The Slow Down Book Club
We read 5 translated books in 10 weeks. Here’s what we loved (and learned)
What would it feel like to read outside your usual self, and actually finish the books? Our first ever book club just wrapped, and it showed us exactly that.
Over 10 weeks, we passed 5 Booker International long listed books from hand to hand. We made space to pause life, slow down, and pick up a book… discovering stories we would never have chosen alone.
Last Sunday we gathered and shared our thoughts, experience and favourite parts. It felt like a real moment: new people meeting for the first time, after an anonymous postal relay.
Here’s what we read and learned. Translated works, debut authors, indie presses… our first ever book club, wrapped.
The Pre-Loved bookshop is freshly restocked 🎉
If you’d like to buy some epic £4 titles (and feel good about giving them a new home) then head here. If you’d like to pass your books on to a new home, then this is your link.
What we read
Each book was chosen from the 2025 International Booker Prize longlist. The picks were intentionally varied: in tone, geography, theme, and translation style.
It was a really exciting list this year - the most ever debut authors, the most indie publishers and the shortest books.
In order of the groups most to least favourite:
Reservoir Bitches — the favourite. Gritty, smart, brutal. Short stories about Mexican women navigating systemic violence and daily life. Often dark, but full of sharp humour and tenderness. This one will stay with us. The writing is exceptional.
Perfection — the most current. No character dialogue. Just a scroll through the surreal, millennial digital subconscious. A weird and wonderful portrait of online performance and expat life.
Eurotrash — the most debated. Semi-autobiographical and sharply satirical, it raised questions about money, guilt, and Swiss identity. The ending is debate worthy.
The Book of Disappearance — the sleeper hit. It imagines a world where all Palestinians vanish overnight. Magical realism meets political commentary. Hugely educational, beautifully handled.
A Leopard-Skin Hat — a gentle novel of grief and friendship, written in the four months after the author’s sister died. Divided opinions on the structure, but appreciated for its emotional resonance and the bond between author and translator (who have been friends for 40 years).
What we loved
There was something grounding about reading outside your usual tastes, or geography. Most of us had never read any of these authors before or would have ordinarily have picked them up. We passed books through the post and made notes in the cover for the next reader. Some of us loved what others loathed. Some had breakthroughs halfway through. Everyone finished. That in itself felt rare.
What our readers said
“I didn’t expect to love books that felt so far from my usual shelf. But the experience of discovering them this way made me fall in love with the process too.”
“This reminded me why I read.”
What we’d do differently
This first round taught us a lot.
It was a big, fun experiment and our club were the most wonderful, willing participants.
Next time, we’ll likely space the books out a little more (3 weeks per book, not 2), and improve the posting logistics (Royal Mail tracking, you tried).
We liked the chance to meet after reading several books, rather than after every book, but we’d enable a better comment sharing system inside the Verse app.
But overall? We’re proud of this one. It felt human, it felt intentional, and it felt like the kind of reading Verse is here to support.
Here’s a peek at what 10 weeks of slow, intentional reading looked like.
💌 Want to join the next round?
The Slow Down Book Club will return later this year with all the learnings from this one baked in.
If you’ve ever wanted to read more deeply, or be part of a community that actually finishes the books, this is your moment.
Join the waitlist now to be first in line, our last club sold out in 3 days.
Thank you to our community who took part, and to all of you reading along at home.
💭 Know someone who’d love the next club? Forward this on and read together next time.
Want to keep reading slower and better in the meantime?
Browse the Pre-Loved shop, freshly stocked for June
Want help choosing? We do reading list curations and book subscriptions
Selling your old reads? List them here
Say goodbye to bad recommendations and hello to a better reading experience 👇
Would never have read these books had it not been for the book club, yet each left an impression upon which to reflect. And a most convivial review meeting to round it off. Thank you!