Get together and read
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
Sorry, this course is now full
Course Code: HLT137
Duration: 27 sessions (over 42 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Center for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
If this course is showing as FULL, we encourage you to join the waiting list using the right-hand menu.
The shared reading group isn’t really a course at all. It is a group that meets weekly to read together and talk – sharing thoughts and experiences and making connections – with the texts and with the wider world.
This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.
What will we cover?
We will read a range of short stories and poems. For some of the year, we will focus on reading a whole play or novel together. Material will be provided for reading every week.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
Coming to the group will enable you to:
• Read and listen to a wide range of literature with others
• Share responses to and thoughts about what you read together
• Begin to make new connections with the texts you read.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
You will need to be able to read and understand short stories such as The Jungle Book, or a book such as To Kill a Mockingbird. You will need to be willing to listen to the thoughts and opinions of other people in the group, which may differ from your own.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
The group will be facilitated by a shared reading practitioner who has been trained by The Reader Organisation. Sessions will consist of texts being read out loud in sections by the facilitator and other group members. Reading will be interspersed with conversation about the texts, exploring your thoughts about and responses to them. All texts will be read in full during the sessions: no additional reading or other work is required.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
There is no cost for attending the group. You don’t need to bring anything, although you might want to have a pencil, in case you want to jot your thoughts down, or mark passages in the text as we are reading. All reading materials will be provided.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Look for literature courses under History, Culture and Writing/Literature on the web at www.citylit.ac.uk.
Claire Allen is a published author of fiction and poetry and teaches literature and creative writing at City Lit. Her first two novels, The Mountain of Light and Protection, were published by Headline Review in 2004 and 2006. Her most recent novel, The Blackbird, was published by small independent publisher Henningham Family Press in 2020.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.