly widowed Suad as she grieves and adjusts to her new life. It explores the family dynamics and how she must learn to live on her own.A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Mattie Gokey is working in a hotel in the Adirondacks in upstate New York in 1906. She dreams of going to college and of becoming a writer, as does her friend Weaver. When there is a murder at the hotel, the pair are drawn into the investigations. Although this is fiction, it is inspired by a real life murder.Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
This devastating work of speculative fiction is narrated by Kathy, who is reminiscing about her school days at a boarding school called Hailsham. It raises interesting themes about the value of education, creativity and humanity.Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq
Heart Lamp won the International Booker Prize in 2025. It is a collection of 12 short stories looking at the everyday lives of women and girls in patriarchal communities in southern India.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
This novel follows a young boy living in London as he tries to solve the mystery of his friend's murder. With themes of migration, loss of innocence and inequality, the story was shortlisted for a number of literary awards and was part of the Books Unlocked project in over 100 UK prisons.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Idiot by Elif Batuman
This semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story follows a college freshman at Harvard University in the 1990s.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Set in a fictional elite liberal arts college in New England, the novel is credited with creating the 'dark academia' literary genre. The story follows a group of classics students, exploring the relationships between the students and the events that lead to the murder of one of the group.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.Humankind: a hopeful history by Rutger Bregman
This book starts from the position that humans are hardwired for kindness, that we are inclined to cooperate rather than compete.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Last Lesson - poem by DH Lawrence
Read Online
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Tuesday 31st March 2026, 5pm-6pm
WEA tutor Ione Harris will be leading our second Story Club session of 2026.
This time we will focus on stories related to wellbeing - choose a book that makes you laugh, or a story that follows someone who improves their wellbeing, perhaps by taking up a new hobby or making a new friend.
Story Suggestions
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
This comic novel tells the story of three men on a boating and camping holiday from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back.
Available online via Project GutenbergThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Radio play, novel, Film and TV series
Sci-Fi comedy series following the adventures of Arthur Dent, who survives when the earth is destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass.A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Book and film
Travel writer Bill Bryson recounts his attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail.Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Book and TV Series
The Jeeves and Wooster series follows the misadventures of a hapless young man of leisure, Bertie Wooster, and his highly competent valet, Jeeves.
Available online via Project GutenbergThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Book, musical and film
When he hears a former colleague is in a hospice, a man decides to walk hundreds of miles to visit her. He meets many people along the way and hears their stories and also has time to reflect on events from his own life.
One of our members recommended this title for the Wellbeing Story Club.A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Book and film
This is the story of a grumpy man struggling with grief following the death of his wife. It shows him slowly making new connections and friendships and finding new purpose along the way.
One of our members recommended this title for the Wellbeing Story Club.Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Book and film
Brick Lane follows a young woman who has moved to London from Bangladesh in the 1980s for an arranged marriage.
One of our members recommended this title for the Wellbeing Story Club.Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
This award-winning novel follows Eleanor Oliphant, a young woman with a complex past. The novel deals with themes of isolation and loneliness, and shows Eleanor making new connections and overcoming some of her past traumas.
One of our members recommended this title for the Wellbeing Story Club.Humankind: a hopeful history by Rutger Bregman
This book starts from the position that humans are hardwired for kindness, that we are inclined to cooperate rather than compete.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
This is a best selling non fiction book written by a psychiatrist. It looks at the roles played by mind, brain and body in the healing of trauma.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Written in the early 1950s, the short novel has consistently been a best-seller. Narrated by 16 year old Holden Caulfield, the New Yorker described it as 'the handbook of the adolescent heart'.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers
Set in England in 1989, the novel follows two very different characters as they undertake an extraordinary project. A story of friendship, second chances, and crop circles.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
This memoir shares the story of a couple who have lost everything, as they embark on a journey to walk the 630 miles of the South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. It has also been made into a film and though marketed as a true story, some questions have been raised about its authenticity.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
During the Covid lockdown, Chloe decided to leave the city and return to the countryside of her childhood. She could not have imagined she would become the custodian of a newly born hare. Yet when she finds the creature, endangered, alone and no bigger than her palm, she is compelled to give it a chance at survival.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Company of Heaven by Catherine Fox
Another story set in the Covid lockdown - book five of a series. This novel captures the difficulties of the pandemic period with humour and heart.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Nora's life has been going from bad to worse. Then at the stroke of midnight on her last day on earth she finds herself transported to a library. She is given the chance to undo her regrets and try out each of the other lives she might have lived. Which raises the ultimate question: with infinite choices, what is the best way to live?
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
In 1974, two teenagers, from opposite sides of a divided Cyprus, meet at a tavern in the city they both call home. The tavern is the only place that Kostas, who is Greek, and Defne who is Turkish, can meet in secret.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
This best selling book takes readers on a spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Woman I Was Before by Kerry Fisher
This book tells the story of a single mother who moves across the country to make a fresh start with her daughter. She makes new friends, but it seems everyone is sharing a perfect life that might not match reality.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 and 3/4 by Sue Townsend
Meet Adrian Mole, a hapless teenager growing up in Thatcher's Britain, who provides an unabashed, pimples-and-all glimpse into adolescent life. Writing candidly about his parents' marital troubles, the dog, and his life as a tortured poet and 'misunderstood intellectual', this is a hilarious and heart-warming read.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club. -
Tuesday 26th May 2026, 5pm-6pm
WEA tutor Joey Simons will lead our third Story Club, which is focusing on the concept of solidarity.
Story Suggestions
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Book and film
A writer exchanges letters with a man based in Guernsey and learns of a literary society that was set up during the German occupation. She decides to visit to meet the group.The Last Library by Freya Sampson
A young library assistant has devoted herself to her job and her books following her mother's death. When she finds out about plans to close her beloved library, she teams up with others in the community to try and save it.All Those Who Sleep Tonight - poem by Vikram Seth
Read onlineThe Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Rauf
Book and play
Told from a child's perspective, this is the story of a nine year old Syrian refugee who joins a new class in England. His classmates want to make him feel and home and to help re-unite him with his family.Humankind: a hopeful history by Rutger Bregman
This book starts from the position that humans are hardwired for kindness, that we are inclined to cooperate rather than compete.
One of our members recommended this title for the Education Story Club.Small Island by Andrea Levy
Award-winning novel looking at post-war migration through the eyes of four narrators. Hortense and Gilbert have moved from Jamaica to England to start a new life. They lodge with a British couple called Queenie and Bernard. The book covers themes of identity and belonging.
One of our members recommended this title for the Wellbeing Story Club.A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Book and film
This the the story of a grumpy man struggling with grief following the death of his wife. It shows him slowly making new connections and friendships and finding new purpose along the way.
One of our members recommended this title for the Wellbeing Story Club.Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Book and film
Brick Lane follows a young woman who has moved to London from Bangladesh in the 1980s for an arranged marriage.
One of our members recommended this title for the Wellbeing Story Club.
The following stories were recommended by members who joined our Story Club Plan and Chat session.'Germinal by Emile Zola
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulkes
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Patriot by Alexei Navalny
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
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Tuesday 30th June 2026, 5pm-6pm
WEA tutor James Clarke will lead our fourth Story Club session, which will look at stories of migration.
Story Suggestions
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Book and film
Brick Lane follows a young woman who has moved to London from Bangladesh in the 1980s for an arranged marriage.
One of our members recommended this title for the Wellbeing Story Club.Indian Cooking - poem by Moniza Alvi
Read onlineSmall Island by Andrea Levy
Award-winning novel looking at post-war migration through the eyes of four narrators. Hortense and Gilbert have moved from Jamaica to England to start a new life. They lodge with a British couple called Queenie and Bernard. The book covers themes of identity and belonging.
One of our members recommended this title for the Wellbeing Story Club.Home - poem by Warsan Shire
Read onlineThe Arrival by Shaun Tan
This is a wordless story told in beautiful pictures.
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Rauf
Book and play
Told from a child's perspective, this is the story of a nine year old Syrian refugee who joins a new class in England. His classmates want to help re-unite him with his family.Lament of an Arawak Child - poem by Pamela Mordecai
Read online -
Tuesday 29th September 2026, 5pm-6pm
After a summer break, Story Club will return in September with a session about Community, led by James Clarke.
Choose a story about making community connections, or communities coming together working towards a common goal.
Booking link coming soon
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Tuesday 24th November 2026, 5pm-6pm
Our final Story Club of the year will be led by WEA tutor Paula Hellal and will focus on stories with a theme of disability or mental health.
Booking link coming soon
