Just a quick note to remind everyone that the next meeting of the book group is on Tuesday 24th February – usual time and place (6.30pm at Doolally’s on Marygate, for any new members!).
Hope everyone’s enjoyed reading Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. I’m definitely looking forward to finding out what everyone thought about it.
Also – for anyone who hasn’t checked into the bookshop lately – Kim has got the Ross Raisin book God’s Own Country in stock. (That’s March’s choice, if you want to get a head start on it!). Remember you can get 5% off if you’ve registered as a book group member.
Looking forward to a civilised evening of tea, cakes and superb discussion!
Barbara
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What a great turn-out for the January meeting – when surely the fireside or even the duvet must have held quite an attraction!
We were discussing the short story collection Constitutional by Helen Simpson. I put my cards on the table straight away and said I absolutely loved this collection, which for me was perfect Christmas/New Year reading – it could be dipped into like a box of chocolates and the stories themselves were all set at this wintry time of year.
It was interesting that when I admitted to not reading short stories very often, I found myself in the majority – lots of nods around the table. Yet as the discussion went on, people began discussing other short story writers from James Joyce to Alan Bennett and it became clear that, in fact, we all read them a little more often than we realise! We all agreed what a precise and difficult art it is to write a short story – and one in which Helen Simpson is quite unusual, in that she has always specialised in this medium, rather than becoming a successful novelist and then producing a short story collection when more established.
Another interesting thing that emerged is that most (though not all) of us agreed on which stories they found the least successful – If I’m Spared and The Green Room. (In this we differed from some very eminent reviewers in the quality press!). But we enjoyed the humour of the collection with its underlying anger and the accessible themes of ageing, frailty, being wanted and needed – and ultimately, hope and renewal in The Door and the title story Constitutional.
We enjoyed picking out some of Simpson’s brilliant and memorable turns of phrase – such as her description of Christmas as being a time “when adults demanded simple joy without effort, a miraculous feast of stingless memory.” In the same story (The Year’s Midnight) was the lovely description of the resentful au-pair: “a crouching Fury of a woman,” “baleful as Durer’s engraving of Melancholia.”
The writer also has acute powers of observation when it comes to conversation and dialogue – the account of the children’s conversation in Early One Morning was particularly authentic. One reader said she felt as if she had been standing outside the subject’s windows, getting a brief but accurate snapshot of their lives, before moving on to the next – I thought this was a great way of describing the satisfaction that Simpson’s short stories offer.
If anyone’s interested to read more I can recommend two of her other collections, Dear George and Hey Yeah Right Get A Life.
Two members also suggested the story collection by Yiyun Li, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, which sounds as if it would be a fascinating read.
(Note to Book group members: I may have suggested that Helen Simpson was involved in the short story event on 31st January. I’m afraid I seem to have made that up – apologies!).
At the meetings I’m always interested to know what else people have been reading. It’s great to get recommendations from readers who you trust! How’s this for a variety: Andrew Davidson’s The Gargoyle (we will ignore the dark mutterings in one corner about Richard and Judy!); Sid Chaplin’s Day of The Sardine (and you can get this from the North-East-based Flambard Press) – and Thackeray’s 1847 classic Vanity Fair.
So – for something completely different, next month we will turn to Chinua Achebe’s seminal work, which I’m sure will make for a great discussion. Hope to see everyone next month,
Barbara
Next meeting: Tuesday 24th February, 6.30pm. Doolally’s, Marygate, Berwick. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.
Thanks to everyone who found time in the busy run-up to Christmas to come to the December book group – and according to Ann, who kindly hosted the meeting when I couldn’t make it, there was a very lively discussion on Pat Barker’s Life Class. Seems everyone had a similar experience of finishing the book in something of a rush – which made things very interesting, as the thoughts and comments were very fresh and immediate. In a way, it meant readers were developing their thoughts on the book as the meeting went along. As Ann said, this is another of the great things about being in a reading group – I know when I finished the novel I really wanted to hear what other people had to say, which always helps me get more out of a book.
Most people liked the book, although some perhaps felt it wasn’t as good as Barker’s Regeneration trilogy, which covered the similar subject matter of the First World War. The author’s knowledge of this period of history is outstanding and people felt they could trust her accuracy. The first half of the book, set in London, seemed to be less engaging than the second, and it was interesting to see how the wartime experiences developed the characters. For me, one of the most well-drawn characters was Lewis, who didn’t say so much about himself yet seemed to be someone who the reader felt they knew and cared about.
As I said in the last blog, New Writing North has come up with an interesting list of books to read in the coming months, but the group also came up with their own ideas! So I’m listing these suggestions here so that anyone who gets the time can dip into these too. They’re a really interesting set of books, so I know I’m going to try to read them! They are:
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
Oyster by Janet Turner Hospital
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The Lover by Marguerite Duras
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Schriver
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
So these are not compulsory -but given what a discerning group the Berwick bunch is, I think all of them will be well worth a try if you’re stuck for a good read. Kim at Doolallys is always happy to order in books and she has of course promised to get in the ones on our list ‘proper’ for January to April.
