The first rule of Tough Guy Book Club is you are quite free to talk about Tough Guy Book Club.
The second rule is it’s handy if you enjoy books, beer and a chat.
Alex Playsted, who launched the club’s Footscray chapter in February, says it is a great way to meet other people and read some classic novels.
Tough Guy Book Club started a few years ago in Collingwood and now has chapters in Hobart, Sydney, Brisbane and even in Portland, USA.
Mr Playsted says he first came across the group when he spotted a flyer on a pole.
“The Tough Guy part is a little bit tongue-in-cheek, the flyer looked more like an invite to a bikie club, but it’s more about the characters in the books.”
A teacher whose favourite school subject was English, Mr Playsted has always enjoyed reading but never felt drawn to a more traditional book club.
The Yarraville resident said the Tough Guy books, which include classics by authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Joseph Heller and Harper Lee, feature archetypal male protagonists, creating discussion around what it is to be a man.
“I don’t necessarily enjoy a lot about Australian male culture, I think it’s overly macho,” he said.
“It’s really an exploration of masculinity and what it means to be a male in Australia; we all bring our own experience and it’s really pulled apart, it’s not about finding a definition at all.”
Mr Playsted said the focus on books and their characters is a “safer place” that allows people to open up in a way that they would be less likely to if talking about themselves.
“What we do is very far from a therapy group, it’s definitely based on literature and a shared love of books, but there is something about the setup that everybody can talk quite openly.”
Mr Playsted encourages participants to at least give the book under discussion a try but it’s not essential to finish each and every book.
“It’s really more about the conversation. With the latest book To Kill a Mockingbird I was the only person who had read the book front to back, but we still chatted for about three hours,” he said.
“We are definitely looking for new people, we are trying to build up some regular goons”.
The Footscray chapter meets the first Wednesday every month at Mona Castle Hotel, Seddon. This month’s book is A Death in Brunswick by Boyd Oxlade.
Details: www.toughguybookclub.com or www.facebook.com/ToughGuyBookClub
