October meeting

It was off to South Kingsville that a small troupe of intrepid book chatters went on 18th October, where Kath was hosting the October meeting. Joined by Naomi, June and Valerie (and armed with Jackie's email feedback), we quickly got down to discussion regarding the books of the moment:

'Its a long way from Penny Apples' drew credit for its 'real descriptions' of life and poverty in the tenements and the struggle to make ends meet. It also enabled insight into the women of the story and their struggle between the catholic laws, the sorrow of losing a child, and with each pregnancy, yet another mouth to feed.  Some readers struggled with the writing style and the amount of details in the stories. Jackie's feedback on this one was "a little too factual for my liking (which is bizarre because I like biographies) it was a bit too detailed in some sections so took me awhile to read".

'Middlesex', for those that had started or finished, was an entirely different proposition. The overall rating was between 7-8/10, mainly because it was very well written & researched, with great characters and an engaging plot about an hermaphradite. There were various comments including my own belief that it was a bit too long and quite dense reading at times, but pretty much all forgiven because it was deftly written. We discussed at length our annoyance with Desdemona's character, were satisfied with the explanation of why Chapter 11 got his name (means bankruptcy in American law), but wanted to cut to the chase a bit earlier regarding Callie's diagnosis. Overall a thought provoking but not necessarily a controversial read.

Jackie's feedback on Middlesex was: "enjoyed very surprisingly good pick Val (???), parts of it better than others but overall I would give it a 7 read it quite quickly".

The other books we discussed included: Jim Stynes "My Journey" (Naomi and Jackie) and "Room" (always gets a good review) (Naomi).  I've listed the other books people have read under the 'What we've been reading tab'.

Next meeting will be on Thursday 29th November at Valerie's, and the suggestion is to make it a dinner meeting with all bringing a dish/plate.  I will email closer to the date so we can coordinate the food (most important!!!). The book for discussion at the next meeting is 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn and it is hopefully a beauty - here's a review to tempt your interest:

On the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick's wife Amy disappears. There are signs of struggle in the house and Nick quickly becomes the prime suspect. It doesn't help that Nick hasn't been completely honest with the police and, as Amy's case drags out for weeks, more and more vilifying evidence appears against him. Nick, however, maintains his innocence. Told from alternating points of view between Nick and Amy, Gillian Flynn creates an untrustworthy world that changes chapter-to-chapter. Calling Gone Girl a psychological thriller is an understatement. As revelation after revelation unfolds, it becomes clear that the truth does not exist in the middle of Nick and Amy's points of view; in fact, the truth is far more dark, more twisted, and more creepy than you can imagine. Gone Girl is masterfully plotted from start to finish and the suspense doesn't waver for one page. It's one of those books you will feel the need to discuss immediately after finishing because the ending doesn't just come; it punches you in the gut. --Caley Anderson

Till next time.....