June's Book, The Secret Life of Bees -Sue Monk Kidd

June's book club meeting was attended by a small number of book club devotees (Tahnee, Colleen, Trilby and Kerry) at my place. We were all in agreeance, that this months book, The Secret Life of Bees was a good easy enjoyable read and that it was a nice change after having read a couple of books which were thought provoking and fairly heavy to read.

In the book, a young girl who embarks on a quest seeking answers about her dead mother ends up living with a group of african american women in the deep south in the early 60's. She is accompanied by her african american housekeeper, who she broke out of jail after she had spat on a group of white mens boots. The novel explores the treatment of african americans during this time period and the relationships between the young girl and the women she comes to live with.

All of us were impressed with the conviction of the characters to live their lives in the way that they wanted to despite the obvious racial prejudices that surrounded them which could have resulted in personal injury or death.

Two questions were discussed. These are as follows:

1.who was the Queen Bee in the book?

The significance of the bees during the book we felt was to represent the interaction of August her sisters and the daughters of Mary. August was clearly the queen bee.

2.What compelled Rosaleen to spit on the three men's shoes?

Rosaleen was so focussed on wanting to register to vote that she wasn't going to let anything get in her way, even though she would have known of the danger in spitting on the mens shoes. We discussed the possibility that she had a sense of false bravado because of the fact that black americans had been given the vote or that after having stolen the fan from the church she was on a roll and thought she could get away with it.

Book club member ratings

Leslie - 8, thoroughly enjoyed it

Sandra - 6, Lily should have got over her mother issues earlier in the book

Tahnee - 6, Lovely warm read, chick lit (not lick)

Colleen - 6, A very enjoyable read, soft book

Kerry - 6, Stunning, filled with racial and political tensions

Trilby - 5, More undercurrents/ issues than you think on first reading

Kaye - 7, A good light read but full of substance

JULY's Book

The First Stone - Helen Garner

JUNE's Book

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Half The Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Well we all had a great night with lots of dm conversations. This was not surprising considering this book was a composition of true stories from around the globe. With stories that were passionate, shocking, compelling, inspiring and very thought provoking across many levels. I was so happy to hear how reading this book inspired us all to stand up and take action.

Tahnee was thinking about joining a foster sister program in Melbourne and providing some support for women oversea, she is still looking at just how she will contribute. She also read other books mentioned in this book.

Elise is seriously looking at volunteering her vet skills overseas for a few weeks and is also considering how she can contribe.

Meg was looking at using her skills to help prison people get jobs when they have finished their sentences and also wanted to find out more about giving to charities listed in the book. PS a note of apology to MEGS CAMPING FRIENDS this book was full of stats, sorry from LIZ.

Debbie is considing going overseas to work in an orphanage with a volunteering program run by her work.

I am still considering all my options but as Meg pointed out i will work with my own skills to help both in Australia and with a cause from overseas. I am truly inspired and excited to see how each of us will endeavor to make some sort of impact on the cruelties of humanity which exist here now. I will also pass this book on to as many people as i can hoping they to will find something that inspires!!!!

I think we all could have talked for weeks about the issues raised by the stories in this vividly illustrated book. For those that were unable to attend we all had two questions (thanks Kerry for that great suggestion) to talk about in relation to the book.

QUESTION 1: What story/stories had a impact on you and why?

QUESTION 2: Did it change your view on modern society around the world?

Q1:In brief i think most stories had a impact on me in some way shape or form and i hope i will take the positives from these stories to create greater meaning in my life each day. The least i take away from this book is i am grateful for the little things and hopeful for the future. And my children are never going overseas.

Q2:YES YES YES i had no idea of the scale of cruelty and impact of culture's on humanity's suffering. The stats were very shocking. 60 minute's!! never missed a show, you have much to answer for and i see the need to broaden my horizons, THANKS DEB. lol

SCORES

Tahnee - 8 comments - important and catalytic

Elise - 7 comments - eye opening

Kaye - 7 comments - disturbing

Meg -8 comments - thought provoking

Debbie -8 comments - remarkable

Elizabeth - 9 comments - a treasure i will return to so i can learn and grow

"It's impossible to exaggerate the importance of this book. Wonderfully written and vividly description, HALF THE SKY can and should galvanize support for reform on all levels. Inspiring as it is shocking, this book demands to be read." -ANNE RICE author of Called Out of Darkness

NOTE !!!

