The Bookworm’s library makes the perfect informal setting for our inspiring programme packed with readings, talks, discussions, debates, book launches and music gigs. Audiences are enlightened by well respected novelists, journalists and travel writers; enraptured by impromptu homespun musical soirees hatched round the piano; and transported to lands far away by lilting lines of live poetry. Whether your penchant is for the hottest new Chinese Writers, Asia’s most illustrious entrepreneurs, or the most risque documentaries, you’ll be able to indulge it at The Bookworm.
PRESENT EVENTS
Please note: From July 1st, unless otherwise stated, you will require tickets to come to events at The Bookworm. Tickets cost 20RMB for Bookworm members and 30RMB for non-members and are available at The Bookworm seven days in advance of each event. The ticket price includes a free glass of wine, beer or soft drink.
For more details on our new ticket policy, please click HERE.
FUTURE EVENTS
The Bookworm seven days in advance of each event. The ticket price includes a free glass of wine, beer or soft drink. The ticket price includes a free glass of wine, beer or soft drink.
For more details on our new ticket policy, please click HERE.
PAST EVENTS
Plase see below for an alphabetical list of previous speakers to have appeared at The Bookworm.
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- Wine Tasting ?C Wine Pairing (Read More)
300rmb three-course dinner This month, we host a special wine-pairing event. Menu includes a starter of smoked salmon and asparagus finished with a dill and sour cream dressing, paired with an Austrian Schloss Gobelsburg, Gruner Veltliner. Followed by a main of braised bacon wrapped French lamb shank served on mashed potato and sauteed vegetables, served with an Italian Dolcetto d’Alba Piani. Then a dessert of homemade creme caramel with Casablanca late harvest Reisling. Reservations to Clinton, [email protected].
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- The Magician of 1919 – a book launch with Li Er (Read More)
Acclaimed novelist and short-story writer Li Er launches the translation of The Magician of 1919. In 1919, the year of the May 4th movement in China, magician Bigshot Cowrie arrives in Peking. He has with him a budgerigar, which is a language genius, a hat with a magical long queue and some pigeons. During his time in Peking, he encounters various figures, fictional and historical, and becomes involved in important events in modern Chinese history. Li Er is renown for his experimental style and modern themes. This is the first of his work to be published in English. Join us for an exciting talk with the writer and his translator, Martin Merz.
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- Story Time with Hannah (Read More)
50rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN??s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
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- World and Town: a booktalk with Gish Gen (Read More)
20/30rmb Hattie Kong??the spirited offspring of a descendant of Confucius and an American missionary to China ?C is the protagonist of American writer Gish Gen??s latest book, World and Town. After experiencing two devastating losses, she moves to a new town and starts afresh with a ragtag group of people looking few a new beginning – an immigrant Cambodian family on the run from their inner-city troubles, a retired neuroscientist ex-lover, and others. Join us to hear Jen on her novel and its themes of religion, home, America, what neighbors are, what love is, and, in the largest sense, what ??worlds?? we make of the world.
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- Story Time with Hannah (Read More)
50rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
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- Amped: The Ah-Q Arkestra (Read More)
FREE Join us for one of Beijing??s best jazz groups.
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- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
FREE Join us as Beijing’s only classical music open mic with our BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing??s best international musicians.
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- Midnight in Peking – a booklaunch with Paul French (Read More)
20/30rmb January, 1937: Peking is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, lavish cocktail bars and opium debs, warlords and corruption, rumours and superstition. In the exclusive Legation Quarter, the foreign residents wait nervously for the axe to fall; Japanese troops have already occupied Manchuria and are poised to advance south. Then one bitterly cold night, the body of a young foreign girl, Pamela Werner, is dumpedby the Fox Tower. The grisly details of her murder transfix the city. Seventy-five years after these events, Paul French finally gives the case the resolution it was denied at the time. Midnight in Peking is a gripping page-turning who-done-it, and a sweepingly evocative account of the end of an era. Join us to hear French talk about his latest work ?C and solving the mystery of Pamela Werner??s death.
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- Green Drinks! (Read More)
FREE Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
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- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
150rmb Come try a wee dram of four whiskies, hailing from Scotland and Japan. We??ll be sampling whiskies from different regions but with similar flavours typical of Highlands and Campeltown, including Yamazaki 12yr, Dalmore 12yr, Yoichi 10yr, Longrow CV.
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- Little Bookworms: Illustration with Sieb Posthuma and Annemarie van Haeringen (Read More)
Ages 4+ 20/30 rmb Dutch authors and illustrators Sieb Posthuma and Annemarie van Haeringen have created beautiful and endearing children??s picture books with flower-eating puppies, book-reading pelicans and broom-sweeping cockroaches. Join us to hear them read from their books and learn how to draw some of the amazing creatures! Annemarie van Haeringen is the author of Bear for Butterfly, about a bear who falls in love with a butterfly and the adventures they have together. Sieb Posthuma is the author of Benny about a puppy names, Benny, who has lost his favorite bone. When he discovers his trusty nose is no longer working, he enlists the help of a doctor??s ??sniff machine?? to track down his missing treat. Brought to you by the Dutch Foundation for Literature.
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- Man vs Nature – geologist Salomon Kroonenberg & novelist Margriet de Moor (Read More)
20/30rmb With catastrophic tsunamis, devastating earthquakes and freak tornados, nature has proven to be a force to be reckoned with. Yet the powerful and dangerous oftens provides fodder for some of the most inspired works of art . Geologist Salomon Kroonenberg and novelist Margriet de Moor debate the destructive force of nature as a source of artistic creation. While Kroonenberg, in his book The Human Scale, describes the insignificance of human impact on earth climate, sea-level rates, when measured on a geological scale, De Moor tells the story of a disastrous flood (The Drowned) that took place in 1953 in the Netherlands and changed many human lives forever.
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- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
5rmb Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Win three weeks in a row and you win the pot! Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
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- Speak, Memory – a conversation with writer-psychologist Douwe Draaisma and novelist-poet Henk Bernlef (Read More)
20/30rmb Why do we remember certain things – the smell of your mother’s fresh baked cookies, what you wore when you first fell in love, the song playing when you heard bad news – and forget others? Writer and psychologist Douwe Draaisma and novelist and poet Henk Bernlef discuss how novelists can contribute to our understanding of the human mind. Draaisma has written groundbreaking and bestselling works on the function of memory, focusing on questions: how do we remember and why do we forget?
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- Wine Tasting – a Taste of Italy (Read More)
150rmb with canap??s Join us for a tour of some of Italy??s finest reds, whites and proseccos from Valdobbiadene, Tuscamy and Vento. Reservations to Clinton, [email protected].
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- Cook Your Book: The Essential Asian Cookbook (Read More)
450 rmb (include cookbook and cooking class) Every month The Bookworm and The Hutong team up to bring you Cook Your Book ?C the culinary workshop with a literary edge. One workshop. One book. Three different dishes. The workshop includes the cookbook that you??ll take home to experiment more with! This month we??re cooking up popular Asian dishes from The Essential Asian Cookbook. Come and learn how to make all of your take-out favorites! Tickets are available at The Bookworm or you can rsvp to morgan at thehutong dot com or kadi at chinabookworm dot com. This event will be held at The Hutong.
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- Amped: The Beijing Beatles Band (Read More)
FREE Beijing??s take on the fab four plays all of your favorites (come on, you know you want to sing along!).
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- Summer Cinema with Electric Shadows Film Club: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Read More)
FREE The Bookworm and Electric Shadows Film Club are teaming up to bring you open air cinema screening on the roof of The Bookworm. This month, Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, fight, drink and sweat under the Mississippi sun in this classic adaptation of Tennessee William??s play. Greed, sexual desire and the Deep South – a perfect way to spend a hot August night! Plus we??ll be serving up Sweet Gin Fizzes for 30rmb.
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- Translation Slam – The Great Bruce Lee Romance: a Beijing Love Story (Read More)
20/30rmb The Bookworm and English Trackers are thrilled to announce our Translation Slam series! A festival favorite, two translators go head to head, comparing their translations of a text (microfiction, blog posts, columns, poetry, and more) and fielding questions from the audience. This month, we tackle the script from the play The Great Bruce Lee Romance: a Beijing Love Story. Full of love, angst and Beijing hua this original piece is sure to strike a chord with Beijingren of all nationalities. After you see our translators battle it out, catch the live version of The Great Bruce Lee Romance, opening August 18th (in Chinese).
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN??s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
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- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
FREE Join us as Beijing’s only classical music open mic with our new BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing??s best international musicians.
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- Green Drinks! (Read More)
FREE Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
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- Amped: Peter Murchison (Read More)
FREE Singer-songwriter Peter Murchinson brings his folksy Americana back to The Bookworm.
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- FCCC Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour Non-members always very welcome. http://www.fccchina.org/
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- Consumptiononmics – a booktalk with Chandran Nair (Read More)
20/30rmb Chandran Nair, the founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT) tackles head on the political hot potato of the decade in his latest book Consumptionomics. Consumption has been for many years the fuel that drives the engine of global capitalism – but is this the only way forward? Join us to hear Nair on the significant geopolitical impacts as nations scrambled for diminishing resources and the possible solutions for this current trend. The solutions will entail making sensitive political choices and adopting certain forms of government to affect a fundamental change of direction. Nair argues, if Asia is willing to take on this responsibility, it will help to save the planet whilst reshaping capitalism.
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- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
150rmb Come have a dram of unique Scottish Whiskies hailing from four distinct regions: Sprinkbank 10yr (Cambeltown), Balblair ’97 (Highland), Robert Burns (Arran), Bowmore 12yr (Islay). Reservations to Clinton, [email protected].
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- Story Time with Hannah (Read More)
50rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
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- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
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- Amped: Charlie Bass (Read More)
FREE Wang Chen Huai on bass, Xiajia on piano and Wu Le Tian on sax bring their take on Chinese jazz to The Bookworm.
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- Wine Tasting – a taste of Italy & Portugal (Read More)
150rmb with canapes Join us this month to sample wine form the Argiolas Sardegna winery and the Plansel Alentejo winery renown for its quality reds. Reservations to Clinton, [email protected].
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- Summer Cinema with Electric Shadows Film Club: La Dolce Vita (Read More)
FREE The Bookworm and Electric Shadows Film Club are teaming up to bring you open air cinema screening on the roof of The Bookworm. On the third Thursday of each month we’ll be screening a classic film on the roof of The Bookworm and serving up accompanying cocktails. This month, join us for Federico Fellini’s masterpiece La Dolce Vita. The film follows a week in the life of a journalist (Marcelo Mastroianni), muddling through a hot Roman summer, looking for love and happiness and finding neither; he does however find a lot of glamorous parties and a half-naked Anita Eckberg dancing in the Trevi Fountain. We’ll be serving special La Dolce Vita cocktails (with lots of amaretto) for 30rmb.
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- Wolf Totems, Red Lanterns and Shanghai Babies – a debate on contemporary Chinese literature with Wang Jia Xin, Wolfgang Kubin, George O’Connell and Diana Shi (Read More)
20/30rmb What is contemporary Chinese literature? Sensationalist trash, rehashed family tales, propaganda, or a golden age of genre-defying works? The riddle is postulated by eminent poet, literary critic and professor Wang Jia Xin, renowned sinologist Wolfgang Kubin, the American poet George O’Connell and translator Diana Shi This is an informal discussion and you will have plenty of opportunity to throw your views into the ring.
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN??s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
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- Word of Mouth – poetry with Catherine Bowman (Read More)
20/30rmb A treat for all poetry-lovers, this intimate setting sees Catherine Bowman reading her highly acclaimed poems and discussing her latest project – recording emerging and established poets from around the world in cafes, their homes and on street corners.
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- Amped: The Hot Club of Beijing (Read More)
FREE Following the tradition of Django Reinhardt??s Hot Club of in the 1930??s, the Hot Club of Beijing came up in Beijing. 50% Chinese, 50% French, The Hot Club of Beijing aims at giving a 100% swing to its audience through Gipsy Jazz standards.
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- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
FREE Join us as Beijing’s only classical music open mic with our BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing??s best international musicians.
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- Beijing Postcards: The Imperial Axis (Read More)
20/30rmb Through their own collection of historical photos, Beijing Postcards will tell the History of The Central Axis and how it has affected the capital for more than 600 years! The city of Beijing is built around a south-northbound central axis. It was laid out in the year 1403 when work on the capital city began. As the centre stroke in the character ???meaning middle, this central 7.8 km long axis divides the old capital in two. All the most important pieces of architecture were placed along or directly upon this commanding stretch. Among them the imperial throne hall, Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Gate and the Drum and Bell Towers.
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- Green Drinks! (Read More)
FREE Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at bjgreendrinks at gmail dot com for more details.
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- Cook Your Book: Creative Cooking for the Global Kitchen with Chef David Marteau (Read More)
450 rmb (include cookbook and cooking class) Every month The Bookworm and The Hutong team up to bring you Cook Your Book ?C the culinary workshop with a literary edge. One workshop. One book. Three different dishes. The workshop includes the cookbook that you??ll take home to experiment more with! This month Award winning executive chef David Jean Marteau guides us through recipes ?C and the stories behind them ?C from his cookbookd/travelogue Creative Cooking for the Global Kicthen. Marteau has been cooking and traveling around the world for over 20 years. David??s recipes aim to awaken the senses, turn the ordinary into the spectacular and satisfy the most astute food critic to the homegrown foodies looking to spice up their cooking. Tickets are available at The Bookworm or you can rsvp to morgan at thehutong dot com or kadi at chinabookworm dot com. This event will be held at The Hutong.
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- Amped: Justin Grounds (Read More)
FREE Justin Grounds is a solitary purveyor of sound, who lives in a wee cottage by the sea and records songs combining violins, thumb piano, electronica and his voice. Joins us for this special performance.
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- Blue Sky Thinking – Jonathan Watts on the Environment in China (Read More)
80rmb THIS TALK WAS ORGINALLY PART OF BLF 2011. TICKETS FROM THE ORIGINAL EVENT WILL BE HONORED. Jonathan Watts traveled from mountain paradise to blasted desert, through eco-cities, coal mines and industrial wastelands, examining the challenges faced by those at the top of Chinese society and the problems and hopes of those below. Hear the author of the sobering When A Billion Chinese Jump present his unprecedented overview of China??s environmental degradation and innovation.
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- Whisky Wednesday: Back to Basics (Read More)
150rmb Do you know the difference between highland to lowland whiskies? Come and discover, this time exploring the 4 regions of whisky in Scotland each with distinct characteristics. Ancnoc 12yr (Highland), Autentoshan 12yr (Lowland), Caol Ila 12yr (Islay), Speyburn (Speyside).
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- Amped: Jordan Mitchell (Read More)
FREE Bluegrass, bluesy rock and even hip hop. Floridian Jordan Mitchell is always full of surprises. Join us for one of his fun and raucous performances.
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- Story Time with Hannah (Read More)
50rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
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- Wine Tasting – Old World v New World (Read More)
150rmb with canapes The “Old World vs New World” series continues with a tasting of three Roses from the Gerard Bertrand winery, Carte Noire Province and Moulin de la Roque, Bandol. Reservations to Clinton, [email protected].
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- Big Girl Small – a booktalk with Rachel Dewoskin (Read More)
20/30rmb Rachel Dewoskin is the author of Foreign Babes in Beijing and Repeat after Me. Join us to hear he on her latest novel Big Girl Small about a Judy Lohden an above-average sixteen-year-old??sarcastic and vulnerable, talented and uncertain, full of big dreams for a big future. With a singing voice that can shake an auditorium, she should be the star of Darcy, the local high school of the performing arts. So why is a girl this promising hiding out in a seedy motel room on the edge of town?
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- City Weekend Bookclub – Life and Death are Wearing Me Out (Read More)
FREE Join us for a monthly get together for Bookworms (in the traditional sense!) to discuss great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more, hosted by CityWeekend. This month, we discuss Life and Death are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan. Ximen Nao, a landowner known for his generosity and kindness to his peasants, is cruelly executed, despite his protestations of innocence. He goes to Hell, where Lord Yama, king of the underworld, has Ximen Nao tortured endlessly, trying to make him admit his guilt, to no avail. Finally, in disgust, Lord Yama allows Ximen Nao to return to earth, to his own farm, where he is reborn not as a human but first as a donkey, then an ox, pig, dog, monkey, and finally the big-headed boy Lan Qiansui. Through the earthy and hugely entertaining perspectives of these animals, Ximen Nao narrates fifty years of modern Chinese history, ending on the eve of the new millennium. Here is an absolutely spellbinding tale that reveals the author’s love of the land, beset by so many ills, traditional and modern. Join us to discuss this modern classic from one of China??s best fiction writers.
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- Real Life Stories of Migrant Workers & Urban Transplants – a book launch with An Dun (Read More)
20/30rmb An Dun’s newest book gives an inside look at the experiences of migrant workers and those who flock to cities looking for a better life. Migrant workers are an integral part of the modern urban experience in China – in the subways, in noodle shops, massage centers and nail salons. An Dun??s distinctive form of narrative journalism, creates an open space for them to talk about why and how they do what they do. The pain, the shame and the struggle to carve out a life for themselves. Join us to hear more about An Dun’s work, as well as a short presentation from Jiang Maotang, the headmaster of Xin Yuan School, a school for the children of migrant workers.
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN??s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
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- Sunday Salons: Lan Wei, Pipa Artist (Read More)
Sunday Salon is an interactive lecture series that takes you behind the music of China. This month music critic Sam Su, music promoter Zhang Kexin and Time Out Beijing/Shanghai’s Classical and Performance editor Nancy Pellegrini are proud to introduce Lan Weiwei, known around China as composer Tan Dun??s favourite Pipa artist. Born 1980 in Sichuan, Lan has been playing for over 20 years and has toured Asia and North America, performing a wide variety of traditional and contemporary music – notably, Tan Dun’s Pipa Concerto. In her spare time she teaches at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear one of the country’s best traditional musicians playing a classic instrument.
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- Amped: Zac Courtney Jazz Trio (Read More)
FREE One of the best and brightest groups in Beijng, Zac Courtney and his sax trio are back for a night of fast and fun jazz.
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- An Evening with Anthony Egea, in part with TimeOut Beijing and the Croisements Festival (Read More)
20/30rmb French choreographer Anthony Egea combines urban dance with classical style, creating an unusual and unique niche of ??hip-hop ballets??. Egea has spent the last few months working with Beijing Dance Theatre on Middle, making its world premier Friday 24. Join for an interactive lecture as he tells Time Out Beijing’s Nancy Pellegrini about the rise of hip-hop movement, the rigors of classical dance and the challenges of blending the two, as well as giving us a sneak peak at his latest work.
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- Summer Cinema with Electric Shadows Film Club: Casablanca (Read More)
FREE The Bookworm and Electric Shadows Film Club are teaming up to bring you open air cinema screening on the roof of The Bookworm. On the third Thursday of each month we??ll be screening a classic film on the roof of The Bookworm and serving up accompanying cocktails. This month, we head to sultry Morocco for the noir classic Casablanca. Bogie, espionage, love triangles and some of the most quoted lines in cinema history. Plus our special Casablanca cocktails will the start of a beautiful friendship.
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- Big in China – a booktalk with Alan Paul (Read More)
20/30rmb In this entertaining memoir, sports journalist and musician Alan Paul recounts an unanticipated life-changing experience that began when his wife accepted a three-year work assignment in Beijing. After resettling their three young children from suburban New Jersey to China, Paul sets off to become a bone fide rock star. Join us to hear him on his book which is equal parts family memoir, travelogue, personal analysis of globalization and expatriate communities, and a view of the world’s most populous nation through American eyes. Plus a special music performance!
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- Green Drinks! (Read More)
FREE Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
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- The Foremost Good Fortune – a booktalk with Susan Conley (Read More)
20/30rmb In Susan Conley??s debut memoir, The Foremost Good Fortune, she and her husband and their two young sons say goodbye to their friends, family and house in Portland, Maine, for a two-year stint in a high rise apartment in Beijing, ??where they??re meant to grow as a family in that way you hear Americans do when they head east?? to eat jiaozi and baozi and brown, pickled tea eggs and drive the crooked hutong alleys with screaming taxi drivers.?? But Susan can??t predict just how much their lives will change. Join us to hear more from Conley on her riveting memoir.
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- Amped: Christophe Lier Trio (Read More)
FREE Christophe Lier brings his Paris sound back to Beijing with a new jazz quartette of piana, saxophone, bass and trumpet.
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- NGO & Charity Networking Day (Read More)
FREE Each year, The Bookworm hosts the NGO & Charity Networking Day in order to help organizations share awareness and connect with the Beijing NGO-charity community. Drop by to find out more about some of the great organizations working in the NGO and charity sectors and ways for you to get involved!
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- The Chinese Dream – a booktalk with Helen Wang (Read More)
20/30rmb The Chinese Dream is a groundbreaking book about the rising middle class in China from business consultant and China expert Helen Wang. Wang challenges some of the perceived fears about China and argues that China??s burgeoning middle class may provide the answer to America??s economic woes. Through timely interviews, personal stories, and a historical perspective, China- born Wang explores the new phenomena of the Chinese entrepreneurial middle class. Join us to hear on how a growing global mindset and the realization of unity in diversity may ultimately provide the way to creating a saner, safer world for all.
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- Mr. Chicken in Beijing – a kids workshop with Leigh Hobbs (Read More)
20/30 rmb Award-winning artist and author, Leigh Hobbs brings Mr Chicken to Beijng! Join us for a workshop for kids, ages 6-12, to learn how to draw Mr Chicken, Mr Badger and more! Hobbs is perhaps best known for the children??s books he has written and illustrated featuring his characters Old Tom, Horrible Harriet, Fiona the Pig, Mr Chicken and most recently, Mr Badger. A highly popular French/Australian animated TV series was made based on Leigh??s Old Tom books.
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- Amped: Jess Meider (Read More)
FREE Beijing-based singer-songwriter Jess Meider brings her unique sound back to The Bookworm.
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- Story Time with Hannah (Read More)
50rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- Translation Slam (Read More)
20/30rmb The Bookworm and English Trackers are thrilled to announce our Translation Slam series! A festival favorite, two translators go head to head, comparing their translations of a text (microfiction, blog posts, columns, poetry, and more) and fielding questions from the audience. At the end of the event, the audience votes for the best translation. Running every other month, the Translation Slam will feature different translators, texts and languages each time. For June, we kick off with Jonathan Rechtman and Canaan Morse translating a text by renown columnist Li Haipeng. Hosted by Danni Zheng.
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- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
150rmb A blind tasting of 3 interesting whiskies of different flavors. Come test your palate with Aberfeldy 12yr, Singleton and Yamazaki 12yr. Reservations to Clinton, [email protected]
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- Cook Your Book: recipes from Jamie Oliver
500 rmb (for cooking class and cookbook) (Read More)
The Bookworm and The Hutong are teaming up to bring you Cook Your Book – One workshop. One book. Three different dishes. The first installment in the series will feature a wildly popular cookbook from acclaimed British chef and restaurateur Jamie Oliver: Jamie’s Kitchen. His delicious dishes always rely on seasonal, fresh ingredients, and his book offers over 100 recipes packed with clear culinary advice and inspiration. The Hutong’s top chef, Joel Shuchat, will guide you through three signature dishes from Jamie’s Kitchen. The workshop includes the book that you??ll take home to experiment more with! The Bookworm and The Hutong are fans of Jamie Oliver, not only for his creativity as a chef, but also for his advocacy work with his ??Feed Me Better?? campaign, aimed to improve the diets of school children. Tickets available at The Bookworm. This event will be held at The Hutong.
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- City Weekend Bookclub (Read More)
FREE Join us for a monthly get together for Bookworms (in the traditional sense!) to discuss great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more, hosted by CityWeekend. This month, we discuss The Harafish by Nagiub Mahfouz. From the winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature comes this story of the prominent al-Nagi family, whose descendents nearly ruin its legendary name.
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- Half-Way – a performance, part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Five Minute Theater Festival (Read More)
Free Beijing-based Elephant in the Room Theatre Company brings their short piece “Half Way” to The Bookworm as part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s “Five Minute Theatre Festival” ( http://fiveminutetheatre.com/ ). The play is only five minutes long. It will be performed live in Beijing (in English) and footage of the performance will be broadcast in Scotland in June, both as a “live” screening and on scottish national television, as part of the festival. “Half Way” is a dialogue where only one half is available to the audience. The piece explores roots, first impressions, quitting smoking, and the depth and transparency of small talk. Two people are trying to get to know each other during the process of which a silent third party disturbs their rhythm. Finally the speaker accidentally reveals something that makes it impossible for the other person to continue. Join us for a special performance and Q&A; with the writer, director and actors.
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- Wine Tasting – Old World vs New World (Read More)
150rmb with canapes With two grape varieties we’ll be tasting the different caracteristics in a new series of “Old World vs New World”. Tour de la Roche Sauvignon Blanc and Lawson’s dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc. Chateau La Mercerie Cabernet Sauvignon and Pedro del Castillo Cabernet Sauvignon.
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- Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible – a lunchtime talk with Daniel Burrus (Read More)
20/30rmb Daniel Burrus is considered one of the world’s leading technology forecasters and business strategists. He is the founder and CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advancements in technology driven trends to help clients better understand how technological, social and business forces are converging to create enormous, untapped opportunities. Over the past quarter century, he has established a worldwide reputation for his exceptional record of accurately predicting the future of technological change and its direct impact on the business world. He is the author of six books, including bestselling Flash Foresight: How To See the Invisible and Do the Impossible as well as the highly acclaimed Technotrends. Join us for this special lunch time talk to hear about the future of doing global business.
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- The Scramble for China: Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire – a booktalk with Robert Bickers (Read More)
20/30rmb The Scramble for China is an epic, dynamic account of a century of Sino-foreign interactions, confrontation and confusion. Told from both the Western and Chinese point-of-view, Robert Bickers?? book examines how events such as the opium wars or the Boxer uprising have impacted upon China??s relations with the world. Robert Bickers is the author of the highly-acclaimed Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai. He has written extensively on Chinese history and is currently Professor of History at the University of Bristol.
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- Amped: The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra (Read More)
FREE The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra performs an eclectic mix of jazz, funk and Latin music. Mixing different styles and influences is the band??s trademark. Don??t miss some of the best jazz in Beijing!
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- Summer Cinema: Some Like It Hot (Read More)
FREE The Bookworm and Electric Shadows Film Club are teaming up to bring you open air cinema screening on the roof of The Bookworm. On the third Thursday of each month we??ll be screening a classic film and serving up accompanying cocktails. This month, we kick-off the series with Some Like It Hot (1959) and Manhattans. Billy Wilder??s classic madcap comedy follows two musicians (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon) who, after witnessing a mob hit, flee the state in an all female band disguised as women. Complications ?C in the form of a ukulele playing Marilyn Monroe ?C soon set in. Join us on the roof for some cinema under the stars!
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- Slurping Soup – Third Culture Kids in Beijing (Read More)
20/30rmb Slurping soup and other confusions combines true stories and activities to help third culture kids during transition. Join three of the Beijing based authors, Cherie Emigh, Ulrike Gemmer and Kathryn Tonges, as they share how best to use the resource as a catalyst for crucial discussions that every expat family needs to have. Followed by Q & A.
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- Ancient Chinese Thought, Modern Chinese Power – a booktalk with Yan Xuetong (Read More)
20/30rmb The rise of China could be the most important political development of the twenty-first century. What will China look like in the future? What should it look like? And what will China’s rise mean for the rest of world? Join us to hear China’s most influential foreign policy thinker, Yan Xuetong set out a vision for the coming decades from China’s point of view. Yan Xuetong is professor of political science and director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing. His many books include The Rise of China and Its Strategy, International Politics and China, and American Hegemony and China’s Security.
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN??s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- Amped: Olivier Roussel Duet (Read More)
FREE Olivier Roussel Duet play original, modern jazz using rhythm to express an array of emotion and melodies. Jazz guitarist and composer, Olivier Roussel is joined by drummer Frederic Pasqua, drummer to bring you a night of souring and eccelectic music.
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- An Evening with Philippe Noisette (Read More)
20/30rmb Renown journalist and dance critic Philippee Noisette is a key player in the contemporary dance scene, authoring several books and writing for Paris Match, Les Echos and Dansers. He has interviews the likes of Mikhail Baryshnikov, Pina Bausch, Merce Cunnigham and William Forsythe, and was instrumental in supporting the rise of Jean-Clause Gallotta and Angelin Preljocaj among others. Noisette joins Time Out??s Classical & Performance Editor Nancy Pellegrini for an interactive talk about major modern dance movements in Europe, America and Asia, and will be signing his last book Talk About Contemporary Dance. If you??re interested in the past, present and future of modern dance, we hope to see you there! Part of the Croisement Festival.
- ●
- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
FREE Join us as Beijing’s only classical music open mic with our new BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing??s best international musicians.
- ●
- 365 Ways to Save the Planet – a booktalk with Michael Norton (Read More)
20/30rmb For the activist hunting down fresh inspiration or the beginner looking for a place to start, the founder of the Centre for Innovation in Voluntary Action provides this practical, inventive idea-a-day guide that takes on big issues-peace, health, the environment and others-with the belief that “a lot of people doing a lot of little things could have a huge impact.” Michael Norton started his career as a scientist, merchant banker and publisher before becoming a social activist. He has spent more than 40 years developing creative projects for social and environmental improvement and encouraging others to go out and change the world. Hear more about his amazing initiatives and ways you can get involved.
- ●
- Green Drinks! (Read More)
FREE Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- Amped @ Beijing Beatles Band (Read More)
FREE With a new line-up and new costumes, the Beijing Beatles Band is back to play all of your favorites.
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- FCCC Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour Non-members always very welcome. www.fccchina.org
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- Wild Camels of the Gobi – a talk with John Hare (Read More)
20/30rmb The wild Bactrian camel is critically endangered; there are approximately 650 in the Gobi desert in north-west China and 450 in the desert in Mongolia. In China it survived 43 atmospheric nuclear tests and lives on salt water which no other mammal can tolerate. Environmentalist John Hare founded The Wild Camel Protection Foundation (WCPF) in 1997 to save this remarkable creature and its pristine desert environment from extinction and destruction. Hare is an intrepid explorer ?C the first foreigner to cross the Gashun Gobi from north to south and to reach the ancient city of Lou Lan from the east. Join us to hear him on his recent excursions into the Taklamakan desert with a team of Chinese scientists to find wild Bactrian camels, as well as his continuing work to create nature preserves in Western China.
- ●
- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
150rmb Come for a dram of Ancnoc 12yr, Talisker 10yr, Dalmore 12yr for an informal blind tasting of some unique whiskies and whisky distillery tales. Reservations to Clinton, [email protected]
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The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- Storytime with Hannah (Read More)
50 rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
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- The Engineer & The Warlord – Photos from the Archives, presented by Beijing Postcards (Read More)
20/30rmb Beijing Postcards opens up their archive once again to share fascinating images and tales from the roaring 20s, where warlords shifted sides and assassinated each other as often as they changed concubines, and where the majority of expats lived in the lap of luxury. Join us to hear more from Simon Gjeroe on the complicated relationship between the engineer Robert Christensen, and the Warlord, Zhang Zoulin. Christensen documented, in Kodak stills and silent film footage, the life and death of the short hot-tempered former bandit who ruled Manchuria as his own.
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- Wine Tasting (Read More)
150 rmb This month we’ll be sampling more amazing wines!150 rmb for wine tasting and canap??s. RSVP Clinton at [email protected]
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- China: The Pessoptimist Nation – a booktalk with William Callahan (Read More)
20/30rmb William Callahan discusses his book China: The Pessoptimist Nation, which explores the effect of Chinese identity on China??s foreign policy. Callahan is Professor of International Politics and China Studies at the University of Manchester, and Co-Director of the British Inter-University China Center at Oxford University.
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- City Weekend Bookclub (Read More)
FREE Join us for a monthly get together for Bookworms (in the traditional sense!) to discuss great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more, hosted by CityWeekend. This month we go back to Eileen Chang’s seductive Shanghai in Lust, Caution.
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- Amped: No Name Trio (Read More)
FREE No Name Trio joins The Bookworm again to keep the spirit of Django Reinhardt alive. Come enjoy the best gypsy jazz in Beijing.
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- BJ Improv Workshop: Shakespeare
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- Amped: Jordan Mitchell (Read More)
FREE Jordan Mitchell is back with his take on bluegrass and indie folk.
- ●
- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
FREE Join us as Beijing’s only classical music open mic with our new BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing??s best international musicians.
- ●
- Decadence Manchoue: The China Memories of Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse – a book launch with Derek Sandhaus (Read More)
20/30 rmb Derek Sandhaus discusses the newly published and controversial memoirs of famed sinologist Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse. D??cadence Mandchoue provides a unique and shocking glimpse into the hidden world of China??s imperial palace, with its rampant corruption, grand conspiracies and uninhibited sexuality.
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- Green Drinks! (Read More)
FREE Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- Sunday Salon: Chu Yibing and his China Cello Philharmonic Orchestra (Read More)
20/30rmb The Bookworm and TimeOut Beijing are thrilled to bring you Sunday Salons ?C an intimate night of music and discussion with some of China’s best classical musicians. This month, Sunday Salons hosts Chu Yibing and his China Philharmonic Orchestra. Beijing native Chu Yibing began playing cello at seven, went to study in Paris at 17, and rose to become the principal cellist of the Basel Symphony, as well as the guest principal cellist of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Yetb it wasn’t until he began conducting that he began to love music – at age 35! Today, the head of the cello department at the Central Conservatory of Music, he leads China’s first and only permanent chamber ensemble, the China Cello Philharmonic. This group of four (or six or eight) cellists regularly tour the country, and was the first Chinese chamber ensemble to play for Chinese President Hu Jin Tao and US President Barack Obama. Don’t miss this very special concert of the four-member China Cello Philharmonic!
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- Amped: Zac Courtney Sax Trio (Read More)
FREE One of the best and brightest jazz groups on Beijng, Zac Courtney and his sax trio back to The Bookworm.
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- Johannes – Passion – a discussion on the work
FREE (Read More)
German organist Daniel Tappe discusses and illustrates the sheer brilliance of the dramatic St John Passion by JS Bach. Tappe studied organ, historic keyboard instruments and music history at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, US. He performs widely as both organist and harpsichordist, including in Oberlin’s Christ Church and Oberlin Baroque Ensemble. Tappe will play harpsichored at the IFC’s Easter performance of Johannes-Passion in Beijing on 23 April.
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- Back from Japan: Four of our festival authors discuss the crisis
Minimum donation of 80rmb, all proceeds to go British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal. (Read More)
Four of the many Beijing-based journalists who covered the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan discuss their experiences. The event will also include a silent auction of signed books, photographs and other objects. • Adam Dean, freelance photographer • Barbara Demick LA Times • Evan Osnos The New Yorker • Jonathan Watts The Guardian
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- Wuxia and Warriors (Read More)
20/30rmb Swordsmen flying through the air. Dazzling kung fu from tree to tree. The World of Chinese magazine takes you behind the scenes with a special look at the history and development of the wuxia (martial arts) film genre, from the early days of Chinese cinema to today’s crowd-pleasing special effects.
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- Amped @ Rudra’s Sage (Read More)
FREE This unique musician duo mixes East and West, folk and classical music with Raymond on guitar and vocals and Tato on tabla.
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- FCCC Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour Non-members always very welcome. http://www.fccchina.org/
- ●
- How China Changed the World – a booktalk with Gavin Menzies (Read More)
20/30rmb In his books 1421: How China Discovered the World and 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance, Gavin Menzies offers a stunning reappraisal of history tracing the roots of the age of exploration and the Renaissance to China. Join us to hear Menzies on his ongoing research and his provocative but highly readable histories.
- ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm (Read More)
30rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
-
Polar Explorer Liv Arnesen (Read More)
20/30rmb Polar explorer Liv Arnesen ??s rich life experiences have made her an internationally recognized leader and role model. Through her diverse roles as polar explorer, educator and motivational leader, Arnesen ignites passion in others to reach beyond their normal boundaries and achieve their dreams by sharing her own stories about exploring some of the most remote places on Earth. Join us to hear Arnesen on her amazing adventures and her latest project – a new expedition, with a delegation of women each representing their continent – to cross the Antarctic with an outreach UNESCO educational program, Access Water.
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- City Weekend Bookclub (Read More)
FREE Join us for a monthly get together for Bookworms (in the traditional sense!) to discuss great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more, hosted by CityWeekend. This month we’ll discuss Deborah Brautigam’s The Dragon’s Gift – The Real Story of China in Africa.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Jordan Mitchell (Read More)
FREE Beijing-based singer-songwriter Jordan Mitchell uses his guitar and mix of original folk and reinterpreted classics to serenade us this week!
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- Wine Tasting (Read More)
150 rmb Try our four new Spanish wines from Emilio Moro and Bodegas Borsao – two prestigious wineries producing excellent quality wines from the autochthonous Garnacha, Syrah, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. RSVP Clinton at [email protected]
- ●
- Amped @ The Bookworm: The Ah-Q Arkestra (Read More)
FREE The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra performs their signature eclectic mix of jazz, funk and Latin music.
- ●
- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- Maps from the Archives, presented by Beijing Postcards (Read More)
20/30rmb Beijing Postcards opens up their archives to bring us some of their most fascinating maps depicting Beijing and China over the centuries. Don’t miss this chance to hear the stories behind the cartography as well as catch a glimpse of the past.
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Amped @ The Bookworm: Jess Meider (Read More)
FREE Beijing sing-songwriter Jess Meider brings her soulful sound to our free Saturday music night.
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- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
FREE Join us as Beijing’s only classical music open mic with our new BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing??s best international musicians.
- ●
- Amped @ The Bookworm: Neil Conway (Read More)
FREE Neil Conway brings his mix of Americana, country and swing back to The Bookworm. This compulsive lyricist gets his inspiration from anything and his imagination may take him anywhere. A rich mix of comedy, satire and commentary, his performances will leave you inspired and laughing.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
(Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- Amped @ The Bookworm: Jordan Thomas Mitchell (Read More)
FREE Beijing-based singer-songwriter Jordan Mitchell uses his guitar and mix of original folk and reinterpreted classics to serenade us this week!
- ●
- Amped @ The Bookworm: Ah-Q Arkestra (Read More)
FREE The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra performs an eclectic mix of jazz, funk and Latin music. Mixing different styles and influences is the band’s trademark. Join us for one of Beijing’s most original groups!
- ●
- Burns Supper (Read More)
180 rmb for three course meal (including Haggis!) & whisky Join The Bookworm for one of our favorite events of the year – The Bookworm Burns Supper! Poetry, song, haggis and total shenanigans in celebration of Scottish poet Robbie Burns’ birthday. Plus this year, we continue long after the haggis is finished with a bagpiper, fiddles and dancing!
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- The Ancient Art of Tea – a booktalk with Warren Peltier (Read More)
20/30rmb Can you discover happiness and contentment in a perfect cup of tea? Join us to hear tea master Warren Peltier on the ancient secrets of tea. Drawing on his years of experience researching the history and customs of tea as well as participating in tea ceremonies, Peltier shares with us his love – and the lure – of tea.
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- Heros in Modern China (Read More)
20/30 rmb Who do the Chinese consider a hero? Who are the heroes of China today? How is it different from Western ideas of the hero? Join The World of Chinese magazine and Raymond Zhou, noted social critic and columnist for China Daily, as they discuss how the idea of the hero is changing in modern China.
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- Wine Tasting (Read More)
150 rmb This month, we’ll be sampling wines from the Argiolas winery on the island of Sardegna, Italy. Four compelling wines highlighting the indigenous varieties on offer.
- ●
- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- Amped @ The Bookworm: Peter Murchinson (Read More)
FREE Peter Murchison’s music is a melting pot of blues, bluegrass, and folk. His finger-picking guitar style is crisp and driving. Hear blues by Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Blake and songs from country pickers like Doc Watson; and the more modern sounds of Leo Kottke and Jerry Garcia.
- ●
- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
FREE Join us as Beijing’s only classical music open mic with our new BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing’s best international musicians.
- ●
- Green Drinks! (Read More)
FREE Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- Sunday Salons: Yang Xiaoyu, China’s fastest rising violin star
(Read More)
20/30rmb Every month, Time Out and The Bookworm bring you a unique evening of music and conversation with some of the most exciting Chinese talents in classic music today. This month join us for a private concert and discussion with violinist Yang Xiaoyu. Yang is musically gifted, technically brilliant and China’s fastest rising violin star, currently serving as the brand new National Centre of the Performing Arts Orchestra’s Concert Master. He joins Sunday Salon to talk about his career, his music, the difference between being a soloist and a concertmaster — and why a concertmaster is so important to any orchestra, especially a new one.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Christophe Lier Trio (Read More)
FREE French pianist Chistophe Lier brings his jazz trio to The Bookworm. With Zhang Yu Kun and Yang Ming.
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- FCCC Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour Non-members always very welcome. http://www.fccchina.org/
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- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
150rmb with canap??s Challenge your palate with a blind tasting of Glenfiddich, Laphroaig 10yr, Talisker 10yr, Clynelish 14yr. Also introducing “The Whisky World Challenge”. With over 50 kinds of whiskies to choose from, why not have a “shot” at winning a bottle of your choice! RSVP to Clinton, [email protected].
- ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm (Read More)
30rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
7:30ish (Read More)
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning
FREE (Read More)
Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- Green Drinks!
Free (Read More)
Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- Amped @ The Bookworm: Zac Courtney Jazz Trio
FREE (Read More)
On of the best and brightest jazz trios in Beijing featuring Zac Courtney on drums, Da Zhong on bass and Li Ming on sax.
- ●
- Basically Beethoven: Christmas Carols!
FREE (Read More)
Bust out your Santa hats for Christmas at The Bookworm. All your favorite Christmas carols plus mulled wine and minced pies! With special musical guests throughout the night! We’ll provide carol sheets for anyone who wants to pop in and belt out a few classics.
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- John Lennon Tribute Night
FREE (Read More)
Join us for a night of John Lennon’s music in remembrance of 30th anniversary of his death. With local musicians playing all your Lennon favorites as well as trivia, film clips and other memorabilia.
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- Volunteer meeting ?C The Bookworm International Literary Festival 2011 (Read More)
The Bookworm International Literary Festival is a two-week celebration of all things book-related, running every March and attracting 70 writers from around the world to delight and entertain the city’s readers. The festival is also a logistical juggernaut which is impossible to get safely on the road without YOUR HELP! Join us for an info session as we recruit volunteers for our 2011 project. For more info contact [email protected]
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Mademoiselle et son Orchestre
FREE (Read More)
Mademoiselle et son Orchestre is a six piece Beijing based gypsy jazz band playing a mix of original songs and French classics. Don’t miss out on a great night of French chanson, complete with accordion!
- ●
- Classic Lunch Series:
Paul French on Man’s Fate by Andre Malraux
in collaboration with Penguin
(Read More)
60rmb Tormented assassins, French smugglers, compulsive gamblers – Man??s Fate takes us to Shanghai at its seediest and most intriguing. For our final Penguin Classic Lunch, Paul French (Carl Crow, Through the Looking Glass, and the forthcoming Murder in Peking) discusses this noir classic. Join us for a lovely combination of literature, food and interesting conversation – perfect way to spend a Friday lunch! Ticket includes talk, lunch, coffee or tea.
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- Working for the UN
8pm (Read More)
20/30rmb Australia-China Alumni Perspectives brings together a panel of Australian-educated UN officials to share their experiences of working with the UN in China and talk about the path that led them to their current roles. This event is brought to you by the Australia China Alumni Association, the Australia China Youth Association and AustCham Beijing.
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- Kids Club at The Bookworm
30rmb (Read More)
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
Free (Read More)
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- Whisky Wednesday
150rmb (Read More)
This month we head back to the Scottish single malts sampling Laphroaig 10yr, Aberfeldy 12yr, Singleton 12yr, and Genfiddich 12yr. An informal tasting with plenty of distillery tales for both the connoisseur and those who just love to drink whisky. RSVP to Clinton, [email protected].
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- The Bookworm & CityWeekend Book Club: Stick Out Your Tongue by Ma Jian (Read More)
FREE Join this monthly get together for Bookworms (in the traditional sense!) to discuss great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and prose, selected by you, with the assistance of City Weekend. The club will be supported by Bookworm authors throughout the year, and is presented with a 10% books discount from The Bookworm shop on all bookclub-designated titles. This month’s title is Stick Out Your Tongue by Ma Jian, a collection of short stories detailing the author’s travels with wit and humor.
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- Amped: The Beijing Beatles Band (Read More)
Come check out Beijing’s best – and most dabber – Beatles cover band.
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- Culturescapes China:
China’s Cultural Scene since 2000
(Read More)
20/30 rmb The art scene in China and especially in Beijing is on the verge of a change. Culturescapes has gathered almost thirty authors taking a ten year’s retrospective look at China’s art scene, looking at Chinese artists from different disciplines. Join us to hear about their work and experience in this vibrant art capital.
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- Wine Tasting! (Read More)
150 rmb with canapes The Bookworm Monthly Wine Tastings are back! Join us the last Wednesday of every month for an expert tasting hosted by East Meets West. This month, we’ll sample three Bodega Weinert Pedro Del Castillo wines from Argentina: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc. Wines are available to buy retail after the tasting. RSVP to Clinton, [email protected]
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Neil Conway and The Somethin’ Family (Read More)
FREE Fringe Folk at it’s finest. Neil Conway’s music continues the folk tradition by taking Americana, country and swing and spinning it with a contemporary view. A rich mix of comedy, satire and commentary, his performances will leave you inspired and laughing. This compulsive lyricist gets his inspiration from anything and his imagination may take him anywhere. Themes range from the political to the personal, serious to sarcastic. Don’t miss this unique folk project with guitar, bass and trumpet.
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- Classic Lunch Series, in collaboration with Penguin
Brook Larmer on 1984 (Read More)
Price 60 We continue our Classic Lunch series as part of Penguin’s fifth anniversary in China. This week Brook Larmer discusses George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel, 1984. Larmer was the Newsweek bureau chief in Buenos Aires, Miami, Hong Kong, and most recently Shanghai. His first book, Operation Yao Ming, is an investigatory look into the sports business in both China and the US. Join us for a lovely combination of literature, food and interesting conversation – perfect way to spend a Friday lunch! Ticket includes, talk, two courses and coffee or tea.
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
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- Sunday Salons – China’s Mozart – an evening of music with pianist prodigy Peng Peng Gong (Read More)
in conjunction with Time Out Beijing 20/30 rmb Nanjing native Peng Peng Gong, better known as “Asia’s Mozart” has been composing since he was nine years old. At ten, he became the youngest Chinese student ever admitted to Juilliard, studying both piano and composition. Today at 17 he is an award-winning composer of over thirty pieces, with works that include piano concertos, symphonies, a requiem, Sorrowful Tiantai, which memorializes the Sichuan earthquake victims and Olympic Rhapsody, which is dedicated to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As a future conductor, he has already memorized four Mahler symphonies as well as a host of other pieces. His intellectual grasp of his art is nothing short of staggering. He joins Time Out Beijing and The Bookworm’s Sunday Salon to discuss piano, his work and his life. Catch him in this intimate session before his blockbuster, sold out concert performance!
