Educated

Thanks for coming ladies

Anne-marie- 8/10 Riveting

Kaye- 7

Tahnee- 6/10, On the foibles of memory and family

Trilby- 8/10, Educated to safety

Mel- 6.5/10, The enduring power of education.

Georgia- 7/10, Early experience shaping identity but a work in progress.

Emma-lee- 7/10, The world is a bigger place once books become available.

Can't make it AGAIN

Hey Irene, sorry I will not be at book club tonight.  I hope you all have a good time.  Miss it!  Be back soon. Meaghan

Book Club Tonight

Good Afternoon ladies,
Book Club for Sound and the Fury on tonight hosted by me at Colleens. Thank you Colleen especially as we are swimming in mud!!
I have too many questions so shall try Nd cull before 7.30.
Also FYI my babysitter has pulled out so I shall have rugrats with me but shall be utilising the convenience of an electronic babysitter so hopefully not too many interruptions.
See you tonight.
Irene

Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty

Anne-Marie - 6/10 A lot of unfilled potential

Emma - 8/10 What the hell!

Tahnee - 4/10 All ok until the LSD came out

Trilby 5/10 - Yet to finish

Kaye 7/10 - Always suspect of health resorts

Next months book (Irene's) is 'The Sound and the fury' at Colleen's house.

Happy reading

Mel x

Americanah Comments

Hi all

 

Irene - 8/10 - Involved intricate yet elegant yet interspersed with indulgence

AnneMarie - 7/10 - No comment, unfinished

Kaye -  6/10 - Unfinished - not sure where this is leading

Colleen - Read the wrong book but turned up anyway and stole brownies

Tahnee - 8/10 - Worth the read, manage in parts to be both ugly and illuminating

Mel -  6/10 - Gave me a new perspective on race

Emma - 6/10 - I'm engaged but would have to loved to read the end

Trilby - 7/10 - Unsatisfying end but an interesting review of race

Americanah book club questions

Adichie said she thinks there is “a tendency in American fiction to celebrate work that fundamentally keeps people comfortable.” How does Adichie reject or embrace keeping the reader comfortable in Americanah?

Adichie commented on likable characters in fiction, saying, "women writers are expected to make their female characters likeable, as though the full humanity of a female person must in the end meet the careful limitations of likability.” Did you find the characters in Americanah likeable? Why or why not? Are there some characters you liked more than others? If we demand likeable characters, what does this need say about us as readers?

Ifemelu’s experience with the tennis coach is a low point in her life. Why does she avoid being in touch with Obinze afterward (157–58)? Why doesn’t she read his letters? How do you interpret her behavior?

How much does your own race affect the experience of reading this or any novel? Does race affect a reader’s ability to identify or empathize with the struggles of Ifemelu and Obinze?

Why is it important to have the perspective of an African writer on race in America? 

What did the arc of Aunty Uju's character (a strong woman who chooses to rely on, and believe, the promises and financial backing of wealthy men) make you feel? Chimamanda sprinkles versions of this character throughout the story: Aisha at the braiding salon, Rayinudo, etc. What statement do you think Chimamanda is making about these women in comparison to Ifemelu, and do you agree with her? Were they one-dimensional portrayals, or did Chimamanda subtly infuse them with a kind of strength that only came to fullness within female companionships?

 How did you feel about Ifemelu's cutting off of communication with Obinze? Did you feel sympathy for Obinze, empathy for Ifemelu's withdrawal from life, etc?

What did you think of the conclusion - were you sympathetic to Ifemelu and Obinze's love story?



See you at 7.30pm.

Trilby

No change to book club - see you Tuesday 2nd April

I was ever hopeful that I would be able to seamlessly change but you lot actually have lives ;) so I will leave it for Tuesday. Sorry for the kerfuffle.  See you on the 2nd, 7:30pm, 3/25 Seymour Street Seville.  I will try to get the questions out to you on the weekend.

Trilby

Proposed reschedule for April

Hello all

I have foolishly double booked myself for next Tuesday (2nd) and was wondering if we could reschedule to the Wednesday (3rd) (or any other day that week!)

Please let me know in the comments or text me on 0403 361 483.

Trilby 

Book for April - Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Hello all,
The book for April's book club (at Trilby's house) is Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

See you then!

Trilby

Book club tonight

Hi Kaye, I will be attending tonight, cheers Meaghan

book club 5th March

Hi Everyone,
book club is at my house tomorrow night (5th) for those of you who haven't been to my place the address is
61 Monbulk-Seville Rd Seville,  first driveway on left after roundabout, lemons for sale sign on driveway.


Hope to see you all


Questions


1. Why did Sarah decide to be enclosed as an anchoress? Her reasons may be multiple.


2. What choices were available to Sarah?


3. In the book of Genesis, Eve takes and eats the forbidden fruit, traditionally represented as an apple. There are two apples in THE ANCHORESS. What is their significance?


4. Why do you think the story of St Margaret was so important to Sarah?


5.Do you think Sarah should have told Anna that she knew Thomas raped her?


6. The word “holy” is from the Old English hālig, meaning “that which must be preserved whole or intact,” and is connected with the Old English word hāl, meaning health and wholeness. In current usage it is a word layered with expectations: love of God, niceness, meekness, obedience, piety, and so on. Sarah hopes and prays that she will become holy. Does she? If she does, in what ways?


7. Isabella says very little, but Sarah says she has helped her decide to stay. What do you think Sarah means?


8. In what ways does Ranaulf change?


9. The novel is set more than seven hundred years ago; does it have any relevance to women today? How?

Hi all,
Tonight’s Bookclub questions for “After Darkness” by Christine Piper.

1. How did the books title reflect the story told by Piper? What was the ‘Darkness’?
2. How did you find the 3 narratives? Why do you think the author chose to tell the story as she did?
3. What feelings did the book evoke?
4. Which character did you find  most attractive? Why?
5. If you could choose one key message what would it be?

See you tonight.  Lot 1, Karloo Lane, Seville.

Anne-Maree

The Survivors by Kate Furnival

Tahnee 6 enjoyable but a bit fanciful towards the end
Trilby 5 a page turner but suffered in comparison to the simplicity and truth of the previous novel
AnnMarie 7 ahh mmmmm oooh uh ummm not very articulate but acceptable
Colleen 5 started out well but finished like a fairy story

A tiny group but enjoyable night, AnnMarie saved it from being a family function.  Those who didn't attend missed out on a Christmas present.

February book After Darkness by Christine Piper at AnnMaries

Merry Christmas

THE SURVIVORS

Book Club is at Colleen's 1844 Warburton Highway Woori Yallock. 7.30pm

Questions are not done yet.  You will receive them tonight.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris

Thank-you to everyone who came to Book Club last night. We all have busy lives; however, I always appreciate the conversations we have and seeing you all when Book Club comes around. Cake and wine probably helps...

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris

A rare thing saw us all quite liking this book, which doesn't happen very often here at TFTBC.  Wine glasses were smashed (yes plural) and a motion was passed that all pithy comments must be original material. Someone rated my Peach and Pineapple champagne cocktail 'tasteless' and a pregnancy was announced - those that didn't attend will have to wait until next month  to find out who did what : ).

Kaye                         7/10 A story of love and survival.

Ann - Marie              8/10 What Kaye said.

Emma-Lee                8/10 Love was the power.

Georgia                     7/10 The things we do for love ba ba ba ba bah

Mel                           7/10 A remarkable tale of human survival.

Colleen                     8/10 Another war story that needs to be told.

Irene                          7/10 Too novelised, truth was distracted by fiction.

Trilby                        7/10 Left his mark on may people, in more ways than one.

Tahnee                       7/10 Lest we forget

Viv                            7/10 Story of beauty found amid an ugly world.

Apologies:                 Tamara, Meaghan


Our next meeting is our Christmas Breakup, there is no meeting in January.

Decembers meeting will be at the Yarra Valley Craft Retreat https://yarravalleycraftretreat.com.au/ in Woori Yallock.

The book we will be discussing is 'The Survivors' by Kate Furnivall.



Happy Reading 'till December - Tahnee x

The Tattooist of Auschwitz Book by Heather Morris

Hello All, Book Club, is at my house tomorrow. I am yet to post questions, but am looking forward to seeing you all. Tahnee x

The Mars Room Reviews

glitter maker

Georgia- 6/10- A really good draft.
Trilby- ?/10- Some really good sentences, but I feel like I am wading through it.
Viv- 6/10- An insightful perspective to justice. Easier to read as it went on.
Tahnee- 3/10- Orange is the new beige. Managed to be chaotic and boring.
Irene- 3/10- lost me at 24%
Annemarie- Glad I read 'Little Fires'
Kaye- 4/10- Felt like I was doing the time with her.
Emma-lee- 5/10- Tow sides to every story, but this story dragged on in the middle.

http://picasion.com/gl/a6yh/

At My House in Seville on this TUESDAY 2nd OCT 


Feel free to park up the driveway going up to our shed, in the spaces around our house or on the nature strip at the bottom of the driveway. We can fit 10 cars on our property, just please don't block the driveway access to next doors house (even though they are away, it'll be just my luck her mum will turn up). 

I am looking forward to hosting you all. Please RSVP so I can cater appropriately. If easier, my number is 0412552476 

Discussion Questions

1. At the beginning of the book, before she is incarcerated, Romy Hall, the central protagonist of The Mars Room, says, “I said everything was fine but nothing was. The life was being sucked out of me. The problem was not moral. It had nothing to do with morality. These men dimmed my glow. Made me numb to touch, and angry” (page 26). What role do morality and virtue play in the telling of Romy’s story? Does morality factor into who is judged guilty and who is judged innocent?

2. The overwhelming majority of people, and certainly middle-class people, will never spend a single day of their lives in jails and prisons. Should those who don’t have that dark destiny worry for those who do? What impression do you have, after reading The Mars Room, about individual agency, and who goes to prison in this country and who doesn’t?

