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Farewell Dialogue, Long live Dialogue!

1. Mai 2013 in Berlin, Books, Events by Paul

dialogueLast Saturday we headed down to Kreuzberg to our favourite bookshop, and supplier of good reads to both The Circus Hotel and The Circus Apartments, Dialogue Books. After three years in the city, Sharmaine, Nerys and the team were closing down the shop, which meant of course a farewell in style with plenty of cake and wine, plus offers on the remaining books, to keep a constant stream of people happy.

But the end of the bookshop, sad as it is, does not mean the end of Dialogue… and within a few hours of the hangovers clearing they sent out their first invitation to their first post-Bookshop event – part of their Literary Lounge series at Soho House – and it seems fitting in this time of shift and change for both Dialogue and the wider industry, that it is their first eBook event:

“This month in the Literary Lounge, Dialogue Books is thrilled to mark the launch of Frisch & Co eBook imprint with a very special evening of conversation and reading.

Founded in 2012, Frisch & Co. Electronic Books is a Berlin-based eBook publisher of contemporary fiction in English-language translation. Joining Dialogue Books’ owner Sharmaine Lovegrove are E.J Van Lanen, founder of Frisch & Co. and Anna Kim, winner of the 2012 EU Prize for Literature and author of Anatomy of A Night (“one of the most exciting and beautiful German language texts in recent years”).

Please Note: This a bi-lingual reading with English language discussion.

Spaces are – as ever – extremely limited, so please RSVP to events@dialoguebooks.org to reserve your space.”

The Literary Lounge takes place on May 14th, just a short stroll down the Torstraße away from The Circus, but as they mention in their information places are VERY limited so make sure you register at the email address above.

For more on the future of Dialogue in Berlin, take a look here, whilst if you are (like us) bereft because of the closure of the shop, check out this post with alternative foreign-language booksellers in Berlin.

The Kitchen in “Let’s Go Out” from Gestalten

10. April 2013 in Books, Circus Apartments, Circus News, Design by Paul

LetsGoOutCircus

We were extremely pleased and excited to find out that The Kitchen at The Circus Apartments – the ground floor café and lounge designed by our good friend Rani al Rajji – has been featured in the book “Let’s Go Out! Interiors and Architecture for Restaurants and Bars” published by Gestalten. Here’s what they say about their book:

“Let’s Go Out! presents engaging architecture and interior design for restaurants, bars, and clubs.

The pleasure we get from going out to eat, drink, and spend time together no longer just depends on the quality of food and beverages offered and the company we keep. Today, our level of enjoyment is also determined by how a location enables us to experience and share what we undertake. Consequently, more and more creatives are applying their talents to designing memorable atmospheres for the places we choose to meet.

Against this background, Let’s Go Out! is a stunning contemporary survey of extraordinary possibilities for going out from around the world. In addition to new interpretations of restaurants, bars, and clubs, the book documents striking temporary events, concept spaces, and installations.”

We are extremely proud to have been included in such a wonderful collection of spaces – and if you get a chance to flick through the 280-odd pages packed with beautiful pictures and lots and lots of inspiration.

LetsGoOutDetail

LetsGoOutCover

You can find out more about the book here, and about The Kitchen café and lounge here.

Kenneth Macleod reads from “The Incident” at Fabisch

19. Juli 2012 in Books, Circus Hotel, Events, Fabisch by Paul

Kenny reading

Last night we were extremely pleased to welcome our old friend Kenny to Fabisch at the Circus Hotel to read from his debut novel “The Incident”. It was a great evening, discussing the book, writing in general and listening to a couple of extracts. You can see some more pictures from the event on our facebook page, and if you are interested in finding out more about the novel, it is currently one of Amazon.co.uk’s summer reads, and Kenny will be appearing at the Edinburgh Book Festival, where he has been selected for the Anobii First Book Award.

Books

Thanks Kenny for coming by, patiently answering all the questions, and giving us a great evening, and thanks also to all of you who came by to support the event. It is greatly appreciated.

Kenneth Macleod reads from “The Incident”

10. Juli 2012 in Books, Circus Hotel, Events, Fabisch by Paul | Comments closed

kenny bookWe are extremely pleased to be welcoming an old friend to the Circus on Wednesday 18th July, as Kenneth (or Kenny, as we know him) Macleod joins us in Fabisch to talk about and read from his debut novel “The Incident”. We have known Kenny ever since he escaped Scotland to Berlin to lead tours whilst writing his novel.

We would find him sitting outside the café on an afternoon, reading the newspaper between a tour and his writing desk, and we were delighted when the book was published, even if it meant he headed back to his homeland as he works on his second book.

kennyWe will talk to Kenny about his writing, about his life in Berlin and his literary inspirations, and we will also hear him read from his book. “The Incident” is a powerful novel of three interconnected stories that explore fate and those moments, or incidents, that can change a life forever.

