Spotlight on Book Clubs: The Panafro Book Club & The Cozy Book Club

Chronicle.lu recently reached out to Luxembourg-based book club organisers to learn about their various groups; this week’s focus will be on “The Panafro Book Club” and “The Cozy Book Club”.

The Cozy Book Club started in January 2023 and was founded by Andreína Guenni, who said she has “always been a bookworm” and had been wanting to start a group for other “reading enthusiasts” to join in and meet in person. She described the club’s purpose as quite simple: having an informal chat with a nice cup of coffee in hand. However, despite the cosy setting and simple setup, Andreína also said she was looking for people interested in “diving deep into the ways a book can have an impact on our lives”.

The group has around 50 members today and it is aimed at both fiction and non-fiction readers based in Luxembourg. They meet monthly, generally towards the end of the month and always in a different location. A reason for this was also to prompt the discovery of new places across the city. The invitation to each meetup is open to all group members. The founder reported there are generally around ten people in each gathering.

Andreína Guenni mentioned some titles they have read so far, namely Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, followed by Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood and, most recently, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.  The books are selected after each meetup, via a poll with proposals the group has sent. The book with the most votes is the following month’s pick. 

The club currently has a Telegram group, where members stay in touch and share resources related to the Book Of The Month (interviews with the author, fun facts about the book or the cover, reviews, etc.). The group description on Telegram reads: “A thought-provoking and cozy space to talk about books, and what they mean to us. In person. In Luxembourg.” Those interested in learning more about the book club can send an email to thecozybookclubandmore@gmail.com.

For its part, The Panafro Book Club was founded in 2020 by Alba Nzame Eyogo and aims to encourage people from the African, Caribbean and Afro-American communities to discuss books written by authors of African descent on a monthly basis. Nevertheless, the organiser noted that “Luxembourg being a melting-pot, the club is open to all languages and all cultures are welcome”.

The book club currently has 239 registered members, but there are around ten members present at each meeting. They meet one afternoon a month in various cafes, libraries or parks in Luxembourg City to discuss a book of any genre, written by a Caribbean, American or African author. The Panafro Book Club focuses on authors from the African diaspora to highlight them as the club considers such authors “not visible enough in the mainstream media”. Moreover, the club aims to promote the discovery of new cultures.

The group also meets with authors to discuss their work. Alba Nzame Eyogo reported having recently read the poetry book negritude contempoReine, written by the young African author Djami Mandimori, whom the book club invited to Luxembourg for their gathering and discussion. The last novel they read was We are all birds of Uganda written by the British author Hafsa Zayyan. The meeting was on Instagram live and the author also attended. One of their most popular events so far was about the novel half of a yellow sun written by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “Every book is very different, it's always a great discovery for everyone,” the founder added.

The last book club gathering before the August summer break will be on Friday 21 July 2023 and will explore the novel so long a letter (une si longue lettre) written by the Senegalese author Mariama Bâ. The Panafro Book Club reads books translated in both English and French. Some members and authors are English- speakers, which is why the discussions are often in both languages. To decide on which books they will read, Alba Nzame Eyogo shares a yearly survey, where all members can propose books fitting the book club theme. Those interested in learning more can contact the founder on The Panafro Book Club's Instagram page or on Meetup.