MAY book- SECRET LIFE OF BEES by monk kidd- at Kaye's house

JUNE book -NORTHANGER ABBEY by Jane Austin -at Elise's hous

Housekeeping...

Kerry put forward the suggestion that the host kick of the evening with some questions on the book that (if possible) are posted on the blog prior to the meeting, for those that like to read with the questions in mind. Kerry also asked that I re-post the initial book club info, here 'tis...

Selecting this months book

Whilst not a rule it would be nice if there is an underlying assumption that the books we’ll be reading have reached some type of literary standard, by way of award or recommendation from fellow authors, literary associations etc. That said, I’m sure there are some undiscovered great reads out there, so if you‘ve found one, bring it to the table.

There is no theme and members are free to choose from whatever genre interests them, be it crime, fiction, non fiction, historical, drama etc. In this way we might be exposed to books we might not normally read.

If a book is selected that you have read before, perhaps take the opportunity to read it in a different light, with a view to discussing certain aspects/themes/issues of the storyline at the end of the month. Perhaps read with a pencil and make notes as you go.

Meetings

If those attending could bring some food to share, that way it’s not totally up to the host to provide everything. If it is your turn to host and you’d prefer to have the evening at a pub/winery/café/someone else’s house, do so.

Books are selected two months in advance to give everyone time to obtain copies.

Thoughts on discussion

I don’t want this to just be about ‘did you/didn’t you like it’, a run through of "did you like it?" at the beginning of meetings is really damaging to conversation and just promotes a series of closed statements such as liked it, loathed it and then we can all go home. If people can try to avoid saying liked it or not, but perhaps discuss themes and issues as they relate to you or society, which will be more discussion promoting. Yes, like at school! (my inner nerd doesn’t come out very often, indulge me)

Following discussion we all rate the book out of 10 (after vigorous debate, half marks are allowed). There are numerous websites available on reading group guides and suggested discussion topics available for whatever book you may choose. Perhaps the host could get things moving with a series of questions relating to the text, prior to individuals opining about whether they liked/disliked the book.

I’m just trying to set the tone for some reading, discussion, sharing of good books, exposure to new ideas and differing viewpoints and of course a little drinking wine and talking crap with some other people who are genuinely interested in literature?

If you know anyone that likes to read bring them along.

Book for May

Kaye has slected this months book - The Secret Life of Bee's, Sue Monk Kidd

Theory of Flesh by John Binius

Thought provoking, disquieting, and often confusing, the Theory of flesh certainly disturbed me. Renee Quite, a character who is not quite right takes us on a twisted, disjointed journey of re-self discovery. Along his philosophical journey we are introduced to many unusual characters with their own preverse stories.
Group consensus (the three of us who had actually read the book): Just beyond our minds reach are the ideas, meanings, and vocabulary necessary to make the links between life and the apparently related bizaar events that occur.
Colleen 3 (read the first three chapters) believed that the writing was over desriptive and did not excite interest.
Tahnee 3 disquieting, didnt get it, would have like to but kept reading anyway.
Trilby 6 throught provoking, would like to be able to read the book with greater insight.
Cara 5 third time reading and still confused, posed many questions and is one of the few books that has disturbed and stimulated (intellectually).
Thanks Ladies was great to get your thoughts on the book.
See you all on the first tuesday of May after we have all dutifully read Half the Skye by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn

Welcome Silence By Dr. Carol North

hmm um well arr sorry for the lateness of my entry must have something to do with my aversion to anything that feels vaguely like homework.
Anyway back to book club although I'm still deciding if it is book club that we are really attending or is it just a clever disguise to enjoy coffee and cake and more than a little gossip thank you Elise for your contrabution on the England front wondering how it all went wink wink nudge nudge.
The night started like all other nights with discussion about everything other than the book somehow we found ourselves talking about Joe blog and Farmer Joe who according to the Dewhurst family my sister Elizabeth for a long time thought were real people. Lizzy was not on her own though because apparently for many years Tahnee thought the family friend Jack (making up a name here cause i cant't remember his actual name) had a partner Sarah but alas he was all alone and the confusion was caused by his last name something like Ensirra (and Sarah). For those who could not make it on the night im sorry if none of this makes sense.
Back to the book Welcome Silence, i picked this book because i had read it many years ago and remember at the time that it left an impression on me so thought it might be a good choice for book club. When i re read it again as all good hosts should isn't that right Colleen, i came away feeling a little dissappointed, to me it felt like a case study void of emotion and although a nice easy read i was worried it would not be well recieved by the group. Thats what happens i guess when you read with a critical eye rather than just for the joy of it. So i must admit i was pleasently surprised when on the whole it was enjoyed by you guys. This is the point where i should be sharing everyones scores butI have a BIG apology to make somehow i managed to lose the important bit of paper all the scores and comments were written on. From memory the scores averaged around the 7's and 8's with a score of 9 and a bit from Lesley who apparently shared the book with a friend that has a child who suffers with schziophrenia and found it inspirational. There to was some discussion on the style of writing which as already mentioned i found a little clinical and thought it may be a result of the author being a doctor however Elise had an interesting spin on things wondering whether the lack of emotion represented Carol's experience of how she saw things at the time and was done with purpose.
Again im sorry for my tardiness and for losing the scores hopefully the next host Cara has better luck looking forward to seeing you all again at the special time april the 6th moved forward because of the easter break, hopefully Lesley still have some icecreams left over in the freezer.

The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney

The First Tuesday Book Club met on Tuesday 2nd February to discuss The Tenderness Of Wolves by Stef Penney.

The evening was extremely hot and sorry but we don't have air con. Thanks to Coll and Trilby for bringing ice creams which remained in my freezer forgotten as we hotly discussed this months novel and of course caught up on some issues from the previous meeting.

Obviously I chose a good book as everyone only had praise for the story (though some of us were worried about the people still wandering through the snow). The characters in the book were realistic and most of us felt the author described the landscape etc. so well that we felt we were there.

SCORES:
Cara - 9 Related to the characters easily.
Trilby - 7.2 Really liked the independant female character.
Meg - 6.5 Interesting and strong character but the story line a little slow.
Tahnee - 7.5 Wanted the story to go on and on and on.
Elizabeth - 8 Wanted to read more .. wanted more story.
Debbie - 7.5 I loved it.
Colleen - 6.5 Could seperate the author from the story line.
Leslie - 8 Really enjoyed reading the book, felt the characters come to life & loved Mrs Ross
Elise - 8 Very enjoyable story.

Thanks to Debbie for the next book chosen: Welcome Silence by Carol North
The following book chosen by Cara is: Theory of Flesh by John Binias

I Can Jump Puddles

Book club held Monday 7th December at Colleen's.

ELISE 6
Claiming to be a lady of leisure she had no excuse not to finish the book but had to force
herself. She had read it years ago but had forgotten it. Didn't like the style of writing,
didn't flow. She liked some bits, it was a nice story.

SANDRA 6
This was an easy read but took me a long time to read it.
Could not get involved in the story. OK

TAHNEE 6
Liked it. Thought most people would be able to identify with the
story line of things you did when kids. She likened it to her
own childhood of riding through the bush on her horse. She
liked the hiden references to religion that at the time of
writing could not be clearly stated.

ELIZABETH 7

Thought the book was slow but good. It also took her back to
childhood and the things she got up to. Thought the
relationship with his father was quirky. The book didn't
evenly flow. Was very Australian. Not very dramatic.
It conjured up memories of childhood that she just had
to get out of her system before she lost them again.

DEBBIE 51/2

Just finished by the skin of her teeth. DOES NOT LIKE
ANIMAL STORIES. Ignore the fact that this was not
an animal book but had referenc to some animals.
Debbie read the whole book just waiting with bated
breath for some tradedy to befall the characters in
the story, particular poor little Andy.

LESLIE

Leslie is a bad girl. Leslie is a slack tart. Leslie did not read
the book. Leslie has promised a report next meeting.
BAD LESLIE

KERRY 7

Found it interesting to read a book with an author from another
era as aposed to the books we have read from recent times.
Liked the hospital scene, how life was very regimented back
then. Very different to how it would be now.Thought it a brave
write about what happened to the boy and how he overcame
the difficulties in his life.

TRILBY-ROUX 6

Read the book as a child, only got half way re reading it. Like the
childhood part, agian could relate it to her own childhood. Trying to
convince herself that it will be ok to let Eleanor Daisy run wild
with no idea of where she is or what she is doing. The world is safe.
Thought he was an honest writer but was the book sanitised for the
reader. Thought it was a series of little stories.

MEG 5

Did not finish book, has 30 pages to go. Found it very easy to read, not very
challenging. A bit 'negh'? Thought it was very rote but will finish it where
with the others she could not finish them. Feels it is a bit disjointed. It
felt like it was her grandpa telling her a story. Light and easy but not enough
energy.

COLLEEN 9

Well you would think that the members of the book club, being very
intellectual type of people would show some respect for the hostess with
the mostess and not be rude to her. The said hostess has read the book
and liked it very much. I think I am qualified to report. I find this author
very true with his writing and his discriptive ability to bring to lif a charactor
or place is superior to his peers. The book comes to life with his ability to tell
a story. I love the discriptive pieces about the bush and his ordinary day
to day happenings. I have read most of his works and enjoyed them all.

I might add, even if you did not like the book that this story has been translated
in aprox. 23 languages, only surpassed by the bible. Alan Marshall has won ]
many literary awards for his writings so he must be doing something right and
appaling.

ROSS

Very bloody noisy.

Next meeting, first Tuesday 2nd. Februay 2009 at Leslie's place 16 Wattle Valley Road Mt. Evelyn. The Book is The Tenderness of Wolvesby Stef Penney.


March meeting is at Debbie's. The book is Welcome Silence by Carol North.

Thank you ladies, the lovely evening had by all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

we welcomed 2 newcomers tonight... Elise (-sorry you werent in the pic-)and Isis ,now officially our youngest attendee

the night was a hot one however the group rated the book somewhat coolly.
overall the feeling was that the author didn't deliver what the cover described. It was generally thought to be a "holiday"type read, whose characters struggled to grasp the readers attention.
It was felt the story line waffled on too long, however there was some discussion on the political situation in sri Lanka and how cultural racism is something that can perpetrate into new environments and possibly stop integration in a new country.

colleen .. 6.5 ...good holiday read.....characters soft and uninteresting
meg .......3.........fliffy and fluffy( her words) and far too descriptive.
trillby......6.........enjoyable but slow
liz.............-.........tried to get book failed and what can she say 2 kids...say no more......
debbie.....-.........is struggling to be back in the real world...that's what happens when you go on holiday to amazing destinations...............half your luck
sandra.....7.........easy read....disappointiong ending
tahnee.....5.........easy read....thought provoking on political issues
leslie.........8.5.....couldn't make it however enjoyed the book and actually finished it as well ..
kerry........6........was looking forward to reading this one however found it a bit lacking in substance and found the characters quite depressing...



Next Book Club will be at Colleen's- chandler road Seville..second Tuesday December 8th.

next book is ........ I can jump puddles....Alan Marshall

October Meeting

Thank you for coming over tonight ladies it was very enjoyable, although we didnt really have many healthy treats!!!! Oh well lucky it is only once a month :)
We had plenty of laughs at Colleen's expense and Leslie even shed a few tears (from laughter!!)
So the book, Edgar Sawtelle - overall most people enjoyed it with two exceptions, however they both werent available tonight to share why. We believe it was to do with the story being heavily involved with dogs.

The results.....tonight the .5 and .25's were featured

Tahnee - 6.5 / 10 Great read and really liked it

Colleen - 7/10 Flowed well and had a great story line

Trilby - 7/10 found it really beliveable

Kerry - 7.5 / 10 enjoyed it and kept interest but didnt like the ending

Leslie - 7.25 sorry 7/ 10 enjoyable but long in places

Kara - 8.5/10 very interesting

Sandra - 7/10 very enjoyable

Meg - 2/10 Hated it!

Debbie - didnt like it either

Elizabeth - naughty naughty hasnt read it :)

The average score being 6.5.

Next month is a Kerry's house in Seville and the book is Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne. See you all then :)

and the book for November is...

