BEGIN:VCALENDAR
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PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN
NAME:Book Club: Skin Folk | session 2
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART:20260115T181500
DTEND:20260115T194500
DTSTAMP:20260115T181500
UID:2026/book-club-skin-folk-sessi@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573
CREATED:20260409T002726
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SUMMARY:Book Club: Skin Folk | session 2
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: The Library Book Club i
s everybody’s book club. Fancy a refreshing read and change of scen
ery? Come and read ‘Skin Folk’ with us: the award winning 2001 sh
ort stories by Grand Master in science-fiction and fantasy, Nalo Hopk
inson. So, enjoy your winter break with a surprising and diverse read
; and have something to look forward to for the new year!
About Skin Folk
Skin Folk is a wildly diverse collection of short stories, s
panning genres of folklore, science-fiction, horror and romance. Writ
ten by Caribbean-Canadian author Nalo Hopkinson and published in 2001
, it was received remarkably well — for example, winning the World
Fantasy Award.
Acclaim for Nalo Hopkinson’s work
didn’t end with her third book Skin Folk: in addition to n
umerous awards for other books, in 2020 she received the distinction
of ‘Damon Knight Grand Master’ by the Science Fiction and Fantasy
Writers of America, recognising her role in the genre as author, edi
tor and teacher.
Practicalities - Ensure you obtain a (digital) copy of the book.
As it turns out, the publisher ran out of printed books, so we recomm
end buying a digital version.
- This s
econd session we’re discussing chapters “The Glass Bottle Trick�
� and “Slow Cold Chick” (totalling to 30 pages). For the
p
revious session reading material consists of “Snake” and “T
an-Tan and Dry Bone”; and the last session spans “A Habit of Wa
ste,” “Precious” and “Riding the Red.”
- This seaso
n of the book club consists of three weekly sessions
(8, 15 and 22 January). Sessions start at 6:15 p.m., but you’re we
lcome to already join the table starting 5:30 p.m. to bridge a gap in
your schedule, for example.
- Sessions t
ake place in the Library Lounge at the entrance of the Unive
rsity Library in the Main Building (HG-01A01).
- There’s no need to sign up. If you’d like to receive u
pdates and also to vote for books in the future, you can join the group chat (W
hatsApp).
About (this season of) the L
ibrary Book Club
The Library Book Club is for a
nyone roaming VU’s campus. We read a few books each year, and try t
o throw something new into the mix each time; passing fiction and non
-fiction, poetry and prose, short stories and longer ones along the w
ay. Our librarians select three candidates for a season and you get t
o vote. If you’d like to engage with this group more often, the eas
iest way to get involved is through the group chat (WhatsApp). You can find
the event pages for the other two sessions here:
This season of the Library Book Club, we’r
e reading short stories. First of all, it fits the time of year, cons
idering January can be rather demanding (with the four-week study per
iod and all). The reading load is low, with two stories (about 30 pag
es) to read each session. Secondly, short stories are often amazing d
iscussion material: brevity allows authors to put forward ideas sharp
ly and concisely without the load of overly extensive world building.
This allows our book club to delve into the material a bit more in d
epth: to analyse, interpret and speculate.
Schedule
5:30 p.m. walk-in: y
ou’re welcome to come in early, to bridge time or to bring and have
dinner.
6:15 p.m. opening: we kick off wit
h a round of introductions, and a brief introduction to the book.&nbs
p;
6:25 p.m. group discussion: we share our exper
ience and findings reading the book so far.
7:25 p.m
. summarising: we look ahead to the next session, and summar
ise today’s session.
7:45 p.m. end or soc
ialising: we end the session, although you’re welcome to stick arou
nd until the building closes.
DESCRIPTION: About Skin Folk
Skin Folk is a wildly diverse collection of
short stories, spanning genres of folklore, science-fiction, horror
and romance. Written by Caribbean-Canadian author Nalo Hopkinson and
published in 2001, it was received remarkably well — for example, w
inning the World Fantasy Award. Acclaim for Nalo Hopkinso
n’s work didn’t end with her third book Skin Folk: in ad
dition to numerous awards for other books, in 2020 she received the d
istinction of ‘Damon Knight Grand Master’ by the Science Fiction
and Fantasy Writers of America, recognising her role in the genre as
author, editor and teacher. Practicalities
- Ensure you obtain a (digital) copy of the book.
As it turns out, the publisher ran out of printed books, so
we recommend buying a digital version.
- This second session we’re discussing chapters “The Glass Bottl
e Trick” and “Slow Cold Chick” (totalling to 30 pages)
. For the previous session reading material consists of “Snake”
and “Tan-Tan and Dry Bone”; and the last session spans “A Ha
bit of Waste,” “Precious” and “Riding the Red.”
- T
his season of the book club consists of three weekly sessions
(8, 15 and 22 January). Sessions start at 6:15 p.m., but yo
u’re welcome to already join the table starting 5:30 p.m. to bridge
a gap in your schedule, for example.
- S
essions take place in the Library Lounge at the entrance of
the University Library in the Main Building (HG-01A01).
<
li>There’s no need to sign up. If you’d like to
receive updates and also to vote for books in the future, you can joi
n the grou
p chat (WhatsApp).
About (this season
of) the Library Book Club
The Library Book Club
is for anyone roaming VU’s campus. We read a few books each year, a
nd try to throw something new into the mix each time; passing fiction
and non-fiction, poetry and prose, short stories and longer ones alo
ng the way. Our librarians select three candidates for a season and y
ou get to vote. If you’d like to engage with this group more often,
the easiest way to get involved is through the group chat (WhatsApp). You
can find the event pages for the other two sessions here: This season of the Library Book Club, we�
��re reading short stories. First of all, it fits the time of year, c
onsidering January can be rather demanding (with the four-week study
period and all). The reading load is low, with two stories (about 30
pages) to read each session. Secondly, short stories are often amazin
g discussion material: brevity allows authors to put forward ideas sh
arply and concisely without the load of overly extensive world buildi
ng. This allows our book club to delve into the material a bit more i
n depth: to analyse, interpret and speculate. Schedule
5:30 p.m. walk-in: you
’re welcome to come in early, to bridge time or to bring and have d
inner.
6:15 p.m. opening: we kick off with
a round of introductions, and a brief introduction to the book.
6:25 p.m. group discussion: we share our experie
nce and findings reading the book so far.
7:25 p.m.<
/strong> summarising: we look ahead to the next session, and summaris
e today’s session.
7:45 p.m. end or socia
lising: we end the session, although you’re welcome to stick around
until the building closes. The Library Book Club is everybody�
��s book club. Fancy a refreshing read and change of scenery? Come an
d read ‘Skin Folk’ with us: the award winning 2001 short stories
by Grand Master in science-fiction and fantasy, Nalo Hopkinson. So, e
njoy your winter break with a surprising and diverse read; and have s
omething to look forward to for the new year!
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR