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[Isabella]

Allan wrote: "Cathleen, Tony Cascarino was a bit of a journeyman centre forward who played for teams in England, Scotland and France, as well as for ROI many times, despite technically not being qualified to do ..."

He's also affectionately known as Tony O'Cascarin.

[Paul]

Always better to make your own mind up JL

[Paul]

Good plan.
Positive or negative hype can ruin a book before you even get near it if you let it.

[Trelawn]

I started a reread of Clouds of Witness the other day. I'm really enjoying it and so far I can't remember who the murderer is which is great :-) If Susan, Fiona et al are still up for the buddy read we can open a new thread or maybe even continue in Whose Body? Whichever suits.

[Paul]

Well I finished Railsea by Mieville. Good story but couldn't take to the style.
I've started Our Lady of The Streets by Tom Pollock , the final part in an urban fantasy series set in London. The series so far has been a brilliantly imaginative story set in a well constructed fantasy world.
The final part is living up to the standard so should be a great finale .
Interestingly I know a go who submitted a literary thesis on this series and Neil Gaimans neverwhere, about London as a fantasy city.

[Trelawn]

Now there's a thesis I would like to read :-) for about a half an hour myself and my professor talked about me writing my thesis on comparisons between aspects of Harry Potter and some ancient texts. Fun half hour.

[Paul]

He also included Ben Aaronovitch , Paul Cornell and China Mieville. I've been promised a look at some point when he's brave enough.
Others research topixs sound so much better than the ones i did.
I did one on Violence, another on River Flooding and one on train journeys times in 19th century.

[Susan]

Trelawn wrote: "I started a reread of Clouds of Witness the other day. I'm really enjoying it and so far I can't remember who the murderer is which is great :-) If Susan, Fiona et al are still up for the buddy rea..."

Cloud of Witness is my next book up. I am looking forward to it. :)

[Paul]

I'd say so Emma. There are more and more literary research papers on fantasy these days so they still have to stand out

[Trelawn]

@ Susan, yay! can't wait to see what you think of it.

[Diane]

Jamie Lynn wrote: "Yes it is Paul. Sometimes other people's opinions sway me even if subconsciously but I love Tana French so the negative opinions won't bother me at all."

I like her books too.

[Trelawn]

To anyone and everyone taking part in the Wimsey buddy read, the Whose Body? thread has been renamed Peter Wimsey (thank you Emma) so we can discuss all the books in the one thread.

[Paul]

I'll have to look at the older monthly reads at some stage. There might be a few intresting books from before i joined

[Paul]

I'll make time at some point

[Cathleen]

Susan wrote: "Trelawn wrote: "I started a reread of Clouds of Witness the other day. I'm really enjoying it and so far I can't remember who the murderer is which is great :-) If Susan, Fiona et al are still up f..."

Is that the next Dorothy Sayers? I bought another one on my e-reader...but I'm blanking on the name. I'll be up for the next one in the series. I'm curious how Lord Peter gets on :)

[Allan]

I had my first, very positive, experience of an 'in person' book club yesterday evening. It's a new club that's only started up a few months, and numbers are small, but it was great to meet with other enthusiastic readers, and we had an engaging conversation not only about the monthly read 'The Secret History', but also about books in general. And they are keen to read local authors, so have decided to have a go with 'Eureka Street' by a Robert McLiam Wilson next month-an excuse for another reread of one of my favourites! :)

In currently reading 'The Wayward Man' by St John Ervine, a Belfast writer from the early 20th century in pre war Penguin paperback version, which is a surprisingly pleasant experience. It was recommended in a newspaper article during the One City One Book month earlier this year.

[Allan]

Last night, Emma, it was all female, but there is another guy who's been to a couple of meetings. Age wise, mid 20s to late 40s, early 50s maybe? The members there last night have interests based in literary fiction, which will suit me well. :)

[Nutri]

I'm new here so for the first time I'll share anything here.
I'm currently reading Snow Crash written by Neal Stephenson and I must admit it looks pretty much like a W. Gibson's Neuromancer's parody.

[Paul]

I read it a few years back. It was very good but because of the content it has dated quickly

[Nutri]

Hello and thanks. :)

[Barbara]

Allan wrote: "Last night, Emma, it was all female, but there is another guy who's been to a couple of meetings. Age wise, mid 20s to late 40s, early 50s maybe? The members there last night have interests based i..."

Emma's observation that more women than men do books groups is my observation as well. Sounds like a good group especially as their tastes run to literary fiction. Glad it was a fruitful venture:)

[Colleen]

I just finished The Museum of Literary Souls and loved it!Thanks Paul for mentioning this short story.This is the first I've read of this author . Any suggestions of which of his novels I might like ?

