Glittering Prizes Reading Group

Current Membership Status : 1 Vacancy. Please apply using the ‘Contact Us’ page on this website.

We are a friendly and enthusiastic reading group based in the centre of Cambridge UK.  

We keep the size of the group to 14 members, with the expectation that 10 or more members will attend any one particular meeting. A commitment to attend 9 out of 12 meetings a year is assumed.

Meetings are monthly on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, at 12 noon.  Meetings happen at the Alexandra Arms pub on the corner of Milford Street and Gwydir Street.

We  discuss one book per meeting.

We read current fiction and non-fiction from nominations of British and International Prizes including the Golden Booker Prize, together with Best Sellers, from the last 2 years of publication date in paperback. 

It is a discussion group based on the exploration of books on these Prize Lists,  books which sometimes may be challenging and controversial.  Some books selected may not be what one might call a comfortable read, but more of a springboard into different aspects of current literature, cultures, and the human condition. The discussion and the exchange of varying views, is what makes the group dynamic.  The books are chosen by consensus. Please be aware, you may find that a particular book for a particular month may not be to your liking, but be up for attendance at the meeting and discussion anyway.  

Our 2025 Book of the Year is 'Question 7' by Richard Flanagan suggested by Mary.

2025 Silver Medal winner is 'James' by Percival Everett suggested by Anne.

 Current Suggestions List 

New books yet to go through a round of voting/new suggestions:

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (suggested by Irene 18.03.26)

Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan (suggested by Fiona 18.03.26)

Flesh by David Szalay (suggested by Fiona 18.03.26)

Book which has survived one round of voting:

Maurice and Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story of Love, Shipwreck and Survival (published in the USA as A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst (suggested by Irene 19.01.26)

Books which have survived two rounds of voting:

The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire by Henry Gee (suggested by Irene 15.10.25)

The Safekeep by Yale van Dee Wouden (suggested by Kevin 27.07.25)