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Jordan Thomas Mitchell (Read More)
FREE Beijing-based singer-songwriter Jordan Mitchell uses his guitar and mix of original folk and reinterpreted classics to serenade us this week at Amped.
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- Green Drinks! (Read More)
Free Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Jess Meider (Read More)
FREE The Talented Jess Meider brings her improvisational mix of jazz, folk and strong melodies backed to Amped. Don’t miss one of our favorites showcasing a variety of musical genres – jazz, reggae, acoustic and trip-hop.
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- Classic Lunch Series, in collaboration with Penguin
Jonathan Fenby on The Radetzky March (Read More)
Price 150 We continue our Classic Lunch series as part of Penguin’s fifth anniversary in China. This week Jonathan Fenby (The Penguin History of Modern China, The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved) discusses The Radetzky March, Joseph Roth??s sweeping epic of the decline and fall of the Austro?CHungarian Empire through the lens of one family’s rise to power. Join us for a lovely combination of literature, food and interesting conversation – perfect way to spend a Friday lunch! Ticket includes, talk, two courses and coffee or tea.
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- FCCC Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour Non-members always very welcome. http://www.fccchina.org/
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- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
FREE Join us for a special night of Beijing??s only classical music open mic, hosted this month by Paul Eldon! Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing’s best international musicians.
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- The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved, a booktalk with Jonathan Fenby (Read More)
20/30 rmb “No leader of modern times was more unique and more uniquely national than Charles de Gaulle.” Jonathan Fenby joins us to discuss his latest work, an expansive, fascinating biography on Le General. Don??t miss this chance to hear one of the world??s premier historians on an icon.
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- Whisky Wednesday – World Whiskies (Read More)
150rmb per head Join us for a fun informal blind tasting of world whiskies. Can you tell which is the bourbon, the blend, the Scottish single malt and the Japanese single malt? RSVP to Clinton, re[email protected]. 150rmb per person with canap??s.
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- Dead Aid – Why Aid is Not Working and How there is a Better Way for Africa – a booktalk with Dambisa Moyo (Read More)
20/30 rmb Dambisa Moyo is an international economist who writes on macroeconomy and global affairs. Join us to hear her discuss her work in international development aid and its shortcomings. She is the author of critically acclaimed Dead Aid which details the inefficacy of development aid for poor countries. Her forthcoming book entitled How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly and the Stark Choices Ahead explores the failure of policy-making in the world’s leading industrialized economies.
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- Kids Club at The Bookworm (Read More)
30rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
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- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Mademoiselle et son Orchestre
FREE (Read More)
Mademoiselle et son Orchestre is a six piece Beijing based gypsy jazz band playing a mix of original songs and French classics. Don’t miss out on a great night of French chanson – complete with accordion!
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-
Wine Tasting! (Read More)
The Bookworm Monthly Wine Tastings are back! Join us the last Wednesday of every month for an expert tasting hosted by East Meets West. This month we’ll be sampling four Chilean wines. Wines are available to buy retail after the tasting. RSVP to Clinton, [email protected]. 150 rmb with canapes
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- Oil on Water – a booktalk with Sam Chambers
20/30 rmb (Read More)
Sam Chambers joins us to discuss the crucial and complex movement of oil around the world. The uninterrupted flow of oil is essential to globalization and increasingly so as manufacturing and markets move Eastwards to Asia. However, it is threatened by conflicts between nation states, pirates and global warming. In Oil on Water, Chambers recounts his experiences reporting onboard giant tankers and examining the geopolitical shift in oil consumption. Don’t miss this all encompassing and engrossing look at the way oil is moved and consumed.
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- Classical Music in China – a talk with Nick Frisch
20/30 rmb (Read More)
Why is classical music so popular in China? How will the increasing number of Chinese classical musicians and composers change the future of classical music? Join us to here Nick Frisch on the changing dynamic of classical music in China. Frisch is a freelance critic and consultant working in the space between the West and China’s classical music traditions. After singing at the Metropolitan Opera, he continued music and Chinese studies at Columbia University before moving to China in 2007. He recently finished a Fulbright research grant examining China’s growing influence in the global classical music scene.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: The Lie Yue Guitar Trio
FREE (Read More)
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- Classic Lunch Series, in collaboration with Penguin
Janice YK Lee on Emma by Jane Austen
Price 150 (includes lunch and coffee/tea) (Read More)
Join us for a lovely combination of literature, food and interesting conversation – perfect way to spend a Friday lunch! This week Janice YK Lee joins us to discuss Jane Austen’s Emma. Lee is the author of the best-selling debut novel The Piano Teacher, which uses mid-century Hong Kong as the backdrop to a narrative full of characters faced with of impossible choices.
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- Anxious Nation: the Australian response to Asia, a booktalk with Prof. David Walker
sponsored by the Australia China Alumni Association (Read More)
20/30 rmb From the late nineteenth century the Asianisation of Australia has sparked anxious comment. The great catchcries of the day…the awakening East, the yellow peril, populate or perish had a direct bearing on how Australians viewed their future. In this book talk, Professor David Walker explores the complex history of Australia??s engagement with Asia and discusses the process of translating his book, Anxious Nation: Australia and the Rise of Asia: 1850-1939, into Chinese.
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- Readings on the Sofa – Jennifer Mills, The Bookworm Writer-in-Residence
FREE (Read More)
Join us for discussion with The Bookworm and Asialink??s writer-in-residence, Jennifer Mills, on writing, short stories and fiction. Mills is the author of the novel The Diamond Anchor, and a chapbook of poems, Treading Earth. She was the winner of many awards including the 2008 Marian Eldridge Award for Young Emerging Women Writers. Her work has appeared in Hecate, Overland, Heat, the Griffith Review, and Best Australian Stories 2007, and she is a regular contributor to New Matilda and Overland. She lives in Alice Springs.
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning
FREE (Read More)
Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
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- The Big Book of Chinese History – a booktalk with cartoonist Wang Qicheng
20/30 rmb (Read More)
Cartoonist Wang Qicheng uses his clever cartoons to detail Chinese history and culture. His unique approach is to illuminate the complex narrative of Chinese history through humor and wit. A perfect way to brush up on your knowledge of Chinese culture ad history. In Chinese with English translation.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: No Name Trio
FREE (Read More)
No Name Trio joins The Bookworm again to keep the spirit of Django Reinhardt alive. Come enjoy the best gypsy jazz in Beijing with No Name Trio, featuring Zoe Wang on accordion, Daniel Brustman and Nico Torrese on guitars.
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- Basically Beethoven
FREE (Read More)
Join us as Beijing’s only classical music open mic with our new BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing??s best international musicians.
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- Readings on the Sofa: Transformation Beijing
FREE (Read More)
Lars Thom of Beijing Postcards uses a unique collection of black and white photographs from the archives to tell the changing histories of three of Beijing’s most important architectural icons: Tiananmen Gate, Qianmen Gate and the Beijing Railway Station.
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- Dispatches from…Giovanni Porzio and Gian Antonio Stella
20/30 rmb (Read More)
Join us to hear two renown reporters discuss their experiences committing journalism. Journalist Giovanni Porzio has been a war correspondent for the past 20 years reporting on the conflicts around the world. He has written several books about his experiences in war zones around the world, and has been awarded several journalism prizes for his work. Gian Antonio Stella is a political reporter with Corriere della Sera. In 2007, he published the bestseller The Caste detailing corruption, vice and Italian politicians. This event is part of Literature & Voyage, a lecture series organized by the Italian Institute of Culture in Beijing.
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- Green Drinks!
Free (Read More)
Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Erez Eisenman
FREE (Read More)
Singer-songwriter Erez Eisenman brings his original take on rock and blues to our Amped series. Bust our your harmonicas!
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- Classic Lunch Series, in collaboration with Penguin
Hong Ying on Eileen Chang
Price 150 (includes lunch and coffee/tea) (Read More)
Starting in October on a fortnightly basis, The Bookworm will host five lunches as part of the celebration of Penguin’s fifth anniversary. Each lunch will feature a noted Penguin author discussing his/her favorite classic. From novels to poetry, their choices won’t disappoint. Join us for a lovely combination of literature, food and interesting conversation – perfect way to spend a Friday lunch! We kick-off the series with Hong Ying discussing Eileen Chang. Prolific Chinese writer Hong Ying is best known for her novels K: the Art of Love, Summer of Betrayal, and her autobiography Daughter of the River.
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- FCCC Happy Hour
FREE (Read More)
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour Non-members always very welcome. http://www.fccchina.org/
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- Finding Inspiration: Writing Workshop with Catherine Sampson
150 rmb (Read More)
This workshop is aimed at adults (including teenagers aged sixteen plus) who are perplexed about how to find inspiration, and about method. It’s also intended to stimulate and challenge those already writing fiction. The morning will include time for participants to write, as well as time for reading aloud and discussion. Catherine Sampson is the author of four crime novels, including two set in Beijing. The most recent, The Slaughter Pavilion, is out now in paperback, published by Macmillan.
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- Whisky Wednesday
150rmb per head (Read More)
Informal blind tasting of a flight of 4 10yr old Scottish whiskies. Speyburn, Talisker, Glenmorangie, and Laphroaig. Whether you are a whisky connoisseur or just enjoy drinking single malts come on down and make a few friends while swapping whisky tales. RSVP to Clinton, re[email protected]. 150rmb per person with canap??s.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: The Beijing Beatles Band
FREE (Read More)
We’re excited to welcome back The Beijing Beatles Band. Join us as some of Amped’s favorite musicians band together for a night of the best of the Beatles. Singing along is encouraged ?C but bring your own lighter to wave.
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- Chill Out
Free (Read More)
Join us Friday nights when we shelve the books, trade the laptops for cocktails and chill out with jazz lounge music from Little Five.
- ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm
30rmb (Read More)
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
Free (Read More)
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
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- Readings on the Sofa Series – Book Creation with Jane Schauer
FREE (Read More)
Australian author Jane Schauer uses a holistic approach to book creation – she produces her own books (including sometimes making the paper), she also writes their text and does their illustration. She produces her books in a number of different formats – hand made books, normal published books and also e-books. Tonight Jane will be showcasing the books she has created while in Beijing, using the city as inspiration.
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- The Bookworm and City Weekend Bookclub – Socialism is Great!
FREE (Read More)
After a summer hiatus, the bookclub is back! Join this monthly get together for Bookworms (in the traditional sense!) to discuss great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and prose, selected by you, with the assistance of City Weekend. The club will be supported by Bookworm authors throughout the year, and is presented with a 10% books discount from The Bookworm shop on all bookclub-designated titles. This month’s title is Socialism is Great! Lijia Zhang’s memoir of moving from working in a missile factory to becoming an international, best-selling author.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Da Wang Gang
FREE (Read More)
Da Wang Gang finds inspiration from traditional Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan music. Da Wang Gang is made up of Xiao Hu, Li Zenghui, Tatu and Song Yuzhe on instruments as diverse as the banjo to horse-head fiddle, the tabla and saxophone.The Bookworm is thrilled to welcome back this unique and compelling group.
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- Fat China – a booktalk with Matthew Crabbe
20/30rmb (Read More)
China is getting fatter. Matthew Rabbe discusses the causes and as China’s urban centers see alarming increases in obesity levels, the effects and strains this frightening new trend puts on the country’s resources and future.
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- Exploring the Call of the Universe with Cameron Tukapua (Read More)
Cameron Tukapua, Chinese medicine doctor offers an inspired view of the universe as it lives within you. What’s calling you right now? What would you really love to do with your life? Time to listen to your inner voice and open up to the greater collective of infinite possibilities.
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- Electric Shadows Film Club – Open Air Cinema
Mid-Autumn Festival Moon Special (Read More)
As the weather cools and the skies clear join us for our first mid-autumn festival film screening ?C an outdoor cinematic celebration of all things lunar! Join us for a slice of mooncake and watch some gorgeous celestial shorts followed by the main feature, Kubrick’s classic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. What better way to enjoy the moon-rays than with a cool beer, a comfy seat and some mind blowing cinema?
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning
FREE (Read More)
Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
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- The Second World – a booktalk with Parag Khanna
20/30 rmb (Read More)
Parag Khanna, a widely recognized expert on global politics, offers a study of the 21st century’s emerging geopolitical marketplace dominated by three first world superpowers, the U.S., Europe and China. The key to Khanna’s analysis, however, is his depiction of a second world: countries in transition. They range in size and population from heavily peopled states like Brazil and Indonesia to smaller ones such as Malaysia. Khanna interprets the coming years as being shaped by the race to win the second world.
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- Amped @The Bookworm: Ember Swift
FREE (Read More)
Ember Swift brings her folktronica – electronic music meets folk ?C project to The Bookworm. A blend of electronic and traditional instruments, Mandarin and English lyrics, and an eclectic mix of music styles and arrangements, Ember Swift’s music represents and embodies the collision and collaboration between East and West, her native Canada and her adopted China. Not to be missed!
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- Olafur Arnalds – music & conversation (Read More)
Icelandic multi-instrumental musician Olafur Arnalds discusses and plays from his latest album entitled “…and they have escaped the weight of darkness”.
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- EXPLORE: Ghosts of China’s Coast – shipwrecks and pirates with Steven Schwankert
20/30 rmb (Read More)
Arrrr!! Underwater explorer Steven Schwankert brings us tales of shipwreck and the adventuerers who have uncovered these marvelous wrecks along China’s coasts. Schwankert is a member of The Explorers Club and founder of SinoScuba, Beijing’s first professional scuba diving operator. He has led the first-ever scientific expedition to dive Mongolia’s Lake Khovsgol. and has guided divers to the Underwater Great Wall near Beijing.
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- Green Drinks!
Free (Read More)
Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
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- Sunday Salons – Chu Yibing & his Cello Philharmonic:
An evening of music and discussion, in conjunction with Time Out Beijing (Read More)
20/20rmb Time Out Beijing and The Bookworm present Sunday Salons, an interactive lecture series in an intimate setting that takes you ‘behind the music’ of China. This month join us as we welcome back Chu Yibing and the China Philharmonic Cellists, the first chamber group on the mainland. Not to be missed!
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- Amped The Bookworm: Jess Meider
FREE (Read More)
Jess is back from her US tour and we’ve missed her. Hear Beijing’s favorite singer-songwriter back at The Bookworm!
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- Basically Beethoven
FREE (Read More)
Join us as Beijing’s only classical music open mic welcomes our new BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg! Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing’s best international musicians.
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- EXPLORE: Where the Dragon Meets The Angry River: Nature and Power in China – a booktalk with Ed Grumbine
20/30 rmb (Read More)
Ed Grumbine traveled to the far corners of China’s Yunnan province to find out how this last fragment of wild nature is handling China’s development. As he hiked through deep-cut emerald mountains, back country villages, and burgeoning tourist towns, talking with trekking guides, schoolchildren, and rural farmers, Grumbine discovered that the problem wasn’t as simple as growth versus conservation. Hear more on his exploration of China’s water ways and their future.
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- EXPLORE: The Final Frontier – Exploring the Sky with Astronomer Eric Peng
20/30 rmb (Read More)
Astronomer Eric Peng acts as your guide to explore the final frontier of space. Join us for a color presentation on the origins of galaxies, stars and planets, as well as China’s initiative in the future of space research. Peng is a Research Professor in the Department of Astronomy at Peking University and a Research Associate at the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Beijing.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: No Name Trio
FREE (Read More)
No Name Trio joins The Bookworm to keep the spirit of Django Reinhardt alive. Come enjoy the best gypsy jazz in Beijing with No Name Trio, featuring Zoe Wang on accordion, Daniel Brustman and Nico Torrese on guitars.
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- EXPLORE KIDS: Dinosaur Workshop with Ludovic Blein
80 rmb (Read More)
Ludovic Blein is a specialist in prosthetic dinosaurs and replica models, having constructed T-Rexes, velociraptors and all kinds of Jurassic and Triassic beasts for museums, film sets and educational institutions alike. Join this amazing, hands on workshop on how to make accurate representations of claws, teeth and bones – you can even take them home at the end. All (kids and adults!) welcome.
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- EXPLORE KIDS: Dinosaurs! With Damien Leloup
20/30 rmb (Read More)
Damien Leloup is Managing Director of the Yizhou Geological Park, and an expert on the dinosaurs of China. Today he gives a special introduction to the dinosaurs who once roamed the earth exactly where you live today. With special exhibits, including real dinosaur bones, fossils which are millions of years old, and even a five metre long replica, juvenile allosaurus!
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- FCCC Happy Hour
FREE (Read More)
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour Non-members always very welcome. www.fccchina.org
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- EXPLORE: Lei Wang – Seven Summits and Back
20/30 rmb (Read More)
This September, The Bookworm will once again be converting our library into a museum in celebration of science and exploration. This year, we’re focusing on daring pioneers and intrepid adventurers as part of EXPLORE: land, sea, air. Our Explore program is packed with experts in the fields of paleontology, astronomy, conservation and underwater exploration. We kick-off the series tonight with Lei Wang – the first Chinese woman, as well as the first Asian-American, to climb the highest mountain on every continent and to ski to both the North and South Poles. Join us to hear more of her remarkable experiences.
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- Chill Out
Free (Read More)
Join us Friday nights when we shelve the books, trade the laptops for cocktails and chill out with jazz lounge music from Little Five.
- ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm
30rmb (Read More)
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
Free (Read More)
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
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- Whisky Wednesday
120rmb per head (Read More)
This month we’ll be sampling three Japanese whiskies: Yoichi 10yr, Yamazaki 12yr and Hakushu 12yr. RSVP to Clinton, res[email protected]. 120rmb per person with canap??s.
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- LITERARY DEATH MATCH: Beijing Episode 2 (Read More)
30/50 RMB Todd Zuniga , founding editor of Opium Magazine, brings the Literary Death Match back to Beijing! A competitive, humor-centric reading series, Literary Death Match is a circus – part literary performance art, part rapier-witted judging, and part absurd feats. In this episode of LDM, Susan Barker, Mark Kitto, John Leary and James Palmer will battle it out by performing their most electric writing in seven minutes or less before a lively audience and a panel of three all-star judges. After each pair of readings, our judges – focused on literary merit, performance and intangibles – take turns spouting hilarious, off-the-wall commentary about each story, then select their favorite to advance to the finals. The two finalists then compete in the Literary Death Match finale, which trades in the show’s literary sensibility for an absurd and comical climax to determine who takes home the Literary Death Match prize. Join us to cheer on your favorite and crown a new Beijing Literary Death Match Champion!
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: Pierre Pradat Jazz Trio (Read More)
FREE One of Beijing’s favorite jazz groups, the Pierre Pradat Jazz Trio brings their gallic take on jazz to The Bookworm. With Pierre Pradat on piano, Pierre Billiard on bass and Nicolas Mege on drums.
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- The King of Suburbia – a poetry reading with Iggy McGovern (Read More)
20/30 rmb Irish physicist Iggy McGovern was happily and wholeheartedly absorbed in science “until I got my appendix out and became a poet.” We’re glad he did as his book “The King of Suburbia” is a marvelous collection of “snazzy, and sharply focused, and ingeniously rhymed poems.” Join us to hear some of McGovern’s work and tales of poetry, physics and the connection between.
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- How to Manage a Successful Business in China: a booktalk with Johan Björksten (Read More)
20/30rmb In his book, Johan Björksten draws upon over 18 years of his own experience in China working in media and creating a successful China-based PR firm in his book How to Manage a Successful Business in China. This will be a great event for anyone looking to learn more about cracking the China business riddle where Björkst??n will provide relevant, practical advice and checklists, as well as concrete and illustrative examples. Managing in China succinctly explains how historical, cultural and social factors influence today’s Chinese business.
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- A Wild Light – a booktalk with Marjorie Liu (Read More)
20/30 rmb Marjorie M. Liu is a bestselling author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy short stories, novellas, and series. Join us to hear about her latest book, A Wild Light, a dark fantasy about a young woman who has spent her life fighting the dark forces of the world but may have ultimately succumbed to them herself.
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- Amped @ The Bookworm: The Ah-Q Arkestra (Read More)
FREE The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra performs an eclectic mix of jazz (straight ahead and modern), funk and Latin music. Mixing different styles and influences is the band’s trademark as well as writing and performing their own original jazz compositions.
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN??s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- Amped: Kalpa Vriksha
8 pm (Read More)
Sitar and table duo, Kalpa Vriksha, bring their unique sounds of the sub-continent to The Bookworm. If you misses local musician Tato on the tabla during our literary festival, here’s your chance to catch him in action!
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- Green Drinks! (Read More)
FREE Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- Amped @ The Bookworm: Girls are Waiting to Meet You
(Read More)
FREE Girls are Waiting to Meet You – one of Beijing’s more eclectic acts – brings a special acoustic set to the Amped series. GAWTMY provides a fresh take on the folk rock scene, throwing in parts banjo, guitar, sax, flute and ukulele.
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- FCCC Happy Hour
(Read More)
FREE Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour. Drink specials for FCCC members! Non-members always very welcome. http://www.fccchina.org/
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- Whisky Wednesday
(Read More)
120rmb per head Whisky Wednesday offers the perfect opportunity for lovers of a fine tipple of three to explore their passion for the world’s finest whiskies. This month we’re tasting Dalmore, Tullamore Dew and Ardbeg. After the tasting guests can indulge their inner Southern gentleman and try their hand at making a classic Old Fashioned. 120rmb includes canap??s. RSVP to Clinton at [email protected].
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- The Party – a booktalk with Richard McGregor (Read More)
30/50 rmb The political and economic growth of China in the past three decades is one of astonishing, epochal dimensions. The most remarkable part of this transformation, however, has been largely left untold. Until now. Don’t miss this riveting talk by McGregor on his much anticipated book.
- ●
- Chill Out
Free (Read More)
Join us Friday nights when we shelve the books, trade the laptops for cocktails and chill out with jazz lounge music from Little Five.
- ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm
30rmb (Read More)
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
Free (Read More)
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- Amped The Bookworm: Beijing Beatles Tribute band
FREE (Read More)
Some of Amped’s favorite musicians are banding together for a night of the best of the Beatles. Two acoustic sets perfect for all you lonely hearts, sexy Sadies and yellow submariners.
- ●
- Speaking for Myself – a booktalk & signing with Cherie Blair (Read More)
Tickets – 100/80 rmb Cherie Blair QC, wife of of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, joins The Bookworm to speak on her memoir, “Speaking for Myself.” Mrs. Blair is a leading barrister specializing in public law, human rights, employment and European Community law. As well as fighting for human rights in her professional career, Mrs. Blair is an active campaigner on equality and human rights issues. She has spoken across the world on both issues and also on the need for improved work/life balance for both women and men. Join us to hear more of her remarkable experiences.
- ●
- The Bookworm CityWeekend Book Club
FREE
(Read More)
The Book Club will be taking a break until September. For more information, please email [email protected]
- ●
- Amped The Bookworm: Kae Merriam’s Jazz Trio
FREE
(Read More)
Kae Merriam and her jazz trio at back. Already a huge favorite at The Bookworm Chengdu Merriam’s music encompasses a wide range of genres – often expanding beyond jazz to blues, indie, folk, rock, neoclassical, and latin. With Zac Courtney on drums and Sebastian Meyer on bass.
- ●
- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning
FREE
(Read More)
Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- The Dragon’s Gift: the real story of China in Africa – a booktalk with Deborah Bräutigam
30/50 rmb (Read More)
Deborah Brautigam tackles the myths and realities of China’s involvement with Africa – explaining what the Chinese are doing, how they do it, how much aid they give, and how it all fits into their “going global” strategy. Drawing on three decades of experience in China and Africa, Brautigam brings her fresh perspective and analysis to the hot topic question of ending poverty in Africa – and at what cost.
- ●
- Amped The Bookworm: KITE
FREE (Read More)
Join us every Saturday at The Bookworm for live music from some of the city’s best music acts. From bluegrass and jazz to Chinese folk and indie rock, there’s a little something for everyone. Tonight we welcome back Kite – a hybrid of Chinese and Western folk music.
