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Book clubs & reading nights · Genève

Book clubs in Genève, come alone, bring a book.

11 upcoming book clubs, readings, poetry nights and author talks in Genève at 7 venues — all easy to walk into on your own.

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Reading nights in Genève and where

Bibliothèque de Genève (2) · La Cité Bleue (2) · MEG (2) · Musée international de la Réforme (2) · MEG, Musée d'ethnographie de Genève (1) · Maison de Rousseau et de la Littérature (1) · Victoria Hall (1)

Bibliothèque de Genève2 upcoming

Tue1Dec
Free
LearningGenève
16:15–17:15

Des sources aux systèmes: dataset talk, Bibliothèque de Genève

Bibliothèque de Genève

On Tuesday 1 December 2026 at 16:15 the Bibliothèque de Genève at the Bastions site in Geneva hosts a talk by Isabella di Lenardo of EPFL titled Des sources aux systèmes: le dataset comme interface à l'ère de l'IA. The listing says that by bringing mixed corpora together in spatio-temporal datasets, the talk shows how AI and prompting turn data into an interface for questioning, exploring and producing new knowledge. It belongs to the 16-18 digital humanities programme run by the Bibliothèque de Genève and the University of Geneva's digital humanities chair, which is open to everyone. Entry is free, subject to available places. The talk lasts one hour and is followed by a time for discussion, running from 16:15 to 17:15. The library is closed to the public that day, but the Bastions site opens at 15:45 for this event. A lecture is easy to attend alone, since the audience shares one subject. «Et si les données devenaient une nouvelle manière d'explorer le savoir?» Starts 16:15, ends about 17:15. Source: OpenAgenda — Bibliothèque de Genève (open data). The listing gives entry as free subject to available places, with a one-hour talk followed by an exchange.

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Tue23Feb
Free
LearningGenève
16:15–17:15

Digital humanities talk on diplomatic archives, Geneva Library

Bibliothèque de Genève

On Tuesday 23 February the Bibliothèque de Genève, in the Bastions park, hosts a lecture titled From diplomacy to the living archives of multilateralism. Florian Cafiero and Grégoire Mallard, from the Centre for Digital Humanities and Multilateralism at the Geneva Graduate Institute, ask how archives of multilateral negotiations can become dynamic infrastructure for research and diplomatic practice. The hour mixes a practical demonstration with conceptual thinking and ends with time for questions. It belongs to the library's 16-18 digital humanities programme, run with the University of Geneva's digital humanities chair, which looks at how digital tools change the study of history, art, diplomacy, theatre, linguistics and literature. Admission is free, with no registration, and seats are first come, first served. The talk is in French. It begins at 16:15 and ends about 17:15. «De la diplomatie aux archives vivantes du multilatéralisme» Starts 16:15, ends about 17:15. Source: OpenAgenda — Bibliothèque de Genève (open data).

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La Cité Bleue2 upcoming

Fri4Dec
MusicGenève
19:30–21:00

Arcadelt, Renaissance madrigals concert, La Cité Bleue, Geneva

La Cité Bleue

On Friday 4 December 2026 at 19:30 La Cité Bleue in Geneva presents Arcadelt, a concert devoted to the Renaissance composer Jacques Arcadelt. The listing explains that he was born in Namur in 1507 and was one of the first great composers of madrigals, with works marked by grace and sensuality. His music, shaped by Franco-Flemish, Italian and Roman influences, combines rich counterpoint, refined vocal lines and poetry. The listing adds that Monteverdi was surprised that collections of Arcadelt's works still sold better than his own, and that one of his scores appears in a famous Caravaggio work, The Lute Player. The ticket price is CHF 15, and booking is possible through the venue website, by phone on +41 22 552 43 13 or by email to info@lacitebleue.ch. The concert runs from 19:30 to 21:00. A vocal concert like this is easy to enjoy alone, since the audience listens together in the same quiet room. «Un concert unique qui met à l’honneur l’un des grands maîtres de la Renaissance : Jacques Arcadelt.» Starts 19:30, ends about 21:00. Source: OpenAgenda — La Cité Bleue Genève (open data). The listing gives the price as CHF 15 with booking through the venue website, phone or email.

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Sat5Dec
MusicGenève
19:30–20:30

Prix Radu Lupu, third edition, at La Cité Bleue, Genève

La Cité Bleue

On Saturday 5 December 2026 at 19:30 La Cité Bleue in Geneva hosts the Prix Radu Lupu, presented as its third edition in 2026. The listing says the prize was created by the foundation of the same name to support young talents whose artistic intensity and musical sensitivity reflect the spirit of the great Romanian pianist Radu Lupu. It recalls that Lupu was known for his unique touch and inner poetry, and that his deeply human and inspiring interpretations, notably of Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms, left a mark on the history of the piano. The event runs from 19:30 to 20:30 at Avenue de Miremont 46. The price is CHF 15, and the listing points to the venue's website, telephone and email for booking. A piano evening of this kind is easy to enjoy alone, since the audience is there for the same music. «La Cité Bleue célèbre la 3ᵉ édition du Prix Radu Lupu, créé par la Fondation du même nom» Starts 19:30, ends about 20:30. Source: OpenAgenda — La Cité Bleue Genève (open data). The listing gives the price as CHF 15 and the time as 19:30 to 20:30.

