WICE upcoming events

LO021 Murder, They Read: Bloody Scotland (02 Oct 2026)

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Bloody Scotland -- An anthology of stories by notable Scottish authors providing opportunities to explore some iconic Scottish locales in the context of crime. Also this would be our first sortie into the anthology form.

"From murder in an ancient Iron Age broch and a macabre act of revenge in an 18th-century mill, to a psychological thriller set within the throng of Edinburgh Castle and a rivalry that turns deadly in an abandoned modernist ruin, these tales expose the dark and deadly connections between people and places."

https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2019/03/bloody-scotland-origin-story/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bloody-Scotland-Lin-Anderson/dp/1849176663

Availability: amazon.co.uk paperback & kindle; Momox; orderable from Shakespeare & Co

Registration opens on Saturday, 05 September.

LS111 The Long View: "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity", by David Graeber & David Wengrow (07 Oct 2026)

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Please note the date for this session is now October 7th.

"The Long View: Our Human Odyssey" is a nonfiction book group that will consider books that are oriented towards helping us understand what we—as humans—are, how we arrived here in evolutionary terms (physical, cultural, etc.), and our place in the world.

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity (2021) by David Graeber and David Wengrow

A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution-from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality-and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation. Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action.

The book is around 700 pages.

LO122 The Karla Trilogy: the World of John Le Carré (12 Oct 2026)

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Book 2. The Honorable Schoolboy

In this age of new technologies and old treaties being revised, it's interesting to read and review John Le Carré's vision of the world (The Soviet Union vs the West and China was still dormant). So many of the terms we use today come from his own private lexicon. We all know what a Mole is! Join us for a read or a re-read and a look at the world today as he predicted it back then.

And if we get a chance, we will read his son’s, Nick Harkaway's, book Karla's Choice, the prequel to Tinker, Tailor.

Over the course of four monthly meetings, we’ll examine clever plots, surprising twists, and the social worlds that shaped these beloved stories. Whether you’re new to classic detective fiction or already a fan, this group offers a warm and lively space to enjoy and discuss these timeless whodunits.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered by five days before the group meets, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration opens on Wednesday, 9 September.

LO121 The New Yorker: Short Stories (12 Oct 2026)

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

WICE’s “New Yorker Short Story Group” is for anyone interested in reading short stories and novellas written by some of today’s very best emerging and established authors. Each monthly discussion will focus on 2 stories recently published in the New Yorker. Selections will be announced at the beginning of the month of the next scheduled meeting.

Stories for Monday, 12 October are:

"New Shoes" by Hisham Matar

"Lost Child" by Joyce Carol Oates

LO151 Living Room Players: "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde (15 Oct 2026)

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The Importance of Being Earnest — Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a brilliant farcical comedy about two young men who invent alternate identities in order to escape social obligations and pursue romance. Both find themselves assuming the name “Ernest,” leading to an increasingly elaborate series of misunderstandings involving love, marriage, family origins, and social respectability. Celebrated for its wit and verbal play, the comedy satirizes Victorian conventions, especially the seriousness with which society treats marriage, class, morality, and appearances.

Please find here a text of the play: The Importance of Being Earnest _ Project Gutenberg.pdf

The readings take place at a member's apartment in the 15th. The address, door code, and phone number are sent in the 7-day and 1-day reminder emails.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered seven days before the event, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration for the October reading opens on Friday, 18 September.

BS173 French History Book Club (15 Oct 2026)

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Notre voyage à travers la France du XVIe siècle commence avec l’ouvrage de Simone Bertière, *Le Beau XVIe siècle*, où nous explorerons la vie, la personnalité et l’influence des reines au cœur de la monarchie française. Nous poursuivrons ensuite avec son deuxième volume, *Les Années sanglantes*, en suivant ces femmes remarquables à travers une époque de plus en plus tumultueuse, marquée par les conflits religieux, les intrigues politiques et les luttes dynastiques.

La lecture et les discussions se dérouleront en français, ce qui vous permettra de vous plonger dans le texte tout en pratiquant et en appréciant la conversation en français.

Préparez-vous à discuter les 25 premiers pages jusqu'a la fin de "metier de reine." Lors de cette première réunion, nous fixerons ensemble un objectif en nombre de pages pour les réunions suivantes.

Pour toute question, veuillez contacter Mary-Jo Reef: maryjo@wice-paris.org.

