Nicola's Book Club

Who is Nicola?

Nicola is a lover of books, and equally a lover of world cultures. She believes that books represent the first step of a journey, a journey that frequently has an unknown destination. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s collection of essays “Moving the Centre” is one of Nicola’s great inspirations: it points to a wealth of stories from different cultures around the world, cultures which do not always get the visibility their rich heritage deserves. Nicola’s mission is to share these stories, her passion for books and her literary insight with readers the world over.

Former proprietor of Nicola’s Bookshop in Brussels, Nicola has developed her knowledge and enthusiasm for literature over many years. Through this website Nicola now reaches out to a wider audience. With her we can travel the world another way - sit down with Ismail Kadare in Albania, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in Nigeria or Dai Sijie in rural China, and together we open the door into their worlds, experience the highs and lows of their lives, and share their innermost feelings, their hopes, their fears and their dreams. For the duration of each book you can live and breathe their world… without ever leaving your armchair.

When we travel, we often like to do so with others, as a major part of developing our experience comes through discussing our perceptions and sharing our ideas with our travelling companions. When we turn the last page of a book, we often feel joy or sadness or hunger for more. At times we simply lament that someone had not joined us on the same journey so we could share our thoughts with them.

Now with Nicola’s Book Club we need never be without our literary travelling companion again. We can discover each new book together with a group of readers from different countries, cultures and backgrounds, brought together by a common story, with Nicola as our guide. Let her lead you through a series of fascinating journeys with enthusiastic discussion at every turn; let her enrich your experience and draw out your thoughts and ideas in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere. Let her make every book a journey to remember.

A book can change your life, change your perspectives, push you to discover new ideas, increase your understanding of other places and cultures, and above all it can bring you much pleasure. In Nicola we have a true lover of world literature, someone with the ability to steer us through the labyrinth of choice to the gems that lie concealed just beneath the surface…

S. Sumner/R. Houlden, July 2009