- ●
- When a Billion Chinese Jump: Jonathan Watts
30/50 rmb (Read More)
Jonathan Watts, the award winning China correspondent for the UK Guardian discusses his latest book, When a Million Chinese Jump: How China will either save the world or destroy it. Watts examines the choices available to China to either become a green super power or an agent of global ecological disaster.
- ●
- Doing Business in China – a booktalk with Chris Torrens
30/50 rmb (Read More)
China has a long history of confounding multinational companies. Many firms have relied on their strategies for developed markets to operate in mainland China: for most, this has failed and companies have been forced to revise plans to take into account the idiosyncrasies of the Chinese market. Chris Torrens, a China specialist with Control Risks (a global consultancy), examines the strategies that have succeeded and those that have failed, and assesses the importance of in ensuring business success. From guanxi to dealing with corruption to corporate governance and social responsibility, Torrens cracks the riddle of doing business in China. Not to be missed!
- ●
- Green Drinks!
Free (Read More)
Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- Basically Beethoven
Free (Read More)
Join us as we say goodbye to BB host Hannah Quinn. Hannah has some tricks up her sleeve for her last evening of music and song of Beijing’s best loved – and only – classical open mic night – Basically Beethoven at The Bookworm. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing’s best international musicians. Help us thank Hannah for all her amazing work – and welcome our new BB co-hosts, Helena Murchie and Torbjoern Stallberg!
- ●
- Ten Walks/Two Walks: a booktalk with Andy Fitch
FREE (Read More)
Andy Fitch discusses and reads from his book Ten Walks/Two Talks , a meandering and meditative travel diary mapping 21st-century New York. The book combines a series of sixty-minute, sixty-sentence walks around Manhattan and a pair of dialogues about walking – one of which takes place during a late-night, philosophical ramble through Central Park.
- ●
- Whisky Wednesday
120rmb per head (Read More)
Whisky Wednesday offers the perfect opportunity for lovers of a fine tipple of three to explore their passion for the world’s finest whiskies. This month we’re tasting 3 unique Scottish whiskies: Old Pulteney 17yr, Balvenie 12yr Double wood and AnCnoc 12yr. 120rmb includes canapes.RSVP to Clinton at [email protected].
- ●
- In a Bigger City: a poetry reading with Tina Giannoukos
FREE (Read More)
Australian poet and fiction writer, Tina Giannoukos reads from her latest collection of poetry, In a Bigger City. Giannoukos?? sophisticated, multilayered poetry explores the hard and cruel urban jungle of Melbourne, Egypt, Greece and Indonesia. In a review of her first collection of poetry, In a Bigger City (Five Islands Press), her work is described as “no phrase or word misplaced, no poem falling away or losing impetus.”Join us to hear more from this Greek-Australian writer and her unique dissection of the modern world.
- ●
- Amped The Bookworm: Jess Meider
FREE (Read More)
Beijing’s favorite singer-songwriter, Jess Meider brings her unique voice back to The Bookworm. Don’t miss her!
- ●
- Chill Out
Free
(Read More)
Join us Friday nights when we shelve the books, trade the laptops for cocktails and chill out with jazz lounge music from Little Five.
- ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm
30rmb (Read More)
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- Playing Our Game: Why China’s Rise Doesn’t Threaten the West, Booktalk & Questions with Professor Edward Steinfeld (Read More)
China is often seen by outsiders as a place that has changed economically, but not politically and often seen as a place that plays only by its own rules in the game of global competition. Edward Steinfeld, professor at MIT, argues in his new book that the real story could not be more different. Join us tonight as he discusses how China, for its own domestic interests, increasingly ends up playing not its own game of economic development, but rather our own.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
Free (Read More)
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Tom Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- The Future of Civil Society in China – discussion and issue launch of The Charitarian (Read More)
Join us for a lively discussion on the future of civil society in China. Wang Li Wei, founder and Chief Editor of the magazine The Charitarian and Junior Galette discuss and debate what role will the Government carve out for companies and non-profit organizations to contribute to social issues, as well as celebrating the launch of thelatest issue of The Charitarian. The Charitarian is a Chinese and English language monthly publication on Corporate, Government and Personal Social Responsibility but The Charitarian is not just a magazine; it is a movement promoting social responsibility in government, business and personal life.
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- The Bookworm CityWeekend Book Club (Read More)
FREE Join this monthly get together for Bookworms (in the traditional sense!) to discuss great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and prose, selected by you, with the assistance of City Weekend. The club will be supported by Bookworm authors throughout the year, and is presented with a 10% books discount from The Bookworm shop on all bookclub-designated titles. This month??s title is To Live by Yu Hua. Internationally acclaimed, To Live is a portrayal of one man’s tragic life and his family’s saga through the last century in China. A must-read by a modern master of Chinese literature.
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- Amped The Bookworm: The Redbucks (Read More)
FREE Join us every Saturday at The Bookworm for live music from some of the city’s best music acts. From bluegrass and jazz to Chinese folk and indie rock, there’s a little something for everyone. For those aching for some live bluegrass, old-time, and country music, it simply doesn’t get any more authentic than The Redbucks. Performing their down-home repertoire of American roots music for over a year now, this ensemble of fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, upright bass and sweet, soul-wilting harmonies has made them one of Beijing’s most in-demand bands. The Redbucks guarantee a stompin’ good ole time.
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- Yes Madam, Sir – a film screening
(Read More)
Free for FCCC members/80rmb for non-members Filmed in India over six years and narrated by Academy Award winning actor, Helen Mirren, YES MADAM, SIR is a ??David and Goliath?? epic story profiling Asia Nobel Prize winner, Kiran Bedi ?C India??s first woman police officer. Join us for a special screening with director Megan Doneman. Brought to you by the FCCC.
- ●
- Guy Gavriel Kay (Read More)
20/30 rmb Internationally acclaimed Canadian author Guy Gayriel Kay joins us to discuss his latest book, Under Heaven, which was inspired by the glory of 8th century, Tang Dynasty China. The Chinese empire was at a peak of economic and political power and was drawing influence from the Western world, much as it is today. Vividly drawn are the vast plains, mountain lakes and teeming cities; the political volatility and intrigue of the imperial court; and the unforgettable characters and storytelling we’ve come to expect from Guy Gavriel Kay.
- ●
- Amped The Bookworm: Kae Merriam (Read More)
FREE Join us every Saturday at The Bookworm for live music from some of the city??s best music acts. From bluegrass and jazz to Chinese folk and indie rock, there’s a little something for everyone. Tonight, join us for Kae Merriam and her jazz trio in Beijing with Zac Courtney on drums and Sebastian Meyer on bass. Already a huge favorite at The Bookworm Chengdu Merriam’s music encompasses a wide range of genres – often expanding beyond jazz to blues, indie, folk, rock, neoclassical, and latin.
- ●
- Beijing Energy Network Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. BEN’s Energy & Environment Roundtable (BEER) tonight at The Bookworm. For information see http://greenleapforward.com/beijing-energy-network/.
- ●
- Dreaming in Chinese: a booktalk with Deb Fallows (Read More)
20/30 rmb Deborah Fallows discusses how studying the language during the 3 years she lived in China provided small clues to deciphering the behavior and habits of China??s people, and the culture’s conundrums. Bits of the language-a word, a phrase, an oddity of grammar-became windows into understanding romance, humor, protocol, relationships, and the overflowing humanity of modern China.
- ●
- International Newcomers Network (INN) Coffee Morning (Read More)
Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- SUNDAY SALONS: pianist Sheng Yuan (Read More)
20/30 rmb Time Out Beijing and the Bookworm present Sunday Salons, an interactive lecture series in an intimate setting that takes you ‘behind the music’ of China. This month, join us for a night with pianist Sheng Yuan. The only Bach interpreter in China, pianist Sheng Yuan has been featured in International Piano magazine both as one of China’s “rising stars” and a “piano pioneer”, as well as a host of articles in international media. At Sunday Salon, we will listen to his recordings as he discusses the cultural reasons Chinese find Bach so intimidating and difficult to play, and why he took up this challenge in the first place.
- ●
- Amped The Bookworm: The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra (Read More)
FREE Join us every Saturday at The Bookworm for live music from some of the city’s best music acts. From bluegrass and jazz to Chinese folk and indie rock, there’s a little something for everyone. Tonight we welcome back Beijing’s most original jazz ensemble, The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra. The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra performs an eclectic mix of jazz (straight ahead and modern), funk and Latin music. Mixing different styles and influences is the band’s trademark. Don’t miss them!
- ●
- FCC Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour Non-members always very welcome. www.fccchina.org
- ●
- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
Free Hannah Quinn and her merry band of musical maestros bring us an evening of music and song in the form of Beijing’s best loved – and only – classical open mic night – Basically Beethoven at The Bookworm. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing’s best international musicians.
- ●
- Nick Spitzer – American Routes to China and Back: Public Radio and Cultural Exchange
co-sponsored with the UPENN Club of Beijing (Read More)
Nick Spitzer is a folklorist nationally for his work with community-based cultures of the Gulf South, American vernacular music and musicians, theories of cultural creolization, cultural policy and documentary media. He is on the faculty of Tulane University as Professor of American studies and anthropology, and is adjunct research professor in anthropology and urban studies at the University of New Orleans. Spitzer received his B.A. in anthropology cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, and his M.A. and Ph.D. with distinction in anthropology (folklore) from the University of Texas. This is event is co-sponsored by the UPENN Club of Beijing
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-
Green Drinks! (Read More)
Free Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- Amped The Bookworm: KITE (Read More)
FREE Join us every Saturday at The Bookworm for live music from some of the city??s best music acts. From bluegrass and jazz to Chinese folk and indie rock, there’s a little something for everyone. Tonight, join us for Kite – folk music with some free improvisation, featuring guitar, tambur, double bass, drums and violin.
- ●
- Beijing Energy Network Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. BEN’s Energy & Environment Roundtable tonight at The Bookworm. For information see http://greenleapforward.com/beijing-energy-network/.
- ●
- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
100rmb per head Whisky Wednesday offers the perfect opportunity for lovers of a fine tipple of three to explore their passion for the world’s finest whiskies. RSVP to Clinton at [email protected].
- ●
- Plan B 4.0 – a booktalk with Lester Brown (Read More)
20/30 rmb Lester R. Brown is President of Earth Policy Institute and author of Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization. Plan B 4.0 examines the current race between political tipping points and natural tipping points. Can we cut carbon emissions fast enough to save the Greenland ice sheet and avoid the resulting rise in sea level? Can we close coal-fired power plants fast enough to save the glaciers in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau, the glaciers whose ice melt sustains the major rivers and irrigation systems of Asia during the dry season. Can we stabilize population by reducing fertility before nature takes over and halts population growth by raising mortality? Join us to hear Brown’s insights and solutions for how we can act to save civilization.
- ●
- The Bookworm & CityWeekend Book Club (Read More)
FREE Join this monthly get together for Bookworms (in the traditional sense!) to discuss great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and prose, selected by you, with the assistance of City Weekend. The club will be supported by Bookworm authors throughout the year, and is presented with a 10% books discount from The Bookworm shop on all bookclub-designated titles. This month??s title is the classic A Dream of Read Mansions by Cao Xueqinm A Dream of Red Mansions chronicles an 18th century noble family but the splendor of enchanting gardens, pleasure pavilions, and daily life of the most sophisticated refinements hides the realities of decay and self-destruction.
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- NEW MUSIC SERIES ?C Amped at The Bookworm:
The Over Easy Dance Band (Read More)
FREE Join us every Saturday at The Bookworm for live music from some of the city??s best music acts. From bluegrass and jazz to Mongolian throat singers and indie rock, there’s a little something for everyone. Tonight, join us for The Over Easy Dance Band, Beijing’s own unique mix of swing and blues.
- ●
- Shanghai: A History in Photographs – a booktalk with HS Liu & Karen Smith (Read More)
20/30 rmb “Shanghai: A History in Photographs 1842-Today” is a visual celebration of China’s most romantic and international city, Shanghai, told in rare archive and original contemporary photographs. Shanghai brings to life the people and communities of the city, in beautiful, intimate detail. Co-authors HS Liu – Pulitzer- prize winning journalist and author of “China after Mao”, “China, Portrait of a Country” – and Karen Smith – the foremost authority on contemporary Chinese art and author of “Ai Weiwei” – discuss their amazing and beautiful new book.
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- Saving Levy ?C a booktalk with Lisa Bentley (Read More)
20/30 rmb In Saving Levy, Lisa Bentley shares her amazing story of the miraculous events that led to saving the life of her adopted son who was found abandoned in a desolate field with 3rd degree burns over 80% of his 6 week old body. For the last 8 years, Bentley has not only devoted her life to her own 6 children, 2 of whom she adopted from China, but also to the care of medically disabled orphans. Since arriving in China, she has worked with two orphanages which provides medical assistance and temporary housing for orphans while working with adoption agencies to find them permanent families. She is about to launch two new projects; “OP” (Orphan Prevention) along with “Levi’s friends” (helping fellow burn victims). Join us this inspiring and uplifting event.
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- Bob Dylan: A Celebration (Read More)
FREE Join fellow Dylan fans for a celebration of his 69th birthday with an-all Dylan night at The Bookworm. Rare footage, previously unreleased tracks, live music and a quiz will make for a fun night of music.
- ●
- Beijing Energy Network Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. BEN’s Energy & Environment Roundtable (BEER) tonight at The Bookworm. For information see http://greenleapforward.com/beijing-energy-network/.
- ●
- International Newcomers Network (INN) Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- NEW MUSIC SERIES – Amped @ The Bookworm:
Jess Meider (Read More)
FREE Join us every Saturday at The Bookworm for live music from some of the city’s best music acts. From bluegrass and jazz to Mongolian throat singers and indie rock, there’s a little something for everyone. Tonight, join us for musician, performer, singer, songwriter, goodness maker Jess Meider!
- ●
- The Bookworm Bi-Annual NGO & Charity Networking Day (Read More)
FREE Twice a year, The Bookworm hosts the NGO& Charity Networking Day in order to help organizations share awareness and make connections with the NGO-charity community. This a great chance to find out about different organizations and the work they are doing, as well as network with colleagues in your field. Join us to learn more about how you can get involved with NGOs and Charities in Beijing.
- ●
- Basically Beethoven
(Read More)
FREE Hannah Quinn and her merry band of musical maestros bring us an evening of music and song in the form of Beijing’s best loved ?C and only ?C classical open mic night ?C Basically Beethoven at The Bookworm. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing’s best international musicians.
- ●
- Green Drinks! (Read More)
Free Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- SUNDAY SALONS with ZHANG HONGYAN, pipa player
An evening of music and discussion, in conjunction with Time Out Beijing (Read More)
20/30 rmb Time Out Beijing and the Bookworm present Sunday Salons, an interactive lecture series in an intimate setting that takes you ‘behind the music of China.’ This month, music promoter Zhang Kexin, music critic Sam Su (Su Lihua) and Time Out’s Nancy Pellegrini meet special guest star pipa (Chinese lute) player ZHANG HONGYAN, who has performed with both Western and Chinese orchestras around the world, and is now an Associate Professor at the Central Conservatory of Music. The pipa is one of the most versatile and technically difficult of China’s traditional instruments, requiring great stamina and flexible fingering. Zhang is known for her ability to blend Western and Chinese music, her tireless commitment to music education and audience building, and also for not having a ‘set fee’. Her concerts fetch her anywhere from 500RMB to 100,000RMB per performance; to Zhang, music is a service profession, and musicians must ‘earn’ their fees through their musicality and talent, not their name alone. A great way for a new look at Chinese music.
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- NEW MUSIC SERIES ?C Amped The Bookworm:
Da Wang Gang (Read More)
FREE Join us every Saturday at The Bookworm for live music from some of the city??s best music acts. From bluegrass and jazz to Mongolian throat singers and indie rock, there??s a little something for everyone. Tonight, join us for Tibet and Xinjiang-influenced folk band Dawanggang. Using rare ethnic instruments, Dawanggang creates a unique musical experience pulling from the Himalayas, Uighur Dolan Muqam, Tian Shan Kyrgyz Mountains and the Amdo Tibetan area.
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- FCC Happy Hour
(Read More)
FREE Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China – Happy Hour Non-members always very welcome. http://www.fccchina.org/
- ●
- Shanghai’s Dancing World – a booktalk with Andrew Field (Read More)
20/30 rmb Andrew Field discusses his latest book, Shanghai’s Dancing World: Cabaret Culture and Urban Politics, 1919-1954. Field explores the unique cultural and political environment of Shanghai during China’s move to nationalism. Join us for this fascinating look into the world of cabarets and in 1920s and 30s Shanghai full of taxi-girls, jazz stars and hard-drinking gangsters.
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- Beijing Energy Network Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. BEN’s Energy & Environment Roundtable (BEER) tonight at The Bookworm. For information see http://greenleapforward.com/beijing-energy-network/.
- ●
- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
100rmb per head Whisky Wednesday offers the perfect opportunity for lovers of a fine tipple of three to explore their passion for the world’s finest whiskies. For May??s Whisky Wednesday we head to Bourbon County Kentucky to taste a selection of 3 Bourbon whiskies. Makers Mark, Knob Creek and Blanton’s. 100rmb with canap??s and 10% off selected single malts. Limited seating. RSVP to Clinton at [email protected].
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- “Racing While Black” – a booktalk with Lenny Miller (Read More)
20/30 RMB Pilot and race car driver, Lenny Miller discusses his memoir ??Racing While Black.?? Starting a NASCAR team is hard work. Starting a NASCAR team as an African American is even harder. These are just a few of the lessons learned by Miller during his decade and a half of running an auto racing program. Fueled by more than the desire to win, Miller made it his goal to create opportunities for black drivers in the vastly white, Southern world of NASCAR. Racing While Black chronicles the travails of selling marketing plans to skeptics and scraping by on the thinnest of budgets, as well as the triumphs of speeding to victory and changing the way racing fans view skin color. Join us to hear more about Miller??s fascinating journey with his father??former drag racer and longtime team owner, journeys from the short tracks of the Carolinas to the boardrooms of the “Big Three” automakers.
- ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm
(Read More)
20rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- NEW MUSIC SERIES – Amped @ The Bookworm:
The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra (Read More)
FREE Join us every Saturday at The Bookworm for live music from some of the city??s best music acts. From bluegrass and jazz to Mongolian throat singers and indie rock, there??s a little something for everyone. It??s ok??you can swear in front of the books. Tonight, we launch the series with Beijing??s most original jazz ensemble, The Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra and drink specials all night!
- ●
- Pints, Poetry and Pirates (Read More)
FREE Release your inner poetry buccaneer and join us for a brand new spoken word open mic night at The Bookworm, hosted by US Slam prize-winning poet Sam Campeau. All languages, nationalities and persuasions welcome. Free, and featuring drinks specials.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Jonny Champagne. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including wines from The Wine Republic. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
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- City Weekend Bookclub (Read More)
FREE April’s selection tbd.
- ●
- The Wild, Wild East – a booktalk with Barbara Pollack (Read More)
20/30 rmb American art critic Barbara Pollack shares her adventures and experiences in the wild, strange and fascinating world of Chinese contemporary art.
- ●
- Beijing Energy Network Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. BEN’s Energy & Environment Roundtable (BEER) tonight at The Bookworm. For information see http://greenleapforward.com/beijing-energy-network/.
- ●
- The Adventures of a Cello – a booktalk and music with Carlos Prieto (Read More)
20/30 rmb Mexican born and MIT educated, musician and author Carlos Prieto is one of the most respected cellists in the world. His book, The Adventures of a Cello, is a remarkable account of the complex history of his cello. Prieto will be discussing his book as well as performing. Join us for this special treat!
- ●
- International Newcomers Network (INN) Coffee Morning (Read More)
FREE Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- Music at The Bookworm: Jess Meider
(Read More)
20/30 rmb Musician, performer, singer, songwriter, goodness maker Jess Meider brings her unique style to The Bookworm. Join us for a night of great music!
- ●
- Green Drinks! (Read More)
Free Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- International Newcomers Network (INN) Coffee Morning (Read More)
Free Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- KORYO Films presents Football Films (Read More)
20/30rmb A double-bill of football films “Centre Forward” and”The Game of Their Lives.” Produced in 1978, “Centre Forward” contains universal elements but has a distinct local flavour. Cultural aspects infuse relationships between players and management, mothers and sons and senior and junior team members. Fascinating both as an example of North Korean filmmaking and a strong story of overcoming athletic adversity, Centre Forward is at once inspirational, dramatic, amusing, and educational. “The Game of Their Lives” In 1966 the North Korean football team shocked the world by knocking out Italy. Using archive footage and interviews with the seven surviving players, this award-winning documentary tells the remarkable and highly entertaining story of the pint-sized giant killers. .
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- SUNDAY SALONS
An evening of music and discussion, in conjunction with Time Out Beijing (Read More)
20/30 rmb Time Out Beijing and The Bookworm present Sunday Salons, a monthly interactive lecture series where experts will take you ‘behind the music’ of China, be it traditional, contemporary or classical. This month join us a wonderful night of music with Chu Yibing and the China Philharmonic Cellists, the first chamber group on the mainland.
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- Basically Beethoven – Basically Baroque (Read More)
Free Join us for this special addition of Basically Beethoven, Basically Baroque – with baroque violin, recorder, harpsichord, trumpet plus our special guest tenor and soprano singers. Not to be missed.
- ●
- Beijing Energy Network Happy Hour (Read More)
FREE The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. BEN’s Energy & Environment Roundtable (BEER) tonight at The Bookworm. For information see http://greenleapforward.com/beijing-energy-network/.
- ●
- Pirates, Pints & Poetry (Read More)
FREE Ye be summoned/ To an open mic/At yonder Bookworm/Wednesday night For Pirates of Poetry/Speak dangerous thoughts/And sing of sinister/Salacious plots We set sail /First week next year/Bring ye mates/And drink ye beer DARRR!! Release your inner poetry buccaneer and join us for a brand new spoken word open mic night at The Bookworm, hosted by US Slam prize-winning poet Sam Campeau. All languages, nationalities and persuasions welcome. Free, and featuring drinks specials.
- ●
- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
100rmb per head Whisky Wednesday offers the perfect opportunity for lovers of a fine tipple of three to explore their passion for the world’s finest whiskies. Reservations to Clinton at [email protected]
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Jonny Champagne White. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including wines from The Wine Republic. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm
(Read More)
20rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- FCC Happy Hour
- ●
- Symphony of the Soil: Film Screening & Discussion (Read More)
Join us for the premier screening in China of two short films from Symphony of the Soil, a new production by filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia, producer/director of the award-winning film The Future of Food. Following the screening of the two films, “Portrait of A Winemaker: John Williams of Frog’s Leap” and “Soil in Good Heart”, there will be a discussion with the producer/director on contemporary issues of food and agriculture. Deborah is in Beijing to participate in the Workshop on Sustainable Food and Agriculture. The discussion will be moderated by workshop co-organizer Joshua Muldavin, Executive Director of the Action 2030 Institute.
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- The Bookworm City Weekend Book Club (Read More)
FREE
Join like-minded booklovers to discuss new and classic books. In this month’s session we discuss Leslie Chang’s ‘Factory Girls’. - ●
- BEER – Beijing Energy & Environment Roundtable (Read More)
The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. Join the folks at BEER twice monthly at The Bookworm for informed speakers, interesting presentations, and, well, beer.