Our journey through sixteenth-century France begins with Simone Bertière's Le Beau XVIe siècle where we will explore the lives, personalities, and influence of the queens at the heart of the French monarchy. We will then continue with her second volume, Les Années sanglantes, as we follow these remarkable women through an increasingly turbulent era marked by religious conflict, political intrigue, and dynastic struggle.

Both the reading and discussion will be in French, creating an opportunity to engage with the text while practicing and enjoying conversation in French.

Come prepared to discuss the first 25 pages, up to the end of "metier de reine." During this first meeting, together we will set page goals for subsequent meetings.

Contact Mary-Jo Reef with any questions: maryjo@wice-paris.org

We'll meet in person at Le Nelson's Café, 16 rue Coquillière, 75001

Métro : Lignes 1/4/7/11/14
RER A/B/D Châtelet Les Halles
Bus : 74, 85 : Louvre – Etienne Marcel / Bourse du commerce

About the leader: Mary-Jo Reef is a retired professor of Sociology from a U.S. University. She has been an active WICE member for the past 16 years and has called Paris home for nearly 10 years, during which time she led the French-English conversation groups twice a week for five years. "My longstanding interest in French history continues to enrich my life in Paris and deepen my appreciation of French culture and society."

Black Expatriate Writers/artist in Paris (15 Oct 2026)

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

During the early to middle part of the twentieth century, many African American artists left the United States for France, and specifically Paris. They arrived, in many ways, as refugees and exiles, escaping the racial violence in the United States. Some came with rose-colored glasses, seeing France's motto of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité as a welcome sign, and in fact, they did experience—some, certainly more than in the US—liberty, equality, and fraternity. Artists such as Josephine Baker experienced this, and in fact, she became, in 2021, the first Black woman and first American-born individual to be enshrined in the Panthéon. However, many, such as William Gardner Smith and James Baldwin, also saw the inequalities in France, notably the disparate treatment they received as "civilized" African Americans in relation to the mistreatment of individuals from France's colonies such as Algeria and Senegal.

This book club, which will take place over three meetings this fall, will explore the ways that the writers mentioned above experienced France and what they learned from their experiences in Paris and beyond. The book club will consist of short walking tours, a brief introduction by Matthew Teutsch for each text, and discussion at places to be determined. We will read the following, in this order.

William Gardner Smith The Stone Face (September 15—2 pm in front of Les Editeurs)

James Baldwin No Name in the Street (October 15—3 pm Top floor in Les Editeurs)

Josephine Baker Fearless and Free: A Memoir (November 11—2 pm; location to be determined)

Book 2: No Name in the Street — James Baldwin

James Baldwin’s No Name in the Street is a deeply personal work of memoir and political reflection in which Baldwin looks back on the experiences that shaped his understanding of race, violence, and American life. Moving from his Harlem childhood to his years in Europe, Hollywood, and the American South, he reflects on the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. and on the political upheavals of the 1960s. Combining autobiography with social criticism, the book is both an intimate record of grief and a powerful meditation on racism, history, and the struggle for justice.

Registration will open the day after the previous meeting.

LO161 Café Littéraire: "Kolkhose," by Emmanuel Carrère (16 Oct 2026)

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Published in 2025, Kolkhose is Emmanuel Carrère’s deeply personal account of his mother, the distinguished historian Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, who died in 2023. The book explores their complicated relationship and the profound influence she exerted on Carrère’s personality and writing. Moving between family memory and self-reflection, Carrère considers love, death, mourning, and the ways writing becomes a means of understanding both those closest to us and ourselves.

The book group meets at the organizer's apartment. The directions, door code, telephone number, etc., are sent in the 7-day and 1-day reminder emails, following registration.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered by five days prior to the meeting, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration for the October meeting opens on Saturday, 19 September.

LO231 Booker Books: The End of Everything, by M. John Harrison (30 Oct 2026)

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

The End of Everything, written by M. John Harrison

The Booker Book group reads and discusses—in English—books that have either received, or been on the short list for, the Booker Prize.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered five days prior to the meeting, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration for the October meeting opens on Saturday, 26 September.

LN061 Murder, They Read: Better the Blood (06 Nov 2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Better the Blood -- Michael Bennett, New Zealand.

Per amazon.com: An absorbing, clever debut thriller that speaks to the longstanding injustices faced by New Zealand’s indigenous peoples, by an acclaimed Māori screenwriter and director. Kirkus Reviews characterises the book as "a striking debut and a significant addition to Indigenous literature."

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michael-bennett/better-the-blood/

Availability: amazon.com in several formats; orderable from Shakespeare and Co, Momox

Registration opens on Saturday, 03 October.

