News & What's On
The Wild Readers of Chiswersmith:
Author Event & Signed Book Opportunity:
An Evening with Gideon Rachman
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Join us on Monday, 30th November at 7pm for an exclusive evening in the shop with acclaimed journalist and author, Gideon Rachman. He will be talking about his newest book, War is Interested in You, and taking questions from the audience afterward. His book will be available for purchase on the night and Gideon will be happy to sign any copies you purchase.
If you are unable to attend the event but would like a signed, personalised, copy of War is Interested in You, just pop in or phone the shop to purchase the book by 26th November. We will take your personalisation details (name only) and Gideon will sign and personalise your book(s) while he is with us. Books purchased in this way will be ready for collection from 1st December.
War is Interested in You. A long period of peace and stable relations between the world’s most powerful nations is coming to an end. Major wars have broken out in Europe and the Middle East, tensions are rising in East Asia, world leaders have spoken publicly about the possibility of a third world war, and intelligence agencies have never seen the world in a more dangerous and precarious state.
Making use of Rachman’s unique, unparalleled access to leaders in political and intelligence spheres around the globe and full of extremely well-informed and insightful analysis, War is Interested in You explores how we got to this point in global affairs and, crucially, what happens next – in this case, the increasing risk of global conflict.
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Gideon Rachman has been the Chief Foreign Affairs columnist for the Financial Times since 2006. In 2016 he won the Orwell Prize for Journalism and was named Commentator of the Year at the European Press Prize awards. Previously he worked for the Economist for fifteen years, and has served as a foreign correspondent in Washington, Bangkok and Brussels. He is the author of Zero-Sum World: Politics, Power and Prosperity After the Crash; Easternisation: War and Peace in the Asian Century; and The Age of the Strongman: How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy Around the World. He is also the host of the podcast The Rachman Review.
Photo copyright Charlie Bibby, Financial Times
Date: Monday 30th November
Time: 7-8.30pm
Place: Everybody Reads
Event Tickets: £10, in advance only. Refreshments are free. Purchase in-store or online from Eventbrite (note – there is an additional charge if purchased on Eventbrite)
Signed and Personalised Book Only: £25, must be purchased from Everybody Reads by 26th November. (This is the recommended price of the book, there is no additional charge for signing)
StoryTime Takeover and Art Activity with Piers Torday
(for ages 6 and older)
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Join Piers Torday for a very special storytime celebrating the magic of books, reading and the wonderful world of bookshops! Settle in for a reading from Books According to Dog and Owl, before getting creative with a fun bookmark colouring session. We’ll be celebrating everything we love about bookshops, from discovering new stories and meeting favourite characters to the joy of finding that perfect book. To top it all off, we'll have a brand-new window display, illustrated by Tim Smart and created especially for the occasion! This event is free and suitable for ages 6+. Places limited, register in advance to avoid disappointment.
Books According to Dog and Owl is £16.99, in hardback, and Piers will be signing copies of the book for those who wish to purchase it on the day.
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PIERS TORDAY began his career in theatre and then television as a producer and writer. His first book for children, The Last Wild, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Award, nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and is being adapted for the stage by the Unicorn and National Theatre. His second book, The Dark Wild, won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. Other titles include There May Be A Castle (People's Book Award finalist), which was adapted for the stage by the Little Angel Theatre, The Lost Magician (Teach Primary Book
Award) and Midnight Treasure, the New Statesman Children's Book of the Year. He recently adapted The Box of Delights for the RSC. Other stage adaptations include Christmas Carol and The Wind in the Willows (Wilton's Music Hall).
Date: Saturday 14th November
Time: 10.30 - 11.15ish
Place: Downstairs at Everybody Reads
Fee: FREE
Register: limited places, register in advance to avoid disappointment.
Book Group: Everybody Reads Novellas
This group meets monthly to discuss short works of fiction. Just buy the book at Everybody Reads (at 10% off) and register for the discussion at time of purchase. Feel free to bring refreshments on the night; we can provide glasses.
November Title
Please note: The 10th November Novella group is now full. Please ask about our waiting list.
Etna
by Paul Yoon
The unforgettable story of a working dog, Etna, who, after a devastating war, embarks on an odyssey in the hopes of returning home.
195 pages
Date: Tuesday, 10th November
Time: 7 - 8pm
Place: Everybody Reads
Fee: FREE, with purchase of featured title
Register: At time of book purchase
Book Group: Everybody Reads Fiction
This group meets monthly to discuss a new fiction title in paperback. Just buy the book at Everybody Reads (at 10% off) and register for the discussion at time of purchase. Feel free to bring refreshments on the night; we can provide glasses.
January Title
The Four Spent the Day Together
by Chris Kraus
On the Iron Range of northern Minnesota, at the end of the last decade, three teenagers shot and killed an older acquaintance after spending the day with him. In a cold, rundown town, the three young people were quickly arrested and imprisoned. No one knows why they did it.
At the time of the murder, Catt Greene and her husband, Paul Garcia, are living nearby in a house they’d bought years earlier as a summer escape from Los Angeles. Undergoing a period of personal turmoil, moving between LA and Minnesota — between the urban art world and the rural poverty of the icy Iron Range — Catt turns away from her own life and towards the murder case, which soon becomes an obsession. In her attempt to pierce through the mystery surrounding the murder and to understand the teenagers’ lives, Catt also finds herself travelling back through the idiosyncratic, aspirational lives of her parents.
