Comic Book Clubs Toronto

August Books n’ Brunch: The Courage to be Disliked

Book Description: An international bestseller and TikTok sensation with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide, The Courage to Be Disliked is a transformative and practical guide to personal happiness and self-fulfillment. Now you can unlock your full potential and free yourself from the shackles of past traumas and societal expectations to find true personal happiness. Based on the theories of renowned psychologist Alfred Adler, this book guides you through the principles of self-forgiveness, self-care, and mind decluttering in a straightforward, easy-to-digest style that’s accessible to all. The Courage to Be Disliked unfolds as a dialogue between a philosopher and a young man, who, over the course of five enriching conversations, realizes that each of us is in control of our life’s direction, independent of past burdens and expectations of others. Wise, empowering, and profoundly liberating, this book is a life-changing experience that shows you a path to lasting happiness and how to finally be the person you truly want to be. Millions are already benefiting from its teachings—and you can be next. PLEASE NOTE: There is no cost to attend but it is a restaurant so please plan to purchase at least a drink. It would be even better if you join us for brunch. 😁

Brainstorming Ideas - Plot, Characters, Worldbuilding

**BACKGROUND** Whether we are authors, game masters, or artists, sometimes we can get stuck on ideas and rough concepts before fully forming our creations. This is the opportunity to brainstorm these with others. **DETAILS** You can bring in your ideas - including world-building, character details, plot arcs, magic systems, technology, etc. - and brainstorm places where you are stuck. Each participant will be given a time slot to workshop their ideas in a free-form manner as they see fit. It is not mandatory to bring something to discuss yourself; you can just show up and help others brainstorm and meet like-minded people in the process. Please make sure your RSVPs are honored on the day. **LOCATION** Balzac's Image Arts 122 Bond St, Toronto, ON M5B 1X8 (Walking distance from Yonge-Dundas/Sanfoka Square/TMU station )

Candide by Voltaire

For August, we'll read Candide by Voltaire. 129 pages First published in 1759 About the book: *Candide* is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds." On the surface a witty, bantering tale, this eighteenth-century classic is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism that proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is part of a benevolent cosmic plan. Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher's immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover that — contrary to the teachings of his distinguished tutor Dr. Pangloss — all is not always for the best. Alive with wit, brilliance, and graceful storytelling, *Candide* has become Voltaire's most celebrated work.

Sip and Read

[NEW DATE] Why we're polarized -- by Ezra Klein

One of Barack Obama's favorite books of 2022. One of Bill Gates’s “5 books to read this summer,” this New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller shows us that America’s political system isn’t broken. The truth is scarier: it’s working exactly as designed. In this “superbly researched” (The Washington Post) and timely book, journalist Ezra Klein reveals how that system is polarizing us—and how we are polarizing it—with disastrous results. “The American political system—which includes everyone from voters to journalists to the president—is full of rational actors making rational decisions given the incentives they face,” writes political analyst Ezra Klein. “We are a collection of functional parts whose efforts combine into a dysfunctional whole.” “A thoughtful, clear and persuasive analysis” (The New York Times Book Review), *Why We’re Polarized* reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America’s descent into division and dysfunction. Neither a polemic nor a lament, this book offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump’s rise to the Democratic Party’s leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture. America is polarized, first and foremost, by identity. Everyone engaged in American politics is engaged, at some level, in identity politics. Over the past fifty years in America, our partisan identities have merged with our racial, religious, geographic, ideological, and cultural identities. These merged identities have attained a weight that is breaking much in our politics and tearing at the bonds that hold this country together. Klein shows how and why American politics polarized around identity in the 20th century, and what that polarization did to the way we see the world and one another. And he traces the feedback loops between polarized political identities and polarized political institutions that are driving our system toward crisis. “Well worth reading” (New York magazine), this is an “eye-opening” (O, The Oprah Magazine) book that will change how you look at politics—and perhaps at yourself. ═════ Discussion questions: TBD Facilitator: Susan ═════ $$ Refundable deposit: We'd like to make sure everyone on the RSVP actually intends to join us and enjoy the event. Please make a **refundable** deposit of $5 to hold your spot, via Paypal or Interac e-transfer to [toronto.nonfiction@gmail.com](mailto:toronto.nonfiction@gmail.com), when you RSVP or shortly thereafter. If you are waitlisted please wait until a spot opens up for you before making a transfer. You'll get your $5 back in cash if you join us at the event. If you decide to drop out later or not attend, consider this a donation to support our meetup and zoom subscriptions, which aren't cheap. Thank you! ═════ Meeting format: * We meet to discuss the book after having read it beforehand. * A facilitator guides the discussion ensuring that everyone has a chance to speak, one person at a time. * Warning: Participation in a book club is a dangerous activity. You may encounter opinions different from yours. By joining the group you agree to assume all risks.