- ●
- INN Coffee Morning (Read More)
Free
Every month the International Newcomers Network get together for an informal coffee morning to share hints and tips on settling ?C and staying ?C in your new city. - ●
- Basically Beethoven
A Musical Evening at The Bookworm (Read More)
Free
Did you resolve to make more of your talents this year? Stretch your piano fingers, or dust off that old accordian, and join The Bookworm’s open and informal open mic night for classical and jazz musicians. New players and listeners always welcome. - ●
- Green Drinks! (Read More)
Free
Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details. - ●
- FCCC Happy Hour (Read More)
Join us for the monthly drinks promo extravaganza with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. No cover charge, non-members very welcome. Members in possession of a valid FCCC membership card get the drinks promo from 6-10pm. For more info contact FCCC Administrator on [email protected] or visit their website www.fccchina.org
- ●
- BEER – Beijing Energy & Environment Roundtable (Read More)
The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. Join the folks at BEER twice monthly at The Bookworm for informed speakers, interesting presentations, and, well, beer.
- ●
- Pints, Poetry and Pirates (Read More)
FREE Release your inner poetry buccaneer and join us for a brand new spoken word open mic night at The Bookworm, hosted by US Slam prize-winning poet Sam Campeau. All languages, nationalities and persuasions welcome. Free, and featuring drinks specials.
- ●
- Third Culture Kids
Dr Ettie Zilber (Read More)
30/20rmb China’s international schools are full of kids growing up in an alien culture. These kids, who are living in a foreign country because of their parents’ jobs, are called Third Culture Kids. Dr. Ettie Zilber has a range of international teaching experince and is currently Head of School at BISS International School. She has just published her first book, “Third Culture Kids.”
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- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
Come test your palate this month as we experience an informal blind tasting of 3 Scottish single malts. Hosted tonight by Paul Mathews. Auchentoshan 12yr, AnCnoc 12yr, and Speyburn 10yr.
100rmb with canap??s and 10% off selected single malt whiskies after the tasting.
Reservations to Clinton at [email protected] - ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm (Read More)
20rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Jonny Champagne White. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including wines from The Wine Republic. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- The Bookworm Burns Supper! (Read More)
200rmb including 3 courses plus whisky
(250rmb including transport and entry to the Renegade Ceilidh)
Och Aye the Noo!! Its haggis time again! Join The Bookworm for one of our favourite events of the year – The Bookworm Burns Supper! Poetry, song, haggis and total shenanigans in celebration of Scotland’s National Poet, Robert Burns. This time doubly raucous as we take the party on the move and join the Renegade Ceilidh for dancing afterwards. Not to be missed. Mail [email protected] for more details. - ●
- The Bookworm International Literary Festival 2010 Programme Launch
With very special guest, COLUM MCCANN (Read More)200rmb/100rmb Join us for a very special evening as we reveal for the very first time The Bookworm International Literary Festival 2010 programme! Flown specially in for the occasion, literary master – and recent recipient of the US National Book Award – Colum McCann, shares his passion for books, writing and ideas to celebrate the launch of this year’s festival series. Tickets for this event include champagne, free flow wine, canapes, the chance to support Beijing’s premier literary event and the first opportunity to purchase festival event tickets (not available on general release until Feb 4th).
- ●
- New Beijing – Reinventing a City
A film screening and discussion with BJCHP (Read More)50/40rmb (profits to BJCHP) Development, demolition, drinks and debate. Check out New Beijing – Reinventing a City, a fascinating documentary about the struggles and stories of the people developing the Old City of Beijing and those trying to save it. It also focuses on the voluntary cultural heritage group, Memory of China, a collaborator of local grassroots NGO, Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center. The film will be followed by a discussion on the implications of development in Beijing. Proceeds go to BJCHP.
- ●
- INN Coffee Morning (Read More)
Free Every month the International Newcomers Network get together for an informal coffee morning to share hints and tips on settling – and staying – in your new city.
- ●
- The Book of the Alchemist
A booktalk with Adam Williams (Read More)30/20rmb After three successful novels set in China, local novelist Adam Williams turns his attentions elsewhere for his latest book, a fabulous, intriguing story of redemption and courage in a war-torn Andalucia. Don’t miss the very first China launch for his brand new book, featuring a Q&A; with Stephen Bradley, diplomat, businessman and writer, who is currently working on a parallel history of the Roman and Han Empires.
- ●
- Basically Beethoven
A Musical Evening at The Bookworm (Read More)Free Did you resolve to make more of your talents this year? Stretch your piano fingers, or dust off that old accordion, and join The Bookworm’s open and informal open mic night for classical and jazz musicians. New players and listeners always welcome.
- ●
- Green Drinks! (Read More)
PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED! GREEN DRINKS WILL BE BACK IN FEBRUARY.
Free Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details. - ●
- Time Out Sunday Salons (Read More)
30/20rmb Each month The Bookworm and Time Out create a platform of music and discussion featuring some of China’s hottest classical talent. Unprecedented opportunities to hear from real lights of the performing scene, expertly hosted and introduced by promoters and critics, Sam Su, Nancy Pellegrini and Kexin Zhang.
- ●
- BEER – Beijing Energy & Environment Roundtable (Read More)
The Beijing Energy Network (BEN or ???????????) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. Join the folks at BEER twice monthly at The Bookworm for informed speakers, interesting presentations, and, well, beer.
- ●
- Pints, Poetry and Pirates (Read More)
BRAND NEW EVENT SERIES FREE
Ye be summoned/ To an open mic/ At yonder Bookworm/ Wednesday night/ For Pirates of Poetry/ Speak dangerous thoughts/And sing of sinister/Salacious plots We set sail /First week next year/Bring ye mates/And drink ye beer DARRR!!
Release your inner poetry buccaneer and join us for a brand new spoken word open mic night at The Bookworm, hosted by US Slam prize-winning poet Sam Campeau. All languages, nationalities and persuasions welcome. Free, and featuring drinks specials. - ●
- Whisky Wednesday (Read More)
100rmb per head
Whisky Wednesday offers the perfect opportunity for lovers of a fine tipple of three to explore their passion for the world’s finest whiskies – expertly guided by Kelvin Tam of the Single Malt Club.
Reservations to Clinton at [email protected] - ●
- The Bookworm City Weekend Book Club (Read More)
FREE
Join like-minded booklovers to discuss new and classic books. In this month’s session we discuss Colm Toibin’s ‘Brooklyn’, a moving tale centred around Irish immigration to New York in the 1950’s. - ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm (Read More)
20rmb
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up. - ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Jonny Champagne White. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including wines from The Wine Republic. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table. - ●
- Kids Club Christmas Special (Read More)
Bring your little ‘uns along for a Kids Christmas special at The Bookworm, featuring books and games specially chosen to celebrate the season.
- ●
- Beijing Energy Network Happy Hour
(Read More)
FREE The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization based in Beijing with a mission of promoting networking and collaboration in understanding and tackling China’s energy and environmental challenges. BEN’s Energy & Environment Roundtable (BEER) tonight at The Bookworm. For information see http://greenleapforward.com/beijing-energy-network/.
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- International Newcomers Network Coffee Morning (Read More)
Join new friends and old at INN’s monthly coffee morning meet and greet. Exchange tips on being a newbie to the city and get the best advice from Beijing old hands.
- ●
- THE CHRISTMAS SUPER QUIZ (Read More)
The pub quiz to end all pub quizzes. Join us to flex your neurological muscles as Tom Champagne and Mr. Ben T. Slightly face off and test your knowledge of general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including wines from The Wine Republic. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- Time Out Sunday Salons
top pianist Sa Chen
(Read More)
30/20rmb Described as “one of the brightest performers of her generation”, Sa Chen has been delighting audiences across Europe, Asia and the US. She is the winner of numerous international piano competitions and has toured with the China, Los Angeles and Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestras. Tonight, the Sunday Salon team bring her to The Bookworm for an amazing one-off opportunity to hear her play and discuss her work. Unmissable!
- ●
- Visions of China
The Bookworm @CNEX
(Read More)
30rmb presale and Bookworm members. 50rmb on the door. Visions of China: a retrospective of 6 generations of filmmaking is a six part series exploring 100 years of Chinese cinema. Helped along the way by experts and enthusiasts from Beijing’s film community, the series is the perfect primer for anyone interested in Chinese film, and in opportunities to discuss it. Part of The Bookworm @ CNEX film series. This event is hosted at CNEX caf??.
- ●
- Basically Beethoven Christmas Special
A Musical Evening at The Bookworm
(Read More)
Free Get your Santa hats on and join us for Christmas at The Bookworm. All your favourite Christmas carols, as well as mulled wine and mince pies, served up with a healthy dose of festive cheer. Come early to get a spot!
- ●
- I Am an Axe: Chinese Poems that Made English Poetry
Nick Admussen
(Read More)
30/20rmb Poetry translation is an intimate and difficult act of connection between languages and language traditions. Tonight, hear Nick Admussen explain some of the Chinese roots of modern and contemporary English poetry in the work of Ezra Pound, Gary Snyder, Frank Bidart, and others, as well as the influence of translation in his own original poetry. Nick Admussen is a phd candidate at Princeton University. He received a Master of Fine Arts in poetry writing at Washington University in St. Louis, where he was awarded the position of writer-in-residence in 2003.
- ●
- Volunteer meeting
The Bookworm International Literary Festival 2010 (Read More)
The Bookworm International Literary Festival is a two-week celebration of all things book-related, running every March and attracting 70 writers from around the world to delight and entertain the city’s readers. The festival is also a logistical juggernaut which is impossible to get safely on the road without YOUR HELP! Join us for an info session as we recruit volunteers for our 2010 project. For more info mail [email protected]
- ●
- Green Drinks!
(Read More)
Free Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- Volunteer meeting
The Bookworm International Literary Festival 2010
(Read More)
The Bookworm International Literary Festival is a two-week celebration of all things book-related, running every March and attracting 70 writers from around the world to delight and entertain the city’s readers. The festival is also a logistical juggernaut which is impossible to get safely on the road without YOUR HELP! Join us for an info session as we recruit volunteers for our 2010 project. For more info mail [email protected]
- ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
Free (Read More)
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Jonny Champagne White. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including wines from The Wine Republic. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
- ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm (Read More)
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week teacher Hannah reads new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Look out for special wintry titles throughout the month of December, and a Christmas special on Sunday 20th! Ages 4 and up. 20rmb
- ●
- Visions of China
The Bookworm @CNEX
(Read More)
30rmb presale and Bookworm members. 50rmb on the door Visions of China: a retrospective of 6 generations of filmmaking is a six part series exploring 100 years of Chinese cinema. Helped along the way by experts and enthusiasts from Beijing’s film community, the series is the perfect primer for anyone interested in Chinese film, and in opportunities to discuss it. Part of The Bookworm @ CNEX film series. This event is hosted at CNEX caf??.
- ●
- Visions of China Film Series
Session 5: Existential Questions and Independent Cinema: the Nineties (Read More)The nineties offered a startling contrast between large scale productions and efforts made by independent fifth and sixth generations film makers to set up their own productions. After an introduction taking us from the international glory of Zhang and Chen into the complex and contrasting world of 6th generation directors, we will be invited to watch one of the period’s most intense works: ?? (Xiao Shuo, “The Obscure” – 1999), by Lu Yue. Lu Yue worked as technician on several of Zhang Yimou’s films before directing his own. In “The Obscure”, he explores some of the compelling themes ubiquitous in 6th generation productions: the question of identity, the relationship to the past and present, and the passing of time.
Speaker: Yang Zi, writer, critic and chief editor at Quacor.com.
This event will take place at CNEX. - ●
- Music at The Bookworm – Jordan Mitchell (Read More)
Join us for a great night of music with Jordan Mitchell. Mitchell pulls from early finger style guitarists, Celtic folk wizards, Americana & bluegrass
- ●
- INSIDER’S GUIDE LAUNCH PARTY!
(Read More)
FREE Join the merry band of Beijingers at Immersion Guides as we launch the FIFTH EDITION of the fabulous Insider’s Guide to Beijing. With intros and readings from IG contributors, as well as numerous drinks promos, giveaways and surprises galore. Don’t miss your chance to be the first to get your hands on the brand new edition of Beijing’s best homegrown guidebook.
- ●
- Lin Jingjing: ‘I want to be with you for ever’ (Read More)
20/30RMB
Intriguing female artist Lin Jingjing presents to Bookworm audiences her latest video works and discusses her current exhibition ” I want to be with you for ever” at the Songzhuang Art Museum (til Dec 14).
Lin Jingjing was invited by respected art critic Li Xianting, also known as the “Godfather of the Chinese Avant Garde”, to create a solo show of her last 5 years of work (installation works, photos, mix media works, videos , and paintings) across the 2000msq of the second floor of his Museum. Don’t miss the unexpected chance tonight to see highlights from her work and hear her describe her unique, fresh and quirky style.
More info at: http://www.jingjinglin.net/ - ●
- Whisky Wednesday Christmas Special
(Read More)
100rmb per head Whisky Wednesday offers the perfect opportunity for lovers of a fine tipple of three to explore their passion for the world’s finest whiskies – expertly guided by Kelvin Tam of the Single Malt Club. For December we explore Japanese whiskies from three different distilleries. The Hakashu distillery, nestled at the foot of the Kaikomagatake mountain produces small quantities of highly prized malts, the Yamazaki is Japan’s oldest distillery, while the Yoichi distillery still employs traditional coal heating methods for a unique taste. Join us to try these three amazingly diverse and unusual whiskies. Reservations to Clinton at [email protected]
- ●
- Professor David Shambaugh
(Read More)
30/20rmb David Shambaugh, director of the China Policy program at George Washington University, comes to The Bookworm tonight to discuss the current political climate in China, and the theories and researched outlined in his new book, China’s Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation.
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- The Bookworm Cityweekend Book Club (Read More)
Our bookclub is back! Join this monthly get together for Bookworms (in the traditional sense!) to discuss great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and prose, selected by you, with the assistance of Cityweekend. The club will be supported by Bookworm authors throughout the year, and is presented with a 10% books discount from The Bookworm shop on all bookclub-designated titles. Tonight we discuss Peter Hessler’s “Oracle Bones.” For more info contact [email protected]
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- David LaChapelle
(Read More)
30/20 RMB World-renowned photographer David LaChapelle’s images, both bizarre and gorgeous, have forged a singular style that is unique, original and perfectly unmistakable. Join us as he discusses his upcoming retrospective exhibition at TODAY Art Museum for June 2010. Drawing on everything from art history to street life, LaChapelle’s work represents a vivid portrait of pop culture. Known for his photographs of personalities from Lady Gaga to Hilary Clinton, his music videos for artists such as Gwen Stefani, as well as the feature film RIZE about “krumping” dance culture, LaChapelle’s work has featured in numerous magazines and art exhibitions around the world. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear LaChapelle talk about his iconic work.
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- Project Kaisei: Capturing the Plastic Vortex
Karin Malmstrom
(Read More)
30/20 RMB Project Kaisei – “Ocean Planet” in Japanese – presents for audiences at The Bookworm its mission to initiate a large scale cleanup of our oceans, and inspire changes in consumer and industrial practices to prevent future damage. Using a unique approach combining science, technology, industry – and sailing – to tackle the problem of plastic waste being dumped into the ocean, Project Kaisei just returned from an exhibition to the North Pacific gyre where huge masses of plastic waste, including refuse from China, have been found. Karin Malstrom, herself a crew-member of the Project Kaisei ship, will discuss their findings, the long-reaching problems of the plastic vortex and what we should be doing to help.
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INN Coffee Morning
(Read More)
FREE
Every month the International Newcomers Network get together for an informal coffee morning to share practical tips and info on getting ?C and staying ?C oriented in Beijing. Come along to meet new people and share experiences. All welcome. - ●
- John Mateer
An evening with The Bookworm poet-in-residence Autumn 2009 (Read More)30/20rmb
Join us for an evening of poetry and exploration, as John Mateer shares the work he’s been creating as part of his Asialink residency at The Bookworm throughout autumn 2009. For more details of this event, and our residency projects, see our website, www.beijingbookworm.com - ●
- Music at The Bookworm – THE REDBUCKS!
Free (Read More)Hailing from East to West, North to South, The Redbucks are Beijing’s most notorious and rowdy group of American Bluegrass musicians. Their robust and tender sound brings to mind the speed and force of a freight train combined with the sweetness of two lovers picnicking in a cherry orchard on spring afternoon. Hot licks, sweet harmonies, hootin??, hollerin??, stompin??, clappin??, and the good ole?? times??
Featuring:
Luke Boswell “Hobo Luke”: Banjo, Guitar, Dobro, Vocals
Jackson Garland “Two Sheds”: Bass
Amy Gardner “Swamp Mama Johnson”: Fiddle, Vocals
Christine Laskowski “Daisy Sweetgrass”: Guitar, Vocals
Chris Boehner “Dumpy Loves”: Mandolin, Vocals
Chip “Jimmy Yeehaw” Rountree: Guitar, Vocals - ●
- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
FREE
Hannah Quinn and her merry band of musical maestros bring us an evening of music and song in the form of Beijing’s best loved ?C and only ?C classical open mic night ?C Basically Beethoven at The Bookworm. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing’s best international musicians. - ●
- Green Drinks
(Read More)
FREE
Beijing’s best established networker for people interested in environmental or social justice projects. Hear all the latest news, share some of your own, and indulge in cut price drinks courtesy of The Bookworm.
For more info, please contact Jenny Chu at [email protected] - ●
- SOLD OUT – ‘Brooklyn’ – a booktalk with Colm Toibin
30/20rmb (Read More)
Colm Toibin is one of Ireland’s most prominent contemporary novelists. His work has been awarded numerous international literary prizes, including Booker prize long and shortlistings for three different books. In 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Dublin university for his contribution to Irish literature. Tonight, he reads from his new novel, Brooklyn, an elegant, sad and moving portrait of immigration from Ireland in the 1950s. Not to be missed.
PLEASE NOTE THE EARLIER START TIME FOR THIS EVENT - ●
- Sunday Salons (Read More)
30/20rmb
An evening of music and discussion, in conjunction with Time Out Beijing Time Out Beijing and The Bookworm present Sunday Salons, a monthly interactive lecture series where experts will take you ‘behind the music’ of China, be it traditional, contemporary or classical.
Ning Feng – China’s fastest rising violin star!
Ning Feng spent his childhood hanging around CD stores, desperate to buy this recording of that concerto, all of which were far beyond his family??s means. His violin, however, was for fun. ??My father played a little erhu and bamboo flute, and he sings all the time at home,?? says Feng. ??But he wanted me to have a hobby, a way to relax after work.?? Feng was never pressured to win anything, and enjoyed a low-key approach to music rarely seen in China. His private teacher suggested he consider the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, just in case; the school encouraged him to try studying abroad, just in case, but all he knew was that he loved the violin. Once in London, he was the Royal Academy of Music’s first student in 200 years to earn a perfect score on his final recital (leaving exam) and violin legend Lord Yehudi Menuhin invited him to Germany for a series of concerts. After winning a series of international awards, he earned a gold medal (and two special prizes) in the prestigious 2006 Paganini Competition, and is more sought after abroad than any Chinese violinist. His debut CD, Hello Mr. Paganini sold out; his second Violin Duets was released in the spring of this year to critical acclaim. Feng takes personal responsibility for every note he plays, achieving near perfect clarity and intonation without ever losing musicality. What makes Feng special, however, is his cantabile style. Most violinists play Paganini to show off their finger speeds (making it a popular encore choice), but Feng’s sings like a soprano, showing a deep understanding and great affection for the instrument’s most difficult music. Sunday Salons is honoured to welcome Ning Feng, who will be playing some favourite pieces and taking your questions. Don’t miss this opportunity to say you met him when! - ●
- The Bookworm @ CNEX
Visions of China: a retrospective on 6 Generations of filmmaking (Read More)3pm
50/30rmb
Visions of China is a six part series showcasing the development of Chinese cinema across six generations of filmmaking. Beginning with the early ‘wuxia’ traditions and running the full gamut to the independent cinema being produced today, the bilingual series will guide viewers through China’s cinematic milestones via rare movie clips and hard-to-find archive material. Helped along the way by experts and enthusiasts from Beijing’s film community, the series is the perfect primer for anyone interested in Chinese film, and in opportunities to discuss it. Part of The Bookworm @ CNEX film series. Every Sunday for 6 weeks, beginning 8th Nov. 3pm. CNEX. 30rmb presale and Bookworm members. 50rmb on the door. - ●
- FCCC Happy Hour
FREE (Read More)Join us for the monthly drinks promo extravaganza with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. No cover charge, non-members very welcome. Members in possession of a valid FCCC membership card get the drinks promo from 6-10pm. For more info contact FCCC Administrator on [email protected] or visit their website www.fccchina.org
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- Fiction Workshops with Catherine Sampson (Read More)
7.30pm
180rmb per session
This workshop will consist of four two-hour sessions looking at aspects of fiction writing including plot, character, place and genre. The aim of the course will be to break down and demystify the writing process, and it will be suitable for beginners as well as for writers already working on novels of any kind. Each session will include a period of writing and discussion. Catherine Sampson has written four crime novels published by Pan Macmillan: Falling Off Air, Out of Mind, The Pool of Unease, and The Slaughter Pavilion (paperback now available). Participants are asked to sign up for the full four-week course. Limited to 10 participants. Reservations essential ?C please contact [email protected] This series will also run on Thursdays (5th, 12th, 19th, 26th) at The Bookworm at the Yin Yang Center. 180rmb. 1pm -3pm - ●
- Whisky Wednesday
(Read More)
100rmb
The Bookworm’s whisky selection is undoubtedly among Beijing’s finest, boasting nearly sixty varieties imported from Scotland and beyond. Join us for our Whisky Wednesday tasting session, where each month you’ll be expertly guided, by Kelvin Tam of The Single Malt Club, through the history and folklore of three specially selected malts, blends, regions or distilleries. For November, we focus on anCnoc, contrasting 12, 14 and 16 year old whiskies from this unique distillery, founded way back in 1894. 100rmb per head. Reservations to Clinton at [email protected] - ●
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The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Free
Weekly trivia shenanigans, every Monday from 7.30pm. Officially the Best Pub Quiz in town, according to The Beijinger Reader Bar and Club Awards! Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including drinks, mystery bonuses and Bookworm events tickets. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table. - ●
- Kids Club at The Bookworm
(Read More)
20rmb
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week we read new and classic children’s books with the help of Teacher Hannah and friends. Ages 4 and up. - ●
- Death in the Palace: a Murder Mystery
8pm
80rmb (Read More)A mild October evening, 1793, in the Forbidden City. For one exceptional occasion, the emperor has thrown the doors of the palace open for a lavish party, inviting noblemen and warlords, visiting envoys from abroad, mysterious travelers and traders from afar into his sacred chambers. But just as the party is getting underway, tragedy strikes! The emperor’s favourite concubine, Fan Fan, is stabbed in the heart with a jade hairpin! Who did it? A jealous rival? The court physician? A figure from her distant pre-palace past? Secrets, intrigue and nefarious deeds abound as we celebrate Halloween with a murder mystery night.
- ●
- When China Rules the World
a booktalk by Martin Jacques (Read More)For well over two hundred years we have lived in a western-made world, one where the very notion of being modern is inextricably bound up with being western. The twenty-first century will be different. The rise of China, India and the Asian tigers means that, for the first time, modernity will no longer be exclusively western. The west will be confronted with the fact that its systems, institutions and values are no longer the only ones on offer. The key idea of Martin Jacques’s ground-breaking new book is that we are moving into an era of ‘contested modernity’. The central player in this new world will be China. Martin Jacques is currently a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. He has recently been a visiting professor at Remnin Daxue, Aichi University and at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, and was a senior visiting research fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He was editor of the highly respected journal Marxism Today until its closure in 1991. He has written for numerous influential newspapers, journals and magazines and is the author of four books of political commentary.