Looking forward to seeing everyone again at the January meeting – and in the mean time, have a brilliant Christmas and may all your stockings be bulging with books!
Next meeting: Tuesday January 27th at 6.30pm. Doolally’s in Marygate, Berwick. Constitutional by Helen Simpson.
As I write, the last book group of the year has yet to meet, but family circumstances mean I won’t be able to get along to it. It’ll go ahead as usual, however, kindly hosted by Ann Coburn. I’m looking forward to hearing how Pat Barker’s Life Class went down with everyone.
This entry is to let everyone know the dates and book choices for the next four months.
The meetings will be held as usual in the very hospitable venue of Doolally’s in Marygate and the dates/books are as follows:
Tues January 27th: Constitutional by Helen Simpson
Tues Feb 24th: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Tues March 24th: God’s Own Country by Ross Raisin
Tues April 28th: Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersen
Get them on your Christmas list if it’s not too late – otherwise do order them from Kim at Doolally’s and remember to ask for your 5% discount as a member of the Berwick Book Group.
They’re also linked to some events in the region. Helen Simpson is participating in an event in Newcastle on 31st January and Things Fall Apart is celebrated in an event planned for 14th March.
There are some suggestions for books in May and June, linked to a planned promotion of North-East writers, but these are yet to be confirmed. And – a long way in the distance! - plans for a summer reading party for July (thoughts and ideas welcome on this!).
Have a good meeting on December 16th!
Hi to all the brave souls who came to the November meeting! And of course to those who were there in spirit. There was a smaller number than usual for this month’s book group at Berwick – but lots of regulars were away and of course it is a busy time of the year. Once again I think Kim’s teas, coffees and cherry and almond shortbread were good enough reasons to come!
We were reading the much-hyped The Time Traveller’s Wife, the highly accomplished first novel by Audrey Niffenegger. What an interesting reponse we had. I think it’s fair to say that there was a distinct gender split! Four of the women were pretty positive about it, whereas the two chaps couldn’t get into it at all. I’d be really interested to know if there’s been a similar gender-related demarcation in other book groups that have read this novel.
Although I think we agreed we wouldn’t classify it under science fiction, those who loved the book were impressed by the author’s very thorough examination of the possibilities and the ramifications of time travel – and how she even managed to make it funny. The boys wondered whether the time travel “worked out” although we decided against getting out the pen and paper to draw up a timeline!
But the time travel was really secondary to the love story. For me and some of the others who were taken with it, it was a very hopeful book concentrating on the potential for love to conquer all. I felt that although the book was called The Time Traveller’s Wife, Henry was the more rounded and better realised character. A reader who shall remain nameless admitted to being a bit in love with Henry on a first reading – although a second reading flagged up more of his flaws! One reader who much prefers sci-fi and would never usually read a romantic novel absolutely loved it, so that was one of those happenings that makes a reading group well worthwhile!
We all had slight reservations about the frequent time-travelling by Henry to Clare as a child. It wasn’t helped by the rather unpleasant front cover, which did have a look of one of those child-abuse misery memoirs that seem to fill the shop shelves these days. But perhaps that discomfort says a lot about our culture today – I wonder, if the book had come out 10 or 15 years ago, whether we would have felt this way.
As we consign that novel to the past, we have a slightly earlier meeting next month to take account of Christmas. We’ll be reading Pat Barker’s Life Class. Looking forward to seeing everyone then!
Next meeting: Tuesday December 16th, 6.30pm. Doolally’s on Marygate, Berwick. Life Class by Pat Barker.
So we had our second meeting – and perhaps rather like the typical second novel/second album, it was going to be a hard job to follow the excellent first one! A hard core of us turned out on a very nippy evening and Kim’s cakes made it worth the trip, if nothing else.
I think we all enjoyed chatting about Jonathan Coe’s The Rain Before It Falls - even if we didn’t find reading it such an enjoyable experience. I had to take personal responsibility for this choice. As a big fan of Coe’s earlier works, including The House of Sleep, What a Carve-up! and The Rotters Club, I expected to be on safe territory with his latest novel. But it turned, for many of us, into an example of how not to write a book!
I have to say the dislike was not unanimous. There was admiration for the subjects tackled in the book (cycles of abuse, dysfunctional relationships) and for Coe’s descriptions of landscape. But no prizes for his geography! Quite how the suggestion that “the North East coast” includes “Lincolnshire” got past the proof-readers, I’m not sure!
But many of use didn’t find the characters credible – even the main voice of Rosamund was hard to believe in and even harder to care about. It meant that even when we reached the sad conclusions of the novel, few of us were very moved. We felt that Coe seemed to be locked into a slightly contrived structure, using the photographs, and it just didn’t work.
I hope I’ve convinced some of the group to try some other Jonathan Coe before giving up on him entirely!