The Girls Book Club: Fantasy/Romance Book Club Meetup #9

Hi everyone!! 💖 This is now our NINTH book club meetup! I can’t wait to get to know you all more, hang out and talk books. For this meeting we’ll be STARTING Gild by Raven Kennedy!!! Please read the first 20 chapters of the book before coming so that we have lots to discuss! Don’t stress if you’re new or didn’t make it to the last meetup! This is a super chill group and we’re mostly here to chat, vibe, and obsess over books together. Can’t wait to see you all!! 📚✨

Such Is My Beloved

A Canadian classic, written in 1934, by one of our nation's leading writers, Morley Callaghan. Such Is My Beloved, is the story of Father Stephen Dowling's efforts to realize the true meaning of God's love by befriending two sex workers in the hope of saving them. Despite contending with their reluctance as well as the hostile resistance of society, Dowling is determined to help these two women. Selfless love comes at a great cost. Set in Toronto during the Great Depression, it is a recognizable story; tragic and beautiful, Such is My Beloved, is a timeless contemplation about faith, love, sacrifice, and redemption in a deeply flawed society.

OSC #5 - Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Welcome to our 5th meetup for the Open Shelf Collective. We have selected Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid as our selection for this event. The first thirty minutes of the event is open social time while we allow attendees to arrive. The book discussion will begin at 8:00 PM. At the end of the meetup, we will accept nominations for the next book. We encourage attendees to stay afterwards and chat if they would like to as well. Out of respect for the venue and people on the waitlist, if you do not intend on attending please cancel as soon as possible and at the very latest 48 hours in advance. To ensure spots go to engaged members, we have limited new sign ups to two weeks before the event — existing RSVPs are not affected. We would like to keep these events free of charge, and continued last minute cancellations or no-shows may require us to introduce a small fee in the future. "Atmosphere" by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space. Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane. As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant. Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, *Atmosphere* is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.

Books Up August Meetup

**Books Up Circle** Join us for Books Up Circle meetup! This will be a relaxed, informal gathering where we chat, get to know each other, and share our love for books. **What to expect:** * Casual introductions and open conversation * Socializing with fellow book lovers **What to bring:** * Your book ideas or favorite recommendations * An open mind and a love for reading Come to socialize, discover new books, and make friends along the way. Sounds like a good deal to us—**come join the circle!** 📚

☕️ Coffee, ice cream & book chat

Come join us for a fun and relaxed kickoff meetup for Toronto ladies who love books, hobbies, good conversation & a little treat! 📚☕🍦💗 We’ll grab coffee and ice cream, get to know each other, chat about what we’ve been reading, share our favourite hobbies, and talk about our summer plans 🌸✨ No pressure, no assigned reading — just a cute afternoon/evening to meet some new people and make new friends! 🫶🏻

🐱 Coffee, Cats & New Friends at Vintage Cat Café ☕️

Want to meet some new people without the awkwardness of a big party or networking event? Come spend Saturday afternoon with us at **Vintage Cat Café**! 🐾❤️ We’re getting together for a relaxed afternoon of coffee, desserts, cats, conversation and a few board games. 🎲🍰 This meetup is specifically meant to be easy to join even if you don’t know anyone yet. **Come by yourself, bring a friend, or bring a couple of friends — everyone is welcome.** We’ll introduce everyone and make sure nobody is left sitting on their own. 😊 There’s no agenda and no pressure. Grab whatever you’d like from the café, pull up a chair and spend a couple of hours meeting people while some very adorable cats wander around us. 🐱 📍 **Vintage Cat Café** 1274 St Clair Ave W, Toronto 🕓 **Saturday, August 22 at 4:00 PM** 🎟️ **Free to join** ☕ Food and drinks can be purchased individually from the café. If you’ve been wanting to get out more, discover new places around Toronto, or simply add a few new people to your social circle, this is exactly what the group is for. ❤️ **Don’t worry about coming alone — that’s one of the best reasons to come.** See you Saturday! ☕️🐾🍰🎲

