To all

Of course, rich blessings, hugs and present-unwrapping-fun to all my lovely Bookclub friends.  Happy Christmas. xoxox

Christmas Eve

You put me to shame Jen.  I've just finished reading Testimonial by Anita Shreve and have loaded my iPad with movies and books for my trip away.  Not sure how much I'll get read as I kind of crash these days around 9:30pm.  Every day is so busy with jobs to do, appointments to get to, shopping to finish and of course, the dreaded summer cleaning...all enough to sabotage my very good intentions of doing lots of reading.  However, hopefully things will quieten down after Chrissy for a relaxing holiday and some down time to read.  Take care and have a joyous and peace filled break.  See you in 2013.

Books on the go

Hi Cheryl et al,

Hope today is not too frenetic for you all.  My reading has been very eclectic and is likely to stay so.  I have read a Lee Child mystery, Janet Evanovich's 'Notorious Nineteen, a book by the author of 'Snow Falling on Cedars" and I picked up from the library today 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac, 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime' and a mystery by Minette Walters.   PLEASE don't ask me to remember them all in Feb when we catch up.....

Merry Christmas to you all. Not toooooo many champagnes.

Jen

Happy Christmas

"The Confederacy of Dunces" seems to just keep coming on back at us, doesn't it.  What a good book it was.  :-)  What are you reading atm Jen and team?  Wishing everyone a happy Christmas.  Hoping all the little children have been good girls and boys so Santa doesn't disappoint.  Praying all the big boys and girls have finished their Christmas shopping.  :-)

Vindication at last.  Cheryl thanks for sending through the book recommendations.  It prompted me to think about other books that I 'should' read so I searched for the top 100 books you should read before you die and guess what????  The BBC has in their top 100 'The Confederacy of the Dunces'.

I hope you all enjoy a peaceful and restful Christmas with families and friends and you find a quiet moment or 2 to lose yourself in a good book.

See you in the New Year.

Cheers

Jen

Hi Bookclub friends,
I'm not sure if you watched Tuesday's Bookclub last week.  I wasn't able to but I logged onto iView because it focussed on the top 10 Aussie Books you should read before you die.  I've naughtily pasted the list below for your perusal.  The full list actually gives 50 books and these books are calculated according to votes.  I'm pleased to say we have read some of the top 10 in our Bookclub, but we as a collective have definitely read many from the top 50 list.

 Please visit the following website if you're interested in the list:

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/

The Top 50 Aussie Books as voted by you are:

1. Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
2. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
3. A Fortunate Life - A.B. Facey
4. The Harp in the South - Ruth Park
5. The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay
6. Jasper Jones - Craig Silvey
7. The Magic Pudding - Norman Lindsay
8. The Slap - Christos Tsiolkas
9. The Secret River - Kate Grenville
10. Picnic at Hanging Rock - Joan Lindsay

Can I say, I am not a fan of Tim Winton.  I think you love him or you don't.  I absolutely loved 'The Secret River" which we read as a group, I hated "The Slap" and I love "The Book Thief" but we didn't read this as a Bookclub book.  "Jasper Jones" is a wonderful YA read and the psychologists and therapists amongst us would help me come to terms with many of the teenage issues, this is apart from the aboriginal outcast issues.  Of course most of us have read "The Power of One" and "The Magic Pudding".  We shouldn't assume though and maybe we can choose from the list for 2013.

Have a great holiday and thank you V for all you work with the blog. I wouldn't put my hand up for the job, so I appreciate all you've done.  I have a task ahead of me with reading "A Suitable Boy" but I'm looking forward to it.  I hope you all get to read your Christmas choice from our last meeting.

Hugs and blessings,
Cheryl

Cheryl's Comment: [Flower Shop Book Club] New comment on Sunday's meeting.

Cheryl Toohey has left a new comment on your post "Sunday's meeting": 

Your house looks beautiful Dagmar. I love your view of mountains and forest. A beautiful place to home to after a hard day's work. Can't wait to visit you.



