Blog updates

Hello all,

I have been faffing around with the blog so there are a few changes

• There is a list of who is holding book club when.  There was some discussion last month about swapping some one around so that Hannah isn't doing a double up - does anyone know what the decision was?
• I have added a box where you can enter your email if you are not receiving email updates. No one should have to do that - I have added Cindy's email and Kaye - I have added your gmail address.  It's more for new members from now on, or if you change email address.
• Cindy - I have invited you to be an author - this just means you can put on a blog post when it is your turn.

Hope the new changes are helpful.

Cheers,

Trilby

February book review. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Feb

Hi All,
Tonight we welcomed  new member Cindy Paton to our group and we were introduced to Deb's newest addition Lucca.

The review of Middlesex was varied. Most agreed that the first half of the book was interesting for its historical content and introduction of a little known genetic condition of hermaphrodite.
The family issues of incest and marriage between cousins was discussed and concluded that although not accepted by our culture is part of and has existed through time. We all felt the second part of the book lacked the intensity of the beginning and drag on somewhat.

Kaye...       6....    Didn't not like but didn't like it either.......

Irene...        4....   Uneasy blend between genetics and moral ambiguity......

Hannah...      ....   so far Compelling read ...

Deb ...         7 ....  Great family saga.......

Colleen ...    5 ....  Power of genetics interesting.......

Trilby...        6....   Enjoyed. Felt uncomfortable that hermaphroism was used as an example......

Cindy ...                Historical content fantastic. Trials of someone Else's sexuality amazing. Genetic side        
                              interesting........

Tahnee...      6 ....  Historically rich narrative. Enjoyed detailed character development. Manages to take  
                             a tricky topic without sensationalism.........

Maryanne ...  6 .... Liked style and  historical element. Second half didn't engage.

Kerry...........  7....  loved that the story was being narrated from the perception of a mutated Gene.
                              Made me think how hit and miss genetics really are......



March Book Club is at  Kaye's and her book is   The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid.

and April's is at Hannah's ...Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

April's book

Hi there fellow readers!
The book I have chosen is "Reading Lolita In Tehran" by Azar Nafisi. See you next month.
Hannah

Hi All and a Happy new Year...

Middlesex......Jeffrey Eugenides

1.   do you identify more with Cals story because he"s the narrator......

2.   Did you identify with all the charaters as Cal "Inhabited" each one..

3.   The story moves backward and forwards throughout Cal"s narration ..it starts just b4 Cal's birth and       then moves backwards we only met Cal midway ...Why do you think the story is told this way and     does it influence the way you view the larger themes i.e.   like Desmodena and Leftys early life and  
       marriage.


4.    Did you find it interesting to be exposed to so much  contemporary  History
      throughout the story.... war between Greece and Turkey...the rise of the nation of Islam...WW2,
      and the Detroit Riots.....how do you think this influenced the lives of the charactors.

5.   Where you shocked by the stroy of Desdemona and Lefty's relationship...do you think it was
       morally wrong?



6.    how does Cal's experience reflect on the Nature vs Nurture debate.

7.    Why does Cal decide to live as a Man.

8.     Do you think Dr. Luce had CAl's best interests at heart.

9.      Do you think that the Obscure Object had more of an influence than anyone on Calliope's life.

         How and Why.....

10.    Do you think Cal was happy with his decision to live as a Man


See you all at   224 Schoolhouse Road. Woori Yallock.


A reminder that supper is now being supplied by Hostess.


             
 
         



     

March's book

Hi everyone, my book for March is the Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid.  See you all in february Kaye

The inaugural AGM of the First Tuesday Book Club was held on 4/12/12.  The reports are as follows.

The Secretary:  No report she absconded with the president.

The Treasurer:  No report she absconded with all the money.

The President:  No report.  See above.

So the rest of the plebes left made all the vital decisions necessary to keep the club running smoothly.

No. 1.   As of next year the host for the night is the only one to supply sustenance, that excludes

             Hannah who can't control the urge to bring something along.  Please let her in if she does.

That's it, major problem covered.  We then moved onto the book.

ABANDONED WOMEN BY LUCY FROST

Tahnee:        Didn't read the book but carried out a giant cover up to hide the fact that she didn't
                     read the book.  Please not that she didn't read the book.

