Love Song by Alex Miller June 8th 2011

We gathered at the lovely Jen's on a chilly night.  Her last book club before the newest member arrived just one month later. Welcome to the world beautiful Jessica - may you find it full of fascinating stories!

In an interesting development our bookclub took on a new dimension.  Our review, written by the most talented Naomi, took star billing in the illustrious, nay famous Double Bay publication, 'Latte Life'.  And what a publication it is.  Amongst tacky ads and dreary editorial nestled this little gem.  Enjoy!

Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Luis Zafon 13th April

On what must have been the smallest gathering on record for book club, the four of us not knocked out by airline schedules or sickness gathered on a suitably cold and rainy night to discuss Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Luis Zafon, a romantic page turning romp/thriller set in post Spanish civil war Barcelona.  Naomi, Julia (this was her 2nd read of it) and Sarah loved the narrative voice, high drama, nostalgic descriptions of Barcelona in all seasons, and the Dickensian characters/caricatures who made up the cast.  Georgie loathed it for it's clumsy language, I-want-to-be-a-film plot, and absurd characterisations.

Happy in dissent (how boring agreement would have been!) we argued our way through fish pie and apple crumble, and raised a toast to absent friends....see you all next time.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - January 31st

It's the end of the summer holidays - thank goodness we have book club to provide a silver lining! On Monday 31 January, the hottest night of summer so far, we gathered in Olivia's backyard for a discussion of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Over salads and riesling, we waited for the cool change and had a great discussion about each of the interlinked narratives of this novel.  Some of us were frustrated by the episodic nature of this novel and others enjoyed the inter-related stories written in different times, places and voices.  Julia wondered whether each tale, taken individually, was a bit derivative, Olivia enjoyed the scale and ambition of this book.  We discussed the book's examination of progression, the concept of "civilization" and the exploitation of power.  A thought-provoking read.  Attending book club were: Olivia, Julia, Jen, Naomi R, Naomi J, Kerri and Sarah.

Book Club Outing - Jan 13th

'Love, Loss and What I Wore' by Nora Ephro at the SOH.  It made us laugh - but the news of Jen's pregnancy made us cheer!

Tree of Man by Patrick White on December 14th

Our bookclub convened for the last meeting of 2010 chez Fleming and while the Christmas tree twinkled in the corner, the discussion sparkled round the table. With as many different interpretations as there were people, we revealed we were moved to tears, laughter, frustrations and boredom by this very Australian novel. Over Japanese fare and mince pies, we discussed the nature of love, togetherness and relationships and can anyone really know someone else?  We covered the writing style, the sense of place and time and the descriptions of the bush.  And once again the discussion of 'what goes on in your head' when you read was a fascinating insight into how different we all are.  We loved the exuberant Mrs O'Dowd and loathed the buttoned-up, social climber Thelma.  But was Patrick White a misogynist? And will anyone read another of his novels?

We missed Naomi J (swamped with unreasonable work deadlines) but we celebrated Jen's promotion (go girl!) and the end of another year of stimulating shared reading.  See you all in 2012 and may Santa bring you a stocking full of cracking reads. x

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, November 10th

We discussed Jonathan Franzen's latest, Freedom, over italianised guacamole, lemony chicken and salad.
Some concluded it didn't reach the heights of his previous work, others felt it was an insightful indictment of modern life, while the rest of us wondered whether its reading would be richer if we were American. 

On reading

I came across this quote the other day and loved it.  Enjoy your reading this week.

Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficity disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss. " 
— Nora Ephron (I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman)