The Lighthouse Book Club
Would you like to read more but just can't find the time? Is there a beautiful book sitting on your nightstand that you can't seem to finish? Do you need a little push to keep reading? Join The Lighthouse Book Club and read a book together. Both students and staff can participate. Reading with others is always more enjoyable!
What are we going to do?
Together, we'll read a chosen book. Once we've finished it, we'll exchange our reading experiences during a cozy live gathering with drinks and snacks. Each time, we'll try to make this gathering enjoyable, perhaps by inviting a speaker or even the author, or maybe we'll watch the film adaptation of the book. It's great for improving your reading skills and socializing! In one academic year, we'll read three different books. You can sign up for each book separately, so you're not committed for a whole year at once. Of course, we hope you'll join us for all the editions!
Which books are we reading?
In the academic year 2025-2026, we will start with reading the following book.
- Babel by R.F. Kuang
- I who have never known men by Jacqueline Harpman
Here's how The Lighthouse Book Club works
Sign up for Book 2: I who have never known men
After registering, you will receive a confirmation with the date and location for the meeting. You will also become a member of the online group The Lighthouse Book Club on Teams. Here, we stay in contact with each other while reading the book. Registration is done per book because we purchase books for the students and this way we have better insight into the numbers per round. Sign-up deadline: 30 January 2026.
What does it cost you? You'll need to obtain the book yourself: either by purchasing a paper version, an e-book, or borrowing it from someone or the Public Library. You'll also need time to read and discuss the book afterwards with other Book Club members.
Pay attention! The first 10 students (not staff 😉) who sign up will receive the book to read for free! Thanks to sponsorship from The Lighthouse. These students will receive a message about when they can pick up the book from The Lighthouse & Events. The condition for receiving the book is that you actually read it and attend the gathering(s).
What do you get out of it? New contacts and insights, camaraderie, live gatherings with drinks and snacks. A new book for your bookshelf, and perhaps even the opportunity to interview an author...
The Lighthouse Book Club is organized by The Lighthouse and lecturers Tiaan Westenberg and Helen Limon from European Studies.
I who have never known men by Jacqueline Harpman
When will we see each other?
- Book pickup at The Lighthouse & Events (Ovaal 0.01) for students: you will receive an email about this.
- Book discussion of book 2: tba
I who have never known men
Thirty-nine women and a girl are being held prisoner in a cage underground. The guards are all male, and never speak to them. The girl is the only one of the prisoners who has no memory of the outside world; none of them know why they are being held prisoner, or why there is one child among thirty-nine adults.
One day, an alarm sounds, and the guards flee; the prisoners are subsequently able to escape. They find themselves on an immense barren plain, with no other people anywhere, and no clue as to what has happened to the world.
Jacqueline Harpman
Jacqueline Harpman (1929–2012) was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, and fled with her family to Casablanca during the Second World War. She made her debut in 1959 with the novel Brève Arcadie, worked as a psychoanalyst, and went on to publish more than 25 novels, including The Beach of Ostend and I Who Have Never Known a Man, which became an international bestseller posthumously.