Hannah:        Not finished.  (Better than Tahnee)  Looking forward to conslusion.

Kerry:           7  Fascinating look back at history of the women who pioneered the colony.

Irene:            7  Unhappy naration on the human capicity for cruelty.

Trilby:          6 Overly long, interesting but tended to merge into one long story of unhappiness.

Debbie:         No Show

Kaye:            Cherries

Colleen:        7  Showcases terrible like for women.  Women are still fighting for ewuality.

Overall everyone quite liked the book.  It showed the hardships women went through.   We had a round table dicussion  on who, if taken back in time, would have surrived the ordeal.  It was an overall death march, except for Tahnee, we would have all died in childbirth.

Thanks ladies for a great night and a great year it has been enlightening.
Next year is as follows.  Please take note.

February  Kerry. m Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides.
March      Kaye
April        Hannah
May         Debbie
June         Tahnee
July          Trilby + 2
August     Hannah
September  Annmarie
October    New girl
Novemver  Irene
December  Colleen        

Follow up from Novembers meeting

Hello all,

Following our discussion about twins births and subtle ways of saying no - here are some links if you are interested.

Twins born over 48 hours apart 

Subtle signals of no/go away


Cheers

Trilby

ABANDONED WOMEN BY LUCY FROST

Women played a big part in the settling of Australia but have been largely overlooked in history.  Lucy Frost shows us a small window into the lives of some of our earlier ladies and the part they played in the early colony

 

Do you think these women were criminals or simply victims of circumstance?

 

Was shipboard life a respite that the women did not fully appreciate?

 

What a terrible situation for the children involved.  The English and their rules have a lot to answer for.  What do you think?

 

These women were used and abused like mongrel dogs.  Can you even comprehend how tough each and  day of their life was.   Placed back in time do you think you would be one of the survivors?

Dubliners by James Joyce,


Hannah: 7 Took a while to get into it. Grew to enjoy it.

Tahnee: 7 Real & Vivid. Enjoyed. Great.

Anne-Marie: 6 Score might have been more if I'd finished it. Thought provoking vignettes.

Coleen: 9 Love James joyce. Every story a little package. Concept needs to be explained to those of lesser intelligence.....Hannah excused.

Trilby: Didn't read but now wants to.

Kerry: 8 Must ready again.

Kaye: 3 Good illustration of life at the time. It was well written but not enjoyable.

Irene: 9 A descritpive feast.

Thanks everyone for a great night and for coming all the way to McMahons Creek.
Irene

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Despite receiving some very good industry reviews this book failed to engage all of us (except for Meg).


Meg - 8/10   Engaging with an interesting twist.

Hannah - 5/10  Had to find out what happened in the end.

Colleen - 4/10  Didn't like the foul language.  Bad Read.

Irene - 4/10  Initially captivating.  Gradually disengaged.

Tahnee - 4/10  Smutty thriller.  Squandered potential.  Unlikeable characters.

Kaye - 6/10  Convoluted plot.

Anne-Maree - 5/10  Really disappointing. Promising start degenerated into hard to believe "soap opera".


Book for December is Abandoned Women by Lucy Frost at Colleen's house.

Hello Fellow Book Clubbers,
Here are some questions for contemplation before Book Club which will be on the second Tuesday (13th)  in November due to Cup Day.

James Joyce was born on February 2, 1882 in Dublin, Ireland to impoverished parents. As the son of a devout Roman Catholic mother and a tax collector,
his works are heavily resentful of male figures and the Catholic Church.
1. What is the story which you responded to most, emotionally?
2.How are the themes of paralysis and simony echoed in the short stories?
And in case anyone else didn't know what it means......
Simony: In Christianity  the practice, now usually regarded as a sin, of buying or selling spiritual or Church benefits such as pardons, relics, etc, or preferments
3. How is Charles Parnell an important figure throughout the book?
4. What are the connecting factors that allow this book to be grouped as a collection of short stories?
5. What sort of image does Joyce paint of England? How could his upbringing have influenced this?
6. What causes Joyce's epiphanies to occur? Why does he tend to end his stories with an epiphany
7.Is "Araby" a conventional love story?  At the end of "Araby," why does the narrator say his eyes "burned with anguish and anger" (p. 28)?
8.To what extent does one's birthplace determine one's identity or destiny?
9. Is individual freedom inevitably limited by the social customs of a particular place?