The stories explore these themes through settings that include a Second World War sea battle, a young Stasi recruit escaping to the west after a mission that went terribly wrong, and horrific events that happened to Craig, a young lifeguard on a beach in northern Germany, during his watch.

It is a gripping book, and it will be great to have Kenny join us to discuss it and read some passages, and of course, you can buy a copy on the night.

The reading will be taking place in Fabisch on Wednesday 18th July, and we hope to see a lot of familiar faces there to listen to Kenny read and celebrate the publication of his novel.

The event begins at 6.45pm, and admission is free.

Caffeinated Toothpaste Book Launch Party

28. Mai 2012 in Art, Berlin, Books, Events by Paul

Caffeinated Toothpaste

Josh Bauman is not only a good buddy of the  Circus, especially for sending us some lovely sketches of the Rosenthaler Platz after last year’s Slow Travel Day, but he is an extremely talented comic artist whose daily adventures are documented on the Caffeinated Toothpaste website. This Friday Josh will be celebrating the launch of his new book, as well as the one year anniversary of The Cheese Mountain Tragedy, the studio he shares with fellow (über-talented) artists Johan Potma and Wolfgang Reimers.

There will be live music, drinks and food, and should be a great afternoon and evening down in Kreuzberg, so go and check it out. Here’s the details:

Caffeinated Toothpaste Volume 2 – Book Launch
&
1 Year Anniversary of The Cheese Mountain Tragedy
Friday June 1st, 2012
Schönleinstraße 32
Berlin
U8 – Schönleinstraße

Event Facebook Page

Pictures from the Greg Baxter Book Launch

4. Mai 2012 in Books, Circus Apartments, Events by Paul

DSC03717Web

On Wednesday evening we were really happy to welcome Greg Baxter to the Circus for the launch and a special reading of his new novel “The Apartment.” The reading was held, appropriately enough, in one of the Circus Apartments on Chorniner Straße, and it was a wonderful evening. Many thanks go of course to Sharmaine and the team at Dialogue Books for organising the event, and if you would like to find out more about the book, you can get it on the Dialogue website or head down to their shop in Kreuzberg.

Here are some more pictures:

Read the rest of this entry »

Reading at the Circus: The Apartment by Greg Baxter

30. April 2012 in Beer, Books, Circus Apartments, Events by Paul

On Wednesday 2nd May the Circus Apartments are playing host to Dialogue Books and one of the many wonderful English-language literary events. Fittingly the reading is of a book called “The Apartment” by Berlin-resident Greg Baxter.

Here’s some more about the book from the organisers:

“One snowy morning in an old European capital, a man wakes in a hotel room. A young local woman he has befriended calls to the hotel, and the two of them head out into the snow to find the man an apartment to rent.

Greg Baxter’s astonishing first novel tells the story of these two people on this day – and the old stories that brought them to where they are. Its magically subtle and intense narrative takes them across the frozen city and into the past that the man is hoping to escape, and leaves them at the doorstep of an uncertain future.

The Apartment is a book about war, the relationship between America and the rest of the world, and the brittle foundations of Western culture; but above all it is a book about the mysteries and alchemies of friendship – truthful, moving and brilliant.”

circus_baxterIf you are not a guest of the Circus but you are interested in the event, follow this link to find out how to register. We have a very limited number of tickets available to Circus guests, for which you can register at the reception. The event begins at 7.30pm.

Upcoming literary reading: the works of Liu Xiaobo

12. März 2012 in Berlin, Books, Events by Paul

DialogueHere is a date for your diary, a very special event next Tuesday in Kreuzberg, hosted by two of the leading lights of English-language literature in Berlin. It should be well worth checking out:

Celebrate the words and life of 2010 Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in a worldwide reading of prose and poems hosted by SAND journal and Dialogue Books. In cooperation with the international literature festival berlin, this international day of reading aims to share the works of Liu Xiaobo with a wider audience and to protest that a writer and freedom fighter is still living in a Chinese prison.

Liu Xiaobo is a Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist who advocates for the end of single-party rule in Communist China. As a writer, well-known for his explosive and lyrical style, he has influenced many young Chinese writers. As a reformer, Liu’s promotion of grassroot change generated by civil society earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Three years ago, Xiaobo was taken from his Beijing home and sentenced to eleven years of imprisonment for “inciting subversion of state power.” His wife, Liu Xia, a poet and photographer, vanished on October 8, 2010, not long after the announcement of Xiaobo’s receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Details:

20 March, 2012 @ 19:30
Dialogue Books
Schönleinstraße 31
Berlin, Germany
U8 Schönleinstraße

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