Brixton Beach- Roma Tearne

Our November meeeting will be at Kerry's in Seville - see you all at Sandra's for Octobers debrief - Tahnee

yay for the updated blog...the next one is a big one... so get to it early

Better late than never

Right so finally getting around to the update for the book club which was at my place on the 2nd September. The book was Time Traveller's wife.

Overall the group enjoyed the book to varying degrees but there seemed to be a general consensus that the author could have done more with the storyline, that the plot was a bit confusing, none of us understood why he had to lose his feet and overall a little bit blah. In particular, people thought the following:

Colleen - 5/10 - Easy read but boring

Liz - 7/10 - Liked it but it could have been more. Inviting and encouraging, glad I visualised Henry as Brad Pitt and romantic

Tahnee - 4/10 - Nice read

Sandra - 5/10 - Bit blah and confusing

Deb - 6.5/10 - Enjoyable but gave me a headache

Meg - 7/10 - Liked it but unfilled potential

Leslie (who didn't finish reading it so...............) 7/10 so far and looking forward to finishing it. Lacking some spice

Trilby - 4/10 - like a romantic comedy

Cara now has a black mark against her name for not reading it and has promised that she will read the next one. :)

And the next book is (drumroll please............)

"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" - by David Wroblewski and will be at Sandra's house in Seville. If you don't know the address please text Tahnee (as I think that I have already lost it!!!!)

Happy reading everyone and see you on the 6th October. Wishing Deb safe travels to America as well

The update is bloody coming so stop nagging me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will put in on tonight when I get home now that I can access this site.

Oh and Colleen I would love to be at home doing nothing but am sadly working so :P.

Meggggggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where is the update. I asked Trilby if there was suposed to be an update on the blog and she said yes, Meg is suposed to do it. So slack tart where is it. You are at home sitting on your ought doing naught, so no excuses.

August Meeting

Another successful meeting. Lots of discussion around parenting, family life, gender relations, breastfeeding, rape and all other sorts of polite conversation! The group seemed to be slightly less unruly this month and a talking jug was only required a few times.

A big welcome to our new members - Sandra and Debbie. Though Debbie seemed somehow to be less of a person after the meeting...

This book seemed to be generally better received then The White Tiger, and general comments were that people enjoyed reading it and didn't feel they had to plow through the book. The average rating was 6.8 (Let's call it 7, shall we?)

Individual scores were as follows
Toot - 6/10 - Enjoyed it. Confronting but real

Colleen - 3/10 - Didn't seem real, felt contrived

Liz - Bad girl twice over, but at least she was there!

Leslie - By a group vote, it was decided she was piss weak.

Kerry - 5/10 Labourious - kept waiting for something else to happen.

Debbie - 7/10 Easy to read, enjoyed the chapter character changes and flow. Felt 'real'

Cara - 8/10 Enjoyed it.

Meg - 6/10 Caught and kept my attention

Trilby - 7/10 Enjoyed it

Sandra - Slightly bad member - redeemed herself with sticky date pudding. Based on halfway through the book - 6/10.

We had waaay to much food, didn't help that I had made 3 lots of different stuff. I think a plate per person will be more than enough for next month.

A special mention for Meg, looking beautiful with her 'well loved Teddy' do. She seems to be having issues with her nouns - quote " I don't ever refer to my *facial expression* as one of them when I'm doing THAT". See if you can work that one out!

The next book is 'The Time Travellers Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger and the next meeting is held at Meg's house in Wonga Park (let me know if you need the address). I got this book for $21.50 from fishpond.com.au if anyone is interested - aprox 5 days for shipping.


See you there on the 1st September@ 7.30pm.

Thanks for coming and for the lively discussion and for ensuring that my house is clean for once! I look forward to next months - Trilby xx

Questions to get you thinking: The Slap

Hiya all,

The date for the next one is 4th August.


Here's some questions on "The Slap" to get the old brain boxes working

Did the book make you question your immediate response of Harry slapping Hugo?

How does Rosie breastfeeding affect your opinion of her?

Do you think the author deliberately chose to have multiple nationalities represented at the BBQ (Vietnamese, Aboriginal, Greek, Indian)?

How does the groups reaction to 'The Slap' represent political correctness in today's society?

Is the promiscuity and drug-taking Representative of middle class Australia?

Feel free to add other questions to get us thinking.

The Next Book is...