Book Group Christmas Meal!

Venue: The Canton Arms / Rebatos Spanish Tapas Restaurant: South Lambeth Rd, Vauxhall After our lovely experience at Rebatos last year the consensus is to go again this year so.....meet at The Canton Arms (also South Lambeth Rd) at 7.30pm and then head across to the restaurant at 8ish (it's literally across the road). Anyone welcome so please don't hesitate. We can't book for the tapas part of the restaurant (which is the nicest bit) so if you could reply to the event and I can get some idea of how many are coming that would be helpful (I might warn them!). If you can also try to be there before 8pm it will save the rearrangement of tables!! The only thing you need to bring is a Book Secret Santa! No rules - can be your favorite book or something that looks interesting, first or second hand - just wrap it up and we'll pull them out of the bag! Only other point to mention is that the date is a TUESDAY rather than the usual Wednesday. Sorry for those who can't make Tuesdays - we tried hard to find an evening so close to Christmas that would suit most. Happy Christmas and hope to see you there!

A Brideshead Christmas Special

Sorry for the delayed post. As usual a good group this week with mixed opinions on the book making for an interesting discussion! Next proper meeting will be 4 January and we're reading 'Brideshead Revisited' by Evelyn Waugh. As most group members know by now I can definitely recommend the TV adaption (with a young Jeremy Irons) as some good Christmas viewing!! Sticking with the King's Head in Clapham (100 Clapham Park Rd) form 7.30pm.

A varied collection of suggestions as always:
Shantaram by Gregory David
Nicholas Nickelby by Charles Dickens
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
Born to Run by Chris McDougall
The Thread by Victoria Hislop

Of course we will be meeting before the end of the year for our Christmas Do! I'll post another event for that but if you can't make it then a very Happy Christmas, have fun over the New Year and see you in 2012!

All the Pretty Horses

Very interesting discussion this week about Kafka on the Shore with lots to say and several mixed feelings! The Kings's Head has had a bit of a make-over and was a bit busier - I like to put it down to the fact that we are holding our meetings there now!

The next book is 'All the Pretty Horses' by Cormac McCarthy and the other suggestions included:

Regeneration by Pat Barker

The White Tiger by Ararind Adiga

We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

So same place, same time then on the 23rd November.

As an aside, we also set a date for our Christmas Meal (yes, it's coming round quickly!) so put it in your diaries and we will finalise details later: 13 December. Slightly controversially it's on a Tuesday but it seemed to be the best date for most people at the meeting! Last Year was Robarto's tapas in Vauxhall which went down well but other suggestions very welcome.

Cloud Atlas

Our 'summer read' - I suppose we've truly waited until summer is over! Sorry for the postponement of date but i think everyone has at least started it now! (myself as of today's tube journey home!).

It should be a good debate, judging by the conversations already started!

So hope you see all next week 19th October - same time, same place.

(By the way - very jealous of this book cover - anyone seen a copy?!)

Kafka on the Shore

Sorry for delayed post! Great group last week with very mixed feelings about Tinker Tailor - something like love vs confusion!
As always some excellent suggestions, the winner of which was 'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami.
The rest were:
The Blind Assassin by Margret Atwood
Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
Back from the Brink by Alistair Darling
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

Sticking with the Kings Head - enjoyed by all I think. Better sitting on the sofas at the front so bag them if you get there first! Meeting on 2nd November at 7.30pm.

Otherwise have a lovely month - and see most on the 19th for Cloud Atlas (happily I now have a copy - so much for summer reading!)

A visit to the Circus....

Sorry for the delay in setting up this event....apologies. A great group last week, our reminiscing meant that we almost forgot to discuss the books but we got there in the end! Enjoyed the Kings Head (100 Clapham Park Rd), cheap beer and plenty of room. We're going to give it another go next time but other suggestions welcome.

As usual a great collection of suggestions but the winner (after several entries!) was Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy by John Le Carre. For the first time ever I think I'm being dragged to see the film before I've read the book (367 pages in an evening is pushing it a little too far!). We meet again on the 5th October.

The other suggestions were:

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

A dry white season by Andre Brisk

A disturbed girl's guide to curing boredom by James Howell

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

After not much deliberation (!) we postponed Cloud Atlas until the 19th October. Sorry to all those who have been diligently reading it but unfortunately the rest need a bit more catch up time.

Hope to see you all on the 5th, take care until then.

It's a double....but still less than 300 pages, phew!

A lovely meeting yesterday, even managed to catch the last of the summer sitting outside! And at least half had managed to finish The Lacuna's 650ish pages so good going!

A great list of possibles for next meeting and frankly not much between them all... so much so that we actually have two books to read! But don't fear, they are both less than 150 pages each!
The Ballard of Peckham Rye by Muriel Spark and The Day of the Owl by Leonardo Sciascia both had 100% of the vote. Fairly certain that they'll be enough variation between them - one an Italian detective story and the other, well, set in Peckham Rye!

Other suggestions were:
A clockwork orange by Anthony Burgess
Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy by John Le Carre
The prince of west end avenue by Alan Isler

We decided on another venue, just to try out the options, so see you all at The King's Head, 100 Clapham Park Road, SW4 7BZ on the 14th September.

We were all very pleased to be sitting outside for the group yesterday, thanks to Charlotte for seeing off the competition for the table! Good discussion about Another part of the wood with varied opinions! Some of us agreed we'd like to read it again to gain full appreciation although others felt the opposite!!

Next meetings choice is The Lacuna by Barbara Kingslover but it was a close vote between them all:

The White Masai by Corinne Hofmann
Watreland by Graham Swift
Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy by John Le Carre
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
The curious incident of the dog in the night by Mark Haddon

We're meeting next on the 24th August at 7.30pm as usual. Sticking with The Stonhouse while there's potential for nice weather but unable to book tables outside so if it's sunny whoever gets there first do your best!

Don't forget about the summer read which is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, we are still to decide on a meeting date but it will likely be in October sometime.

Until next time...

Tribute to Beryl

Sorry for the delay in posting this, lack of internet at home has hindered me somewhat!

A great group this week, lots of discussion and general agreement that we all enjoyed the Terrible Privacy. Next meeting we're sticking with the Stonhouse, the prospect of the beer garden is too tempting if the weather is good.

A good list of suggestions, it was hard to choose!

The next read then is Another Part of the Wood by Beryl Bainbridge.

Other suggestions were;

The White Masai by Corinne Hofmann

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

The Year of the Flood by Margret Atwood

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Kafka on the Beach by Haruki Murakami

Lark and Termit by Jayne Ann Phillips

Decision made to have another holiday read and Cloud Atlas was the choice for that. We'll arrange a date in October to discuss that one.

Next meeting: 3rd August at 7.30pm The Stonhouse, 165 Stonhouse St, Off Clapham Manor Rd. I'll try to reserve a table again on the day so if its nice will go for one outside.

Until then, enjoy the summer!

Hoping we don't invade his privacy...

A small but select group this week at the Manor Arms, good discussion re. our general lack of Jewish knowledge and complete lack of Yiddish but overall enjoyment of Kalooki Nights. Decided that we'd quite like to know the rules of kalooki if anyone knows them?

Some interesting suggestions for next time, winner was:

The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan Coe

Other were:

Homeland by Barbara Kingsolver

The Corrections by Jonathan Frazen

A Disaffection by James Kelman

The Manor Arms was quiet and very full of dogs! We thought we might try another venue next, just because nothing quite compares to the Bread and Roses! (for those interested I did contact the Bread and Roses to check on the quiz and no they aren't running it at the moment but they are due to start it up again soon, and at the moment they have an Acoustic night on a Wednesday! No luck...)

So we'll give the Stonhouse a whirl on the 13th July (4 weeks time, sorry for those who will be away). It definitely does proper food and has an outside (IF the sun ever decides to shine!).

The Stonhouse, 165 Stonhouse St, Clapham

http://www.thestonhouse.co.uk/home.php

So hope to see you there...

Anyone fancy a bit of Manchester Yiddish?

A good discussion this week, mostly about our mutual loathing of Micheal Beard in Solar! If his character really is a metaphor for collective human behavior then what chance have we got? Although we did all agree, the first crisp is always the best one.

Interesting mix of classic and modern suggestions and despite the confusion with the random stars the choice for next group was:

Kalooki Nights by Howard Jacobson

The other suggestions were:

Madame Bovary by Gustane Flaubert

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Nemesis by Phillip Roth

The White Masai by Corinne Hofmann

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bonte

We're going to try a NEW VENUE for our next meeting on the 15th June.

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/71/7152/Manor_Arms/Clapham

Hopefully one with an outside as well as inside option. I'll try to get there a bit early an bag a table so if anyone needs an excuse to leave work early then this is it. Until then.....

venue for this evening....

Ok, sun is shinning but still a bit too chilly in the evening to sit out all night so we'll be at the Royal Oak again this eve. Hope that's ok with everyone. See you later!

http://www.theroyaloakclapham.com/

A comic Ian McEwan?

A great meeting yesterday with a lengthy discussion about 'The Grapes..' despite the varying number of pages that people managed to read! Certainly some passionate feelings elicited and happily no one got too depressed, phew.

Outright winner for the next read is 'Solar' by Ian McEwan. Apparently a 'comic' plot line from him so it will be interesting to see what everyone thinks. Expect some strong opinions if the mini discussion was anything to go by!

