Book Drives Sydney

The Curious Mum: Baby-Friendly Books & Ideas Circle (Book via Humanitix)

Have you ever wished there was a space where you could reconnect with the part of yourself that existed before motherhood? I created The Curious Mum after searching for a community where I could discuss books, explore new ideas and connect with like-minded mums—all while bringing my baby along. When I couldn’t find it, I decided to create it. This is a relaxed, baby-friendly gathering for mums with babies and young toddlers (approximately 0–3 years) who enjoy meaningful conversation and lifelong learning. 📖 Our first book: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman No pressure to finish the book—come along even if you’ve only read a chapter or listened to part of the audiobook. Expect thoughtful conversation, curious minds, and a welcoming space where babies are part of the experience. 🎟️ Places are limited, so registration is essential. Please register via Humanitix using the link in this event. https://events.humanitix.com/the-curious-mum-a-baby-friendly-books-and-ideas-circle

Books and Bevvies

Welcome to **Books & Bevvies** — a casual book swap and drinks social in the Sydney CBD. This is not a book club with homework. It’s a simple, low-key way to meet people, chat about what you’ve been reading, and walk out with something new. **HOW IT WORKS** Bring a book you’re happy to part with. Pop it on the swap table when you arrive. Mingle, chat, and swap recommendations. When the swap opens, take a book that catches your eye. Stay for a drink and a conversation after. **WHAT TO BRING** One book, any genre and any reading level. **GOOD TO KNOW** The venue relies on accurate numbers for staffing, so if you can’t make it, please change your RSVP to “not going”. Repeated no-shows may result in removal from the group. The venue is kindly not enforcing a minimum spend, but please support them by buying a drink, soft drink, or some lunch during the swap if you can. There is no mandatory entry fee, but voluntary contributions are **very much** appreciated. The group costs around **$65 a month to keep running**, so if you enjoy the swap and are in a position to chip in, even $5 or $10 makes a real difference. I’ll have a jar near the sign-in list on the day. Please feel free to contribute at any stage through the swap. **WHERE WE’LL BE** We’ll be in the Market Street Garden Bar, with a table full of books and bevvies.

SEPTEMBER BOOK –'The Invention of Wings' by Sue Monk Kidd

Tough Guy Book Club - Balmain NSW

Join us for the Balmain Chapter of Tough Guy Book Club. You can find out this month's book here [https://toughguybookclub.com/books](https://toughguybookclub.com/books?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExcTVleWRsd0ZYSWdqZXV4QXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5aL8E3xpn05czDIaY5kEiHH3oABs4hICFLOrNXUsW-0gY5HePBTW1ni0SYzw_aem_qNxAzG9ij-sVr5-Rf8Uw3Q) If you have the chance, try to pick up the book and read a couple of pages before the night. If you haven’t, come anyway, no one gives a damn. We are not your boss. If you got one, make sure to bring your copy of the books down, it’ll help you talk about bits of it, we suggest underlining stuff that sticks out to you as important. Also like all months, we will be announcing next month’s book at the meeting and handing them out to those of you who were wise enough to pre-order last month. See you there. Want to know more about Tough Guy Book Club? Read this - [http://toughguybookclub.com/about-us](http://toughguybookclub.com/about-us?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExcTVleWRsd0ZYSWdqZXV4QXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5QrDxxQmsaiuIfgbomTP4b6948UogKCm9U4Dudq5-VU_8aUx5RnTiUjO_R1Q_aem_n5AIic3b6NMTZ5TUJGTLkw)

Tough Guy Book Club - Drummoyne NSW

Join us for the Drummoyne Chapter of Tough Guy Book Club. You can find out this month's book here [https://toughguybookclub.com/books](https://toughguybookclub.com/books?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExcTVleWRsd0ZYSWdqZXV4QXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5aL8E3xpn05czDIaY5kEiHH3oABs4hICFLOrNXUsW-0gY5HePBTW1ni0SYzw_aem_qNxAzG9ij-sVr5-Rf8Uw3Q) If you have the chance, try to pick up the book and read a couple of pages before the night. If you haven’t, come anyway, no one gives a damn. We are not your boss. If you got one, make sure to bring your copy of the books down, it’ll help you talk about bits of it, we suggest underlining stuff that sticks out to you as important. Also like all months, we will be announcing next month’s book at the meeting and handing them out to those of you who were wise enough to pre-order last month. See you there. Want to know more about Tough Guy Book Club? Read this - [http://toughguybookclub.com/about-us](http://toughguybookclub.com/about-us?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExcTVleWRsd0ZYSWdqZXV4QXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5QrDxxQmsaiuIfgbomTP4b6948UogKCm9U4Dudq5-VU_8aUx5RnTiUjO_R1Q_aem_n5AIic3b6NMTZ5TUJGTLkw)

The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin

Meeting at the usual place, upstairs at The Shakespeare Hotel, Surry Hills, Sydney, we will be discussing The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin. The book is a psychological novel about a successful radio storyteller who develops a close relationship over the phone with a gravely ill teenage boy named Pete, only to become increasingly uncertain whether Pete and his story are real. Inspired in part by a real-life literary hoax, the novel explores loneliness, trust, and the unreliability of memory. The novel is relatively short and has been described as one of Maupin's most accessible standalone novels. It was later adapted into the moderately faithful 2006 film *The Night Listener*, starring Robin Williams. Available from the usual places including Amazon and Ebay (about $30) and for free from our friend Anna. Otherwise, contact me for a free pdf at dalemills@cantab.net Trove says that there are about 5 copies available from local libraries through an inter-library loan (City of Sydney charges $3.50 for this service). We meet upstairs in a semi private room conducive to group discussion. There will be about 10 of us there. Look for the sign or ask at the bar.

Bhagavad Gita (c.200 BCE)

The second in our **Journey to the East** reading series exploring texts from the Middle East, India, China and Japan. *Join the Really Old Books Whatsapp to see the full schedule - the Meetup site only allows me to advertise one event at a time:* [https://chat.whatsapp.com/IzXLwdM1Fa33dNe4suamLV](https://chat.whatsapp.com/IzXLwdM1Fa33dNe4suamLV) \-\-\- To be honest, I don't actually have any witty or thoughtful descriptions of what we'll be reading this time - the Bhagavad Gita is one of those famous really important books that belongs to a whole tradition I know essentially nothing about. I could quote the Wikipedia article at you but what of it? Consider this event, above all we've done so far, to be a comfortable space for grappling with the unfamiliar. Join us on this adventure through this 200\~ page text, a book that is not only central to Hindu tradition and broader Indian culture, but has also inspired luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi and Will Smith. As always, read whatever translation you have closest at hand - I'll be reading Eknath Easwaran's translation which I picked up in Dymock's and I assume therefore is readily available. Please reach out if you have any trouble finding a copy or need anything else.

The Death of Death: Should We Choose To Live Forever?

