The internet is a great device. Growing up, it was a place to get online, spend hours talking to randomers via ICQ (I still remember my number vividly), the old IRC chat on IOL and knocking together pages on Geocities or Fortune City. That’s what it was for me anyway. Books went out the window, sport went out the window and I immersed myself in the world of the web.
Flash forward the guts of fifteen years and people are moving away from the web. When I say people, I’m moving away from the web. Sure enough, the chats still take place online, but more often than not, they’re carried on into the real world. Those initial conversations are bringing people together, getting them in large fun-filled rooms for the likes of the Blog Awards and the Irish Web Awards. I’m all for sites that create something in the offline world. We do it ourselves at Kilkenny Music when it comes to running the One Take Sessions in Kilkenny.
I’ve heard of these dining nights, the couply ones. Pay 70 or 80 Euro, get a call in a few weeks about an invite to get a group of four guys and four girls around a table to “see what happens”. For some people it’s friendship, for others it’s more. It’s not for me. Speed dating is not for me either. No offence to their sister company either, apologies.
However, Dine to Read is something I would consider as, by the sound of things, your ensured of great conversation and the chance of a good night out. Plus, it’s not going to completely break the bank at 45 Euro when you’re getting dinner thrown into the mix as well. And – you’ve got something to come back to as well.
DineToRead.ie blends the online and the offline. They’ve got an active online community who love to discuss books, but they’re working at taking the conversation online and putting real people together in a room, over a meal (the supper club), to continue the conversation. For those who prefer to immerse themselves in a book at night (sometimes not by choice), maybe they’ve got difficulty meeting people or finding out where people with similar interests hang out, now they’ve got the chance to get out and about.
Each month, ten people are invited to get together in a particular restaurant, to chat about the books they’ve been reading or the current book of the month. The next offline event takes place at Viña Mara in Galway where the discussion will be about Aravind Adiga’s ‘The White Tiger’. You can register for free online to enjoy the forums and get chatting straight away. Registering online also gives you access to the online booking and payment should you choose to attend a night out.
Nights are held Monday to Wednesday in Galway, Dublin, Cork and Waterford.
If you’re an avid reader, looking to broaden your circle of friends and maybe even get fed in the process, visit DineToRead.ie