The Big Library Book Club

Join us for a special livestreamed edition of the State Library’s Book Club in which all three hosts, Jonty Claypole, Sophie Gee and Roanna Gonsalves, sit down with the Library's Openbook editor, Phillipa McGuinness for a series of bookish chats to kickstart your summer reading.

Book a seat, phone the library on 6333 6281.

The Secret Life of Books hosts Sophie and Jonty take us on a deep dive into Dickens and his close links with Australia, particularly celebrating A Christmas Carol, because ’tis the season! And our resident contemporary fiction expert Roanna Gonsalves discusses some of her favourite reads of the year, from the 2025 Miles Franklin winning Ghost Cities by Siang Liu to Raaza Jamshed’s powerful debut novel What Kept You?

Normally exclusive for Library Friends in the Friends Room, we’re taking things up a notch to mark a whole year of the Library Book Club, with this lively, book-loving bonanza livestreamed from the Library Auditorium to Bathurst Library.

You may also like the following events from Bathurst Library:

• This month, 22nd November, 05:00 am, 2025 Local Writers' Showcase in Bathurst