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MEG2 upcoming

Fri27Nov
Free
MusicGenève
12:30–13:30

Rencontre instrumentale #11, Haute-Bretagne, at the MEG, Geneva

MEG

On Friday 27 November 2026 at 12:30 the MEG in Geneva hosts Rencontre instrumentale #11, a short musical encounter with the Trio Eris devoted to the music of Haute-Bretagne. The listing says these encounters are a collaboration between the museum and the Ateliers d'ethnomusicologie, in which musicians present their instruments and their repertoire. The trio talks about the music of Upper Brittany and today's forms of the fest-noz, and shows ways of singing particular to Breton traditions, along with the role of the biniou and the bombarde. The musicians then show how these practices carry on in the trio through diatonic accordion and saxophones. Mannaïg Le Guével sings and plays bombarde, Clément Bobinet plays diatonic accordion, and Youn Lebreton plays saxophones and biniou. Entry is free, but the room is limited to 25 people, who are admitted in order of arrival. The session runs from 12:30 to 13:30. A short talk with music like this is easy to attend alone, since everyone is there simply to listen and learn. «Entrée libre Attention : jauge limitée à 25 personnes. Participation possible dans l'ordre d’arrivée» Starts 12:30, ends about 13:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Ville de Genève - Musée d'ethnographie de Genève (open data). The listing gives free entry, with a limit of 25 people admitted in order of arrival.

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Wed3Mar
Free
LearningGenève
16:30–18:30

Free ethnomusicology lecture at the MEG, Geneva

MEG

On Wednesday 3 March 2027 at 16:30 the Musée d'ethnographie de Genève, at Boulevard Carl-Vogt 65, hosts a lecture in the temporary exhibition room as part of the Master in ethnomusicology. The speaker is Filippo Bonini Baraldi, a principal researcher at the Instituto de Etnomusicologia of NOVA University in Lisbon. The title is still to be confirmed in the listing. The scientific committee of the master organises a cycle of six lecture meetings during the 2026-2027 academic year, aimed at students and open to the general public. Each session brings a guest from the field of ethnomusicology to share an experience in a formal presentation of about thirty minutes, followed by an interview prepared and led by the students. Entry is free. A museum lecture with a discussion is a quiet way to meet curious people when you come alone, since the questions and answers give you plenty to talk about afterwards. «Conférence du Master en ethnomusicologie | Filippo Bonini Baraldi» Starts 16:30, ends about 18:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Ville de Genève - Musée d'ethnographie de Genève (open data).

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Musée international de la Réforme2 upcoming

Thu3Dec
Free
LearningGenève
18:30–21:00

L'Escalade hors les murs, talk at Musée de la Réforme, Geneva

Musée international de la Réforme

On Thursday 3 December 2026 at 18:30 the Musée international de la Réforme in Geneva hosts a lecture by Patrice Delpin titled L'Escalade hors les murs et la 19e victime genevoise. The listing explains that the Escalade of Geneva is not only the assault of the ladders within the city walls, and that other events took place outside them, some well known and mixed with legend, others forgotten. The Geneva historian revisits this lesser-known side, looks at received ideas repeated over time and traces their origin. He also speaks of a citizen who died during the Duke of Savoy's attempt yet is absent from collective memory, the 19th victim, ahead of the 425th anniversary. Entry is free with a collection at the exit, and the talk runs from 18:30 to 21:00. A history lecture like this is easy to attend alone, since the audience comes to listen. «Patrice Delpin vous invite à redécouvrir cette dimension moins connue de l’Escalade» Starts 18:30, ends about 21:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Musée international de la Réforme - MIR (open data). The listing gives the entry as free with a collection on leaving, and the talk as running from 18:30 to 21:00.

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Thu14Jan
Free
LearningGenève
18:30–21:00

Lecture on Hodler's Unanimity fresco, Reformation Museum, Geneva

Musée international de la Réforme

On Thursday 14 January at 18:30 the International Museum of the Reformation in Geneva, in the Cour de Saint-Pierre, hosts a lecture entitled Une unanimité de façade ? Totalité contre individualité. It starts from Ferdinand Hodler's monumental fresco L'Unanimité, delivered in 1913 to the city of Hanover to mark its adoption of the Reformation in 1533 and showing about a hundred citizens raising an arm in one movement. The painting was taken down in 1914 after Hodler protested against the bombing of Reims cathedral. The talk asks whether the Reformation was a source of pluralist democracy, and argues that over the long term it was above all a ferment of political controversy. Entry is free with a collection at the exit, a registration link is on the museum's site, and the language is French. The evening runs from 18:30 to 21:00, and a lecture is an easy event to attend alone. «Une unanimité de façade? Totalité contre individualité» Starts 18:30, ends about 21:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Musée international de la Réforme - MIR (open data).