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- Segalen – A Life
With The Bookworm’s poet in residence, John Mateer
30/20rmb (Read More)Along with other anniversaries for China, 2009 marks one century since the first visit of Victor Segalen, the French novelist, poet, archaeologist and art-historian, to this country. Although largely unpublished during his lifetime, Segalen’s legacy has recently been receiving significant recognition in the English-speaking world with the republishing of his three most famous books, the novel Rene Leys, the collection of poems Steles and the book of fragments Essay on Exoticism: an Aesthetics of Diversity. Segalen’s work is increasingly seen as an alternative literary response to the American Ezra Pound’s vision of Cathay. Bookworm’s writer-in-residence, the Australian poet John Mateer, who has been in Beijing to investigate Segalen, will present a personal response to Segalen??s inspiring work.
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- “Confessions of an Elevator Operator”
A booklaunch by Jimmy Qi
30/20rmb (Read More)Beijing novelist Jimmy ‘Monkey’ Qi firmly subscribes to the philosophy that writers should live in the world, rather than take writing as a ‘professional occupation’. A talented linguist, in addition to Mandarin, Jimmy is fluent in eight languages, including Japanese, French, Esperanto, and Korean. Jimmy’s major work, a ‘Trilogy of Toilets’ was published in 2000. In 2004 he published an essay, ‘A Dialogue With A Tiger’, a work of philosophy and art criticism, followed by his latest novel, ‘Farewell To Waiqi’ in March 2006. Tonight, this fascinating, unusual new voice presents the first English translation of his ‘Yu Li ?C Confessions of an Elevator Operator’, recently published by Make Do Studios, Hong Kong.
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- Body as Ultimate Healer
Dr Rob Blinn
30/20rmb (Read More)In an address to the American Psychological Association this year, Dr. Allan Schore, identified the current paradigm shift that is heppening in the field of psychology. The field of psychology is moving from left-brained analytical approaches to more right-brained, integrative, and bodily-based somatic approaches. In a non-technical presentation, Dr. Rob Blinn, psychologist at Beijing United Hospital shares what can be learned from using somatic approaches in dealing with trauma and other psychological issues. In his talk Dr Blinn will also discuss how he and his team have used somatic approaches in the China Earthquake Relief Project in Sichuan.
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INN Coffee Morning
FREE (Read More)Every month the International Newcomers Network get together for an informal coffee morning to share practical tips and info on getting ?C and staying ?C oriented in Beijing. Come along to meet new people and share experiences. All welcome.
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- Noir, mystery and detective stories from China and Italy
30/20rmb (Read More)Tonight we’re in the company of an amazing FOUR brilliant crime fiction writers, all hailing from China or from Italy, and all at the top of their literary fields. As part of the Italian Institute of Culture’s amazing October literature seminar, they will compare and contrast the deep and murky underworlds of Italy and China, from a literary perspective, and examine the appeal of seeing the world through the eyes of a cop ?C they’re always ready to ask the questions, but are they so often ready with the answers? Join Qiu Xiaolong (Death of a Red Heroine, Red Mandarin Dress), Giorgio Faletti (Io uccido (I Kill), Io sono Dio), Alberto Toso Fei (Venetian Legends and Ghost Stories) and Isaia Iannaccone (Cecchina and Jesuits in the Forbidden City, Galileo’s Friends) to solve these and other pressing mysteries. In English.
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‘Mrs West’s Hats’
A Booklaunch by Helen Couchman
30/20rmb (Read More)Helen Couchman’s new book is a thoughtful, quiet meditation on the life of her grandmother, a remarkable lady and the owner of a number of extravagant hats. Tonight we explore memory, history, heritage, and inheritance via this beautiful little work, soon to be launched in London and worldwide. Helen Couchman is a visual artist based in Beijing, and the author of ‘Gongren’. With special guests,
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Michael Santoro: China 2020
30/20rmb (Read More)What will be the effect of economic reform and prosperity on political reform in China? How can companies operate with moral integrity and ethics in China? In China 2020, Santoro demonstrates that moral integrity (or lack of it) by Western business will have a profound impact on whether or not economic privatization and growth usher in greater democracy and respect for human rights. Michael Santoro has a phd in Public Policy from Harvard University, and has published three books on Business Ethics, two of them focusing specifically on China. He is currently Associate Professor of Ethics at Rutgers Business School.
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Green Drinks
7pm – 10pm
FREE (Read More)Beijing’s best established networker for people interested in environmental or social justice projects. Hear all the latest news, share some of your own, and indulge in cut price drinks courtesy of The Bookworm. For more info, please contact Jenny Chu at [email protected]
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Sunday Salons
An evening of music and discussion, in conjunction with Time Out Beijing (Read More)Time Out Beijing and The Bookworm present Sunday Salons, a bilingual interactive lecture series in an intimate setting, where you can go ‘behind the music’ of China, be it traditional, contemporary or classical. This month, music critic Su Lihua, music promoter Zhang Kexin and Time Out’s Nancy Pellegrini look at From Mao to Mozart and other Musical Milestones. Discussions will cover not only the film of the same name, which traces Isaac Stern’s 1979 musical tour of China, but also other events of the time such as Yehudi Menuhin’s visit the year before, and violinist Hu Kun’s 1980 explosion onto the international scene.
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- FCCC Happy Hour
FREE (Read More)Join us for the monthly drinks promo extravaganza with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. No cover charge, non-members very welcome. Members in possession of a valid FCCC membership card get the drinks promo from 6-10pm. For more info contact FCCC Administrator on [email protected] or visit their website www.fccchina.org
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- Basically Beethoven (Read More)
Thursday 8th October 7.30pm Basically Beethoven FREE Hannah Quinn and her merry band of musical maestros bring us an evening of music and song in the form of Beijing’s best loved ?C and only ?C classical open mic night ?C Basically Beethoven at The Bookworm. Come along and get involved or simply bask in the glory of some of Beijing’s best international musicians.
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Whisky Wednesday
(Read More)
Big brands are usually what come to mind first. But in whisky, big doesn’t necessarily mean better. It takes a heart to make a good whisky. In our next Whisky Wednesday we will be tasting whiskies from the “independents”. Starting with Arran, the island malt that rises to stardom in its short, 14 year history; then Benromach, the Speyside malt that demonstrates “small is beautiful” by downsizing to make better malts; finally Springbank, perhaps now the only working Campbelton distillery, insisting on following every tradition by doing everything from malting to bottling on site. Come join us to savour these whiskies not easily found in Beijing (except in The Bookworm, of course!).
100rmb per head.
Reservations to Clinton at [email protected] - ●
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The Bookworm Pub Quiz
(Read More)
Free
Weekly trivia shenanigans, hosted by the inimitable Tom Champagne, every Monday from 7.30pm. Officially the Best Pub Quiz in town, according to The Beijinger Reader Bar and Club Awards! Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including drinks, mystery bonuses and Bookworm events tickets. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table. - ●
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Kids Club at The Bookworm
20rmb (Read More)Every Sunday 11am ?C 12pm (11th, 18th, 25th) Kids Club at The Bookworm 20rmb Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week we read new and classic children??s books with the help of Teacher Hannah and friends. Ages 4 and up.
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GO Club
FREE (Read More)Go (wei qi) is an ancient Chinese game of skill and strategy. It’s a race to colonise the board, until the first skirmish breaks out, which grows into a multi-front strategic battle. Or, you can play peacefully if you like. The Beijing Go Club meets every week to play, have fun, and improve. We’ve got a lot of beginners, but also some dan players – come along if you’d like to learn or be challenged. http://beijinggoclub.com
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- EVOLVE Closing, and Bookworm 4th Anniversary Party!
FREE (Read More)Join us for fun and shenanigans to celebrate our fourth birthday, and to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in the Evolve project ?C human and dinosaur alike.
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- EVOLVE KIDS
The Dinosaurs of Liaoning
Damien Leloup and Ludovic Blein
50rmb adults 30 rmb kids (Read More)Damien Leloup is Managing Director of the Yizhou Geological Park, and an expert on the dinosaurs of China. Today he gives a special introduction to the dinosaurs who once roamed the earth exactly where you live today. With special exhibits, including real dinosaur bones, fossils which are millions of years old, and even a five metre long replica Jinzhousaurus! School and group bookings welcome. Please contact Jenny Niven on [email protected] or 6586 9507 for details
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- EVOLVE: Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs and Discovery
‘What Next?: Current Evolutionary Necessities’
Tim Clissold
50/30rmb (Read More)Tim Clissold, CEO of Peony Capital, a company researching Clean Development Mechanism projects (CDM’s) for China gives an overview of climate change, explaining the (much-misunderstood) physical science behind the issue, and outlining the complexity of the problem for developing and developed countries alike. Tim discusses development models for the future, and the imperative that as custodians of this fragile planet, we must act, now. Far from claiming we’re too far gone to make a difference, Tim offers practical solutions – for governments, businesses and individuals – as to where we go from here.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
Professor Hou Yamei: Becoming Human 50/30rmb (Read More)Since we gained consciousness, humans have pondered the question of our origins. The puzzle of human evolution continues to fascinate scientists and laymen alike, with numerous new discoveries every year contributing to the debate. Concentrating broadly on the evolutionary thoughts of Teilhard de Chardin, Professor Hou Yamei, a specialist in early human tool production and use, outlines the development of early humans and the changes and choices which made evolution inevitable. Touching on the ethical and moral questions surrounding the evolutionary debate, and their implications for religion, she also discusses future evolutionary directions.
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Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
Xu Xing, Dinosaur Hunter!
50/30rmb (Read More)Dr. Xu has conducted fieldwork in every major dinosaur localities in China and is responsible for naming more (over 35) dinosaur species than anyone else in the world. His discoveries include the four-winged Microraptor and the buck-toothed Incisivosaurus, and his works on the origin and early evolution of feathers and of bird flight are among the most significant contributions in these fields. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Dr Xu’s amazing first hand accounts of what its like to be a real live modern day Indiana Jones.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
Science and the progress of civilisation
Dr William Wells
50/30rmb (Read More)Former science advisor to Presidents Eisenhower and Clinton, the remarkable Dr Wells, now 86, shares his amazing experiences and first hand accounts of how science has been viewed in the White House. He discusses different global leaders, and their political attitudes and approaches to science ?C as well as what that can mean for the citizens under their charge.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
The Mysteries of Zhoukoudian
Qian Guifeng & Li Chen rui 50/30rmb (Read More)The Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian remains one of the world’s most important paleontological sites. 80 years on from the first excavation of a complete, 500,000 year old human skull (some of the oldest homo erectus remains ever found), the dig has been reopened for excavation in 2009. Tonight, two of the center’s key team-members give us a special, multimedia presentation on the work and discovery at the site, featuring films, learning tools and displays specially created for visitors to Zhoukoudian. Come and hear the fascinating story of the original Peking Man discoveries, explore the unsolved mystery which still shrouds the missing priceless artefacts, and discover more about the new research taking place there today.
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- EVOLVE KIDS
‘Origin of Species – a Graphic Adaption’ by Michael Keller
2pm – 3.30pm
50rmb adults 30rmb kids (Read More)Michael Keller is the author of a brand new graphic adaptation of ‘Origin of Species’. Today he gives a special presentation for teens on Darwin, his life and work, and on the process of turning this fascinating study into a graphic nonfiction book. With amazing illustrations from the forthcoming publication.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
Writing workshops
KIDS – Catherine Sampson (6 – 10 years)
80rmb (Read More)What was the world really like forty million years ago? What would you do, if you were faced with a TRex? What would life be like if the dinosaurs CAME BACK? Beijing based novelist Cathy Sampson guides this short story workshop for kids, to get the creative juices going using our amazing live exhibits for inspiration.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
Writing workshops
ADULTS – John Mateer 80rmb (Read More)How much do we really know about our origins? What have we made of the earth we inherited from the dinosaurs? What are our responsibilities as its custodians? Taking exhibits from the Yizhou Fossil Park and Dinosaur Museum as stimulus we look at the relationship between man and nature, and ponder our past and future, in this poetry workshop for adults. Guided by John Mateer, The Bookworm’s Asialink Writer in Residence for Autumn 2009.
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- NEW SERIES
Sunday Salons: “China’s Shostakovich”
Composer Wang Xilin
30/20rmb
30rmb nonmembers
20rmb members and with a copy of Time Out (Read More)Time Out Beijing and The Bookworm present Sunday Salons, a monthly interactive lecture series where experts will take you ‘behind the music’ of China, be it traditional, contemporary or classical. This month, music critic and producer Su Lihua introduces Wang Xilin, the best Chinese composer you’ve never heard of, whose music (like Shostakovich) is a direct representation of his political suffering, and an attempt to heal China’s wounds. The two will play recordings, discuss his work, and take questions from the floor.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
HMS Beagle
David Lort-Phillips (Read More)David Lort-Phillips is a key member and trustee of ‘The Beagle Project’, a mission to build a sailing replica of the ship which carried Darwin around the world on his epic field biology tours from 1831 to 1836. By revisiting many of the routes sailed by Darwin and his crew (including John Lort-Stokes, the Beagle??s mate, surveyor, and an ancestor of David Lort Phillips), the ship will inspire global audiences through unique public engagement and learning programmes. Original scientific research in evolutionary biology, biodiversity and climate change will also be undertaken as part of this extraordinary project. David Lort-Phillips reveals all.
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- EVOLVE KIDS
The Voyage of HMS Beagle
David Lort Phillips
50rmb adults / 30rmb kids (Read More)David Lort Phillips, director of the Darwin Center in Wales, and crew of the brand new HMS Beagle, soon to be sailed around the world in honour of Darwin, gives a special presentation for children. He describes his fascinating project, and reveals how ?C and why – budding scientists can participate in the adventure of science.
School groups are welcome to make bookings for Evolve Kids events. Please mail [email protected] for details - ●
- Thursday 10th September
Basically Beethoven
FREE (Read More)Hannah Quinn hosts Basically Beethoven, Beijing??s longest running classical music open mic night tonight from 7.30pm. Come along to listen and appreciate, or bring an instrument and get involved. New participants always welcome.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
David Quammen and Michael Keller: The Importance of Darwin
50/30rmb (Read More)The founding father of evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin is a household name. But how much do we actually know about the man, his life and work? David Quammen (The Reluctant Mr Darwin, Was Darwin Wrong?) and Michael Keller (Origin of Species ?C a graphic adaptation) discuss this fascinating character, and the importance of the theories he proposed. Tonight, we also explore the continuing relevance of Darwin and his ideas in 2009 ?C the bicentenary of his birth, and 150 years after the publication of the text that would forever change the way we see the world: ‘Origin of Species’.
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- Green Drinks at The Bookworm
FREE (Read More)The good people at Green Drinks are back to bring you all the latest news from Beijing’s green and eco-conscious community. Contact Jenny Chu at [email protected] for more information.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
Specially themed quiz night – ‘Discovery’
FREE (Read More)Bone up on your Triassic trivia for this special one-off Discovery-themed edition of The Bookworm pub quiz. All the usual quiz shenanigans apply, featuring AMAZING extra special prizes excavated for the occasion…
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
Kids Club
20RMB (Read More)Join teacher Hannah for a special edition of Kids Club featuring dinosaurs galore! Find out fascinating facts on all kinds of dinosaurs, big and small, with reading activities, games and competitions.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
Learning with Ludovic: Replica Dinosaur-making Workshops
80rmb (including all materials) (Read More)Ludovic Blein is a specialist in prosthetic dinosaurs and replica models, having constructed T-Rexes, velociraptors and all kinds of Jurassic and Triassic beasts for museums, film sets and educational institutions alike. Join this amazing, hands on workshop on how to make accurate representations of claws, teeth and bones ?C you can even take them home at the end. All (kids and adults!) welcome.
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- Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery
Damien Leloup – The Dinosaurs of Liaoning
50/30rmb (Read More)Join Damien Leloup, Managing Director of the Yizhou Geological Park at the Dinosaur Museum of Liaoning, to engage in a guided tour through the paleontological discoveries from this fascinating area of China. An underwater archaeologist by profession, Damien has worked on Australian shipwrecks, been to the Amazon looking for rare plants, explored South Africa with Jacques Cousteau, and searched for dinosaurs in Madagascar. Tonight he shares his expertise on Chinese dinosaurs, and places their significance in a global context. With reference to ‘live’ exhibits.
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OPENING RECEPTION
Evolve: Dinosaurs Darwin and Discovery
50rmb nonmembers
30rmb members (Read More)David Quammen ?C ??Why Big Ideas Matter?? To celebrate the opening of ??Evolve!??, world renowned science and nature writer David Quammen explains why it is imperative that we listen to those who challenge accepted norms, and that we continue to strive to push the boundaries of our knowledge. David Quammen is the author of eleven books, on evolutionary theory, field biology, ecology, conservation, and on the life and work of Charles Darwin. A three-time winner of the National Magazine Award in the US, David describes his writing as exploring ??the yin and yang of landscape and human history??.
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- EVOLVE: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery (Read More)
2009: 200 years since Darwin’s birth, 150 years since the publication of ‘Origin of Species’, 80 years since the unearthing of the first complete Peking Man, and already a year of fascinating research and amazing discovery in Chinese paleontology…
This month, celebrate all of these amazing feats during our month-long ‘EVOLVE’ series. Events planned include presentations from speakers such as paleontologists, geologists, science and nature writers, Darwin biographers, conservationists, a US presidential science adviser, and a real life, Chinese, Indiana Jones.
Throughout the month, The Bookworm will also be transformed, with the help and generosity of the Yizhou Geological park, into a jurassic wonderland, with replica skeletons, fossils and real dinosaur bones on display throughout the series. Sessions for kids, creative writers and fossil enthusiasts make it a busy month, entirely dedicated to promoting the development of research, inquiry, great ideas and education.
More details, schedules, speaker bios and ticketing information will be available in early August.
The “Evolve: Dinosaurs, Darwin and Discovery” series is made possible with the support of the Yizhou Geological Park, and the Western Academy of Beijing. - ●
- OPENING RECEPTION
The Beijing International Book Fair 2009 (Read More)Join us as we celebrate the first day of Beijing’s biggest books trade fair – a chance for publishers and industry professionals from around the world to get together to share news on China’s book scene, and to meet friends old and new. We’ll mark the occasion with cocktails and canapes on The Bookworm roof. If you’d like to attend, please write to [email protected] BEFORE Tuesday 1st September.
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- Whisky Wednesday
100rmb per head (Read More)The Bookworm’s whisky selection is undoubtedly among Beijing’s finest, boasting nearly sixty varieties imported from Scotland and beyond. Join us for our Whisky Wednesday tasting session, where each month you’ll be expertly guided, by Kelvin Tam of The Single Malt Club, through the history and folklore of three specially selected malts, blends, regions or distilleries. Reservations to Clinton at [email protected]
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Kids Club (Read More)
Join Teacher Hannah for reading fun and games every Sunday from 11am. Designed to encourage a love of books outside the classroom, each week features new and much-loved children??s stories, read in English for ages 4 and up. All nationalities welcome. Please note this activity also takes place at 1pm at The Orchard. See www.yinyangbeijing.com for more details.
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- Beijing Go Club!
FREE (Read More)Go (wei qi) is an ancient Chinese game of skill and strategy. It’s a race to colonise the board, until the first skirmish breaks out, which grows into a multi-front strategic battle. Or, you can play peacefully if you like. The Beijing Go Club meets every week to play, have fun, and improve. We’ve got a lot of beginners, but also some dan players – come along if you’d like to learn or be challenged. http://beijinggoclub.com FREE.
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- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
FREE (Read More)Pit your wits against Beijing??s finest trivia teams at The Bookworm pub quiz, every Monday. Hosted by Tom Champagne, each week features great prizes from sponsors and the bar, as well as event tickets and great drinks promos. Free. Max teams of six. Get here early to be guaranteed a table. New teams welcome!
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- A Double Literary Celebration!
Joint launch of ‘Cha: an online literary journal’ and Small Anchor Press and Dashan’s first bilingual chapbook series (Read More)Join us tonight to explore two great new Asian literary projects.
Cha is an online literary journal collating fiction, poetry, reviews, non fiction prose and photographs from across Asia. Its brand new edition, guest edited by Royston Tester is available NOW at www.asiancha.com Royston joins us tonight for an informal launch of the new edition. Drop by to say hello, to hear more about the Cha project and to learn how you can submit work to be considered for Cha’s Winter 2009 edition, which will include pieces from Nam Le (The Boat) and Rebecca Rosenblum.
In our Double Literary Celebration tonight, we’re also very pleased to present a brand new series of bilingual chapbooks, co-produced by Small Anchor Press and Dashan International, an organisation set up in Sichuan in the wake of last year’s earthquake, to create sustainable economic development opportunities in the area. Tonight Jen Hyde of Small Anchor Press, and some of the collections’ featured writers, will be on hand to discuss the project. - ●
- Jen Shyu : Jade Tongue Beijing CD release
An evening of music (Read More)Jen Shyu – vocals, compositions, piano, moon guitar
And special guest Wu Na ?C guqin
Vocalist/composer/pianist/dancer Jen Shyu presents her groundbreaking solo project ??Jade Tongue?? of original music for voice, piano, dance, and moon guitar, in languages including English, Portuguese, Spanish, Taiwanese, and Mandarin, featuring poetry by Brazilian poet Patr??cia Magalhães, Tang Dynasty poets Li Bai and Meng Jiao, and text by Cuban slave Esteban Montejo about the Chinese indentured laborers in 19th-century Cuba. She will also play the two-stringed moon guitar, an authentic Taiwanese instrument she learned from elders in the villages of Hengchun and Manjou, Taiwan. - ●
- INN Coffee Morning
FREE (Read More)Every month the International Newcomers Network get together for an informal coffee morning to share practical tips and info on getting ?C and staying ?C oriented in Beijing. Come along to meet new people and share experiences. All welcome.
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- East, West and Sex
A booktalk by Richard Bernstein
30/20rmb (Read More)Veteran journalist Richard Bernstein ruffles feathers on both sides of the world with his new book ?C an exploration of the sexualisation of ??the East?? and the historical relationship between Western men and the sexual playgrounds apparently offered to them in Asia and the Middle East. Tales of harems and sultry nights abound, with insight as to how today??s attitudes have been shaped by history. Richard Bernstein is a columnist for the International Herald Tribune and a contributor to The New York Times. He has served as a foreign correspondent in Asia and Europe for Time and the Times, and is the author of six previous books.
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- Green Drinks
7pm – 10pm
FREE (Read More)Beijing’s best established networker for people interested in environmental or social justice projects. Hear all the latest news, share some of your own, and indulge in cut price drinks courtesy of The Bookworm. For more info, please contact Jenny Chu at [email protected]
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- Where East Eats West
A booklaunch with Sam Goodman
FREE, tickets required (Read More)In Where East Eats West: The Street-Smarts Guide to Business in China, Goodman uses his unparalleled China experience to boil down the China business basics into fun, easy-to-digest lessons and ready-to-serve actions. While many books have been written for the corporate executive or the bigwig with deep pockets, Where East Eats West is written for the little guy on the ground and in the trenches. Tickets available from The Bookworm.
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- FCCC Happy Hour
FREE (Read More)Join us for the monthly drinks promo extravaganza with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. No cover charge, non-members very welcome. Members in possession of a valid FCCC membership card get the drinks promo from 6-10pm. For more info contact FCCC Administrator on [email protected] or visit their website www.fccchina.org
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- “Art of the DPRK – Promoting North Korean film”
presented by Koryo Tours
30/20rmb (Read More)Join Koryo Tours as we celebrate the launch of their latest work – a fascinating collection of movie posters and promotional artwork for DPRK films. Aimed at non-Korean festival-goers in fellow socialist countries, this privately owned collection, presented with official synopses, and expert analysis, is an amazing record of North Korean movie production and how its been packaged for foreign audiences. Tonight, the Koryo Team and book designer Oscar Venhuis will introduce the book, and present a special screening of ‘Our Flavour’ – a North Korean romantic comedy about a match-made relationship between a tour guide and a kimchi expert from opposite sides of the tracks.
