What we’re about
Join us for adventures in reading & real life! We are a community of readers who discuss books over paired outings. Like to explore? Like to read? You’ve found your people! Join us here in-person and for online discussions wherever you are on the socials! FB, Insta, TikTok, Website
Newsletter/FB group: Meetup isn’t great at sending out notifications, so to stay up to date with the latest book and activity pairings, sign up for the newsletter at https://mailchi.mp/fc5e0725650d/thenoveltourist and join the community on our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ I also post regularly on books and book pairings on Instagram via @thenoveltourist
What the Club Will Do for You
The purpose of all NTBC events is to give you the opportunity to socialize with likeminded readers who are life long learners and love to try new experiences. If your goal is read more books, do more stuff and meet more friends, being part of NTBC can be a life-changing experience!
What You Can Do for the Club
Bring your fun-loving, healthy attitude. Be committed to reading, showing up when promised, and being respectful of other members. We require that your profile includes a clear picture of yourself so others can identify you at our events.
Terms and Conditions
By joining the Novel Tourist Book Club or signing up for or attending any event offered by the Novel Tourist Book Club, you agree to the following terms and conditions:
- Readers please: NTBC is, first and foremost, a book club. We do a lot of amazing activities tied to the books. There are lots of Meetup groups that also do these fun activities. So, if you don’t like to read or don’t plan to read, we are sure there is another group out there that is more suited to your interests. Now, that said, it doesn’t mean you have to read the book or finish the book every time. Sometimes, you try and the book just doesn’t resonate with you. That’s okay! Come and tell us how much you didn’t like it! All we ask is that you try.
- No Guests: Sadness, we know! We are all about the more the merrier, but there must be a limit to the number of attendees at any one event. Events fill up really fast and so unless the event allows you to add a guest (which will be very rare) your guest must create a Meetup account and rsvp for themselves as a member. Yay new members!
- Liability Waiver: By signing up for an event, all members take full responsibility for their own actions and agree to adhere to the following terms and conditions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10ZE-yUJEcHUnXF_A8MUsfxWhEmrKxZEcojrHh8FjQzc/edit; and further agree to hold harmless the Novel Tourists Book Club organizers and members of this Meetup book club from any and all claims and liability in case of possible injuries as stated in Paragraph 6 of the Meetup Terms of Service Agreement ( https://help.meetup.com/hc/en-us/articles/360027447252-Terms-of-Service#h_9e385395-a405-4361-8afc-854a4f586c82 ). When attending an event, you acknowledge that you are doing this at your own risk.
- Event Payments:
- Name: If your name on your Meetup profile is different than your name on your payment profile (PayPal, Venmo), please provide your meetup name when you make your payment;
- Include Date or Event Title: Please include the date of the event or an indication of the event title (e.g. if we are going to a restaurant put the name of the restaurant not just “restaurant” or “book club.”)
- Be Open-minded, Kind and Courteous: We can’t imagine anyone who loves to read being anything but open-minded, kind and courteous. However, I also know we bibliophiles can have some pretty strong opinions about books! Whether you agree with someone or not, no doubt you came here for a welcoming environment. Healthy debates are natural, but kindness is required.
- No bullies: Personal attacks of any kind are not allowed. Period. I have zero tolerance for any bullying, degrading comments about another member’s race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity. We are an open and inclusive community and to keep it that way a$$holes will be removed from the group.
- Photos/Videos: Joining the group and attending an event means you’re a-okay with being photographed/video recorded during events. We always takes pics: for the memories and for promotion of future events and NTBC.
- Communication settings: This is just helpful guidance. Events fill up really fast. Make sure your settings are set to maximize communication: Click on your profile pic in Meetup, click Settings, under General select Email Updates, scroll down and find The Novel Tourists Book Club under “Updates about your Group”, click Edit next to The Novel Tourists Book Club and then make your choices. I suggest checking “New Event Announcements,” “Changes to Event Time or Locations,” “My RSVP is confirmed,” and, most importantly: "Announcements to Members About the Group" and “Event updates from Organizer.” Also, you may want to download the Meetup app.