Hope to see you all soon.
Irene

Hiya,
Would somebody please post the address for Book Club tonight?
Thanks,
Irene

Hello Fellow Book Clubbers,

November's book is Dubliner's by James Joyce at 9 Reefton Drive, McMahons Creek.
I seem to remember car pools happened last year for the trip to the wilderness of my home!!! And takes about 45 mins from Seville.
If anybody needs help with directions my number is 0437 358 890. But a good marker is if you pass the Reefton Hotel you have missed the right hand turn onto Reefton Drive by about 100m, along Woods Point Road.
See you all next Tuesday,
Irene

Hannahs query

Hi Hannah im sorry i have not updated the post with last months books details ect... im afraid in my packing frenzy i have misplaced my notes so i am not sure of the name of the book or the address of next bookclub if anyone does could you post it pretty please.
About the only thing i remember from the my night of book club is that we were introduced to our newest member of book club Alexander the book was okay on most accounts a few mixed reviews from memory.
Sorry guys.

query nov's book

Hi guys just wondering if you can tell me the name of the James Joyce book we are doing for next month because I can't remember it and need to get organised.

Thanks and see you next week
P.S can someone tell me the address!
Hannah

Questions for the Secret Scripture

1. Did anyone predict the secret that Dr. Grene uncovered before it was revealed. How did you feel about the secret?

     2. Fr Gaunt played a pivotal role in Roseanne's life, why do you think he took such an interest in Roseanne and her families life? Was it motivated by religion, his views on women or something else?


    3. What did you think of the authors writing style, could you connect?


    4. Do you think this book is reflective of its setting in Ireland or was it reflective of the world in general at the time in its treatment of women?

   5. Joe Brady discuss?



See you all at mine next Tuesday night September 4th.
16 railway road Seville a couple of doors up from Hannah.
PH: 0417977175

Book club december 2012 to 2013

Naturally this is subject to change...

December Colleen( 2012)
Feb Kerry
March Lesley
April Kay
May Tahnee
June Trilby
July Hannah
Aug Deb
Sept Anne Marie
Oct Meg
Nov Irene

The Little Stranger

His guys! Sorry it has taken me a while to write this up.

   "The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters proved to be a disappointment, especially if you were expecting a book that would chill you to the bone.  Frankly I personally found Deb's ghost story far more freaky.

  Dr Faraday, the narrator, a very unlikeable character, had the romantic idea about coveting Hundreds by marrying Caroline.  The relationship between the two characters, was very unlikely and rather creepy, as it was clear to the reader that Caroline was not interested in Dr Faraday and staying at Hundreds.  It was suggested that Dr Faraday was an opportunist and perhaps in time he was to latch unto another wealthy family.

 The book left other unanswered questions, such as what really happened to Caroline at the end? Was Dr Faraday feeding the hysteria of the two employees?  We also found it frustrating that Dr Faraday was never questioned in regards to Caroline's death.

Colleen: 2/10 boring didn't enjoy it
Tahnee: 3/10 promising but never delivered
Anne-Marie: 7/10 engaging disappointing end
Kay: 6/10 intriguing story, crappy ending
Kerry: 3/10 more enjoyment from discussing the book
Deb: 5/10 a good "filla" book
Hannah: 6/10 needs more spookiness, and more a of a conclusion

Octobers Book

Hi everyone,
here is the title of October's book
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters Questions

Hi guys!  Hope everyone is well. Here are the questions...

Is Dr Farraday a reliable narrator?

Despite the happenings at Hundreds, Dr Farraday was the voice of rationality.  Are reason and rationality incompatiple?

How does Dr Farraday's history with Hundred's affect his feelings about the building and the family?  Does Mrs Ayers personal history effect her feelings about Hundreds?

Do you think Caroline was ever invested in the relationship with Dr Farraday?

The War shook up the British class system.  How will Dr Farraday "fit" in the coming years?

I hope there were no sleepless nights over this book.  See you Tuesday.