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- Whisky Wednesday
100rmb (Read More)The Bookworm??s whisky selection is undoubtedly among Beijing??s finest, boasting nearly sixty varieties imported from Scotland and beyond. Join us for our Whisky Wednesday tasting session, where each month you??ll be expertly guided, by Kelvin Tam of The Single Malt Club, through the history and folklore of three specially selected malts, blends, regions or distilleries. 100rmb per head. Reservations to Clinton at [email protected]
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Friends and Enemies
Booklaunch with Kerry Brown
30/20rmb (Read More)Kerry Brown is Senior Fellow at Chatham House on the Asia Programme. He has written articles for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Far Eastern Economic Review, and commented on China for the BBC, ITN, ABC, Al Jazeera, CNN and others. ??Friends and Enemies?? is his third book on China.
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- Go Club (Wei QI) (Read More)
Go (wei qi) is an ancient Chinese game of skill and strategy. It’s a race to colonise the board, until the first skirmish breaks out, which grows into a multi-front strategic battle. Or, you can play peacefully if you like. The Beijing Go Club meets every week to play, have fun, and improve. We’ve got a lot of beginners, but also some dan players – come along if you’d like to learn or be challenged. http://beijinggoclub.com
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- Kids Club at The Bookworm (Read More)
Every Sunday, leave your kids in Teacher Hannah’s capable hands for an hour of reading, story telling, word games and fun while you browse the mags and grab a leisurely coffee. Best suited for ages four and up, our club is in English, and is geared towards promoting reading as a fun and creative activity – and not one to be confined to the classroom! No registration required and all nationalities are welcome. PLEASE NOTE THAT KIDS CLUB ALSO RUNS THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER AT THE YIN YANG CENTER AT THE ORCHARD, FROM 1.30pm EVERY SUNDAY
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- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Read More)
Making sure we’re still at the top of our game, we’ve ramped up the prizes (and by extension the fun) at The Bookworm’s award-winning weekly pub quiz. Drinks specials, events tickets, mystery gifts from sponsors and partners and bottles of wine from The Wine Republic are all up for grabs! Hosted by the inimitable Tom Champagne. Free. Max teams of 6. Please come early to be guaranteed a table.
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- Creative nonfiction: Making the Personal Matter
A writing workshop with Rachel Dewoskin
250rmb (including ‘Repeat After Me’) (Read More)Author of the wildly successful memoir ‘Foreign Babes in Beijing’, based on her starring role in the TV show of the same name, Rachel Dewoskin brings her considerable non-fiction expertise to bear in a writing workshop for beginners and established writers alike. Learn how to convert your stories into compelling personal narratives drawing on Rachel’s experience and expertise. 250rmb per head, including a copy of Ms Dewoskin’s brand new novel ‘Repeat After Me’. Numbers are limited so please reserve asap with [email protected]
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- ‘Repeat After Me’
A booktalk by Rachel Dewoskin
30/20rmb (Read More)Rachel Dewoskin’s early career in China began as the star of one of domestic Chinese TVs first dramas to feature inter-cultural romance ‘Foreign Babes in Beijing’ made her an instantly recognizable foreign commodity in China way back in 1994. Her memoir of the same title launched her career as a writer. This time Rachel is back with her debut novel, Repeat After Me, a startling exploration of love, history and personal discovery set in contemporary Beijing and New York. Don’t miss the chance to hear her fascinating story, and to be among the first to hear her read from her brand new title.
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- INN Coffee Morning
FREE (Read More)Each month the International Newcomers Network meets at The Bookworm for an informal coffee morning. Meet new friends, share tips on navigating Beijing and how to get the very most out of your new home.
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The Bookworm Wine Club
150rmb per head (Read More)Each month we bring you a selection of fine wines, and expert knowledge on how best to enjoy them. For July, the Wine Club is presented in conjunction with Jebsen wines who bring us a selection of summer treats, paired with canap??s from The Bookworm kitchen. Reservations preferred, to Clinton Krikken at [email protected]
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Tales of Old China: Beijing vs Shanghai
30/20rmb (Read More)Tonight the old rivalry is put to the test as we pit China??s giants ?C Beijing and Shanghai against each other. Authors of new non-fiction collections ??Tales of Old Beijing?? and ??Tales of Old Shanghai?? Derek Sandhaus and Graham Earnshaw lead us through the history of both these fascinating cities taking in architecture, flashpoints in history, key figures and the changing fortunes of each locale into account.
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- Beijing Green Drinks
FREE (Read More)The Bookworm are proud to host Beijing’s best networking event for the city’s Green and eco-conscious community. Discounted drinks, regular updates on local and country-wide green, CSR and charity projects and plenty of news and gossip to boot. Free. For more info please contact Jenny Chu at [email protected]
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Basically Beethoven: a musical evening
FREE (Read More)Beijing??s most established open mic classical music night is back for July, featuring as always, an eclectic mix of talented performers, hosted by Hannah Quinn. Come along simply to be entertained, or to share a little musical talent of your own. New musicians always welcome.
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- Journey to the West and Storytelling at The Bookworm; Impromptu Gathering! (Read More)
New York City’s Official Storyteller, Diane Wolkstein who has been telling stories for 40 years throughout the world and written 23 books (dianewolkstein.com) is in passionate pursuit of the epic Journey to the West (monkeykingepic.com). She would love to share a conversation with any who would enjoy talking about the epic or about traditional Chinese storytelling.
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- Zen Baggage: A Pilgrimage to China
A booktalk by Bill Porter
30/20rmb (Read More)Bill Porter’s amazing odyssey with Zen Buddhism in China has lasted more than thirty years and taken him to some of the most isolated parts of the country, and to the doorsteps of some of its truly most fascinating characters. From hermits following the Dao for 50 years in isolation, to China’s first Zen nunnery, to the Shaolin temple, Bill??s experiences form an unparalleled case study of Buddhism today, and the bridge it forms to some of China’s most ancient ways of life. Bill Porter is one of the world’s most respected translators of Chinese literature, bringing into English several of China’s central religious and literary texts.
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- FCCC Happy Hour
Free (Read More)Join us for the monthly drinks promo extravaganza with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. No cover charge, non-members very welcome. Members in possession of a valid FCCC membership card get the drinks promo from 6-10pm. For more info contact FCCC Administrator on [email protected] or visit their website www.fccchina.org
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GO Club (Read More)
Go (wei qi) is an ancient Chinese game of skill and strategy. It’s a race to colonise the board, until the first skirmish breaks out, which grows into a multi-front strategic battle. Or, you can play peacefully if you like. The Beijing Go Club meets every week to play, have fun, and improve. We’ve got a lot of beginners, but also some dan players – come along if you’d like to learn or be challenged. http://beijinggoclub.com
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- Kids Club at The Bookworm
20rmb (Read More)Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week we read new and classic children’s books with the help of Teacher Hannah and friends.
Ages 4 and up. - ●
- The Bookworm Pub Quiz
Free (Read More)How many whiskers does a muskrat have? Which movie score composer has earned the most Oscars? Join us for weekly trivia shenanigans, hosted by the inimitable Tom Champagne, every Monday from 7.30pm. Officially the Best Pub Quiz in town, according to The Beijinger Reader Bar and Club Awards! Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including wines from The Wine Republic and Bookworm events tickets. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
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Wine Club
150rmb (Read More)
Join wine lovers across the city to explore fine wines from the world??s most interesting wine producing regions, paired both with delicious canap??s, and expert knowledge. RSVP to Clinton Krikken [email protected]
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- INN Coffee Morning (Read More)
Join the International Newcomers Network of Beijing for an informal coffee morning to meet new friends, and share tips on discovering the secrets of Beijing. All welcome.
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- Through the Looking Glass
A booklaunch – by Paul French
20/30rmb (Read More)
Examining the convulsive history of the old China press corps from the first newspapers printed in the European Factories of Canton in the 1820s through the 120 years of change, war, and revolution that led up to 1949, Paul French??s new book is a fascinating study of foreign reportage of China. The story starts with a Sunday afternoon sword-wielding duel between two editors over the opium trade and ends with a fistfight in a Shanghai jail over how to report Mao??s revolution. Through the Looking Glass ?C China??s Foreign Journalists from Opium Wars to Mao is the latest offering from a master historian and fabulous storyteller ?C not to be missed.
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- Basically Beethoven
FREE (Read More)
After more than three years of hosting Beijing??s only live classical music open mic night, Paul Eldon comes to The Bookworm to play master of ceremonies for the final time! Definitely an evening not to be missed, tonight features stellar performances from musicians who??ve been highlights of this one-of-a-kind music series since its launch in 2006. Guest appearances from the local and international music community abound, and gravity be damned! we??ve even secured a grand piano for the celebrations.
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Green Drinks at The Bookworm
FREE (Read More)
Each month Beijing??s eco-community gets together to share info, contacts and news of new projects, whilst enjoying happy hour promos courtesy of The Bookworm. Recently named by Cityweekend as one of the city??s best networking event. Mail Jenny Chu at [email protected] for more details.
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- China 2020
A booktalk by Michael Santoro
30/20rmb (Read More)
What will be the effect of economic reform and prosperity on political reform in China? How can companies operate with moral integrity and ethics in China? In China 2020, Santoro demonstrates that moral integrity (or lack of it) by Western business will have a profound impact on whether or not economic privatization and growth usher in greater democracy and respect for human rights. Michael Santoro has a phd in Public Policy from Harvard University, and has published three books on Business Ethics, two of them focusing specifically on China. He is currently Associate Professor of Ethics at Rutgers Business School.
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The Bookworm Pub Quiz
Free (Read More)
Beijing??s best pub quiz, as officially awarded in thebeijinger Bar and Club Awards 2009 is back for June with a brand new resident host, Mr Tom Champagne! Join us for terrific trivia from all the usual categories, with some great prizes thrown in for good measure. Max teams of 6, please arrive early to be guaranteed a table.
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- Kids Club at The Bookworm
20rmb (Read More)
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers with Teacher Hannah and friends. Each week we read new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Look out for special wintry titles throughout the month of December! Ages 4 and up.
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- Rooftop Happy Hour (Read More)
Enjoy buy one get one free on beers, mixed drinks, selected cocktails and house wines throughout the month of June in the tranquil surroundings of The Bookworm??s best kept secret ?C our rooftop garden.
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- A Book Launch
Anti-Globalization Breakfast Club by Laurence Brahm (Read More)
“The Anti-Globalization Breakfast Club – Manifesto for a Peaceful Revolution” is a brand new book from NGO activist Laurence Brahm. Brahm’s various senior appointments in Asian financial institutions make him an insightful commentator on the intersection between commerce, the environment and politics in Asia today. Speaking with leading international activists, he also explains reasons behind the often-violent protests associated with the “anti-globalization movement” at major economic conventions.
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- Bob Dylan: A Celebration (Read More)
Join fellow Dylan fans for a celebration of his 68th birthday, by launching his latest studio album TOGETHER THROUGH LIFE. Rare footage, previously unissued tracks, live music and a quiz will make for a fun evening for lovers of Dylan’s music.
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- The Bookworm Wine Club (Read More)
Come and join us for our monthly wine club. This month’s wine is supplied by The Wine Republic.
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- A Book Launch:
The New Silk Road by Ben Simpfendorfer (Read More)
The New Silk Road is a groundbreaking investigation into the rise of the Arab world and its strengthening relations with China. Through a mixture of analysis and first-hand accounts, Simpfendorfer offers a unique view of the Arab world, and reveals often difficult to observe links between events in cities such as Cairo, Riyadh and Beijing. BEN SIMPFENDORFER is the Chief China Economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong and was previously the Senior China Economist at JPMorgan. He has lived in Beirut, Damascus, Beijing and Hong Kong.
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- Basically Beethoven Musical Evening (Read More)
Maestro Paul Eldon has left us for a new life in Australia, but do not fear, maestra Hannah Quinn will be taking over to start our fabulous evenings of live music. So bring your instruments, voice,spoons and come and join us for another Basically Beethoven.
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- The Extraordinary Life of Ying Ruocheng by Claire Conceison
30/20rmb (Read More)
Actor Ying Ruocheng is best known in the West for his roles in the films The Last Emperor and Little Buddha, and for his collaboration with Arthur Miller in 1983 to stage Death of a Salesman in Beijing. His newly published autobiography, Voices Carry: Behind Bars and Backstage during China??s Revolution and Reform, introduces his remarkable career in theatre and film, as well as his work as China??s Vice Minister of Culture during the rapid reform period of 1986-1990, including the events of spring 1989. Before his death in 2003, Ying Ruocheng collaborated with American scholar Claire Conceison to tell his life story. Tonight, she and introduces this fascinating man, and describes their unique collaboration.
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- The Bookworm Quiz (Read More)
Come and join our weekly quiz.
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- FCCC Happy Hour
Free (Read More)
Join us for the monthly drinks promo extravaganza with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. No cover charge, non-members very welcome. Members in possession of a valid FCCC membership card enjoy drinks promos from 6-10pm. Benefits of meeting new people, especially those connected with the media, and having fun, apply to all. . For more info contact FCCC Administrator on [email protected] or visit their website www.fccchina.org
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- The Man Who Loved China
Simon Winchester
30/20rmb (Read More)
In a life devoted to recording China??s intellectual wealth, Joseph Needham, an eccentric, brilliant Cambridge don, made a remarkable journey from son of a London doctor through scientist-adventurer to enemy of the Chinese state. His masterpiece, Science and Civilisation in China helped shape the West??s understanding of China. Simon Winchester??s writing has arguably been just as influential. Come and hear from the master travel-writer and biographer as he reveals the details of his new book.
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- Wine Club
150rmb per head (Read More)
Join fellow explorers in the world of wine for our monthly evening of quaffing and canap??s, this time running in conjunction with Montrose fine wines.
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- Green Drinks at The Bookworm
FREE (Read More)
Each month Beijing??s eco-community gets together to share info, contacts and news of new projects, whilst enjoying happy hour promos courtesy of The Bookworm. Recently named by Cityweekend as one of the city??s best networking event. Mail Jenny Chu at [email protected] for more details.
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- Chinese Revolutionary Posters (Read More)
Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, Chronicle Books, 2007. Ann Tompkins will discuss the extensive collection of posters which she gathered while living in China 1965-1971 and is now held at the East Asian Library at U.C Berkeley. China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution produced thousands of powerful social and political posters exhorting the people in a sweeping transformation of Chinese society. These brilliantly colorful images of cultural celebration, industrial development, agricultural production, and revolutionary heroes were displayed in homes and public spaces across the country.
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- FCCC Happy Hour
Free (Read More)
Bring your Foreign Correspondents Club Card tonight to enjoy great discounts at The Bookworm bar at our monthly get together for journos, hacks and scribes. Non members more than welcome. Mail Sam Christie at [email protected] for more info.
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- Basically Beethoven
FREE (Read More)
Every month musicians get together at The Bookworm to share their talents in an acoustic, open mic setting. Expect anything from solo trumpeters to entire choirs, and feel free to bring your instrument of choice, and get involved. No registration required.
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- Timothy Garton Ash
30/20rmb (Read More)
Timothy Garton Ash is the author of eight books of political writing or ??history of the present?? which have charted the transformation of Europe over the last quarter-century. As well as holding various prestigious academic appointments, he is recipient of the Orwell prize for journalism. Tonight he discusses ??Free World: why a crisis of the West reveals the opportunity of our time??.
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- The China Price
A booktalk by Alex Harney
30/20rmb (Read More)
Over the past decade, China has dominated the global manufacturing sector, defying conventional economic wisdom by posting staggering annual export growth figures while retaining a comparative advantage on everything from basic consumer goods to high-tech products. But at what cost? Alexandra Harney, a former correspondent and editor for the Financial Times, explores the issue via her new book, ??The China Price??.
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Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman
30/20rmb (Read More)
??Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman?? is a six part documentary exploring what it means to be a woman in the 21st Century. The film is being screened at six different venues across the city throughout March and April to mark International Women??s Day. Join us at The Bookworm for installment four, ??Crash and Burn: the things all women share??.
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- Kids Club at The Bookworm (Read More)
Join teacher Hannah for Sunday morning reading fun with other mini Bookworms. Every Sunday we read great kids books, and take part in drawing and colouring activities to help comprehension and promote a love of reading and storytelling. Come and join us this weekend! 3 and up.
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- EARTH HOUR – WWF (Read More)
This Saturday, businesses, communities and individuals in thousands of cities worldwide are shutting off their electricity in support of WWF’s biggest ever campaign to raise awareness on climate change. We’re doing the same at The Bookworm! Come down for a coolbox-chilled beer, (or other non-electrically powered beverage) in romantic candlelight and to receive a free Earth hour t-shirt while you help do something good for the world.
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- The Bookworm Wine Club
150rmb (Read More)
Each month wine lovers get together in the convivial setting of The Bookworm to sample great wines from around the world, paired with canap??s from The Bookworm kitchen, and hosted by one of Beijing??s top wine vendors. Mail [email protected] for reservations.
- ●
- Brothers – a booktalk by Yu Hua
30/20rmb (Read More)
Set against the brutality and violence of the Cultural Revolution and its aftermath, Brothers is a big, spirited comedy of society running amok in modern China. Song Gang and Baldy Li are very different, though united in their love of the beautiful Lin Hong, and as their fortunes rise and fall over the decades, Yu Hua paints an extraordinary portrait of modern China through the eyes of these two brothers. Yu Hua comes to The Bookworm tonight to introduce his extraordinary new novel, which was shortlisted for the Man Asia Literary Prize in 2008.
- ●
- Basically Beethoven
FREE (Read More)
Every month musicians get together at The Bookworm to share their talents in an acoustic, open mic setting. Expect anything from solo trumpeters to entire choirs, and feel free to bring your instrument of choice, and get involved. No registration required.
- ●
- BJ Green Drinks
FREE (Read More)
Join Beijing??s NGO and charity crew at this fun, informal networker for those interested in environmental, social or development issues. Drinks specials and happy hour prices apply. Contact Jenny Chu at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- FCCC Happy Hour
Free (Read More)
Bring your Foreign Correspondents Club card tonight to enjoy great discounts at The Bookworm bar at our monthly get together for journos, hacks and scribes. Mail Sam Christie at [email protected] for more info.
- ●
- Enter Beijing: Rainer Prohaska (Read More)
Enter Beijing is a project by Austrian artist Rainer Prohaska to create a mobile installation, representing Beijing and his experience of it. By cycling a san lun che from one end of the city to another, all the while growing his cart with materials he collects, Rainers bike becomes an ever-expanding collage – and takes on a life of its own. Presented by the Red Gate Gallery.
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- Australia University Alumni present: Stephen McDonell (Read More)
Foreign Correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is our guest speaker tonight, revealing all the gory details of his two year stint as one of the most prominent reporters on China, in Australia. Not to be missed. The event is preceded by a reception for Australian University Alumni, at 6.30pm
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The Bookworm Burns Supper
price tbc (Read More)
Gie her a haggis! Get your kilt on, and head down to The Bookworm Burns Supper for an authentic evening of Scottish food, poetry and song in memory of Robert Burns, Scotland??s National Poet. Expect riotous performances, specially hunted traditional haggis, neeps and tatties and bucketloads of whisky. Mail [email protected] for more details. Tickets available from Jan 1st and sell out FAST ?C please book early to avoid disappointment.
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NGO and Charity Networking Day (Read More)
Are you interested in humanitarian or environmental projects in Beijing? The Bookworm??s NGO and Charity Networking Day is a bi-annual event connecting organisations in need, with people in the city in a position to help them. Come along to meet 15 different organisations working across a range of projects and issues in Beijing, and find out how you can put your skills, time and energy to use. For more info mail [email protected]
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Wine Club
150rmb (Read More)
Each month wine lovers get together in the convivial setting of The Bookworm to sample great wines from around the world, paired with canap??s from The Bookworm kitchen, and hosted by one of Beijing??s top wine vendors. Mail [email protected] for reservations.
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Literary Festival Volunteer Meetings (Read More)
The Bookworm International Literary Festival is currently recruiting outgoing and enthusiastic individuals looking to support one of Beijing??s most celebrated cultural events: The Bookworm International Literary Festival. Join one of two info sessions today to find out more on what volunteering will involve, and to register your interest in taking part. Mail vo[email protected] to register or for more details.
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Green Drinks at The Bookworm
Free (Read More)
Join Beijing??s NGO and charity crew at this fun, informal networker for those interested in environmental, social or development issues. Drinks specials and happy hour prices apply. Contact Jenny Chu at [email protected] for more details.
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Basically Beethoven
Free (Read More)
Every month musicians get together at The Bookworm to share their talents in an acoustic, open mic setting. Expect anything from solo trumpeters to entire choirs, and feel free to bring your instrument of choice, and get involved. No registration required.
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Kids Club at The Bookworm
20rmb (Read More)
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week we read new and classic children??s books with the help of our storytellers. Look out for special wintry titles throughout the month of December! Ages 4 and up.
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The Bookworm Pub Quiz
Free (Read More)
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Paul Eldon. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including wines from The Wine Republic. Get here EARLY to be guaranteed a table.
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- The Bookworm City Weekend Bookclub (Read More)
Join us for The Bookworm City Weekend Bookclub. Each month the group reads great new and classic fiction, non fiction and memoir, and invites you to read, meet like minded Bookworms, and participate in group discussion on each of our chosen texts. All welcome. Mail [email protected] for more details
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- Kids Club Christmas Special (Read More)
Bring your little ??uns along for a Kids Christmas special at The Bookworm, featuring books and games specially chosen to celebrate the season.
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- Wine Club Christmas Special
Price tbc (Read More)
Specially selected for the season at hand, we explore which wines and champagnes best accompany Christmas dinners, both traditional and modern. Feel free to dress up for what??s sure to be an extremely festive occasion.
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- Basically Beethoven Christmas Special
A Musical Evening at The Bookworm
Free (Read More)
Get your santa hats on and join us for Christmas at The Bookworm. All your favourite Christmas carols, as well as mulled wine and mince pies, served up with a healthy dose of festive cheer courtesy of The Heavy Breathers, the Soul Sisters and the International Festival Chorus. Come early to get a spot!
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- Green Drinks!
Free (Read More)
Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
- ●
- ‘Smoke and Mirrors’: a booktalk by Pallavi Aiyar
20/30rmb (Read More)
Despite interaction between India and China spanning over 2000 years, it is remarkable that their people know so little of each other. Pallavi Aiyar??s new book Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China deftly raises questions about the deeper concerns of development and freedom that are relevant to both India and China. As these two countries grow in economic strength and international influence, understanding the differential nature of their achievements and failings is a necessity for a global audience. Smoke and Mirrors breaks down many cliches and opens new gateways through which to understand Chindia. Award winning journalist Pallavi Aiyar is China correspondent for ??The Hindu??.
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- The Bookworm City Weekend Bookclub
Free (Read More)
Join us for The Bookworm City Weekend Bookclub. Each month the group reads great new and classic fiction, non fiction and memoir, and invites you to read, meet like minded Bookworms, and participate in group discussion on each of our chosen texts. All welcome. Mail [email protected] for more details
- ●
- ‘Evanescent Isles’
A Booktalk by Xu Xi
20/30rmb (Read More)
Hong Kong-New York author Xu Xi reads from her latest book Evanescent Isles: from my City-Village. An unusual book of quirky essays, some deeply personal, she writes from within of Hong Kong’s vanishing culture and sensibility as the city transforms itself into a 21st century Chinese space.
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- Kids Event: Riley and the Sleeping Dragon
With Tania McCartney (Read More)
Come along and join in the fun this morning as we launch Riley and the Sleeping Dragon, a wonderful tale of a young boy who flies his little red plane all over Beijing in search of the elusive sleeping dragon of China. The book combines a series of beautiful black and white photos of Beijing and illustrations by Canadian artist, Mo Qovaizi. All ages welcome.
