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Book Club Meeting - 26th April

hannahbflynnhannahbflynn
edited March 2010 in Local discussion
The next meeting has been set for 7.30 on the 26th April at the Old Dairy and the book decided on is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

The Amazon link is here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Things-Apart-Pocket-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141023384/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269335166&sr=8-1
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  • MirandolaMirandola
    edited 4:45AM
    Thanks Hannah,

    For the short of cash among us you can also get it off abebooks for 66p (plus 2.49 p&p). And you get to support second hand bookshops.

    http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=Chinua+Achebe&bt.x=46&bt.y=7&sts=t&tn=things+fall+apart
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  • miss anniemiss annie
    edited 4:45AM
    Great, will get the book from Waterstones at lunchtime. See you all soon.
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  • TemeraireTemeraire
    edited 4:45AM
    Hello - lookingf forward to actually making it this time! Can this thread be made sticky like the other one?
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  • krappyrubsnifkrappyrubsnif
    edited 4:45AM
    Oh good, a proper book. I might get along.
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  • miss anniemiss annie
    edited 4:45AM
    @ krs
    I think that books, like most things, are a matter of taste and opinion and the whole point of a book club is to broaden one's literary horizons. If I wanted to read only books that I would choose for myself I probably wouldn't join a book club
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  • TemeraireTemeraire
    edited 4:45AM
    i agree miss a, that was why i like the idea.
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  • DonnaDonna
    edited 4:45AM
    I'm in!
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  • andyandy
    edited 4:45AM
    stickyed
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  • krappyrubsnifkrappyrubsnif
    edited March 2010
    @miss_annie
    Couldn't agree more. I started that Guernsey thing but thought it was ghastly and stopped after 30 pages - didn't think I would have anything positive to contribute. So I've broadened my horizons and will avoid that particular writer. I studied Chinua Achebe at university and it will be a pleasure to re-read this book. I'll try anything. I even read Generation X last week which I thought was the most tiresome load of cobblers, but I did get to the end. And I once read everything by Dostoyevsky.

    I bet no one would dare put Dostoyevsky on a book club list.
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  • andyandy
    edited 4:45AM
    A Dostoyevsky book club would only meet annually and the first half of the meeting would be going through all the family trees. In contrast, I was very pleased when Douglas Coupland signed my (early UK edition paperback) copy of Generation X. It was about as starstruck as I've been.
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  • krappyrubsnifkrappyrubsnif
    edited 4:45AM
    Ah, but Douglas Coupland was only wittering on in a cloud of marijuana smoke about the tawdry consumerism of our fatally dying culture, whereas Dostoyevsky was dealing with the trauma of being put in front of a firing squad and addressing the great issues of life, death, religion, heaven, hell and how to use a Russian patronymic.

    Hmmm. Maybe I'll go back to Douglas Coupland.
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  • DonnaDonna
    edited March 2010
    Aww Krappy I wish you'd come, it would have been really interesting to find out why you disliked it. Most of us said we enjoyed it, but we were also quite critical of some parts of it, arguing it was a bit whimsical and the characters were quite two-dimensional (good/bad) and also that it was hard to get into at first. But overall, I think everyone agreed it was a fun read, that managed to convey some interesting and moving facts about WW2 and Guernsey, and was quite funny and engaging. So it was a good discussion. But it would have been really interesting, I think, if we'd disagreed a bit more or had different interpretations and viewpoints... which again is probably saying something about the book. Having said that, I'm glad I read it and will recommend it to others! Anyway, I'm really looking forward to Things Fall Apart. I've wanted to read it for ages and never had enough motivation to start.
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  • ADGSADGS
    edited 4:45AM
    Surely a book club could happily do one of the earlier, briefer Dostoevsky books? eg I have Notes from Underground and The Double in a joint edition, and even combined they come in under 300 pages.
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  • MirandolaMirandola
    edited 4:45AM
    ADGS - that sounds like a wonderful idea.
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  • MarquisMarquis
    edited 4:45AM
    Thought [this](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8620249.stm) was perhaps relevant, interesting read anyway.
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  • miss anniemiss annie
    edited 4:45AM
    Has anyone finished the book yet? And is everyone still ok for the date?
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  • CharloCharlo
    edited 4:45AM
    I'm still ok for Monday although I haven't started the book yet! Have you read it?
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  • LizLiz
    edited 4:45AM
    I started today and am making good progress - confident I'll be done for Monday! It's not a difficult read at all.
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  • TemeraireTemeraire
    edited 4:45AM
    This will be my first book club session and I am looking forward to hearing peoples oppinions on it.
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  • AngelabAngelab
    edited 4:45AM
    I most confess I really don't like the book!! Will tell you all why on Monday! Will be an interesting evening!
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  • DonnaDonna
    edited 4:45AM
    I've read it and I'm definitely coming on Monday - I can't make up my mind about the book but I'm glad I read it.
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  • SalsaSalsa
    edited 4:45AM
    I have to admit I've been struggling with the book but hopefully I'll finish it by tomorrow.

    Quick request for tomorrow night - could people bring along a few suggestions for our next book? We were a bit caught offguard last time and it would be great to have lots of ideas and we could maybe decide between 2 or 3. It might be nice to read something current day seeing as we've read a few older ones...
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  • AngelabAngelab
    edited 4:45AM
    I have a few suggestions. I have started one recently which is great. I will bring it along tonight.
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  • CharloCharlo
    edited 4:45AM
    I'm not going to be able to make tonight after all - disappointed to miss it, especially as I enjoyed reading the book when I finally got started and am really interested in hearing people's views. Have a good evening!
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  • MirandolaMirandola
    edited 4:45AM
    I can't make it either, but I do have a book suggestion for next time: Borges, Labyrinths. Short stories, so we could either pick one or go for the whole thing. I've wanted to read it for years, because every time I hear about it sounds more interesting and it'd be a great book to talk about.

    This does a better job of selling it than I can: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A1113698

    And it's here:

    http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=2280223523&searchurl=an=borges&bt.x=55&bt.y=11&sts=t&tn=labyrinths
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  • ADGSADGS
    edited 4:45AM
    That's a bloody brilliant book, though reading more than one story at a time can be a bit brain-melting.
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  • MirandolaMirandola
    edited 4:45AM
    ADGS - which story would you recommend, if we were to pick just one?
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  • ADGSADGS
    edited 4:45AM
    They're pretty short, so one would probably be too little, but 'The Garden of Forking Paths' particularly sticks in the memory. 'Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius' and 'Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote' are also especially strong, the latter being the first Borges I ever read.
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  • jillzillajillzilla
    edited 4:45AM
    Hmm, did this happen tonight? I went by the Old Dairy a bit late, probably 7.45, and circulated around a few times but didn't see any group that gave any sign of being a book club, and nobody noticed my, well, perhaps not extremely conspicuous copy of Things Fall Apart. For next time, how is the club identified?

    I will remember the book for a long time. I've never read another quite like it.
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  • miss anniemiss annie
    edited 4:45AM
    We were in the restaurant part, behind the curtain. Sorry you missed us, there was a lively discussion as the book really divided opinion.
    Do come next time. If you can't find the group ask the lovely bar staff, they'll point you in the right direction.
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