Another great thing about book groups is that you can pick up recommendations for other works that you might not have considered before. When the conversation strayed back to last month’s choice, Half of a Yellow Sun, we were recommended to try some harrowing but gripping short stories about different parts of Africa and another member gave us her thoughts on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s first novel, Purple Hibiscus.
So the choice for November is that Richard-and-Judy, Book-Group-stalwart, The Time Traveller’s Wife (yes, I do know that on the book cover “traveller” is spelled with one “l” - but the foggy old pedant inside me couldn’t bear to write it that way, sorry!). I do think it may be one of those books that some will find mind-blowing and others will lose patience with very quickly, so I think next month’s will be a fascinating meeting. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Barbara
Tuesday 25th November 2008, 6.30pm – 8pm. Doolally’s at Marygate in Berwick. The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Read it before the film comes out!
So after all those weeks of waiting, the new book group finally got started in Berwick!
I was really delighted that so many people turned up on a chilly, drizzly evening – and I thought we had a fascinating discussion about the first book, Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Lots of us loved it – but the great thing about book groups is listening to a range of views and it was interesting to hear what some readers didn’t like about it. One complaint was that the central characters were too middle-class and that one or two of the characters weren’t credible. The character of Olanna seemed to particularly get up people’s noses because she was much a martyr and there was also a suggestion that Kainene was something of a caricature! Others felt she was a fascinating character who readers wanted to know more about. Some people also felt that the author had almost followed a formula for writing a best-seller. But a number of us who didn’t know the background to the Biafran conflict before found it informative and others found the relationships, particularly between the sisters, very powerful.
We talked about the strong suggestion in the book that the story of a conflict like Biafra should only be told by those directly involved, not by those coming from a white Western perspective. Such an interesting debate. Some readers had visited a number of African countries and others had read journalistic accounts of some of the conflicts, so made some very informed comments about the different cultures and how they were reflected in the book.
We also talked about the forthcoming visit of the author to Newcastle and how much value there can be to listening to an author talk about their work. Some of the questions that came up about her writing were answered in the Q and A section at the back of more recent editions of the book, but that wasn’t in the older versions. Perhaps this says something about the way authors are now marketed – or about the rise and rise of book groups and the need to have these kinds of questions answered!
I have to confess one of my favourite moments was when someone confessed to always peeling the “Richard and Judy” stickers off their books. I’ve found a kindred spirit there!
I think we all agreed that Doolally’s was a perfect choice of a venue (and thanks to Kim for the teas and coffees!).
So – here’s to next month’s meeting , which I’m now really looking forward to. The choice is Jonathan Coe’s The Rain Before It Falls, a very touching novel about family secrets and taboo relationships.
As I said last time, I’m new to writing a blog and it does feel a bit like muttering to myself – so do post your comments!
Next Book Group: Tuesday October 21st at 6.30pm. Venue: Doolally’s (at the Town House in Marygate). Book: The Rain Before It Falls by Jonathan Coe. Remember to register for the book group at the shop – you’ll get a card which entitles you to 5% off the book choices!
Barbara
OK, so I have never blogged before and I’ve never run a reading group either (although I used to tag along to one). So I’m probably hugely unqualified to do this – but I’m really hoping that it’ll work anyway!
Berwick’s a brilliant place but, it has to be said, it’s also a bit on the quirky side – so I have no way of predicting how many readers are going to turn up to the first meeting on Sept 23rd. Just hoping for a few people with a bit of enthusiasm.
Who the heck am I to run a book group? Well – I’m a keen reader. My day job is as a BBC journalist, but no, that does not mean I’ll be taping anyone’s comments and broadcasting them somewhere! I’m also doing a part-time course in Creative Writing at Newcastle University and that’s sometimes led me to read books with a slightly different eye.
On to the book. Anyone got through Half of a Yellow Sun yet? I read it on holiday a week or so ago and thought it was stunning – but far from an easy read. It taught me a lot about the Biafran conflict – I was a child at the time and can remember images on the news but to my shame I wasn’t too aware of the issues behind it. Can’t wait to hear what other people thought of the book! If you’re in Berwick – please come along and get the group going! Tuesday Sept 23rd at Doolally’s cafe, at the Town House in Marygate. 6.30pm – 8pm (cafe open for coffee/cakes until 7pm). If you sign up for the group at Doolally’s, you can get 5 per cent off the price of the books!
Following the continued success of the popular New Writing North book and poetry reading groups in Newcastle and Middlesbrough, we are rolling out the groups regionally this autumn. The groups offer the chance to meet fellow enthusiastic readers in informal and enjoyable venues. Each meeting is run by a reader in residence who facilitates the group and updates a book group blog – so if you miss a meeting you can keep up. Seasons of books are announced in advance in autumn, new year and summer.
The group is free to attend but you must register as a member in advance with New Writing North. Group members can take advantage of special offers on books and often on refreshments in the venues that host the meetings.
For more information please contact Olivia Mantle on 0191 222 1332 or email olivia@newwritingnorth.com.