What if ageing were optional? A small, extraordinarily wealthy group of people — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel among them — are betting billions that it could become so within our lifetimes. They are funding gene therapies, plasma clinics, AI drug discovery programmes, and private city-states designed to sit beyond the reach of ordinary regulation, all pointed at a single goal: the abolition of death. Some of this is serious science. Some of it is alchemy with a better press team. But before the science catches up with the ambition — if it ever does — the personal, social, and political questions are already here. Would you choose five centuries of life, or even to live indefinitely — more time to love, to learn, to taste everything the world has to offer? Or would you find, on reflection, that something essential about a human life depends on it being finite? What happens to marriage when it lasts for centuries? To democracy when the same people hold power for hundreds of years? To inheritance (that might never arrive!), to ambition ('I can always do it later'), to the feeling that today is precious rather than just one more day in an endless supply? So join us as we pull apart this fascinating and unsettling territory, where Silicon Valley hubris meets some of the oldest questions in philosophy. **Book: *The Immortalists: The Death of Death and the Race for Eternal Life* (2025) by Aleks Krotoski** **Companion reading:** ***[A Guide to the Personal, Social, and Political Questions of Radical Life Extension](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQDyh0ZXuhOXSY1hShIPivrVAb994lzRy8NuznN6KIb52lM?e=heHTTk)***[ ](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQDyh0ZXuhOXSY1hShIPivrVAb994lzRy8NuznN6KIb52lM?e=heHTTk) (prepared for this meetup) *The Immortalists* is a sharp investigation into the people, science, money, and politics behind Silicon Valley’s war on death. Krotoski — a psychologist, BBC broadcaster, and veteran technology reporter — takes us from immortality cults in the Arizona desert and biohacking clinics in Los Angeles to the corridors of Washington and a private city in Honduras where unapproved gene therapies are on the menu. Along the way, she meets the geroscientists doing genuinely important work on the biology of ageing, the billionaire investors pouring huge sums into longevity start-ups, the lobbyists rewriting FDA regulations in their own interests, and the true believers who have concluded that death is not a fact of life but a failure of engineering. The result is gripping reported journalism, a sober account of what the science has actually established, and a serious political warning about what happens when the people trying to live forever start writing the rules for everyone else. In addition, we’ve prepared a 35-page companion document that draws out the personal, social, and political questions raised by radical life extension. The Krotoski book spends considerable time on the science and on the people pursuing it, but our discussion is likely to centre on the human consequences: whether we would actually want vastly longer lives; what they would do to relationships, work, inequality, democracy, and meaning; and who would benefit if the technology ever became real. The companion document is intended to give us a shared map of these issues, so the conversation can move beyond the biology and into the questions most likely to matter around the table. As always, we strongly encourage you to do the reading before you attend; it will enrich both your own experience and the discussion as a whole. We’ve also included some further resources below for anyone who wants to go deeper. We’ll meet for a drink — and an optional meal — at 6:30pm on Monday, 7 September, on the second floor of the Keg & Brew Hotel in Surry Hills. The venue is close to Central Station and the light rail. We look forward to seeing you there! P.S. If you RSVP yes and later find you can’t make it, please update your RSVP so someone else can take the spot if there’s a waitlist. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- These are just optional links to consider to supplement the reading of the book and document. Feel free to pass on other useful links in the discussion section. **Videos** * Interviews and Podcasts with Aleks Krotoski: [Intelligence Squared – Could Billionaires Cure Ageing (1 hr)](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7DgTxyg8YezFkX391FNOmX) [BBC Radio 4 World at One (18 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTQ-tZfRFW8) * A collection of 15 min BBC Podcasts by Aleks Krotoski: [The Immortals Podcast](https://www.bbc.com/audio/brand/p0hl8knd) * Venki Ramakrishnan on the biology of death and aging and why the immortalists' timeline is wildly optimistic: [Sean Carroll's Mindscape with Venki Ramakrishnan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNqwamgxNiU) * Four Corners (ABC iview) *The Race to Reverse Ageing* (July 2026) * Science documentary: *[Longevity Hackers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PV0X5U4smY)*[ (2024)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PV0X5U4smY) This is a mostly enthusiastic doco about the possibility of radical life extension; not a rigorous investigation but provides a useful sense of the different areas of research. * Netflix documentary: *Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever* (2025). A documentary on the daily routines, family plasma exchange, and the "Don't Die" philosophy of tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, who appears prominently in the book. * An explainer video on the science and ethics of radical life extension: [Billionaires Trying to Live Forever - Honest Truth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5kMFzndPiM) **Written** * Articles on radical life extension: [The Ethics of Radical Life Extension](https://www.scu.edu/ethics/all-about-ethics/radical-life-extension/) [Three arguments against extending the human lifespan](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2652797/) * Reviews of *The Immortalists*: [The Guardian - The Immortalists](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/23/the-immortalists-by-aleks-krotoski-review-the-downsides-of-cheating-death) * An article version on the ABC Four Corners episode on biohacking and anti-aging science: [ABC - The Race to Reverse Ageing](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-19/biohacking-anti-aging-science-promise-to-extend-human-lifespan/106923024) * An unfortunate update on biohacker Bryan Johnson (from Netflix series above): [A recent health update on Bryan Johnson](https://futurism.com/health-medicine/bryan-johnson-autoimmune-disease) * Two other relevant books for those wanting to dig deeper into this topic: *\- Morbid: Debunking Modern Longevity Science* (2026) by Saul Newman. To be released in August, the author uses dark humour and rigorous evidence to expose the systemic data errors and corporate grifting behind popular anti-aging trends like "Blue Zones" and youth-blood transfusions. *\- Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality* (2024) by Venki Ramakrishnan. This book provides a lucid and authoritative look at the biological mechanisms of cellular degeneration, balancing the realistic limits of our current biotechnology against the hyped promises of the immortality movement.