Posted by Cheryl Toohey to Flower Shop Book Club at November 30, 2012 3:42 AM

Sunday's meeting

Hi all,
I was hoping to attend the final book club this Sunday but as luck would have it I don't think I'll be able to. We're at Kim's mum's place all weekend trying to help her get her place (2 1/2 acres) cleaned up for Christmas as all her family will be there for the first time in many, many years. As well as this I have my annual school friend's Christmas dinner on Saturday night as well as my work Christmas party. Isn't it typical of this time of year. I don't think I'll be able to get away for Sunday morning as well, which is really disappointing as I was hoping to make it to our last meeting for the year, and am actually reading the book and wanting to discuss. I'm not far into it but already my opinion on events has been slightly swayed.
I have been trying to keep up with some of the books and will post some thoughts about them in the next couple of days (am just trying to wrestle this iPad away from a nine month old...can you believe he is 9 months?). But in short I loved The Beloved, I'm not quite finished but am really enjoying All That I Am and finding that I am more interested in The Tall Man than I thought I would be...in between reading baby cookbooks, books on creating happy toddlers and also managing fears in children!  So not finishing anything quickly.  I would love to be in the discussion for this book and I look forward to hearing a summary or something about general consensus.

I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and a firm promise that I will be back on deck next year. I'll be back at work two days a week so I'll be more organised and achieve so much more...at least I'm hoping.
Enjoy Sunday. Love to all
Rachelle

Fwd: Cheryl and Moving!!!

Cheryl you have to learn to post!!!! You are so more social media savvy than me.....

No worries I forwarded your message for all to see ;)
Your little Sister xo

Begin forwarded message:

When I next come to Melbourne Dagmar, will definitely want to visit you.

Hugs,

Cheryl

PS  What are your thoughts of Tall Man?

Here are some photos of my new place (before I moved in...)

New Home - Yippee...Congratulations Dagmar

Dagmar...It is so good to hear you are finally getting settled in Melbourne.  I can say on behalf of us all, we are really happy to know you and your besties have found a home you can call your own.  We will miss you at xmas breakfast this weekend. If you find yourself coming to Bris at all over the Xmas New Year let us know and anyone who is around we can hook up for a coffee!
Happy nesting.....

Storms and books

Hi all,  Hope you have fared okay in the storms?  We have a bit of damage to a roof over the deck and the plants have copped a bashing but otherwise all okay.  I finished the Tall Man.  All this rain made for good book reading weather.  Look forward to catching up to discuss.  The book should provoke LOTS of discussion.  Cheers  Jen

Gillian's Garden Cafe Booked !!!!

We have our booking for 2 Dec 8:15am at  gillians garden cafe

Check out the menu www.gilliansgardencafe.com.au

location is,

999 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane Can't wait - I have booked for 6 People but if everyone is avail and intends to come let me know and I will change the booking to 8. Robyn and Rachelle will you be avail, if yes from both of you I will increase booking by 1. Dagmar it would be truly special if you are in town yet of course that is a wild long shot..,., I know!

XO

November-December Book : The Tall Man

Well Ladies .... The book selection for this next coming period is the Tall Man, by Chloe Hooper It is a quick turnaround with the next date for the bookclub being 3 weeks away, so find the book and get reading!!!  DATE FOR NEXT MEETING : SUNDAY 2nd December 2012.  LOCATION : we hope it will be the Garden Cafe.... However this is TBC - Cheryl that is your job!

Options for Book Acquisition include
Brisbane City Council Library
www.bookdepository.co.uk for under $20
http://www.amazon.com Amazon Kindle for $16.99

A quick synopsis, excerpt below directly from http://www.penguin.com.au/thetallman/bookdetails.cfm
"Chloe Hooper's reports from the inquest won her a Walkley Award and were published around the world. The Tall Man is the story of the death of Cameron Doomadgee, who one morning swore at a policeman and forty-five minutes later lay dead in a watch house cell. The Tall Man tells the full story of the subsequent trial and its repercussions through northen Australia."

Recently retired, Police Commissioner, Bob Atkinson reflected the policing management of Cameron Doomadgee on Palm Island and the death of Cameron Doomadgee was one of his deepest regrets and disappointments under his stewardship as Police Commissioner.  A man to be respected, whose values and commitment to positive, ethical policing is to be admired.  His interview with abc well worth the 30mins out of your day to watch...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-25/bob-atkinson-speaks-to-john-taylor-extended/4333402

Happy Reading & Hope to see you all on Sunday 2nd Dec.  Oh --- Christmas - Table Top Book Exchange is happening again, so scour your bookshelves ladies!
Much love and happy days!
V

The Unread Book - Except ONE ... All That I Am

This was our October Book.  Congratulations to Jen for finishing the book and providing the inspiration for all of us to either finish or start as is in my case!.  Cheryl, Bec and Rachelle..... we do not doubt your convictions to finish as you all provided glowing recommendations to Ruthie and I to make sure we read it over the xmas break.

