Back in 1997 I stood in Waterstones, Sheffield and read a handwritten notice asking if anyone would be interested in meeting up to discuss books. Some weeks later, a dozen or more of us gathered in the function room of the Red Deer pub in Pitt Street, just off the city centre, and close to the University, where a few years earlier I’d been a student.

After introducing ourselves, and each armed with a beverage, the author of that handwritten note led a discussion about how we would run. We agreed on monthly meetings (my ambition for more frequent gatherings was rightly rejected as unrealistic) and our first book, nominated by our founder, selected. A month later and we met again, as we have done ever since, at 8pm, on the first Tuesday of the month, to share opinions, ideas, questions, and comments about that first book.

25 years later, Red Deer Readers is going strong.  Covid forced us to meet online for far longer than we imagined, but with 300 books under our belt, we continue to enjoy the experience of sharing what each of us make of the books we choose to focus on. How we choose the books is for a later blog, but if you’re interested in checking out our reading history then take a look at our Library where you’re guaranteed to find something to capture your interest.

Gareth Johnstone