- Carpooling: It’s great for the planet! However, any arrangements are between you and the person driving. The Novel Tourists Book Club organizers and hosts do not provide, endorse, sponsor or take responsibility for any carpool arrangements pertaining to any event. Please use your good judgment when deciding whether or not to carpool with other participants of the book club event you are attending.
- Refund Policy:
- Events with a fee of less than $5: No refunds, even if someone takes your spot. The events fill fast and the only way to really try to make sure that those who are truly interested and able to come get a seat, is a nominal fee. This fee is offered to the event host to pay for their entrance/meal/etc as a way of saying thank you for your time and for putting this together for us.
- Events with a fee greater than $5: The general policy is if the Organizer/Host can get their money back, you’ll get your money back - if you timely cancelled. Once an event location has been paid, however, many times they won’t issue a refund. If they don’t refund us, we can’t refund you regardless of how far in advance you cancelled. That said, sometimes a refund can be issued IF you cancel at least a week in advance AND someone takes your spot. If you want to request a refund, message Audrey via Meetup to discuss. Please note, if you cancel the day before or the day of an event, there are refunds - regardless of the reason and regardless if someone takes your spot.
- If you do not agree to the above terms and conditions, do not sign up for the club. There is probably a different club out there that will better meet your needs.
Happy reading and adventuring!
- Audrey
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Relax and Read (silent reading) at Parks on Tap, Chapter 3 - Schuylkill River PkSchuylkill River Park, Philadelphia, PA
Yay reading time!! Join Audrey for Chapter 3 of the 2025 Relax & Read series! It's our version of Silent Book Club. Throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall we'll gather to read silently together while also supporting Philly's parks: Chapter 3: Schuylkill River Park
Here's how it works:
- First hour (5:30-6:30): Grab your book and read silently
- Second hour: Socialize (or keep reading) - it's up to you!
DETAILS:
We’ll start with silent reading 🙊for the first hour allowing everyone to delve into their own book. After that we can spend time socializing and talking about what we are reading. 📚Pop by whenever you can, stay as short or long as you’d like.
🌳ABOUT THIS PARK
The Schuylkill River Park and Markward Playground are located in the Filter Square neighborhood just over the Schuylkill River Parks Connector Bridge.
The park includes two fenced-in dog parks for small and large dogs, large lawns, and a community garden.
The Markward Playground includes a community recreation center, playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball field, and O'Connor pool.
FACEBOOK: Schuylkill River Park
WEBSITE: https://www.fsrp.org/
ABOUT PARKS ON TAP
Parks on Tap is a partnership between Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and FCM Hospitality, Parks on Tap was created to be a traveling beer garden throughout the city's various, beautiful parks all summer long. Proceeds from Parks on Tap benefit the Fairmount Park Conservancy.Each park and location is collectively selected as a way to highlight and enhance the offerings that Philadelphia city parks provide. It aims for a simple aesthetic: well-kept outdoor spaces where friends and families can meet up to enjoy food, drinks, and fun in a natural green space. A portion of all proceeds benefits each park.
🍺Is purchase of alcohol required?
Nope! I picked Parks on Tap locations because there will always be seating, shade, food trucks and bathrooms. Free to enter and purchase of alcohol or food is not required. But, bring ID to enter.🍔Food and Drinks
Parks on Tap serves a variety of local craft beers, wine and cocktails, as well as non-alcoholic beverages such as water, lemonade and iced tea. A full food menu is available for purchase that highlights items made from locally sourced items and snacks.Seating: They provide chairs so no need to bring your own. But if you're vibe is more chillin' on a blanket, bring it!
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I can’t wait to Relax and Read with you!Here are the Club’s Basic Rules and Liability Release. You should read them because by signing up for an event you agree to them! 🙂
Happy reading!