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- “Fragile Superpower”
A Booktalk by Susan Shirk (Read More)
Susan Shirk is a distinguished political scientist and China scholar. A professor in the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UC San Diego, she first traveled to China in 1971 and has been doing research there ever since. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for relations with China from 1997 to 2000 Dr. Shirk’s publications include her books, How China Opened Its Door: The Political Success of the PRC’s Foreign Trade and Investment Reforms; The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China; and Competitive Comrades: Career Incentives and Student Strategies in China. Dr Shirk joins us tonight to discuss her latest book, China: Fragile Superpower, and share her fascinating insights into China’s current political climate.
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- China – Open Hearts Open Doors
Reflections on China’s Past and Future
A booktalk by Elizabeth Gill Lui
20/30rmb (Read More)
Elizabeth Gill Lui is an internationally recognized fine art photographer and educator. Open Hearts Open Doors presents photography shot by the artist between 1995 and 2007 exploring the relationship between Chinese citizens and their unique, and dramatically changing architectural heritage. Accompanying the photographs is a collection of opinions expressed by a diverse group of noteworthy contributors from China and beyond, who reflect on the issues facing China today as it struggles to balance development and growth with heritage preservation.
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- ‘Socialism is Great!’
Lijia Zhang, in Conversation with Australian Ambassador Dr Geoff Raby
20/30rmb (Read More)
After ten years in the iron rice bowl of the state employee, former Nanjing rocket-factory worker Lijia Zhang is now a fixture of the Beijing literary scene. Finally back in town after promotional tours of her memoir across the US and Australia, Lijia regales tonight with tales of her miraculous journey from the assembly line to the academy ?C including how Jane Eyre saved her sanity. Lijia is an established journalist based in Beijing. Her works have appeared in numerous publications including The Independent, The Observer and Newsweek, and she is a regular speaker on the BBC and NPR. Tonight Lijia is interviewed by Australian Ambassador Geoff Raby, who was also resident in China during the 1980’s when Lijia’s memoir takes place.
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- ‘In Bed With George ‘Chinese’ Morrison’
A booktalk by Linda Jaivin
20/30rmb (Read More)
Bestselling Australian writer and translator Linda Jaivin, gives her final presentation as The Bookworm??s Asialink Writer in Residence tonight! She’ll be discussing and reading from her forthcoming novel A Most Immoral Woman, set in China and Japan in 1904, in which she gets down, dirty and fictional with one of the most legendary China correspondents of all time ?C George Morrison. Expect a most entertaining and surprising evening.
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- Basically Beethoven: A musical evening
Free (Read More)
Roll up roll up! for an evening of open mic musical delights hosted by the finely tuned Paul Eldon. Tonight features performances from Beijing favourites, The Soul Sisters, and The Heavy Breathers. Join in with your instrument of choice or simply listen and enjoy.
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- China Witness: Voices from a Silent Generation’
A booktalk by Xinran
30/20rmb (Read More)
Bestselling author of The Good Women of China, Sky Burial and What the Chinese Don??t Eat, Xinran joins us tonight to launch her brand new collection of interviews with China??s older generation, witnesses to the tumultuous decades of change China has survived during their lifetimes. Don??t miss this opportunity to catch one of China??s most prominent voices writing in English today.
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- Green Drinks!
Free (Read More)
Join Beijing’s Green community for their informal drinks at their monthly meet and greet for those interested in environmental, social and development issues in China. Happy hour promotions apply. All welcome. Contact Jenny at [email protected] for more details.
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- Wine Club
150rmb (Read More)
Join like-minded wine lovers for an evening sampling great new wines from The Wine Republic. For more details contact Paul at [email protected]
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- Chris Patten 220/180, 150/100 (Read More)
Lord Patten, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, best selling author and former Governor of Hong Kong comes to The Bookworm to discuss his new book ‘What Next?: Surviving the Twenty First Century’. Two tiers of ticketing are available for what promises to be a sell out event – Lord Patten will speak in the ‘fiction room’, tickets for which are 220 (nonmembers) 180 (members), including a glass of wine. Lord Patten’s presentation will be simultaneously screened in the other two rooms (bar & bookshop), tickets for which cost 150 (nonmembers) and 100rmb (members). All tickets must be purchased in advance from The Bookworm. No tickets will be available on the night of the event.
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- Spinechilling Tales at The Spookworm (30RMB/20RMB – Tickets required) (Read More)
Is there anything more terrifying than a perfectly told ghost story? Join us at The Spookworm this evening for some truly ghoulish goings on as we set the scene for Halloween with some of Beijing’s spookiest storytellers. Not for the fainthearted.
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- The Bookworm City Weekend Bookclub (Free) (Read More)
Join Elyse Ribbons and Lily Kuo for The Bookworm City Weekend Bookclub. Each month the group reads great new and classic fiction, non fiction and memoir, and invites you to read, meet like minded Bookworms, and participate in group discussion on each of our chosen texts. October’s book is ‘Wolf Totem’, by Jiang Rong.
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- ‘Living Symbols’ – A Booktalk by Cecilia Lindqvist (30RMB/20RMB – Tickets required) (Read More)
Many of the 50,000 Chinese characters in use today can be traced back to ancient, inscribed oracle bones and bronzes. Drawing on archeological finds of recent decades, Lindqvist, a Swedish scholar who studied Chinese writing in Beijing, tells the fascinating stories behind the meaning and evolution of scores of Chinese characters. The origins of Chinese ideographs were not known until 1899, when a scholar went to an apothecary for some medicine made of ‘dragon bone.’ To his surprise, the bone, which had not yet been ground into powder, contained a number of carved inscriptions. Thus began the exploration of the 3000-year-old sources of the written characters still used in China today. In this unparalleled and deeply researched book, Cecilia Lindqvist tells the story of these characters and shows how their shapes and concepts have permeated all of Chinese thought, architecture, art, and culture.
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- Creative Writing Workshops with Linda Jaivin
(Reservations essential, 380RMB includes morning coffee and lunch) (Read More)
Join The Bookworm’s Writer in Residence, best-selling Australian author Linda Jaivin for a full one day creative writing course aimed at providing you with a toolbox of skills and techniques which can be adapted to suit many genres, styles and formats. Help with creating character, devising plot and writing dialogue is at hand, as well as a few ideas to kick the creative process off in the first place! Please note this is a one day course – please choose either 24th or 25th to attend. For more details mail [email protected]
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- Kids Event: Zhao Hui Xu – Bus Adventures (20RMB – Tickets required) (Read More)
All aboard! Children’s author Xu Zhao Hui is back with her second bilingual children’s book in the ‘Bus Adventures’ series. Join Dongdong, Xixi, Nannan, Beibei, and Zhongzhong on their second Big Bus Book adventure through the streets of Beijing. Hui provides a glimpse of Chinese public life, taking us on a journey that winds its way through a Chinese wedding, the misadventures of foreign tourists, Spring Festival, the performance of selfless acts, and why one should never cross paths with a mule. Diva Xu and her eclectic band of literati will bring the story to life.
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- Mostly Mozart! (Read More)
Pianists Nova Hwang and Hunter Chen perform their recital pieces in preparation for international piano competitions in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Arizona, US. Free.
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- Wine Club: 1000 miles from Top to Bottom (150RMB per person) (Read More)
Join us to sample four distinctively different wines from regions across New Zealand, to give some perspective on this wine producing country which stretches more than 1000 miles from North to South. In association with The Wine Republic.
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- David Foster Wallace Tribute (Read More)
Join fellow readers for an informal tribute to the great writer David Foster Wallace who died on September 12th. Foster Wallace was best known for the novel ‘Infinite Jest’, and was described by LA Times book critic David Ulin as ‘one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last 20 years’. Come along to hear samples of his work, and discuss his lasting impact on literature in America and beyond.
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- Basically Beethoven – A Musical Evening at The Bookworm (Free) (Read More)
Roll up roll up! for an evening of open mic musical delights hosted by the finely tuned Paul Eldon. Join in with your instrument of choice or simply listen and enjoy.
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- Travels with The Bookworm: Mountains and Molecules
With Arlene Blum (30RMB/20RMB – Tickets required) (Read More)
Arlene Blum led the first American ascent of the treacherous 26,504 foot -high Annapurna I, the world’s tenth highest and possibly most dangerous peak, and the first all-woman ascent of Denali, the highest mountain in North America. In this dramatic slide lecture Arlene shares the best photos and stories from her recent memoir, Breaking Trail and traces her evolution from a hilariously inept beginning climber and chemistry student to a noted expeditionary leader and environmental scientist.
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- Northern Lights – Jazz at The Bookworm featuring Debra Rasmussen
(Read More)
Tonight we’re treated to a very special evening of jazz – both standards and original compositions – from ‘Northern Lights’, featuring singer Debra Rasmussen, hot on the heels of their performance at the Giant Steppes Festival in Mongolia. The Calgary based quartet have a long history of assisting cultural exchange between Canada and Mongolia, and played a fundamental role in establishing Mongolia’s only jazz library. Hear their amazing story, and their great music, tonight at The Bookworm. Free
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- The Bookworm Pub Quiz (Free) (Read More)
Flex your neurological muscles every Monday at The Bookworm pub quiz, an evening of terrific trivia hosted by Paul Eldon. All the usual rounds are featured, each week choosing six from general knowledge, music, history, sport, geography, world events, science and nature, and naturally, art and literature. Max teams of six. Great prizes up for grabs including wines from The Wine Republic.
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- Kids Club at The Bookworm (20RMB) (Read More)
Come along for our Sunday sessions of reading, games, music and activities for little readers. Each week we read new and classic children’s books with the help of our storytellers. Ages 4 and up.
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- An Evening With Guo Xiaolu (30RMB/20RMB – Tickets required) (Read More)
Rising star of the film and literary worlds, London-based director and novelist Guo Xiaolu pops in on an evening off from her most recent film shoot in Sichuan. Tonight she’ll screen a short film, read from her new novel ’20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth’ and present some of her most recently translated poetry. Don’t miss this opportunity for a peek into Xiaolu’s world – it’s a fascinating place.
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- The Bookworm Writer in Residency Programme – An evening with Linda Jaivin (30RMB/20RMB – Tickets required) (Read More)
This evening we are delighted to host our first event with The Bookworm’s Asialink Writer in Residence, Linda Jaivin. Sponsored by the Australia China Council and The Bookworm, Linda will be based with us until 10 November, during which time she will be hosting workshops, giving talks and soaking up Beijing culture. A Mandarin speaker, Linda first visited Beijing in 1980. She’s the author of five novels, including the international bestseller, the comic-erotic Eat Me and The Infernal Optimist, which was shortlisted for the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal. Her non-fiction includes the China memoir, The Monkey and the Dragon. Co-editor with Geremie Barme of the acclaimed anthology New Ghosts, Old Dreams: Chinese Rebel Voices, her translation credits also include the subtitles for films including Farewell My Concubine and Hero. She is currently finishing a novel based on an episode in the life of George’ Chinese’ Morrison, set in China and Japan in 1904 and working on an opera. On this evening, she’ll talk about her books and how nearly every one reflects, in some way, on her relationship with China.
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- The Bookworm City Weekend Bookclub (Read More)
The Bookworm City Weekend Bookclub is back and meets for the first time in this new session tonight for a welcoming ‘meet and greet’, to make introductions and include new members in the discussions for what we’ll all be reading over the next year! All welcome. Please contact Lily Kuo at [email protected] for more details.
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- The Slaughter Pavilion – A booklaunch by Catherine Sampson (Free – Tickets required) (Read More)
Beijing’s best loved English language crime writer Cathy Sampson is back with her fourth novel, The Slaughter Pavilion. Following the success of her previous three titles featuring journalist Robin Ballantyne, The Slaughter Pavilion exposes the hidden underbelly of Beijing. Not to be missed!
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- The Bookworm Third Anniversary Party! (Ticketed) (Read More)
Join us to celebrate three wonderful years of The Bookworm at our third year anniversary party!
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- The Bookworm Wine Club – Hosted in association with ASC wines (150RMB per person) (Read More)
Join us for our popular monthly music night, where we invite musicians to take to the floor and bewitch us with their instrument of choice. Expect virtuoso piano, a cappella singing groups, a trumpet or two – and whatever you’d like to add! Masterfully hosted, as ever, by Paul Eldon.
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- Lily Briscoe’s Chinese Eyes: Bloomsbury, Modernism and China – A booktalk by Patricia Laurence (30RMB/20RMB – Tickets required) (Read More)
Tracing the cross-cultural romance of Julian Bell, nephew of Virginia Woolf, and Ling Shuhua, a writer and painter Bell met while teaching in Wuhan in 1935-37, ‘Lily Briscoe’s Chinese Eyes’ is a fascinating study of China’s relationship with the famous Bloomsbury Set of modernist writers. Patricia Laurence’s research draws on a recent discovery of unpublished letters and documents between Bell and Ling Shuhua, often described as ‘the Chinese Katherine Mansfield’. Unusual and intriguing subject matter, masterfully told…
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- Kids Club at The Bookworm (Read More)
Bring your little readers for an hour of reading fun with our Bookworm storytellers. Designed to encourage reading for pleasure, our story club is designed to help you discover great new and classic books for your kids, and to make reading outside the classroom fun!
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- Basically Beethoven – a musical evening at The Bookworm (Free) (Read More)
Join us for our popular monthly music night, where we invite musicians to take to the floor and bewitch us with their instrument of choice. Expect virtuoso piano, a cappella singing groups, a trumpet or two – and whatever you’d like to add! Masterfully hosted, as ever, by Paul Eldon.
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- The Bookworm Pub Quiz! (Free) (Read More)
Put your trivia knowledge to the test with The Bookworm’s brand new pub quiz, hosted weekly by the ever-quizzical Paul Eldon. Prizes include excellent wine from The Wine Republic, tickets to Bookworm’s hottest events, and of course boasting rights. Teams are limited to 6 people per group, and each quiz will include 6 rounds of trivia questions along all the usual tried and trusted formulas – general knowledge, music, film, geography, books (naturally), sport and news round ups. Call Paul on 6586 9607 for more details.
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- ‘Why The Chinese Don’t Count Calories’ – A booktalk by Lorraine Clissold (20/30RMB Tickets required) (Read More)
Ni chi le ma? Unlike many in the West, the Chinese see food not as a chore to prepare and a source of unwanted calories, but a health-giving pleasure. Lorraine Clissold explains why the Chinese can eat as much as they want without worrying about their weight. With examples and recipes, Lorraine’s book illustrates how the Chinese balance their diet, look after their health and stay looking great while they’re at it!
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- Harrow School presents: Dr Nicholas Patrick – an astronaut! (Read More)
Dr Nicholas Patrick, a British born NASA astronaut comes to The Bookworm to discuss his fascinating adventures in space!
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- Sichuan Photo Projection (Read More)
When the deadly earthquake struck Sichuan Province on May 12th 2008, many dedicated photographers and journalists traveled down to the region to report and document the aftermath of the tragic event. Tonight, a group of internationally acclaimed photographers will project a series of poignant images taken in the days that followed. Combined, these pictures tell the heartfelt stories of the multitudes of people whose lives were affected by China’s worst natural disaster in recent years.
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- Rittenberg, Sidney – The Man Who Stayed Behind (Read More)
In China from World War Two until the eve of the economic reforms at the end of the 1970’s, Sidney Rittenberg saw the change and development of China throughout three and a half turbulent decades as no other foreigner could. Member of the Communist party, translator to Mao, and eventually a political prisoner, Rittenberg endured unbelievable hardship, whilst maintaining an unshakeable faith in China and the Chinese people. This talk represents a unique opportunity to hear from a truly remarkable ‘old China hand.’
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- Pomfret, John – Chinese Lessons (Read More)
A rare opportunity to hear from John Pomfret, an award winning journalist currently firmly positioned at the top of the hotlist of China commentators. John Pomfret came to China to study at Nanjing University in 1981. Immersing himself in Chinese society and culture, he gained a unique insight into China at a time when few foreigners had the opportunity. His brand new book, ‘Chinese Lessons’, published in August this year, tells the stories of his classmates at Nan Da, recounting how their lives have been shaped by the rise of ‘new China’over the past thirty years.
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- Pilkington, Doris – Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence (Read More)
Doris Pilkington (Nugi Garimara) was born on Balfour Downs Station in Western Australia. As a toddler she was removed by authorities from her home, along with her mother Molly Craig and baby sister, and committed to Moore River Native Settlement, the same institution Molly had escaped from ten years previously, the story of which is told in Pilkington’s Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence. Internationally acclaimed, and filmed as ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ in 2002, Doris Pilkington’s story is by turns touching and shocking.
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- Mike Meyer – The Last Days of Old Beijing (Read More)
Long term Beijing resident and journalist Mike Meyer decamped to a hutong in Dazhalanr for two years to experience hutong life as an insider, just as he perceived that way of life to be in rapid decline. Receiving glorious reviews from fellow China watchers, journalists and the publishing world in general, his fascinating insights are a must-read. Don’t miss his appearance, on the back of his sell-out US book tour, at The Bookworm on Aug 5th.
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- McGregor, James – One Billion Customers (Read More)
As former The Wall Street Journal China bureau chief turned successful corporate executive James McGregor explains, nothing about doing business in China is easy. One Billion Customers shows how to navigate the often treacherous waters of Chinese deal making. Brilliantly written by an author who has lived in China for nearly two decades, the book reveals indispensable, street-smart strategies, tactics, and lessons for succeeding in the world’s fastest growing consumer market.
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- McEwen, Andrew – The Long March (Read More)
In 2003, Ed Jocelyn and Andy McEwen walked the entire trail followed by the 5th Red Army in 1934. Famously arduous, and spanning somewhere in the region of 5000km, the journey was certainly not for the faint hearted. Begun as a social history project to interview veterans of the original Communist Long March, Ed and Andy’s journey became first a sensational story in the Chinese media, and then a successful book, published in the UK by Constable and Robinson. Andy describes their journey, and shows some of the amazing archive of photos and footage they collated over their year-long odyssey.
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- Ma Jian (Read More)
Outspoken, challenging and charming, Ma Jian is one of the most strident voices in Chinese writing today. Now resident in London, his previous work (Red Dust, The Noodlemaker) has caused controversy in China since he began writing in the late 1980’s. Tonight he reads from Stick Out Your Tongue, a collection of short stories set in contemporary Tibet. By turns shocking, hilarious and bitingly satirical, Stick Out Your Tongue is classic Ma Jian, and a highlight on our literary calendar.
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- Kynge, James – China Shakes the World (Read More)
Winner of the Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year 2006, China Shakes the World has quickly risen to the top of the list of ‘China must reads’ for anyone interested in the political and social future of China, and the impact its unstoppable rise is having on everyone else. Financial Times correspondent and seasoned China-watcher James Kynge is an essential voice in the debat – not to be missed!
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- Karen Smith – ‘Nine Lives’ a booktalk (Read More)
Since Karen Smith first completed the manuscript for her critically acclaimed study of the lives of nine contemporary Chinese artists in 2005, a great deal has changed. With the explosion of interest in Chinese art following the equally explosive market that emerged in spring 2006, a new, updated edition of Nine Lives was evidently necessary. Tonight she launches the revised updated edition, charting the dizzying changes shaping the Chinese art market from within, and without, through the eyes of her nine original subjects.Karen Smith is one of the foremost Western commentators on Chinese contemporary art, writing for numerous worldwide publications and serving as a consultant, critic and curator for such prestigious institutions as the Tate International Council, the board of the New York Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, NY. Don’t miss her fascinating insights on one of the most dynamic aspects of Chinese culture today.
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- Jocelyn, Ed – The Long March (Read More)
In 2003, Ed Jocelyn and Andy McEwen walked the entire trail followed by the 5th Red Army in 1934. Famously arduous, and spanning somewhere in the region of 5000km, the journey was certainly not for the faint hearted. Begun as a social history project to interview veterans of the original Communist Long March, Ed and Andy’s journey became first a sensational story in the Chinese media, and then a successful book, published in the UK by Constable and Robinson. But while Andy promoted the book, Ed was off completing ‘The Long March 2’ – exploring the routes taken by the less famous red armies during the 1930’s. Tonight he describes his second long march, which this time brought him into contact with many of the ethnic minorities who live in China’s remote Western regions.
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- Gray, Nathan Hotorua – First Pass Under Heaven (Read More)
Nathan Gray was part of a five man team who attempted the dizzying feat of walking the length of the Great Wall in 2004. His book, First Pass Under Heaven, describes their fascinating adventure, which eventually included everything from being struck by lightning to being held in police custody. Tonight he reads excerpts from First Pass, as well as inviting some Maori friends along to bless the evening’s proceedings…
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- Friedman, Thomas – The World is Flat (Read More)
Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times, Thomas Friedman is a world renowned commentator on the forces political, cultural and economic that are changing and shaping the world as we know it. Thrice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, he discusses his prize winning book ‘The World is Flat’ (Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year 2005) with Bookworm audiences.
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- Fan Wu – February Flowers (Read More)
Fan Wu represents a new wave of Chinese writers living and working overseas but drawing on their formative years in China as inspiration for fresh, lively and necessary writing. Her first novel, February Flowers was chosen by Pan Macmillan as the novel to launch their brand new publishing imprint, Picador Asia, headed up by Toby Eadie, best known for bringing Chinese writers such as Jung Chang and Xinran to international audiences.
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- Chang, Gordon – North Korea: Nuclear Showdown (Read More)
Asia expert Gordon Chang follows up his controversial success, The Coming Collapse of China, with the first book to discuss the full extent of the North Korean nuclear threat, its origins, international implications, and possible solutions.
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- Brown, Lester – Plan B (Read More)
Author Lester Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute and head of the Earth Policy Institute, makes a special Bookworm appearance to discuss his new book, Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilisation in Trouble. As well as highlighting the terrible things we’re doing to our planet, Lester Brown also provides helpful, practical approaches and solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the environment today.
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- Brooks, Geraldine – March (Read More)
A matter of weeks after being awarded this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Bookworm are delighted to play host to writer Geraldine Brooks. Having served as a war correspondent in some of the world’s most conflict-ravaged areas, and now a respected commentator for the New York Times, the standard of Brooks’fiction clearly matches that of her journalism. Tonight Bookworm audiences are treated to a reading from her prize winning novel March, which takes as it’s inspiration the character of Mr March from Louisa May Alcott’s much-loved Little Women.
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- Becker, Jasper – North Korea: Rogue Regime (Read More)
Veteran correspondent Jasper Becker (The Chinese, Hungry Ghosts, Dragon Rising) brings his unique insight and vast experience as a journalist in Asia to bear in his latest book, this time exposing the fascinating world of the hermit kingdom, North Korea. North Korea: Rogue Regime explores life for the world’s most isolated citizens, investigates the life of Kim Jong Il, and poses the ultimate question: should the nations of the world allow this regime to survive?
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- Abrahamsen, Eric – The Essays of George Orwell (Read More)
As part of our series of Penguin Classics Literary Lunches, writer and translator Eric Abrahamsen explores the essays and polemic of the great George Orwell. Describing Orwell’s zero tolerance for sloppy language and political doublespeak, Abrahamsen makes fresh observations on the relevance of Orwell’s work for China.
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- Earth Quake Commemoration Event and Green Drinks (Read More)
For information to come soon
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Information and TicketsTickets to our events cost 20RMB for Bookworm members and 30RMB for non-members and are available at The Bookworm two weeks in advance of each event. If tickets are still remaining on the day of the event itself, they will be available for purchase at the door. Latecomers will only be admitted at the discretion of the management. Ticket holding latecomers will not be admitted 20 minutes after the event begins.
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For Prospective Speakers and Performers We’re always looking for new authors, speakers and performers to grow our events programme. Please click here for details.
