Book Club 25th September 2013: new members, reliving our childhoods and vegetable crisps again (hurrah)

We met at Margaret's house last Wednesday evening, and were delighted to welcome two new members to the Book Club, Janet and Sandra, and hope that they enjoyed the evening.

There were mixed feelings about The End of Your Life Book Club. Some found the long list of  books within the book off putting and overwhelming, others picked up some ideas for other books they wanted to read from it. It was thought that the family in the story were not very warm. The mother was very academic, the father seemed to be sidelined and we found it sad that the mother only became close to her family (particularly her son, through books that she loved)  towards the end of her life.

The Horse Boy was mostly enjoyed by all, we felt we were given an insight into autism and the challenges  faced by both child and parent. We also felt that the book was very introspective, and as much about the father's journey as his son's - in fact the whole family went on an emotional journey, though it would have been nice to have read more about the feelings of the mother, as she was quite a shadowy figure and not much was said about her. The parts of the book about Shamanism were interesting and the book was very evocative of Outer Mongolia, especially the capital city and we enjoyed the descriptions. It was also felt the story finished rather abruptly and it would have been good to know how the family fared back in America and as the little boy grew older.

As well as these two books, we had all read a children's book of our own choice and discussed these. We found it very different reading an old favourite now we are adult - for one thing, books that seemed a long read to us back then could be finished much more quickly now. We also found the language quite old fashioned. One person felt that rereading an Enid Blyton Famous Five book had spoiled them for her now, as there was a dark undercurrent she had not known was there. We discussed the fact that although language and subject might be different now, and fashions in children's books change, they still take us on a similar journey - fun, adventure, often a naughty bit! and then the resolution, sometimes with a bit of a moral thrown in.

As always, the book talk was interspersed with chatting of many other things, drinking tea and coffee and eating nibbles. As at Sue's last time, the vegetable crisps went very quickly! (Yum). There was also the usual book swapping going on, as people bring along books they've read for others to take.

These are the books we have chosen to read this time (if you click on the name of the book, the links go to Amazon, where you can read about each one). I will be ordering mine from the library as usual, I find the online ordering system mostly very good, they email me to say the books are in and I just go along and collect them. The service is free.

The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida 
The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez

As always, feel free to read one, two or three, there's no pressure on anybody to read everything.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 20th November, when we will be going out for an Indian meal. As this will be our last Book Club  meeting before Christmas, we will be doing our usual 'Secret Santa'. Please wrap up a book you have read and enjoyed and would like to pass on to someone else, and we will randomly pass them out. Be prepared, though - at our first meeting next year you will have to try and remember why you liked it and discuss it with the person who received it! If you can even remember which book you wrapped up (it has been known that we forget....)

I'll be sending out a reminder about the meal nearer the time, and will be asking then for definite numbers so that I can book.

P.S. My apologies for no photograph on this post. I was too busy eating the vegetable crisps.....

Book Club 10th July: Traumatic endings, vegetable crisps and one very well behaved dog

We met at Sue’s house, where we were amply fed and watered. Those vegetable crisps were delicious, not quite sure who ate most of them (innocent face).

We discussed I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings  and agreed that it was unbelievable in parts and with so much conflict packed in, it seemed as though everything in the world that could possibly happen to the poor girl did so. As this book only took her to the age of 16, it makes you wonder what happens in the next (SIX) volumes of her autobiography. 

There were mixed reviews for The Girl Who Fell from the Sky. One person was so traumatised by it that she was unable to read anything but chick lit for a while afterwards, poor girl!  We found some parts of the book  unbelievable and unrealistic, and it was said that the heroine  deserved her comeuppance.

Mostly people seemed to like Lady Susan, which is a short book consisting of letters back and forth. One person said when she got to the end she thought her Kindle had broken, as it didn't seem like the end, though sadly it was. Another person (here’s that innocent face again) 

downloaded it to her Kindle weeks ago and promptly mislaid the Kindle, which has yet to turn up.  Lady Susan prompted a discussion about the postal system and the demise of the handwritten letter. Some members remembered when they could post a letter in the morning and it would arrive in the afternoon – though of course only ‘God, the weather and the state of the roads permitting’!

There were positive reviews all round for The Universe versus Alex Woods, except for me, I admit it – I was a quarter of the way in, and a bit bored. After glowing reports from everyone, I decided to finish it and am so glad I did as I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was agreed that it was funny and different, and a really good read.

We chose our next reads (the links click through to Amazon where you can find out about the books) 

1.       The End of Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe

2.       The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson

....and for our third book choice we decided to do something different. We thought it would be fun if we all choose a children’s book to read – it might be one from your own childhood you would like to revisit,  or a children’s book past or present that you would like to read.

We said that to keep ourselves accountable we would say in advance which book we would read – so far people have picked Children of the New Forest, Treasure Island and The Family at One End Street. When you have decided which book you are going to read, please come over to the forum and let us know what you have chosen.

The next book club meeting will be on Wednesday 25^th September at Margaret’s house. 

Honorary member Zak

Book Club 15th May: Corsets, Camouflage, Pilgrimages and Sweet Polly Oliver

Lovely treats courtesy of Frances

We convened for our May meeting at Frances' house, where the evening was helped along by   some lovely nibbles baked by Frances. 

The first book we discussed was 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' - this was a popular choice. It was compared to the '100 Year Old Man who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared', a previous Book Club read, in that both books involve someone going on a sort of journey of discovery. We thought parts of it were very touching, in particular the way that Harold and his wife had grown apart over the years and Harold's visit to his friend Queenie in Hospital at the end of his pilgrimage was also quite poignant.  

Some of us found Kate Adie's 'Corsets to Camouflage' quite dry, more like an academic text, but we also thought it was interesting and informative. We were surprised how prevalent it was that women would pretend to be men, prompting two members to burst into song, treating us to a rendition of 'Sweet Polly Oliver'. Click the symbol on the picture to hear it. 

Not one of our members, but you get the idea. The first song for the proposed singing group, perhaps? 

Only one member had read 'Down and Out in Paris in London' as yet. It was found to be interesting, but more of a series of anecdotes than a story as such. There was an interesting part towards the end of the book where Orwell discussed slang terms used by tramps in the 1930s and it was interesting to see which words continued to be in use today and which had completely disappeared. 

As for 'Jambusters', about the history of the WI, one member is partway through it and finding it very interesting so far. 

The continuing saga of 'The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass'...... it has proved difficult for members to get hold of this book, so at each meeting there are one or two more people who have managed to read it. The consensus last night was that it is very funny (except for one member who shall remain nameless, who couldn't get into it, but promises to try again!) 

Some members had been to an author talk at Eastbury House recently, a new venture by Eastbury that looks promising as they have some more author talks lined up, 'The Virgin Queen' and 'Blood Sisters'. Click here for details of times, etc, and other events at Eastbury House

As always, our 'book discussion' veered off into all sorts of other areas. We talked about why it is that although we have lots of modern conveniences these days, life seems to be busier than ever. One member said whenever she visited her parents they would be asleep in the armchair in the afternoons. It seems the pace of life was much slower years ago. 

Kindles at the ready!

We have chosen four books for discussion again, and we put them a loose order to try to read them in if we can. As always, we don't expect everyone to read everything, it is just to give some variety and choice. If you click on the name of the book, it will take you to the item on Amazon, where you can read about each book. They might be cheaper used from Amazon, or from Play.com, or do what I do and order them all from the library. Even cheaper. 

1. Lady Susan by Jane Austen - currently FREE on Amazon for Kindle, or you can get the Complete Works of Jane Austen on Kindle for 49p
2. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Simon Mawer
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extance 

Our next meeting will be on 10th July at Sue's house. Don't forget, anyone who can't make it to meetings and would like to read along with us is more than welcome and can start or join in discussion in the Book Club section over at the First Ladies forum. 

Books, a cuppa, nibbles and good company

See you next time!

Book Club Meeting 27th March 2013

Our Hostess for the second meeting  -  Elaine.
Despite the poor weather conditions attendance was good.
We also got updates from those of you not there in person.

Everyone settled in, refreshments in hand, the spicy crisps went down a treat, we got underway.
Margaret recommend the following site for readers of books  www.Foxedquarterly.com

We had 2 book to revue

The Sugar Girls -  Ethels Story.

Overall the book was well received, however the writing style was not popular.
The group felt that the authors could have followed through. It left you wondering and asking the question 'AND'
General comment was that young women of today would not appreciate the significant changes in the working conditions of women,  Then and now.

The Hundred Year Old Man who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson

Discussion was lively, with lots of laughter . Swedish translation is good.
We recommend you ignore the historical elements of the story and go with the flow.
At times you burst into laughter as the silliness borders on the ridiculous.


Our agreed reads for the next meeting on 15th May 2013, Our Hostess will be Francis

• Corsets to Camouflage : Women and War - Kate Adie
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

The following 2 books were considered, but availability and cost pushed them out of the top 2. However, if  copies are located and enough members can read them.

• JamBusters - Julie Summers
• Down and Out in London and Paris - George Orwell

Ongoing book for review, but due to difficulty obtaining  copies

• 'Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass'

See you all at the next meeting

The 2013 WI First Ladies Book Club met on Wednesday 30th January 2013.
Margaret hosted the evening,  little remained of the nibbles at end.