The Many-Colored Land by Julian May | Sun 6 Sep 2026

Start with Why ~ Coffee catchup where every sip sparks a new perspective.

PLEASE BE ADVISED! We will be outside the cafe, near the stairs to the chessboard area. NOT IN THE CAFE. Discover your ‘why’, build with intention, and connect with like-minded people who are ready to create, grow, and 10X their lives. A friendly meetup with like-minded people that love learning and growing🙌Let’s grab a cuppa coffee or matcha and connect over what fuels our growth. Whether you're into books that challenge your mindset, habits that build a better you, or future goals that you are excited about, lets enjoy talking about how we evolve—this is a friendly space to share ideas, swap inspiration, and cheer each other on!🤗 Hi I've a book recommendation! " Woman living Deliciously" by Florence Given. Great for Men and Woman ! For self esteem!

Tough Guy Book Club - Manly NSW

Join us for the Manly Chapter of Tough Guy Book Club. You can find out this month's book here [https://toughguybookclub.com/books](https://toughguybookclub.com/books?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExcTVleWRsd0ZYSWdqZXV4QXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5aL8E3xpn05czDIaY5kEiHH3oABs4hICFLOrNXUsW-0gY5HePBTW1ni0SYzw_aem_qNxAzG9ij-sVr5-Rf8Uw3Q) If you have the chance, try to pick up the book and read a couple of pages before the night. If you haven’t, come anyway, no one gives a damn. We are not your boss. If you got one, make sure to bring your copy of the books down, it’ll help you talk about bits of it, we suggest underlining stuff that sticks out to you as important. Also like all months, we will be announcing next month’s book at the meeting and handing them out to those of you who were wise enough to pre-order last month. See you there. Want to know more about Tough Guy Book Club? Read this - [http://toughguybookclub.com/about-us](http://toughguybookclub.com/about-us?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExcTVleWRsd0ZYSWdqZXV4QXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5QrDxxQmsaiuIfgbomTP4b6948UogKCm9U4Dudq5-VU_8aUx5RnTiUjO_R1Q_aem_n5AIic3b6NMTZ5TUJGTLkw)

Tough Guy Book Club - Leichhardt NSW

Join us for the Leichhardt Chapter of Tough Guy Book Club. You can find out this month's book here [https://toughguybookclub.com/books](https://toughguybookclub.com/books?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExcTVleWRsd0ZYSWdqZXV4QXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5aL8E3xpn05czDIaY5kEiHH3oABs4hICFLOrNXUsW-0gY5HePBTW1ni0SYzw_aem_qNxAzG9ij-sVr5-Rf8Uw3Q) If you have the chance, try to pick up the book and read a couple of pages before the night. If you haven’t, come anyway, no one gives a damn. We are not your boss. If you got one, make sure to bring your copy of the books down, it’ll help you talk about bits of it, we suggest underlining stuff that sticks out to you as important. Also like all months, we will be announcing next month’s book at the meeting and handing them out to those of you who were wise enough to pre-order last month. See you there. Want to know more about Tough Guy Book Club? Read this - [http://toughguybookclub.com/about-us](http://toughguybookclub.com/about-us?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExcTVleWRsd0ZYSWdqZXV4QXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5QrDxxQmsaiuIfgbomTP4b6948UogKCm9U4Dudq5-VU_8aUx5RnTiUjO_R1Q_aem_n5AIic3b6NMTZ5TUJGTLkw)