Topping & Co Working Group

Meeting on the last Wednesday of every month, the 'Topping & Co Working Group' will explore the rapidly changing character of work in the modern world.

From automation and AI to gig work and productivity culture, the working world is not what it used to be. Join the Topping & Co Working Group, where we will be exploring the dreams, nightmares, hopes, and frustrations of the modern workplace. We will be discussing novels set in the convenience store, university classroom, and newspaper advice column office. We will also read philosophical works on the fate of craftsmanship in the modern world, whether we should reassert our right to be lazy, and what the future landscape of employment looks like. Whether you are a student imagining your future, a retiree looking back on your career, or someone navigating their way through the ever shifting 21st century workforce, join us for a glass of wine and an evening of stimulating chat (out of earshot of any bosses).

The book group is hosted by our bookseller Michael, a former philosophy professor who has had more jobs than he’d like to admit.

For our next book, we are reading What Your are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama.

What are you looking for?

So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi.

But she is no ordinary librarian.

Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.

We meet five visitors to the library, each at a different crossroads:

- The restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills
- The mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave
- The conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store
- The gifted young manga artist in search of motivation
- The recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose

Can she help them find what they are looking for?

Which book will you recommend?

Reading Group Structure

Ticketing: Each place is £5, which can be redeemed against a copy of a reading group book.

Frequency: Each reading group will meet once a month, on a set day of the week. You do not need to commit to one group, or every meeting! Just book for those you're interested in each month, and we hope to entice you back for another one.