One
Flip through the interactive word sets and the margin notes.
word set · Taipei Story125 words
FlashcardsMultiple choice
a book club ✳︎ a literary magazine
A book club and a magazine for those who read in English.
Every month we read a new book. “Not yet translated” is our favourite genre.
We talk about books,
not “study English.”
We make materials that turn reading deeper and easier — especially if English isn't your first language.
— how we read
The book is split into parts — and then:
Two
Reading gets easier — the key words and realia are familiar before you meet them.
reading notes✳︎
Chiang Kai-shek
Nationalist leader (1887–1975) who ruled China and then Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists; his huge white-and-b…
Lu Xun
Writer (1881–1936) regarded as the father of modern Chinese literature, best known for "The True Story of Ah Q" and "Diary of a M…
Three
The book is finished within a month at a comfortable pace.
Reading Pace Guidenovember
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
9–14 parts2–3 days eachquiz ✳︎
— margin notes by bookflix
For every part of the book we collect the details and cultural realia that widen the reading horizon. We sketch and dig through libraries.
< have a look >
Da'an Forest Park
A large green park in central Taipei known as the city's "lung", famous for its ecological pond and resident egrets; it was created in the 1990s after a long and controversial clearance of informal housing.
Blue claw crab
The Atlantic blue crab, a prized shellfish of the Chesapeake Bay and the New Jersey shore, usually steamed and picked by hand. Its scientific name translates roughly as 'beautiful savoury swimmer'.
Ball jar
A thick glass preserving jar with a screw band, made by the American Ball company since the 1880s; the older ones have a distinctive blue-green "aquamarine" tint from sand impurities and are now collected as antiques.
Tesco
Britain's largest supermarket chain, with shops from vast superstores to corner-sized Express branches; it grew from a single London market stall opened by Jack Cohen in 1919.
Japanese colonial era in Taiwan
The period from 1895 to 1945 when Taiwan was ruled by Japan, which built railways, schools and spa resorts across the island; its legacy is why many older Taiwanese were educated in Japanese and why Japanese-style wooden buildings still stand in towns like Beitou.
Dwarf wedgemussel
A tiny endangered freshwater mussel found in rivers of the eastern United States; unglamorous as it looks, its larvae must hitch a ride on the gills of fish to survive, which makes it a sensitive indicator of clean water.
Turquoise
Turquoise is a blue-green color and also the name of a gemstone of the same color.
DSLR camera
A digital single-lens reflex camera, which uses a mirror and prism so the photographer sees exactly what the lens sees; the design dominated serious photography from the early 2000s until mirrorless cameras overtook it.
Selkie
A seal that can shed its skin to become human, found in Orkney, Shetland and Irish folklore; in the best-known tales a man hides a selkie woman's skin to keep her as a wife, and she returns to the sea the moment she finds it.
Tourtière
A spiced minced-meat pie from Québec, traditionally eaten at Christmas and New Year; recipes vary so sharply by region that families argue over whether it should contain potato.
— the club in short
We read contemporary books in English and publish a literary magazine
1.
A new book every first of the month — join any day
2.
Margin notes, word sets, discussion questions and a quiz for every book
3.
Sunday meetings at 08:00 UTC — and a conversation that never stops
right now · book of the month
Taipei Story
R.F. Kuang
In a high-stakes cultural immersion program in Taiwan, a Chinese-American student uncovers a tangled web of family secrets that forces her to question everything she knows about her identity, her roots, and her future.
— the archive
Books here don't retire.
Reread anything from the archive in any order, call a meeting on it, make friends over it — the club reads non-linearly.
— two projects under one roof
Bookflix publishes an independent literary magazine.
Essays, symbolic analysis, unexpected reading routes, interviews, visual experiments and original fiction — all living inside one object.
Its form is unusual: two magazines are bound as one — Bookflix and Narratoscope, a second editorial voice that may not exist, yet is taken with full creative seriousness, like a literary pseudonym living by its own rules.
the season issue ✳︎ collectible ✳︎ 2026
Fresh from the magazine
all articles →
Narratoscope · Editor's letter
What a Gorgeous Problem
On why this issue exists, and why it's about what it's about
Bookflix · Essay
What Are You Going to Do All Day?
Suppose the machines take the work and leave you the salary. On the permanent holiday, the question hiding inside it, and the coming fashion for philosophy
Narratoscope · Essay
Take the Suit Off
On Agamemnon, Batman, & Why the Strong Go Looking for Weakness
Bookflix · Read Between Wines
On Reading Between Wines
And they drank dark wine, and listened to the sea for a long time, until the words began to find them.
— courses
Short courses on how to read.
Bought apart from the membership. Go at your own pace; your progress is saved.
Course 01 ✳︎ open now
Symbols in Literature
You read a story. Somebody else reads the same story and sees a whole other thing in it. This course is about getting that second sight — a short theory, then five Roald Dahl stories taken apart stop by stop. Self-paced; the stories themselves you find on your own.
20Short reads
5Dahl stories
≈12 hIn all
Look inside →
$49 · once, yours to keep
— what’s inside
Twenty short reads
The theory, in small pieces. Each one has an AI-narrated version.
Five stories, stop by stop
Roald Dahl. At every stop you answer before you see anyone else’s reading.
Small games
A lighter, a frozen leg of lamb, a guest book you’d better not sign.
OLGA
YOU
The readers’ stack
Your card joins everyone who came before you. Theirs open after yours.
Ice1. emotional cold, time stopped2. luxury, control over natureSEEN IN · LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
A glossary of 216 symbols
The usual readings, plus a checklist for spotting a Christ figure.
Six badges
One per story, and a big one — the blindfold comes off — for the whole course.
— where the club lives
No messengers.
The whole life of the community lives on one advanced platform of our own, where the focus is only on the club's materials and events.
We write the platform ourselves, for the way the club reads. And it installs on your phone as an app: the book, the notes, the words and the discussion are always with you.
Book of the month
Taipei Story
Open the Guidemeeting · Nov 15 · 07:00 UTC
Sunday Chapter Chats
culture note
«Chiang Kai-shek» — Nationalist leader (1887–1975) who ruled China and then Tai…
guide · Taipei Story
Part 1 ✓ read
Part 2
Part 3
quiz of the month
word set · Taipei Story
circumnavigate
Tap to flip
FlashcardsMultiple choice
magazine
Narratoscope · Editor's letter
What a Gorgeous Problem
FAQ yeah!
answers to everything
i. the club
Bookflix is a readers' club. We read books in English and discuss them together.
A new book every month. We read at a comfortable pace, share thoughts along the way, ask questions, argue.
Inside the club there is everything to make reading easier and deeper:
— margin notes to the text
— word sets and expressions
— discussion questions
— a monthly quiz
But at the centre there is always the book and the conversation around it.
We don't teach anything — yet the reading rhythm is built so that before every part your vocabulary and erudition stretch, and the text opens deeper.
ii. who it suits
Whatever your goal:
— reading in the original with an active community
— language practice
You'll fit right in.
We suit those who want to read in English — and to do it regularly. Those who care not about "studying the language" but about being in the environment: reading, discussing, listening and speaking. And those who love books and want to share that with people from different cities and countries.
iii. level of English
If you read originals or B1+/B2 adaptations, you will be comfortable.
For every book we make extra materials that help you read without stress and stay in the process.
There are no "levels" inside the club — everyone reads the same book, each at their own pace.
iv. how it works
For every book we prepare a Reading Pace Guide — a special calendar that splits the book into parts and sets the pace and the schedule.
For every stage of reading we prepare interactive word sets with the key (or simply curious) vocabulary, plus reading notes that illustrate the book. Before each part you flip through the words and read the notes — reading gets noticeably easier, the pace goes up, no dictionary needed.
For every part we also prepare classic book-club questions. The conversation runs non-stop — in text and voice, and on Sunday meetings in person.
At the end of the month — a quiz. Not an exam; a final point and a reason to look back.
v. where to get the book
You find the book yourself — paper, e-book or audio, whichever suits you.
We don't distribute books inside the club.
Can't find it? Write to us — we'll point you to the easiest way.
vi. the discussion
It's not a "lesson" and there are no obligatory calls.
It's a space where you can:
— write
— read others
— reply
— stay silent and simply watch
The conversation runs all the time. Plus every Sunday at 08:00 UTC we meet to discuss the week's reading live.
vii. how we choose books
We read a lot and choose by hand. Finding new names is more interesting to us than walking the obvious bestseller row. Very often (almost always) we read brand-new books — "not yet translated" is our favourite genre.
Genres change — contemporary prose, sci-fi, thrillers — there is no monotone routine.
viii. if you have a question
Write to us:
— by mail: hello@bookflix.media
— or in direct messages on VK
ix. joining mid-month
You can come in at any moment.
You get access to all materials and can:
— catch up with the current book
— or calmly start with the next one
Plus you can look around and see how everything works inside.
— membership
One membership — the club and the magazine together.
Membership
$15 per month
- A month in the club
- The reading guide, word sets and notes
- Sunday meetings — and meetings of your own
- The magazine: every article on the site
- Reviews, quizzes, shelves and the whole archive
One subscription — the club and the magazine together. Cancel any time.
We read all year round!
Join any time — a new book starts on the first of every month.