Just a reminder everyone that we meet a week early this month!
See you all this evening to discuss Jenny Pattrick's The Denniston Rose.
We can meet in the small meeting room or if the YA area is free, we will meet there, so just keep your eye options open when you come in this evening!
The sun is out at the minute but who knows what the weather will be doing when we meet this evening!
See you at 6.00pm!
Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
Off to the cold coalfields of 'The Denniston Rose'
In this month's selection we move from the sinister dark halls of the asylum to the miserably cold squelching mud of the coal mines of the bleak West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand during the 1880s. Life above the Denniston Incline is tough on the adults but for the young Rose it is challenging in the extreme.
For some background on the author Jenny Pattrick we went to "The New Zealand Book Council". The dreary weather we are experiencing at present provides an ideal backdrop for reading this novel.
Don't forget we are meeting earlier this month because of the Annual Mackay Show Holiday.
Looking forward to discussing this novel with you all at the Gordon White Library Small Group Meeting Room at 6.00pm on Thursday 18 June.
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Catching up on books
As one of our readers had not quite finished reading John Hardy's The Girl Who Couldn't Read (the joys of stretching six books between ten plus readers), and as the ending was such a delightful twist, much of our discussion was conducted in code it seemed, as no one wanted to ruin the final pages for our reader. Everyone just kept encouraging her to finish it and when I ran into her a couple of days later, she was delighted that she had finished it and enjoyed the twist.
There was discussion about the darkness of the novel and how asylums had been used as places to hide people and women in particular who were not conforming to society's norms of the day. Though published in 2014, this novel had the feel of a much earlier time. John Harding certainly suggested an authentic gothic atmosphere. Our readers enjoyed the novelty and logic of Jane Dove's idiosyncratic language as well as the way John Harding's language persuasively evoked an earlier time. There was some discussion about words in other languages requiring a phrase in English and the way Jane Dove's language certainly communicated meaning effectively and often more efficiently.
Our readers appreciated the gothic feel to the book jacket and this provoked talk about the difference between rooks and ravens as explained by Jane Dove.
There was much discussion as to Dr Shepherd's real occupation and the general consensus was that he was an actor who had murdered previously and appeared to have a predilection for girls with long white necks. Some of our readers found it difficult to enjoy this novel as they did not connect with any of the characters. Most of our readers found it difficult to believe that Dr Shepherd did not realise that Jane Dove could read, thus diminishing the denouement. Many of our readers thought that reading John Harding's prequel Florence & Giles would have provided a background to Jane Dove's character which would have enriched The Girl Who Couldn't Read while others thought it may have spoiled the final twist. There was a distinct lack of sympathy for the Dr Shepherd character and most of our readers felt he deserved his fate. However there was further debate as to Jane Dove's past and whether she was developing a habit and whether there would be books to follow her 'progress' in the world.
Generally our readers enjoyed this gothic thriller and for many of them it was certainly a diversion from their preferred fare. As a novel it certainly provoked discussion and there was a desire expressed by many of our readers to read Florence & Giles just in case it offered more clues.
We'll try another location in time and space for our selection for next month.
Meanwhile, keep those pages turning.
There was discussion about the darkness of the novel and how asylums had been used as places to hide people and women in particular who were not conforming to society's norms of the day. Though published in 2014, this novel had the feel of a much earlier time. John Harding certainly suggested an authentic gothic atmosphere. Our readers enjoyed the novelty and logic of Jane Dove's idiosyncratic language as well as the way John Harding's language persuasively evoked an earlier time. There was some discussion about words in other languages requiring a phrase in English and the way Jane Dove's language certainly communicated meaning effectively and often more efficiently.
Our readers appreciated the gothic feel to the book jacket and this provoked talk about the difference between rooks and ravens as explained by Jane Dove.
There was much discussion as to Dr Shepherd's real occupation and the general consensus was that he was an actor who had murdered previously and appeared to have a predilection for girls with long white necks. Some of our readers found it difficult to enjoy this novel as they did not connect with any of the characters. Most of our readers found it difficult to believe that Dr Shepherd did not realise that Jane Dove could read, thus diminishing the denouement. Many of our readers thought that reading John Harding's prequel Florence & Giles would have provided a background to Jane Dove's character which would have enriched The Girl Who Couldn't Read while others thought it may have spoiled the final twist. There was a distinct lack of sympathy for the Dr Shepherd character and most of our readers felt he deserved his fate. However there was further debate as to Jane Dove's past and whether she was developing a habit and whether there would be books to follow her 'progress' in the world.
Generally our readers enjoyed this gothic thriller and for many of them it was certainly a diversion from their preferred fare. As a novel it certainly provoked discussion and there was a desire expressed by many of our readers to read Florence & Giles just in case it offered more clues.
We'll try another location in time and space for our selection for next month.
Meanwhile, keep those pages turning.
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Discussing John Harding's 'The Girl Who Couldn't Read'
Hello everyone,
I'll be just us this Thursday, I'm afraid - no author popping in to say 'Hello!'
Looking forward to hearing about your experience of this Gothic flavoured novel.
See you at the Gordon White Library Community Meeting Room at 6.00pm tomorrow Thursday 27 May 2015.
I'll be just us this Thursday, I'm afraid - no author popping in to say 'Hello!'
Looking forward to hearing about your experience of this Gothic flavoured novel.
See you at the Gordon White Library Community Meeting Room at 6.00pm tomorrow Thursday 27 May 2015.
Sunday, 17 May 2015
We're reading 'The Girl Who Couldn't Read'
Despite all my research to select books that are stand alone reads, it appears I have chosen a book that is a sequel. Apparently it follows John Harding's Florence and Giles. I do think it works as a stand alone though. I've just checked and found the library does not have Florence and Giles and after looking into it online, I think I might find it a bit scary! The Gothic environment does lend itself to eerie possibilities.
The book cover has a fantastic Gothic feel to it doesn't it?
Morag Adlington posted this review to the We Love this Book website. Goodreads also has a collection of reviews if you want to see what other readers thought of it.
Looking forward to hearing what you thought of it at our next meeting on Thursday 28 May at 6.00pm at Gordon White Library Community Meeting Room!
Thursday, 26 March 2015
Do you believe in ghosts?
Rebecca Mascull's debut novel The Visitors introduces the reader to a variety of new experiences.
Deborah Crabtree, a bookseller for Readings Carlton, wrote this review while Ani Johnson from The Bookbag had this to say. As this is a debut novel, there seemed to be very few reviews available and reading between the lines on one site it was hinted that book reviewers usually don't pay a lot of attention to this particular genre which was an interesting comment.
I hope you enjoy your foray into the hopfields of Victorian England and relish the luxury of some un-interrupted reading time over Easter!
Happy Easter and happy reading!
Air conditioning reminds us of the atmosphere of 'A Colder War'
Several of our spy thriller aficionados were disappointed with this offering from Charles Cumming. Some were still keen enough to try other books written by him though so they certainly have not written him off as an author. There was much chat about the language being appropriate to the genre and for some who were not accustomed to this genre, it was an opportunity for them to extend their vocabulary. Unfortunately this novel was not sufficiently addictive to persuade them to read more of this genre. One reader new to this genre found the novel quite slow and difficult to get into and this is not a criticism usually associated with this style of novel.
The main disappointment, seemed to be the early disclosure of the 'mole' which rudely halted the gradual build-up of the frisson of tension, usually associated with this genre. There was much discussion about the fact that usually an early disclosure usually meant a huge red herring but this did not eventuate in this case which was bit of a let-down.There were many comments about the uneffective pinkish herrings tossed in to supposedly muddy the waters. Some readers spoke of easily being able to ignore the side stories and thus making the main plot just too obvious for sustaining enjoyment.
Other readers had experience of living in overseas embassies and were quite accepting of the concept of spies being within the embassy staff. On the other hand they found it very doubtful that a 'non-spy-trained' person would have been brought in on such an important operation, so this destroyed to a degree the authenticity of the book for them. One reader is planning to visit Turkey soon and as a result of the events within this book was a little less enthusiastic about the upcoming trip. Another of our readers utilises Google a lot to extend her understanding of places and events mentioned in the novel she is reading and is thus far better informed about Turkey now. In a quirky coincidence a member of her family is now travelling to Turkey so she already has the background to better visualise the places they might visit.
On average our readers rated this read between a five and a six and a half out of ten. All but one of our group had finished it so overall people though not wildly excited about the read were quite happy with the experience.
Our next read is Rebecca Mascull's debut novel The Visitors which certainly looks like an excursion into different territory. It has the potential for yet another interesting discussion.
Keep those pages turning.......
The main disappointment, seemed to be the early disclosure of the 'mole' which rudely halted the gradual build-up of the frisson of tension, usually associated with this genre. There was much discussion about the fact that usually an early disclosure usually meant a huge red herring but this did not eventuate in this case which was bit of a let-down.There were many comments about the uneffective pinkish herrings tossed in to supposedly muddy the waters. Some readers spoke of easily being able to ignore the side stories and thus making the main plot just too obvious for sustaining enjoyment.
Other readers had experience of living in overseas embassies and were quite accepting of the concept of spies being within the embassy staff. On the other hand they found it very doubtful that a 'non-spy-trained' person would have been brought in on such an important operation, so this destroyed to a degree the authenticity of the book for them. One reader is planning to visit Turkey soon and as a result of the events within this book was a little less enthusiastic about the upcoming trip. Another of our readers utilises Google a lot to extend her understanding of places and events mentioned in the novel she is reading and is thus far better informed about Turkey now. In a quirky coincidence a member of her family is now travelling to Turkey so she already has the background to better visualise the places they might visit.
On average our readers rated this read between a five and a six and a half out of ten. All but one of our group had finished it so overall people though not wildly excited about the read were quite happy with the experience.
Our next read is Rebecca Mascull's debut novel The Visitors which certainly looks like an excursion into different territory. It has the potential for yet another interesting discussion.
Keep those pages turning.......
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