[Trelawn]

@ Colleen The Book of Lost Things is a must if you enjoyed The Museum of Literary Souls.

[Paul]

Colleen. Trelwan is right. The Book of Lost Things is a must. Its fantastic. Not all his books are similar to this however with a lot of gritty crime stuff.

[Colleen]

Thanks Trelawn and Paul The Book of Lost Things looks like I'll love it and so I added it and The Gates as well.

[Paul]

I'd also try Noctutnes , which is a series of short stories by John.
The Gates us fun but i preferred the original name , The Gates of Hell are Opening Please Mind the Gap. It had something of Philip K Dick about it.

[Colleen]

Oh my goodness that looks amazing and I don't usually read crime novels but it looks creepy enough to get my attention Janie Lynn lol.
@ Paul do I need to read the other Charlie Parker novels before I read Noctutnes because it said it was a Charlie Parker novel 4.5 ?

[Paul]

Its actually the first Charlie Parker story i read so its not a huge problem. Its about 70 pages of the whole book so even if you want to ignore it there are plenty of other stories in it

[Diane]

Colleen wrote: "Thanks Trelawn and Paul The Book of Lost Things looks like I'll love it and so I added it and The Gates as well."

Looks like a bunch of you have really liked it so I'm going to put it in my TBR list also.
Thanks, it does looks good.

[Paul]

One of my favourites.

[Colleen]

Jamie Lynn wrote: "Colleen wrote: "Oh my goodness that looks amazing and I don't usually read crime novels but it looks creepy enough to get my attention Janie Lynn lol.
@ Paul do I need to read the other Charlie Par..."

I think I will :)

[Paul]

I've read three of the Charlie Parker Novels plus the Novella and its definitely worth a look

[Susan]

Allan wrote: "I had my first, very positive, experience of an 'in person' book club yesterday evening. It's a new club that's only started up a few months, and numbers are small, but it was great to meet with ot..."

Allan, I am so happy for you. It's great they'll be reading local authors. Did you nominate Eureka Street?
Emma is right about women and book clubs. We have had a man join us and his first nomination? In Cold Blood.
We all sighed. I would love to have you in my book club. The old ladies would give you a run for your money. :)

[Susan]

But who hasn't read it? Trust me we also have a semi spiritual quest book- "Four Agreements" which are rules to live your life by. (Gag).

Here are our selections for the next 6 months- we read one fiction and one nonfiction each month:

Fiction
1. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
2. The Invention of Wings-Sue Monk Kidd (my nomination)
3. Ordinary Grace
4. One Amazing Thing
5. Rebecca's Tale
6. The Art of Racing in the Rain

Nonfiction
1. In cold Blood
2. Girls Who Rock (a juvenile book that I was furious that it's on the list)
3. Four Agreements
4. Bookseller of Kabul
5. No other God but God- about the history of Muslims
6. Rebecca- our classic (Long, spirited discussion of whether it was really a classic).

[Barbara]

Susan - do you HAVE to read the two books a month? Other friends are in book clubs that like this one seem to make random choices. The Four Agreements is ages old so is 15 years past trendiness. The Bookseller of Kabul is also old. I liked Bitter and Sweet but I read it before any hype. Sometimes reading books a few years later reveals that they are at heart wimpy.
Gotta run to my Transatlantic Novels class and the bookshop sale.

[Allan]

I mentioned how much I loved Eureka Street, and as no one else had read, or even heard, of it, they were keen to give it a go.

On first impressions btw, it'll be a lot tamer than your in person club, Susan! :)

[Susan]

Barbara, you are "supposed" to read both books but I don't always. I don't really care too much for nonfiction. Some of the books are old because many members are old. We rarely do new books for two reasons.
We pay $1 a month in dues and then buy copies that are kept in a box in the library. That way we share the books. New books tend to be expensive and often there are too many holds at the library for them. So it is really an access solution.
I can't tell you how angry I was about Girls Who Rock aimed at the 3-7 grades. It's a relatively new member who is very snooty and has come to save us Willits Hicks. We were at a function and one of the older members said, Susan is the heart of our book club. She looked at me and sniffed as she said, It must be a different book club. Still our moderator tries to give everybody a pick. I will take Barbara's advice and use it as an opportunity to read a good book.

Allan, I knew it.

[J.S.]

Emma wrote: "Your new member sounds lovely Susan :-P Sounds like she has notions."

Redefining insecurity: having to pull oneupmanship at a book club!

[Susan]

Emma, that was the solution that we went through. We called it a modern classic. Some people are just touchy. I reminded them that Crime and Punishment which is a real classic, they shuddered and voted in Rebecca.

[Trelawn]

Nice tactic Susan :-)

[Donna]

@Susan, I actually liked The Four Agreements. Well, the concepts actually - the rest of it was a little too New Age-y for me.

I have polished off The Son and am now reading One Hundred Names.

[Barbara]

Susan - I don't love living in this area because I miss New England, but I do appreciate the opportunities for literary activities such as readings, book groups, classes etc. We also have access through our libraries to pretty new books and it's such as densely populated area often one way or the other through interlibrary load, one can get a book. So I understand why the choices are limited. I think after considering the options, I'd read classics like Steinbeck, Moby Dick etc. rather than not-so-great books that were a fad in the past.

I just bought Niall Williams A History of the Rain which was long listed for the Booker. I want to finish The Son but I think I need something different over the weekend.

Allan - so glad the group is reading Eureka Street. It's a must read especially for a Belfast-based book group.

[Susan]

Donna, let me know how you like that book. I read one of hers and didn't care much for it but it could have just been an off book.

Barbara, I am jealous of all that is available to you. The only other book club I know in town reads romance novels only (gag me with stick).

[Allan]

Barbara, the fact that the DC area always comes at the top of surveys as the most literate in USA is bound to have an effect on the interest and variety of classes. I'm massively envious of the Transatlantic class you're currently attending, as you know.

And as for the Eureka Street nomination, I must add the fact that none of the attendees of the club on Thursday were actually from NI, which I thought pretty much summed up Belfast's interest in books. It's good to see people keen to read local novels though, and as you know, I'll have plenty of recommendations to give them...

[Susan]

Allan, and we know what a charmer you are. Just don't recommend Ian Sansom's book mobile book.:)

Barbara, what is the Transatlantic class you're attending?

[Diane]

Susan wrote: "Emma, that was the solution that we went through. We called it a modern classic. Some people are just touchy. I reminded them that Crime and Punishment which is a real classic, they shuddered and v..."
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier? I loved that book. I read it about 30 years ago and still remember the plot and the characters. To me, that is a classic. So many books I really like but two months later the title will be mentioned somewhere and I can't even remember anything about it.
I loved, and still remember haha, Crime and Punishment also.

[Diane]

Jamie Lynn wrote: "...Crime and Punishment is a little weird though. "
Dostoyevsky is a little weird which is probably why I like him.
I once got his The Brothers Karamazov on cd with Debra Winger reading it. I like her as an actress but oh my, she can not read classical works, or at least not this one. It was downright funny the way she sped through it.

[Barbara]

Susan wrote: "Allan, and we know what a charmer you are. Just don't recommend Ian Sansom's book mobile book.:)

Barbara, what is the Transatlantic class you're attending?"

At my local indie bookshop, there is a 4 week class on Transatlantic Novels featuring Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor and Transatlantic by Colum McCann. The instructor is from Gort Co. Galway and has degrees in Irish lit from Trinity. His classes are very popular. He also teaches classes on various Shakespeare topics as his wife is the producer at the Folger Theater which does Shakespeare - currently King Lear - and the Folger
Shakespeare Library. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period (1500–1750). But I am not a Shakespeare groupie which some of my friends are, but they tend to tolerate my lack of sophistication.
Last night in class we also ended up talking about Moby Dick. I didn't realize it had been filmed in Ireland, and it is a book I should eventually read.

I have read about half of The Son on Kobo and am eager to start a physical book.

[Sara]

I'm also eager to dig into the Son this weekend. I plan to try to at least reach the halfway point. I also have Read Hard, a collection of essays to pop in and out of when I need a break from The Son. I may also start Rainey Royal.

On the audiobook front, I'm taking a bit of a break and catching up on some podcasts. When I get back to audiobooks it will be to resume Anathem by Neal Stephenson

In the next 6 weeks or so I also hope to read all or almost all of the books on my "Middle-Grade/YA unread shelf." In the recently bought books friend I mentioned buying for a friend's 10 year old daughter. She a voracious reader and would appreciate some new books. Finishing all eight before I go to NM on October 24th would allow me to share them with her. I was lucky enough to snag a good deal on a Southwest flight. For those not in the U.S., Southwest is practically the only remaining airline that gives you free baggage (2 bags up to 70 pounds each). My plan is to fill the second with books/other gifts for friends and family on the way there. On the way back I can use it for any souvenirs.

[Sara]

I hope everyone has a happy weekend full of reading. The weather here is kind of rainy, so aside from a trip to the gym or two and church, I envision lots of time for reading and tea.