Audrey
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No need to read this part. It's just for Meetup's algorithm to help these events get seen. Grrr. We love to read books and do fun stuff to celebrate our hobbies and reading. We do many things that involve books and reading and book club. We are adventurous and like to seek out urban adventures and walking tours and like to silent read books and practice hobbies and socialize a lot! Book clubs are the best thing to meet new friends and make friends and socialize and explore for when you are new in town and want to meet people and socialize to talk about books and explore museums and other places.Philadelphia Book Cub; Book Club; Literary Adventures; Novels; Tours; Philly Book Club; silent reading
- NOVEL: Feast of Sorrow/TOUR: Penn Museum Tour and "Ancient Foods Workshop"Penn Museum (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology), Philadelphia, PA$26.00
Join Audrey for a one hour guided We Are What We Eat tour and 30 minute workshop at the Penn Museum where you'll try your hand at using ancient food preparation tools. Afterwards, over lunch at New Deck Tavern (8 minute walk), we'll discuss Feast of Sorrow, "a brilliant work of Historical fiction which seamlessly interweaves fictional and historical characters (incluing the man who inspired the world’s oldest cookbook!) and provides insight into how the Romans conducted their famous feasts, what foods they ate and how they were prepared."
Fee: $26 ($25 Senior (62+)) for museum entrance, tour and workshop. Limit is 22. First pay goes. Food and beverages at lunch are pay on your own.
HOW TO PAY: Use Friends and Family! Do not use the business option because it charges a service fee. Please note the event name or date on your payment. If your payment name is different than your Meetup name please make sure you note your Meetup name.
Venmo - @audrey-Heller1 (phone ends in 4478)
PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/AudreyBugTOUR AND WORKSHOP: Penn Museum
3408 Samsom Street
10:00am - 11:30am Tour and Workshop: We Are What We Eat tour and hands-on workshop using ancient food preparation tools.The We Are What We Eat tour at the Penn Museum explores the deep connections between food, culture, and history across different civilizations. Visitors learn about ancient diets, food preparation techniques, and the role of food in rituals, trade, and daily life. By examining artifacts, texts, and archaeological findings, the tour helps us understand how food has shaped human societies over time.
The tour is 1 hour long, and the workshop is 30 minutes long. During the workshop you will try your hand at using ancient food preparation tools!
Parking: You may park ($22 pay on your own) in the Penn Museum Parking Garage located on the corner of South Street and Convention Ave. Or look for nearby parking on Spothero.
NOVEL: ***Feast of Sorrow ***by Crystal King
Genre: Historical Fiction, Roman
Available online on Amazon here (affiliate link which supports the club) or check your library or local bookstore!Set amongst the scandal, wealth, and upstairs-downstairs politics of a Roman family, Crystal King’s seminal debut features the man who inspired the world’s oldest cookbook and the ambition that led to his destruction.
On a blistering day in the twenty-sixth year of Augustus Caesar’s reign, a young chef, Thrasius, is acquired for the exorbitant price of twenty thousand denarii. His purchaser is the infamous gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius, wealthy beyond measure, obsessed with a taste for fine meals from exotic places, and a singular ambition: to serve as culinary advisor to Caesar, an honor that will cement his legacy as Rome's leading epicure.
Apicius rightfully believes that Thrasius is the key to his culinary success, and with Thrasius’s help he soon becomes known for his lavish parties and fantastic meals. Thrasius finds a family in Apicius’s household, his daughter Apicata, his wife Aelia, and her handmaiden, Passia, with whom Thrasius quickly falls in love. But as Apicius draws closer to his ultimate goal, his reckless disregard for any who might get in his way takes a dangerous turn that threatens his young family and places his entire household at the mercy of the most powerful forces in Rome.
12:15pm LUNCH: New Deck Tavern
Menu: Irish Pub (vegan and veg friendly)The tavern is about an 8 minute walk from the museum. Known for its great burgers, cheese steaks, delicious fresh salads & tasty sandwiches!
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Housekeeping!- Here are the Club’s Basic Rules and Liability Release. You should read them because by signing up for an event you agree to them! 🙂
- Some links above are affiliate links which means when you use them to buy your book they help support the club at no cost to you!