This is our third year, reading, curry nights and the occasional trip to the cinema are all part of the club. We meet every 2 months, on Wednesday's for about 2 hours. The hostess is normally throwing everyone out in the end, as there never seems to be enough time.

Please come along if books are a passion, the literary world is our oyster, and there no such thing as a bad read.

So, 
Secret Santa books - honest feedback and discussion took place,  it was intriguing to see the varied literacy preferences of all.

Large stack of donated books appeared in the middle of the floor, read since December. 
Surplus  donated to a charity.
Titles, The help, Life of Pi, Trespass, and many, many more.

Debbie, updated the group on lecture at Valance House, given by  a survivor of the Bethnal  Green disaster.  This was  a moving and informative, historical true account.

The next meeting is March 27th and Elaine has kindly offered to host.

Agreed recommended reading - January
'Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass',  e- readers advised that its March for availability.
There are some hard copies if you cannot wait.
'The Hundred Year Old Man' by Jonas Jonasson,
'The Sugar Girls' (Ethel's story) by Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi


Reviewed books in 2012,

Jan The Old Curiosity Shop - Dickens, a classic but many of us struggled to finish
March The Kashmir Shawl - Rosie Thomas, recommended read
May These Foolish Things - Deborah Moggach, group cinema trip The best exotic Marigold Hotel)
July Saving Cee-Cee Honeycutt - Beth Hoffman, enjoyed
Summer reading Rule Britannia - Daphne du Maurier, good read
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald, dated classic topical at moment, remake of film
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett, short read, brought back memories from school for some
Sept Full Dark House - Christopher Fowler, Bryant and May  - recommend another title

Nov Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch- enjoyed by all, many of the group went on the read, other 2 titles

Summer Reading

Alison  hosted the April meeting and it was well attended by 8 of us. 

Once again we had interesting debates on a wide variety of topics, somewhere in amongst it all we did discuss books.

The success of the book swop at christmas, meant  we had no recommended shared read. Everyone either reviewed books swopped  or added into  the mix titles read since we last met.

 

The coffee table and floor were soon littered. It made it difficult to get to the cakes and biscuits. Which got soaked up with suitable beverages

 

Alison recommended a Radio 4 programme she has listened to, about a Ladies book club in the Twickeham /Teddington area.  It generated a lot of laughter, but we agreed to keep our format.

 

Chanel 4 Book Club  - recommendation as good reads  'Before I go to Sleep'  'The report'   10 books in all and the club had most of them between them. 

 

Everyone agreed  during the last year, we had introduced a varied number of genre and authors. We all remembered the  Alan Bennett month and our struggles to finish Charels Dickens 'Old Curiosity Shop'. Whilst everyone has different reading tastes, a club recommendation is always  well receieved,  we all listen to other opinions.  Each of us look forward to the feedback on choices. 

This format has encouraged many of the club to expand their reading material and seek out  linked topics briefly touched upon.

 

After much debate, we agreed to read for  July Book Club

 

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt  by Beth Hoffman

 

Next Meeting is a Elaine's on July 11th @19.30.  See you all there

Books and Cinema - February Book Club

At the last meeting of the Book Club on 8^th February “The Kashmir Shawl” by Rosie Thomas was voted a success.  Most of us had finished reading (all 468 pages) and agreed it was quite a journey.  An epic tale, taking the reader, along with staunch missionaries from Wales, to an India of bygone days (1929). 

This book has it all, the enduring friendship of three remarkable women, love, adventure and family secrets - the impact of war and the devastating effect on the lives of the British who lived on the beautiful wooden carved house boats, which are beside the lake in Srinagar today. 

A Passage to India was mentioned and we touched upon the similarities of the two stories (sagas).  India is a great inspiration for storytellers, both past and present, so we decided to prolong our Indian exploration and planned trip, not to the lakeside city of Srinagar unfortunately, but to the cinema (possibly Lakeside) so as to really immerse ourselves in the Indian philosophy – and of course have a good time.  So in the evening on Thursday 1^st March we will be going to see “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and anyone wishing to join us is of course welcome.  Details still to be finalised – but please do email or watch the WI website. 

The next book club meeting will be on April 25^th at Alison’s house (again details at WI) when no doubt we will talk some more of the wonderful and hugely varied “Secret Santa” books we exchanged in December – read and exchanged again.  Definitely something for everyone: a thriller, a book about a Vietnam veteran, the diary of somebody contemplating suicide – and also several very funny books. 

Phew!   We really are a motley crew.