LN091 The New Yorker: Short Stories (09 Nov 2026)

Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Stories for Monday, 9 November will be announced on or about 1 November.

Registration opens on Tuesday, 13 October.

LN101 The Karla Trilogy: the World of John Le Carré (10 Nov 2026)

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Book 3. Smiley's People

And if we get a chance, we will read his son’s, Nick Harkaway's, book Karla's Choice, the prequel to Tinker, Tailor.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered by five days before the group meets, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration opens on Wednesday, 13 October.

Black Expatriate Writers/artist in Paris (11 Nov 2026)

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 13:00:00 GMT

William Gardner Smith The Stone Face (September 15—2 pm in front of Les Editeurs)

James Baldwin No Name in the Street (October 15—3 pm Top floor in Les Editeurs)

Josephine Baker Fearless and Free: A Memoir (November 11—2 pm; location to be determined)

Book 3: Fearless and Free — Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker’s Fearless and Free presents the celebrated performer and activist in her own words, drawing on conversations conducted over many years with the French journalist Marcel Sauvage. Baker recounts her rise from poverty in Missouri to international fame in 1920s Paris, where her performances made her one of the most recognizable figures of her generation. The memoir also traces her work for the French Resistance, her military honors, and her later involvement in the American civil rights movement, offering a vivid portrait of a life shaped by performance, celebrity, political commitment, and a determination to challenge racial barriers.

Registration will open the day after the previous meeting.

LN131 The Long View: To Be Determined (13 Nov 2026)

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

"The Long View: Our Human Odyssey" is a nonfiction book group that will consider books that are oriented towards helping us understand what we—as humans—are, how we arrived here in evolutionary terms (physical, cultural, etc.), and our place in the world.

To date we have read and discussed:

"A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes,"" by Adam Rutherford.
Salt: A World History" — Mark Kurlansky
"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" — Yuval Noah Harari

Some of the other titles we are considering for future sessions are:

"Guns, Germs, and Steel" — Jared Diamond
"The Dawn of Everything" — David Graeber and David Wengrow
"The Righteous Mind" — Jonathan Haidt
"Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human" — Richard Wrangham

Because these books tend to be longer than the books that are read and discussed in our monthly fiction book groups, we meet approximately every 8 - 10 weeks.

LN191 Living Room Players: "The Skin of Our Teeth" by Thornton Wilder (19 Nov 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 13:00:00 GMT

The Skin of Our Teeth — Thornton Wilder

Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Skin of Our Teeth is an unconventional three-part comedy-drama centered on the Antrobus family of Excelsior, New Jersey, who repeatedly struggle to survive disasters that threaten humanity itself. Moving freely across historical periods and deliberately breaking theatrical conventions, the play turns one seemingly ordinary American family into an allegory for the endurance of humankind. At once comic and philosophical, it explores catastrophe, resilience, family conflict, and humanity’s persistent capacity to begin again.

Please find here a text of the play: skin-of-our-teeth pdf.pdf

The readings take place at a member's apartment in the 15th. The address, door code, and phone number are sent in the 7-day and 1-day reminder emails.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered seven days before the event, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration for the November reading opens on Friday, 16 October.

BS173 French History Book Club (19 Nov 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

La lecture et les discussions se dérouleront en français, ce qui vous permettra de vous plonger dans le texte tout en pratiquant et en appréciant la conversation en français.

Pour toute question, veuillez contacter Mary-Jo Reef: maryjo@wice-paris.org.

Both the reading and discussion will be in French, creating an opportunity to engage with the text while practicing and enjoying conversation in French.

Come prepared to discuss the first 25 pages, up to the end of "metier de reine." During this first meeting, together we will set page goals for subsequent meetings.

Contact Mary-Jo Reef with any questions: maryjo@wice-paris.org

We'll meet in person at Le Nelson's Café, 16 rue Coquillière, 75001

Métro : Lignes 1/4/7/11/14
RER A/B/D Châtelet Les Halles
Bus : 74, 85 : Louvre – Etienne Marcel / Bourse du commerce

LN201 Café Littéraire: "Life: A User’s Manual," by Georges Perec (20 Nov 2026)

Fri, 20 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Georges Perec’s Life: A User’s Manual is an extraordinary, puzzle-like novel set primarily within a Paris apartment building, whose rooms the narrative explores one by one. Each space opens onto the life of a resident, past or present, producing an immense collection of interconnected stories—comic, tragic, eccentric, and sometimes deliberately ordinary. Through its intricate structure and enormous cast of characters, the novel transforms a single building into a miniature world, reflecting on chance, obsession, memory, loss, and the curious patterns that connect individual lives.