***
~ Audrey
-------------------The below is silly babble just for the Meetup algorithm - no need for book club members to read this!-------------------------------
Museum tours with socializing book club members in Philadelphia are such a fun way to meet new friends and be social with book loving book club members who like to read and explore authors, house tours, museums and other walking tours and try new activities such as hiking, reading, craft, hobbies, book clubs and more! It's especially fun for a book club to go on indoor tours and outdoor and indoor adventures with all the book club friends who like to socializ explore and try new hobbies. We love going to museums and discussing books. Especially tours of museums. - SHOW: "The Return of Benjamin Lay" and BOOK: "The Fearless Benjamin Lay"Quintessence Theater, Philadelphia, PA$47.00
Join Audrey at the Quintessance Theater in Mt. Airy to watch the Philadelphia premier of The Return of Benjamin Lay. (I’m reposting this event bc Meetup had a glitch which made it not go out to everyine originally. 😑 If you are already on the going list for the other posting you don’t need to do anything here)
After the show, we'll gather for dinner at Toska (across the street) to discuss the play and the paired nonfiction book, The Fearless Benjamin Lay. Did you know that Lay spent time in the Philadelphia area living in a cave-like dwelling surrounded by a library of two hundred books? Just another reason to love him!
Limit 15. First pay goes.
FEE: $47
Tickets are first pay, goes and limited to 15 people.
HOW TO PAY: (use Friends and Family or else add $10 fee to cover processing charges) Please mention the event or event date in your payment.
Venmo - @audrey-Heller1 (last four of phone # are 4478)
PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/AudreyBug***
2:45pm STAGE: The Return of Benjamin Lay
Show starts at 3pm
Where: Quintessance Theater
7137 Germantown Ave
Mt. Airy### 2025: In the silence of a Quaker meeting house:
Benjamin Lay – shepherd, sailor, revolutionary, and the British Empire's first revolutionary abolitionist – returns from the grave almost 300 years after his death, as feisty and unpredictable as ever.
The 4ft “David” confronts the “Goliath” of slavery as he demands once again to be readmitted into the Quaker community that disowned him for ideas considered dangerous and disruptive.
How far will he go to share his prophetic vision knowing the cost of protest?
Sweeping across the centuries and continents, The Return of Benjamin Lay is a hallucinatory exploration of the list of a radical who became one of the earliest revolutionary abolitionists.5:30pm DINNER: Toska
(across the street from theater
Menu: Varied and includes vegan, gluten free and veg optionsCombining their love for food and craft beer. At Toska, the team craft wood-fired pizzas and a variety of dishes all complemented by their own handcrafted beers. Toska has distinctive flavors, warm ambiance, and the brothers' dedication to preserving their Albanian heritage in Philadelphia, PA.
THE STORY: The Fearless Benjamin Lay by Marcus Rediker
Genre: nonfiction### 1738 In the silence of a Quaker meeting house:
The little-known story of an eighteenth-century Quaker dwarf who fiercely attacked slavery and imagined a new, more humane way of life
In The Fearless Benjamin Lay, renowned historian Marcus Rediker chronicles the transatlantic life and times of a singular man—a Quaker dwarf who demanded the total, unconditional emancipation of all enslaved Africans around the world. Mocked and scorned by his contemporaries, Lay was unflinching in his opposition to slavery, often performing colorful guerrilla theater to shame slave masters, insisting that human bondage violated the fundamental principles of Christianity.
Lay was born in 1682 in Essex, England. His philosophies, employments, and places of residence—spanning England, Barbados, Philadelphia, and the open seas—were markedly diverse over the course of his life. He worked as a shepherd, glove maker, sailor, and bookseller. His worldview was an astonishing combination of Quakerism, vegetarianism, animal rights, opposition to the death penalty, and abolitionism.
While in Abington, Philadelphia, Lay lived in a cave-like dwelling surrounded by a library of two hundred books, and it was in this unconventional abode where he penned a fiery and controversial book against bondage, which Benjamin Franklin published in 1738.
Happy Reading!
AudreyHousekeeping!
Here are the Club’s Basic Rules and Liability Release. You should read them because by signing up for an event you agree to them! 🙂-------------------The below is silly babble just for the Meetup algorithm - no need for book club members to read this!-------------------------------
live theater events and book discussions with socializing book club members who love hobbies in Philadelphia are such a fun way to meet new friends and be social with book loving book club members who like to read and explore authors, house tours, museums and other walking tours and try new activities such as hiking, reading, craft, hobbies, book clubs and more! It's especially fun for a book club to go on indoor tours and outdoor and indoor adventures with all the book club friends who like to socializ explore and try new things and meet new friends who are old or new in town.
