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Twelve members, by invitation
Membership is capped at twelve and new readers join through personal introduction. There is no public application form.
By Invitation · Bedfordview, Johannesburg
The original circle that started it all.
Twelve readers. Every other month. A long table set for tea or lunch — sometimes at Rachel's home, sometimes at a favourite restaurant. A discussion, a themed dress code, a best-dressed prize, and a trivia round with prizes of its own.
The Story
Four years at the same table.
Rachel's Book Club began in Bedfordview as one reader's quiet obsession turned into a standing invitation. What started as a personal passion for reading — and the urge to share it — has now been running for four years and counting.
The format has stayed deliberately small: twelve members, every other month, gathered over tea or a long lunch. There is always a book everyone has read, a proper discussion, a themed dress code chosen ahead of time, and a trivia round at the end. Prizes for best dressed. Prizes for the trivia winner. Real conversation either side of both.
The wider Reader Community grew out of that table. The goal now is simple — to expand the love of literature beyond Bedfordview and make it accessible to readers all across South Africa, whether or not they can ever join us in person.
How the in-person club works
Small, themed, invitation only.
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Every other month in Bedfordview
We gather bi-monthly over tea or lunch — at Rachel's home or a chosen restaurant in and around Bedfordview, Johannesburg.
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Discussion, dress code & trivia
Every meeting has a themed dress code with a best-dressed prize, a proper discussion of the book, and a trivia round with prizes of its own.
Who it's for
Readers who want their horizons widened.
The club is built for readers of every stripe — people who are happy to be handed a book they would never have chosen themselves and to find something in it worth talking about. We move deliberately across genres so that nobody stays too comfortable for too long.
It is probably not the right fit for readers who only want to stay inside one genre. The whole point of the table is the stretch.
Not in Bedfordview?
There are still many ways to read with us.
The in-person circle is small by design — but the wider Reader Community is open to anyone in South Africa and beyond. Join for free, or take out a membership for the full monthly experience.
Free
Reader Community
Create a free account to follow the monthly book pick, receive event notifications, join the reading challenges, and get the newsletter.
Create a free account →Paid
Reader & Society Memberships
Unlock the full monthly cycle — discussion guides, downloadable resources, early event access and curated extras.
Explore memberships →Already part of the Bedfordview circle? Sign in here to RSVP for the next gathering.