CONTINUITY OF POWER BOOK CLUB

### CONTINUITY OF POWER BOOK CLUB ### Meetup Group Description & Event Posting Guide Behold! I bring you Western civilization's triumphs, trials, and tribulations poured forth onto the pages of timeless literature. This is a historical literary discussion group designed to elicit passionate discourse, debate, and devotion to the books we must cherish and celebrate. Author Gabriel Verveniotis invites you all to **The Continuity of Power,** a book club dedicated to charting the evolution of Western history, statecraft, dynastic conflict, and political power through classical high historical literature. From the court intrigues of ancient Egypt and the collapse of imperial Rome to the bloody civil wars of Anglo-Norman England, the Machiavellian corridors of Tudor statecraft, and the catastrophic fires of the French Revolution, we examine how empires, monarchies, and modern states are forged, preserved, and destroyed. If you are seeking serious, rigorous intellectual discourse on grand strategy, political realism, and historical literature, this group is destined for you. ### ABOUT YOUR HOST Gabriel Verveniotis is a published author, editor, historical researcher, and freelance journalist whose work appears across independent news outlets. He serves as editor for The Muckraker Tribune on Substack and has contributed extensively as a journalist for Druthers News. His literary works include his 2017 dystopian novel The Sanguinaires: Or What I Hate Most About Everything a work blending Greek tragedy, science fiction, and intense existentialism regarding state control and free will and his recent 570-page work, *The Origins of the Canadian Hick: A Sociological Study of Yargerism*, an unsparing, darkly satirical study of contemporary subcultures, social decline, and cultural mechanics written in the tradition of classical scholarly satire. **DISCLAIMER** This is a NON-WOKE, leftist or liberal book club. We are not here to discuss gender, sex, indigenous rights, minorities, colonialism, environmentalism, or any of those odious and ruinous contaminants of great literature. We dogmatically oppose such politically malicious and intellectually dishonest approaches to Western literature and history. This course is a celebration of the great "Dead White men". This book club is an homage to the brilliant European writers who have laid the foundation for drama, tragedy, comedy, romance, and poetry. **FIRST MEETUP EVENT TEMPLATE Event Title: The Continuity of Power: Classical Antiquity & The Twilight of Rome (Module I - Text 1)** **Event Details**: Join us for our inaugural session of The Continuity of Power as we begin our chronological exploration of Western statecraft through historical literature. In our first meeting, we dive into Mika Waltari's masterwork, The Egyptian, exploring imperial decay, religious coups, and realpolitik in 18th-Dynasty Egypt. Please come prepared having read the assigned text and ready to engage with our focus on power, statecraft, and political survival. **• Where:** Destination to be decided (we encourage group suggestions) **• When:** September 1, 2026 **• What to bring:** Copy of The Egyptian by Mika Waltari, notes, and an appetite for rigorous literary analysis. ### **LINKS, COURSE MATERIAL AND ATTACHMENTS** Linked to this Meetup invite will be a link to a Substack article containing detailed information regarding course material, the syllabus, and the module layout, which will outline the format and topics of discussion surrounding the works we read. Also, feel free to subscribe to my Substack for additional information and club-related messages moving forward. **[Link](https://open.substack.com/pub/gabrielverveniotis/p/the-continuity-of-power-book-club?r=pbmh4&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)** [https://open.substack.com/pub/gabrielverveniotis/p/the-continuity-of-power-book-club?r=pbmh4&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web](https://open.substack.com/pub/gabrielverveniotis/p/the-continuity-of-power-book-club?r=pbmh4&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)