Written in three linked parts, The Four Spent the Day Together explores the histories of three generations of American lives and the patterns that repeat over lifetimes, and is piercing commentary on the pressures of lives lived on the edge.
Date: Tuesday, 5th January
Time: 7 - 8pm
Place: Everybody Reads
Fee: FREE, with purchase of featured title
Register: At time of book purchase
Book Group: Everybody Reads History
This group meets every other month to discuss a history title. Just buy the book at Everybody Reads (at 10% off) and register for the discussion at time of purchase. Feel free to bring refreshments on the night; we can provide glasses.
November Title:
1929
by Andrew Ross Sorkin
A spellbinding narrative of the most infamous stock market crash in history - one with ripple effects that still shape our society today. In 1929, the world watched in shock as the unstoppable Wall Street bull market went into a freefall, wiping out fortunes and igniting a depression that would reshape a generation. But behind the flashing ticker tapes and panicked traders, another drama unfolded—one of visionaries and fraudsters, titans and dreamers, euphoria and ruin.
A #1 International bestseller...one of Barack Obama's favourite books of 2025...Named Best Book of 2025 in the Financial Times, Economist, New Statesman, Bloomberg, TIME, Washington Post and The New York Times.
Date: Monday, 16th November
Time: 7 - 8pm
Place: Everybody Reads
Fee: FREE, with purchase of featured title
Register: At time of book purchase
Book Group:
Everybody Reads Historical Fiction
This group meets every month to discuss a historical fiction title. Just buy the book at Everybody Reads (at 10% off) and register for the discussion at time of purchase. Feel free to bring refreshments on the night; we can provide glasses.
November Title
Brotherless Night
by V.V. Ganeshananthan
Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, as a vicious civil war tears through her hometown of Jaffna, her dream takes her on a different path as she sees those around her, including her four beloved brothers and their friend, get swept up in violent political ideologies and their consequences. Desperate to act, she must ask herself: is it possible for anyone to move through life without doing harm?
Winner of The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024, Brotherless Night is an unforgettable account of a country, and a family, fractured by civil war.
Date: Monday, 23rd November
Time: 7 - 8pm
Place: Everybody Reads
Fee: FREE, with purchase of featured title
Register: at time of book purchase
Book Group: Ideas for Life
This group meets monthly to discuss a non-fiction title. Just buy the book at Everybody Reads (at 10% off) and register for the discussion at time of purchase. Feel free to bring refreshments on the night; we can provide glasses.
Please note: This monthly group will not be meeting in October due to scheduling difficulty and will resume in November.
November Title:
Please note: The November 17th Nonfiction group is now full. Please ask about our waiting list.
The Awakened Brain
by Lisa Miller
In this fascinating read, Miller shares her research into what makes our brains vulnerable to depression, anxiety and chronic stress. She argues that a sense of spirituality builds a resilient, ‘awakened’ brain, and sheds new light on what harms and heals our mental health.
Date: Tuesday, 17th November
Time: 7 - 8pm
Place: Everybody Reads
Fee: FREE, with purchase of featured title
Register: At time of book purchase
Children's Group: StoryTime!
For children over 2 (and their grown-ups)
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Join us as we read 3 picture books we love. 10% off any of the books we read on the day.
Date: Saturdays, 7th, 21st and 28th November
Time: 10.30-11.00am
Place: Downstairs at Everybody Reads
Fee: FREE
Register: no pre-booking required, just turn up!
On Saturday 14th November @ 10.30, our regular StoryTime will be taken over by children's author Piers Torday. The takeover session is free but places should be booked in advance to avoid disappointment. Just pop in or phone to book. See above for further details and age restrictions.
Children's Group: BabyTime!
For children under 2 (and their grown-ups)
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It's never too early to read to your baby! This group is an opportunity for our youngest readers (and their parents!) to meet, socialise and enjoy age-appropriate board books together. 10% off recommended board books from our BabyTime! basket on the day.
Date: Wednesdays, 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th November
Time: 10.30-11.00am
Place: Downstairs at Everybody Reads
Fee: FREE
Register: no pre-booking required, just turn up!
Daytime Group for Adults: Shared Reading
At Shared Reading a short story or poem is read aloud in a group. People can just listen, or join in and talk with others about their responses to the piece. The sessions are led by the lovely Asya, trained by the charity The Reader. This is a great way to enjoy something thought-provoking together with others.
Dates: Thursdays, 1st and 15th October
Time: 11am-12pm
Place: Downstairs at Everybody Reads
Fee: FREE
Register: limited places, register in advance either in-person or by telephone.
Keep Sharing your Book Recommendations
and Win Free Books!
On the last day of every month we draw the winner of our monthly draw to win £20 in free books at Everybody Reads.
Congratulations to our October 2026 winner: Swasti!
If £20 in free books sounds good to you, there are two ways to enter the November draw:
1) Become a Wild Reader. If we happen spot you reading in Chiswick or Hammersmith in November, just talk to us about your book! You will not only become one of the 'Wild Readers of Chiswersmith' featured across the top of this page but you will be entered into the prize draw!
2)Review a book for us. Submit a short review of a book you recommend here. If we like your review, and think our customers will enjoy reading the book, we will add it to our shelves and display your review next to it. Anyone who submits a review in November is eligible for the November prize draw.
Good luck!