Reading Group
Ash u3a currently has several book groups. We pride ourselves on being the original group, having been set up 17 years ago. We have an impressively long list of books that we’ve read over that time even if, looking back now, we haven’t the faintest idea what some of them were about!
We meet on the last Wednesday afternoon of the month in a member’s home for tea, coffee and good conversation. We allow each person in turn the opportunity to voice their response to the book and then we open it out to a discussion of the plot, characters, themes and issues raised by the book. There is no compulsion to speak and no pressure to have read the book in its entirety. Our opinions can differ widely but everyone’s views are respected and we’ve never yet had to resort to pistols at dawn! There’s also plenty of time for general chit-chat and we all value the friendships forged within the group.
There is a charge of £3.50 to pay the library’s reservation cost and books are distributed at each meeting for discussion the following month. Titles are chosen by the group’s members. We try to go for a range of genres and authors, though we do have a few favourite authors that we’ve returned to over the years. (Stand up Elizabeth Strout, Maggie O’Farrell, Kate Atkinson and Robert Harris!) We try to read a classic once a year. We also try to have an annual outing, last year’s involving a Jane Austen exhibition in Winchester and a tasty lunch.
Leader: Jenny Webb / 07541123698
Day & Time: Last Wednesday of the Month at 14:00
Venue: Member’s home
Next meeting: Wednesday 29th April 2 p.m.
Book to be discussed: The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden
Last updated on 1 April 2026 by Graham (Chair)