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MEG, Musée d'ethnographie de Genève1 upcoming

Wed9Dec
Free
LearningGenève
16:30–18:30

Lukas Pairon, ethnomusicology lecture, MEG, Geneva

MEG, Musée d'ethnographie de Genève

On Wednesday 9 December 2026 at 16:30 the auditorium of the MEG, the ethnography museum at Boulevard Carl-Vogt 65 in Geneva, hosts a lecture in the Master in Ethnomusicology series. The speaker is Lukas Pairon, a social science researcher at Ghent University and founder of SIMM and the Jonet Chair. His talk, L'art du fatalisme positif, draws on ethnographic research with young musicians in Kinshasa and asks what their practice can teach about acting in an uncertain world. The listing says collective music-making can build improvisation, mutual help and initiative, and that he will question the notion of resilience in social projects. The series is aimed at students but open to the general public. A formal presentation of about thirty minutes is followed by an interview prepared and led by students. The listing gives the price as 0 francs, so entry is free, and does not mention booking. A talk with a discussion is easy to attend alone, since listeners share an interest in the subject. «Que peut nous apprendre la pratique musicale de jeunes vivant dans des conditions d'extrême précarité sur notre capacité à agir dans un monde incertain ?» Starts 16:30, ends about 18:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Ville de Genève - Musée d'ethnographie de Genève (open data). The listing gives the price as 0 francs and says the series is open to the general public.

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Maison de Rousseau et de la Littérature1 upcoming

Sat21Nov
CultureGenève
17:00–20:00

Democracy and totalitarianism, Kadaré, Maison Rousseau, Geneva

Maison de Rousseau et de la Littérature

On Saturday 21 November 2026 at 17:00 the Maison de Rousseau et de la Littérature in Geneva hosts a meeting on democracy and totalitarianism built around the work of the Albanian writer Ismaïl Kadaré. The listing says the project is run by the Université des cultures de Genève, the Maison Rousseau et Littérature and the Albanian embassy in Bern, with three lines of thought: literature, memory and diaspora. It asks how his books resonate today, when authoritarian regimes seem to shape the news more and more. Two authors and one institutional representative speak, and the programme includes a concert by Elina Duni. The price is CHF 12, CHF 10 for retirees and the unemployed and free for students, and booking is through the organiser's page. The event runs from 17:00 to 20:00. A talk and concert like this suits a person on their own, since the format invites listening and conversation. «Comment résonne cette oeuvre littéraire aujourd’hui, alors que les autoritarismes, les autocraties et autres totalitarismes semblent gouverner de plus en plus l’actualité du monde?» Starts 17:00, ends about 20:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Ville de Genève - événements organisés par des organisations externes à la Ville de Genève (open data). The listing gives the price as 12 Swiss francs, 10 reduced and free for students.

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Victoria Hall1 upcoming

Sun13Dec
MusicGenève
17:00–19:00

Alcina, Francesca Caccini's opera, at Victoria Hall, Geneva

Victoria Hall

On Sunday 13 December 2026 at 17:00 Victoria Hall in Geneva presents Alcina, a staged reading of Francesca Caccini's La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina, performed by the Geneva ensemble I Gemelli. The listing describes a baroque work by a woman composer first presented in Florence in 1625, a ballet in which voices are queen, with two sorceresses facing each other among enchanted plants, sirens and sea monsters. Four centuries later I Gemelli continues its exploration of baroque women composers, a path begun in 2019, and keeps its distinctive choice of performing without a conductor on stage. The cast includes Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, Mathilde Etienne, Cristina Fanelli, Lorrie Garcia and Juan Sancho. A talk at the Bibliothèque de la Cité at 14:00 precedes the concert. The listing mentions the City of Geneva ticket office and does not give a price. The performance ends at 19:00. A concert like this is easy to enjoy alone, since people are there for the same music. «Quatre siècles après sa création, "La liberazione di Ruggiero" de Francesca Caccini renaît sous l’impulsion d’I Gemelli» Starts 17:00, ends about 19:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Victoria Hall - Ville de Genève (open data). The listing names the ticket office of the City of Geneva and gives no price figure.

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First time?

How to join a book club alone

  1. Check the book, then relax. Many groups welcome people who have not finished it — the official page says if reading ahead matters.
  2. Arrive five minutes early and tell the host it is your first time; they will introduce you.
  3. Say one thing — a line you liked or a question. That is enough for a first evening.
  4. Nothing that suits you? Host a silent reading night: 60 minutes silent, 15 minutes talk, phones away, any book, finish at a café.

Phrases in the local language for your evening: Phrases for tonight · Library events in Genève

Questions people ask

Where can I join a book club in Genève?

This page lists 11 upcoming book clubs, readings, poetry nights and author talks in Genève at 7 venues, from city open data. Public libraries and bookshops run most of them, and most are free.

Can I go alone to a book club in Genève?

Yes. Most people at public book clubs and readings come alone; the host opens the conversation, and having finished the book is often optional. Arrive early and say it is your first time.

Is there a silent reading party in Genève?

If none is listed, host one: create a free invite on party.comealone.app, pick a café, read silently for 60 minutes, talk for 15, phones away, any book.

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