Other suggestions were:

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

1984 by George Orwell

The Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman

The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

The Royal Oak was still a good choice with the cool evening, so unless the weather takes an amazing turn and we are all perspiring on the day of the next meeting then we'll stick with that venue until the proper summer months. Again, I'll try to post something on the day the let everyone know.

Til then.....

Tomorrow's meeting.

Hi all attending tomorrow's meeting. Given the wind and drop in temperature today I think it might be a little cold to sit outside all evening tomorrow, despite the sun's valiant efforts! So you'll find the meeting still at the Royal Oak tomorrow. Hope that's OK with all! See some of you there....

Will this be a grape book or will it incur our wrath.....?

Great meeting on Wednesday - Jean Brodie inspired a good discussion. Was it all in her master plan we wonder? Welcome to the new members, hope to see you again.

Apologies for the terrible title of the next meeting, I couldn't resist. So you might have guessed that we are next reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - finally it was an outright winner!

Lots of other good suggestions including:

Tender is the Night - F Scott Fitzgerald
Shooting the Elephant - George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
Suspicions of Mr Whicher - Kate Summerscale
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Shaffer Stevie Davies
Room - Emma Donoghue

We're meeting in 4 weeks, instead of 3 which brings us to 4th May. Provisionally we'll meet in the Royal Oak BUT if the weather is as lovely as it has been this week and it's warm enough to sit outside then we'll be outside at the Bread and Roses.

I'll try to post the venue up on the day but if you arrive at one pub and find nobody then head to the other one!! Clear as mud?!

Opportunity to do your bit...

In case anyone can spare a free evening and is interested in doing their bit to promote a love of reading across the world, Book Aid International need volunteers to stamp and pack books prior to their shipment to Africa.

The next event is apparently on Tuesday 5th April and runs from 6-9pm. Their offices are in Camberwell.

If you are interested, please get in touch with Martina Armstrong on the email address below....

Book Aid International

39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London SE5 9NR

Email: martina.armstrong@bookaid.org

http://www.bookaid.org

Registered charity number: 313869

Thanks!

In our prime......

Great meeting this week with lots of good discussion about 'On the road'. General consensus, Kerouac a bit of a misogynistic wanker but a very good writer. Lots to like, some stuff difficult to forgive.

Winner of the vote for next meeting is 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' by Muriel Spark. We meet again on the 6 April.

It was a close call with the other suggestions, especially 'I'll go to bed at noon' by Gerard Woodward, now on it's third suggestion (it will get there one day!)
The others were:
Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Lolita by Vladamir Nabakov
The People's Train by Thomas Keneally

Just a short list this week!

Continuing to enjoy the Royal Oak so hope to see all there in three weeks, revel in the start of Springtime and avoid the April showers til then!

(ps. Couldn't resist this orange image although it's of the film poster and not the book cover. Potential confusion between Maggie Smith and Muriel Spark!!)

'Just can't wait to get on the road again'

Mixed feelings about 'the secret scripture'. Another one of those that basically most people seem to enjoy but we manage to rather pull it apart when discussing it! I think we agreed that after reading Calvino last maybe we were just hankering after something more challenging!

The luck of the draw, this week's winner was 'On the road' by Jack Kerouac. Time for some hedonistic revelry! We meet again 16th March, still at the Royal Oak, Clapham High St.

Runners up were...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsover
Bliss by Peter Carey
Quartered safe out here by George MacDonald Fraser
The spy who came in from the cold by John Le Carre

Hope to see everyone in three weeks!

Shhhh...it's a secret

All round thumbs up for 'If on a Winter's night...' although everyone did get a little confused with the real and the fake! Good discussion and lots of interesting points.

Lovely to have some new members along, what a big group we were this week! We just managed to squeeze around the table!

Our next meeting is on the 23rd Feb, four weeks rather than three just to keep everyone on their toes. We are reading The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry, several positive comments from those who have already read it so looking forward to that.

It was a close call between a couple of others actually, the runners up were;

Time's Arrow by Martin Amis
Selected Tales by Edgar Allen Poe
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
I'll Go To Bed At Noon by Gerard Woodward

Hope to see everyone on the 23rd!

Not travelling too far on a winter's night...

A great start to the new year! Thumbs up for the new venue and nice to have a new face. Mixed views on Engleby, about 50/50 like to dislike, good discussion though.
Another fantastic selection of pitches for the next meeting, the undoubted winner (not unfortunately!) being:

If On A Winter's Night A Traveller by Italo Calvino

The runners up were:

The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher
I'll Go To Bed At Noon by Gerard Woodward
The God of Small Things by Arundnati Roy
Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace
Witness the Night by Kishwar Desai
An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
Generation A by Douglas Copland

Phew!

We're meeting again on the 26th and sticking with the Royal Oak so hope to see you there!