Inside the Inner Circle

By Alex Latte - Page-Turner & Cocktail Stirrer

I've always loved books. I've always bought books. The problem, like most people I know, is that buying a book and actually finishing one are two very different things. A couple of years ago I looked at my shelf, full of books I genuinely wanted to read, and realised I'd barely got through any of them. Not because I didn't care, but because life kept pulling me in other directions. Work, friends, the weeks that disappear before you've noticed them.

So I asked a handful of friends if they'd want to do something about it together. Not a formal book club. Nothing serious. Just an excuse to be in a room once a month, with a good drink, talking about something that wasn't work. That first night turned into the next one, and the next one, and eventually into Cocktail and Book Club.

The Inner Circle is the heart of what we do now.

The book

We're now around 600 members in the club, and most months the book is chosen by the people in it. Members send us their suggestions through the Members Lounge, we shortlist three of them, and then everyone votes. The book that wins becomes the Book of the Month.

Some months we go a different route. When a major book is coming out, or a title has been nominated for something significant, we work with publishers directly so the whole club can read it together. Either way, by the time it lands at your door, it's already chosen, already read carefully, and already worth your time. Thanks to the members who vote, and to the publishers who reach out to us.

What's in the box

A good cocktail in London is around £20 (yikes). One single cocktail. Inside the Inner Circle box, you get the book of the month, a luxury candle, a cocktail card to start building a proper bar at home, and a few other carefully chosen pieces. The makings of your own home bar, every month.

If you don't drink, every monthly letter includes alcohol free versions of the recipes. The ritual matters more than the alcohol.

The meetups

Every book has a meetup attached to it. They happen in London, they're warm, they're loud, and they're easily the best part of running this. Virtual meetups are launching soon, so members reading from outside London, and outside the UK, can be in the room with us too.

If you can't make a particular meetup, the conversations continue in the Members Lounge, and you can join them when it suits you.

The app

The Cocktail & Book Club app is coming to the Apple App Store and Google Play. Inner Circle members will automatically have access to the premium version of the app as soon as it launches, starting with a reading tracker designed around how our members actually read.

More features will be announced closer to launch. The app will also be available as a standalone premium subscription, and Inner Circle members will receive a discount on it.

Hand packed, every time

Every box is packed by hand, by me and a small group of people who have been part of this since the beginning. We do it on weekends, usually with music on and one of the cocktails being tested in real time. Nothing about C&BC is automated or outsourced. When you open your box, you're unpacking something that was put together by people who care whether you enjoy it.

June, with Penguin Books

We're now working closely with Penguin Random House, and our June Book of the Month is The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. The June Inner Circle box includes a few special pieces tied to the partnership that we'll be revealing closer to the date. It's one of the boxes I'm most excited to send out this year.

Who it's for

The Inner Circle is for people who want to read more and haven't found the rhythm. People who want time that's properly theirs, candle lit, drink in hand, with a book that the rest of the club is reading at the same time. People who want to be part of a considered community, in London or anywhere else.

That's what's waiting for you.

See you inside x

The Inner Circle

£35.00