- 🎭STAGE: "The Return of Benjamin Lay" and 📚STORY: "The Fearless Benjamin Lay"Quintessence Theater, Philadelphia, PA$47.00
Join Audrey at the Quintessance Theater in Mt. Airy to watch the Philadelphia premier of The Return of Benjamin Lay. After the show, we'll gather for dinner at Toska (across the street) to discuss the play and the paired nonfiction book, The Fearless Benjamin Lay. Did you know that Lay spent time in the Philadelphia area living in a cave-like dwelling surrounded by a library of two hundred books? Just another reason to love him!
Limit 15. First pay goes.
FEE: $47
Tickets are first pay, goes and limited to 15 people.
HOW TO PAY: (use Friends and Family or else add $10 fee to cover processing charges) Please mention the event or event date in your payment.
Venmo - @audrey-Heller1 (last four of phone # are 4478)
PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/AudreyBug***
2:45pm STAGE: The Return of Benjamin Lay
Show starts at 3pm
Where: Quintessance Theater
7137 Germantown Ave
Mt. Airy### 2025: In the silence of a Quaker meeting house:
Benjamin Lay – shepherd, sailor, revolutionary, and the British Empire's first revolutionary abolitionist – returns from the grave almost 300 years after his death, as feisty and unpredictable as ever.
The 4ft “David” confronts the “Goliath” of slavery as he demands once again to be readmitted into the Quaker community that disowned him for ideas considered dangerous and disruptive.
How far will he go to share his prophetic vision knowing the cost of protest?
Sweeping across the centuries and continents, The Return of Benjamin Lay is a hallucinatory exploration of the list of a radical who became one of the earliest revolutionary abolitionists.5:30pm DINNER: Toska
(across the street from theater
Menu: Varied and includes vegan, gluten free and veg optionsCombining their love for food and craft beer. At Toska, the team craft wood-fired pizzas and a variety of dishes all complemented by their own handcrafted beers. Toska has distinctive flavors, warm ambiance, and the brothers' dedication to preserving their Albanian heritage in Philadelphia, PA.
THE STORY: The Fearless Benjamin Lay by Marcus Rediker
Genre: nonfiction### 1738 In the silence of a Quaker meeting house:
The little-known story of an eighteenth-century Quaker dwarf who fiercely attacked slavery and imagined a new, more humane way of life
In The Fearless Benjamin Lay, renowned historian Marcus Rediker chronicles the transatlantic life and times of a singular man—a Quaker dwarf who demanded the total, unconditional emancipation of all enslaved Africans around the world. Mocked and scorned by his contemporaries, Lay was unflinching in his opposition to slavery, often performing colorful guerrilla theater to shame slave masters, insisting that human bondage violated the fundamental principles of Christianity. He drew on his ideals to create a revolutionary way of life, one that embodied the proclamation “no justice, no peace.”
Lay was born in 1682 in Essex, England. His philosophies, employments, and places of residence—spanning England, Barbados, Philadelphia, and the open seas—were markedly diverse over the course of his life. He worked as a shepherd, glove maker, sailor, and bookseller. His worldview was an astonishing combination of Quakerism, vegetarianism, animal rights, opposition to the death penalty, and abolitionism.
While in Abington, Philadelphia, Lay lived in a cave-like dwelling surrounded by a library of two hundred books, and it was in this unconventional abode where he penned a fiery and controversial book against bondage, which Benjamin Franklin published in 1738.
Happy Reading!
AudreyHousekeeping!
Here are the Club’s Basic Rules and Liability Release. You should read them because by signing up for an event you agree to them! 🙂-------------------The below is silly babble just for the Meetup algorithm - no need for book club members to read this!-------------------------------
live theater events and book discussions with socializing book club members who love hobbies in Philadelphia are such a fun way to meet new friends and be social with book loving book club members who like to read and explore authors, house tours, museums and other walking tours and try new activities such as hiking, reading, craft, hobbies, book clubs and more! It's especially fun for a book club to go on indoor tours and outdoor and indoor adventures with all the book club friends who like to socializ explore and try new things and meet new friends who are old or new in town.