3. “Sammy was my big sister and I was Button’s, and Conan was something like the dad. We had a family” (page 241). In order to cope with their difficult surroundings the women of Stanville create familial bonds with each other. Do these women nurture one another or is their “family” more of an alliance of protection? What are the benefits of a “family” arrangement? The risks?

4. After recounting an emotional story from childhood, Conan says, “There are some good people out there . . . some really good people” (page 252). Discuss the acts of generosity in this novel. Which ones stand out? These women seem to start at disadvantages. They take wrong turns. The prison system lacks mercy or a shot at redemption. Would many of these characters’ lives have been different with more, or greater, acts of generosity?

5. Straining the edges of a reader’s compassion perhaps is the character Doc, the “dirty cop” who had been involved with Betty LaFrance and is eventually strangled by his cellmate. Why do you think Kushner included him and his story in the book? Does he achieve a kind of unexpected likability, and if so, how?

6.  Romy says, “To stay sane you formed a version of yourself you could believe in” (page 269), and earlier, “Jackson believed in the world” (page 156). Kushner makes a connection between the wide-eyed optimism of youth and the crushing realities of what the world can be for those born without power or wealth, and for those who have made irreversible mistakes. Discuss the role that Jackson serves in the novel. What does he symbolize to Romy?

7. “Part of the intimacy with nature that you acquire is the sharpening of the senses. Not that your hearing and eyesight become more acute, but you notice things more” (page 299). This is presumably the voice of Ted Kaczynski, but its placement suggests a link to Romy’s escape into nature. Why does she end up alone in the woods? What does this say about the human need for connection with the outside? In what other ways does Romy seem to be shut off from the outside world? What role could a connection with nature play in rehabilitation?

8. What role does gender play throughout the novel? What differences did you see between the experiences of incarcerated men and incarcerated women? How did gender factor into Romy’s trial and sentencing?

9.  Serenity Smith is a transgender woman whose presence generates an outsized reaction from the women of Stanville. Discuss the controversy among the prisoners concerning this character. How do their surroundings contribute to their reaction to her? And what does Serenity’s predicament say about the structure of prison? What is society to do with people who cannot assimilate into the caged spaces allotted for them?

10. . Hauser can be seen in different lights. Was he a predator, or was he a man who meant well but could not resist temptation? Discuss the effects of his actions on Romy.

11. The Mars Room comes from the name of the strip club where Romy works before she is incarcerated. What does the phrase “Mars Room” bring to mind? What do these two worlds—a central California women’s prison and a San Francisco strip club—share?

12.  In the final moments of the book, Romy is in the forest, bathed in light: “I emerged from the tree and turned into the light, not slow. I ran toward them, toward the light” (page 336). There is something both heavenly and hellish in this description. Discuss the dichotomies: Is the scene ultimately despairing or hopeful?

13.  In the final paragraph of the book, Romy reflects on giving Jackson life. She calls giving life “everything.” Is this a comment on her own life, or some manner of reinterpreting life as extending into other regions beyond the one she’s been given and that has been taken away? Is it some way of being part of something in the world that is larger than she is and that goes beyond her? What is the import of the final sentence? Is your sense that the world, at the end, is a human world, a natural world, both, or neither?

Hi Friends,
So, it's my turn to host. I bit the bullet and volunteered myself. I am in Seville and I will give my address and questions closer to the date.
The book I have chosen is called 'The Mars Room' by Rachel Kushner.
I am looking forward to the chats about it.
See you in a few weeks,
Emma-lee. 😀

Cat's Eye Discussion Questions

Hi Everyone!

Looking forward to having you all over tomorrow evening to discuss 'Cat's Eye' by Margaret Atwood.

Here are my discussion questions:

1. What does Margaret Atwood's novel Cat's Eye say about the nature of childhood and the development of adolescent friendships? Is there a gender influenced difference in cruelty between boys as opposed to cruelty as expressed by girls? At what point does adolescent meanness become pathological?

2. What does the way that the girls play with each other tell us about them and how they are conditioned by their society? Has this changed since Elaine’s generation was adolescent, or does much the same hold true today? How does the way that Elaine plays with her brother differ from the way she plays with girls? How does bullying differ between boys and girls?

3. Why do you think Elaine returns to Toronto and what does she hope to accomplish? Was the trip necessary? If so, Why? What role does this return play in the structure of the novel?

4. Elaine is haunted by Cordelia, her "best friend" and the tormentor of her childhood. All predators must have a motive. What benefit did Cordelia receive out of tormenting Elaine? What weakness in Elaine made her particularly vulnerable to Cordelia? Why did she continue to play such an importance in Elaine's adult life?

5. Why does Elaine take up with Cordelia again in high school? How would you describe her behaviour towards Cordelia at this point? Do you think she has reason to feel guilty about the last time she saw Cordelia? How do you think she feels about Cordelia at the end of the book?

6. Why do you think Elaine became an artist? What is the significance that she did so? Do artists use life experiences in ways that non artists do not?

7. When Elaine and her mother are going through the family belongings in the attic, Elaine finds her cat’s eye marble — ‘I look into it, and see my life entire’ (page 398). What does she mean by this? What is the significance of the cat’s eye?

See you tomorrow!

Viv