About the Book Club

The IISc Book Club is a community for everyone who enjoys reading, discovering new ideas, and engaging in meaningful conversations through literature. Open to readers of all backgrounds and interests, the club aims to create a welcoming space where stories become a starting point for discussion, learning, and friendship.

The club is convened by Arjun Karmakar, Lawrence, and Aditya De for the AY 2026-27. Together, they hope to build an inclusive community where readers can come together to explore literature, exchange ideas, and share their love for stories.

Arjun enjoys reading literature from a wide range of cultures and genres. His favorite international authors include H.P. Lovecraft, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Alexandre Dumas, Bram Stoker, and Algernon Blackwood. He is equally passionate about Indian literature, particularly Bengali literature, and deeply admires the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Sukumar Ray, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and Satyajit Ray. His interests span mystery, thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, romance, adventure, and historical fiction. For him, books are not merely stories but windows into different worlds, ideas, and ways of thinking.

Lawrence has been reading on and off since childhood and believes that stories are fundamental to our humanity and identity. She enjoys reading almost anything that is recommended to her, although she has a particular fondness for high fantasy. She is also passionate about writing and believes it is one of the most accessible forms of storytelling, with every person having a story worth telling. She hopes to encourage both readers and aspiring writers to find a welcoming space within the club.

The Book Club celebrates literature in all its forms. Whether you are an avid reader who finishes several books every month or someone looking to develop a reading habit, there is a place for you here. Every book offers a unique perspective, and discussions become richer when readers with different backgrounds and interests come together. Beyond reading itself, the club encourages thoughtful conversations about themes, characters, writing styles, historical context, and the ideas that books inspire.

Throughout the year, the club organizes a variety of interactive activities that make reading a shared experience rather than a solitary one. Alongside regular book discussions and recommendation sessions, members can look forward to literary quizzes, debates, storytelling events, poetry readings, and writing workshops. The club also hopes to invite authors, translators, journalists, and literary scholars to interact with students, providing valuable insights into literature, writing, and publishing.

Several new initiatives are planned to make the club even more engaging and accessible. These include close-reading sessions where members collectively analyze poems and short stories; discussions of novels, films adapted from books, graphic novels, and other storytelling media; and a “Pitch Your Book” event where participants recommend their favorite books in a short, engaging presentation. The club also plans to organize book swaps and donation drives to encourage sharing within the IISc community, as well as a “Book of the Month” program in which members read and discuss a selected title together.

Looking ahead, the Book Club aims to become a vibrant and inclusive literary community on campus. Regular fortnightly meetings, themed reading sessions, collaborations with other student clubs, and active online discussion forums will ensure that conversations continue both during and beyond club meetings. The club also hopes to maintain reading recommendations and curated book lists to help members discover new authors and genres throughout the year.

At its heart, the IISc Book Club is about bringing people together through stories. Every discussion offers new perspectives, every recommendation opens the door to another world, and every meeting provides an opportunity to connect with fellow readers. Whether you are a lifelong bibliophile, someone hoping to build a regular reading habit, or simply curious to explore literature for the first time, the IISc Book Club welcomes you to be part of a community built on curiosity, creativity, friendship, and the joy of reading.