Our readers transported by "The Travels of Daniel Ascher"

Our readers generally enjoyed Deborah Levy-Bertherat's novel. Some felt it was so real that they googled "The Black Insignia' series purported to be written by Daniel Ascher, only to be disappointed to find that this novel really is fiction!

There was much discussion about how the plot slowly and subtly unravelled Daniel's real fictions. Everyone had found different clues and constructed slightly different stories. The clues were so understated that our readers began to doubt their own experience and interpretation. Many sentences included the notion of "Did you think this meant......" There was much discussion as to the variety of clues uncovered by our intrepid readers and what the story was 'really' about.

Our readers enjoyed the sprinkling of line-drawings throughout the book as they added a clarity of setting as well as intensifying that feeling of authenticity. The book's cover which makes the book look like a suitcase added another quirky element to this delightful story.

Generally our readers enjoyed this book as a light yet different read for the holiday break. It transported our readers to another time and place and I guess that's a wonderful reason to read.

The popularity of the Australian movie  The Dressmaker has influenced our next month's read. Some of our readers requested this as their next book club selection, so it'll certainly make for interesting discussion at our next meeting in March which is a week later than usual, being held on 10 March rather than the 3 March.

Rosalie Ham's novel has a wonderful Gothic feel to it so makes for another sprig of diversity in our book club reading selection. I much prefer the original cover shown above to the movie tie-in version despite it featuring the alluring Kate Winslet.

Kate Clanchy from The New York Times wrote this review in August 2015.

Looking forward to our readers' diversity of views of this Australian novel on Thursday 10 March at Mackay City Library.

Happy reading......

Holiday themed reading for Citysiders

Our Citysiders decided they wanted a book selected for the holidays so after a bit of a scramble, a book with a cover looking like an old-fashioned suitcase was chosen. The Travels of Daniel Ascher written by Deborah Levy-Bertherat has been translated from the French by Adriana Hunter and apparently has enjoyed much success in France.

The Kirkus Review is not overly impressed however Kristine Morris from Foreword Reviews gave it a five heart rating which seems to indicate a more positive reading experience.

No doubt everyone will have their own encounter with this novel and we'll be able to share this when  we meet on the first Thursday in February.

Merry Christmas and happy reading!

End of year Book Club Chatathon goes well!

Fourteen people from the three Mackay Regional Council Libraries Book Clubs met to share delicious food and delightful conversation on all things books. It was a wonderful way to round off another successful year of book clubbing. Closing time came long before topics had been spent so it was a bit of a rush to wash up, tidy and pack up.

Both BTLBC and CBC have opted to have a book selected for the Christmas break so we'll be able to hit the ground running in 2016.

Wishing all book clubbers a wonderful Christmas and looking forward to much animated discussion about books in 2016!

First Thursday this Thursday!

It's December today so it's the first Thursday this Thursday! Time for Cityside Book Club to meet and chat about Sonya Hartnett's Golden Boys.

See you at the Community Venue Room at Mackay City Library at 6.00 pm this Thursday!

Sonya Hartnett's 'Golden Boys'

For the month of November, Cityside Book Club will be reading Sonya Hartnett's Golden Boys which was shortlisted for the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award.

 

 

Peter Pierce from The Australian wrote this about this rather disturbing read.

 

 

It'll be interesting to hear about people's experience of this novel by an author who has specialised in writing for young adults.

 

We'll meet on Thursday 3 December at 6.00pm at Mackay City Library's Community Venue Room!



 

 



'The Golden Age' resonates with readers

Joan London's The Golden Age really impressed our readers. When some of our readers realised it was a novel set  in the Golden Age Children's Polio Convalescent Home in Perth, they were preparing themselves for a rather bleak read but were rather pleasantly surprised by the light touch used to tell the tale. Readers spoke of the deft way the author wove the stories of the various characters together. People were impressed with the array of characters, the way they were introduced and the way they came to life with a brief sketch of their character and background. Others spoke of the light but respectful way the author handled such a potentially depressing topic.

There was mention that another group had considered Sister Olive Penny's behaviour as being rather implausible for that era but this group boisterously refuted this notion. Rather they believed that this behaviour was indulged in but rather more clandestinely in past times than today.

Readers found the ending a little abrupt and a little strange but in many ways satisfying. There seemed to be a general consensus that Frank's relationship with Elsa was indeed 'The Golden Age' and as such it was a relationship that transcended mere earthly sex. Much hilarity and tangential discussion followed this concept.

Our book club membership stretches across several generations and this span meant there were different experiences of  'polio'. Some remember taking the pink oral sabin on sugar cubes while other younger members have never experienced the vaccine. Some knew of family members or friends who bore some paralysis from polio. One of our members has a medical background and was able to inform the group of what the eradication of polio actually means and why after a polio-free period it is counterproductive to distribute the polio vaccine which is why children today do not receive it. Sister Kenny's role in treating polio patients was mentioned as was the 'iron-lung' and the group found out more as to when, how and why this machine was used and the role it played in the survival of so many polio patients.

A couple of our time-poor members had not finished the novel but the rest of the group were certainly positively impressed by the novel. They seemed to think that a difficult topic had been handled sensitively and well. They enjoyed the array of characters and their stories and the overall telling of the tale. They appreciated how each character was travelling their own difficult road but somehow the Golden Age Children's Polio Convalescent Home provided them all with an opportunity to glow if not shine.

Our next book club selection features the word 'golden' as well but the subject matter is somewhat more tarnished.

We will meet on Thursday 3 December at 6.00pm at the Mackay City Library Community Venue Room to discuss Sonya Hartnett's Golden Boys.

November's here!

We had a great meeting last month but the blog never got a chance ro reflect all the insights revealed. Humble apologies for this!

Hopefully this will not happen this month!

Looking forward to hearing your views on Joan London's The Golden Age at the Community Venue Room at Mackay City Library at 6.00pm this evening!