The book group meets at the organizer's apartment. The directions, door code, telephone number, etc., are sent in the 7-day and 1-day reminder emails, following registration.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered by five days prior to the meeting, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration for the November meeting opens on Saturday, 17 October.

LN271 Booker Books: The Things We Never Say, by Elizabeth Strout (27 Nov 2026)

Fri, 27 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

The Things We Never Say, written by Elizabeth Strout

The Booker Book group reads and discusses—in English—books that have either received, or been on the short list for, the Booker Prize.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered five days prior to the meeting, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration for the November meeting opens on Saturday, 24 October.

LD041 Murder, They Read: Razorblade Tears (04 Dec 2026)

Fri, 04 Dec 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Razorblade Tears -- SA Cosby, Southeastern USA. I found this title to be absorbing and a fast read. Set in the Southeastern USA. Made a number of recommended reading lists, including Barack Obama's summer reading list. From Kirkus Reviews: "Violence and love go hand in hand in this...lean, mean crime story about 2 bereaved fathers getting their hands bloody."

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/s-cosby/razorblade-tears/

Availability: American Library in Paris, Momox (physical), orderable from Shakespeare & Co, Smith&Son, amazon.com

Registration opens on Saturday, 07 November.

LD081 The Karla Trilogy: the World of John Le Carré (08 Dec 2026)

Tue, 08 Dec 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Book 4. TBD

And if we get a chance, we will read his son’s, Nick Harkaway's, book Karla's Choice, the prequel to Tinker, Tailor.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered by five days before the group meets, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration opens on Wednesday, 11 November.

LD141 The New Yorker: Short Stories (14 Dec 2026)

Mon, 14 Dec 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Stories for Monday, 14 December will be announced on or about 1 December.

Registration opens on Tuesday, 10 November.

LD171 Living Room Players: "The Odd Couple" by Neil Simon (17 Dec 2026)

Thu, 17 Dec 2026 13:00:00 GMT

The Odd Couple — Neil Simon

Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple is a comedy about two recently separated men who become roommates despite being temperamentally incompatible. Felix Ungar is anxious, meticulous, and obsessively neat, while Oscar Madison is relaxed, untidy, and accustomed to living amid disorder. Their domestic clashes provide much of the play’s humor, but beneath the comedy is an affectionate exploration of friendship, loneliness, compromise, and the difficulty of learning to live with another person’s habits and vulnerabilities.

Please find here a text of the play: The Odd Couple.pdf

The readings take place at a member's apartment in the Marais. The address, door code, and phone number are sent in the 7-day and 1-day reminder emails.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered seven days before the event, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration for the December reading opens on Friday, 16 November.

BS173 French History Book Club (17 Dec 2026)

Thu, 17 Dec 2026 14:00:00 GMT

La lecture et les discussions se dérouleront en français, ce qui vous permettra de vous plonger dans le texte tout en pratiquant et en appréciant la conversation en français.

Pour toute question, veuillez contacter Mary-Jo Reef: maryjo@wice-paris.org.

Both the reading and discussion will be in French, creating an opportunity to engage with the text while practicing and enjoying conversation in French.

Come prepared to discuss the first 25 pages, up to the end of "metier de reine." During this first meeting, together we will set page goals for subsequent meetings.

Contact Mary-Jo Reef with any questions: maryjo@wice-paris.org

We'll meet in person at Le Nelson's Café, 16 rue Coquillière, 75001

Métro : Lignes 1/4/7/11/14
RER A/B/D Châtelet Les Halles
Bus : 74, 85 : Louvre – Etienne Marcel / Bourse du commerce

LD181 Café Littéraire: "No Exit," by Jean-Paul Sartre (18 Dec 2026)

Fri, 18 Dec 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit is a classic existentialist play in which three recently deceased strangers find themselves confined together in a room for eternity. There are no conventional instruments of torture; instead, their punishment consists of their relentless exposure to one another’s judgments, desires, and manipulations. The play gives us Sartre’s famous line, “Hell is other people,” dramatizing his philosophical concern with how the gaze of others can imprison us in identities we cannot fully control.

The book group meets at the organizer's apartment. The directions, door code, telephone number, etc., are sent in the 7-day and 1-day reminder emails, following registration.

Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered by five days prior to the meeting, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.

Registration for the November meeting opens on Saturday, 21 November.