So i probably can't write much on our behalf, so what i am doing is a little cheat.  I am inserting a link from GoodReads as an little encouraging inspiration,
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11815113-all-that-i-am

Of course we are not without opinion or wanting for intellectual conversation, so we did our darndest to hold a conversation about the known themes and characters of the book anyways.  Thank you Jen, Bec and Cheryl for assiting us to explore the territory of the story and characters without giving too much away.

I will write something a little more meaningful after the new year when we have a chance to revisit the full picture.

Thanks for a great night at the Waterloo.

Late Book Review - The Beloved by Annah Faulkner

Well Ladies, I have been quite tardy with my responsibilities. No excuse really except not prioritising our beloved BookClub!  However not to let you all down, I am back on deck and will improve my game.  I am composing from notes so here goes.....
Annah Faulkner has done a lovely job in this book, the writing constructs beautiful imagery for the reader without being too complex and over-laden with adjectives.  Of course being Australian, we did think our ability to draw on our own internal references of our culture, and environment, helped to bring the quality of the descriptions alive. 

The themes of the storyline were subtle yet complex and our discussion was very engaging.  Some reflections from the group:
- Light but didn't lack substance
- The dilemma of parenthood, our hopes and dreams for our children and learning to surrender to our child's hopes and dreams.... Is not an easy road and the author explored this dilemma well
- The mother's history is compelling - It was such a poignant message, the wanting of security for her child yet at the sacrifice of her own expectations and longing, the need to allow Bertie to be who she wants to be. 
- The exploration of Bertie's steps toward individuation were at times both breath holding for the reader and celebratory as you journeyed with her steps toward finding herself and dealing with the ups and downs of childhood & her parent's
- One of the themes which stood out - was the influence of inter-generational stories - "what one carries in this generation, if not resolved, does come out in the next generation.  The nature of unfinished business whether we like it or not, is a shadow which walks along side.....yet with attention, the impact of the legacy of the stories which come before will and does soften."  There is room for transformation through the reconciling of differences and the acceptance of what has gone before.  Things can shape us, yet we are not those things.
- There is no escaping the power of the relationships between mothers and daughters, mothers and sons; Father's and daughter; and while the father son relationship was less explored in this story, the themes lead us to hold a lengthy conversation about the beauty and at times difficulties which the nature of these bonds hold in our lives.
- At the point where "Bill said No".... I was left with the palpable reminder, "you need courage to live your life well!"  What was memorable, was when each character was courageous enough to take the step to live well and true to themselves, for all the struggle, they were mor happy. 

Thank you Annah Faulkner - for writing this book.  It is truly a lovely read, with much content to provoke discussion.

Birthday Celebrations

Cheryl forgot the book again!!!!

Afternoon all,

Just confirming I have booked The Lark for 6pm this Friday night the 21st.  The Lark is at 1/267 Given Tce Paddington, on the right hand side of the road, outbound from the city.  It is near the Coffee Club.  I have booked a table in the courtyard but am hoping we can get a seat up in the lounge area.  I couldn't book the lounge area.  Looking forward to seeing whoever is able to make it on Friday.  Cheers  Jen

What a read :-)

Hi all,  Just finished 'The Beloved'.  Can't wait to chat about this when we next catch up.  I got the ebook off iBooks as it was a few dollars cheaper than Amazon.   See you in the 21st.  Jen

Message From Rachelle

Have been here and it was lovely.  Sorry 'bout the no show last weekend...have turned into a most unreliable person.  Kim was busy so I was stuck (in a good way of course) with the monkeys.  We ended up at Sandgate beach - it was beautiful.

Looking forward to catching up soon. 

Kim and I went to dinner sat Saturday night for a friend's birthday, first time we have both been out together with out children since Patrick was born.  We have a 40th this weekend and have been practising Paddy on the bottle - with success!  Looking forward to some normalcy returning soon.  I have been unwell with a virus, nothing really bad, just exhausting.

Hope you and En are well and happy.

Rachelle x

Gillians Garden Cafe - Somewhere We Must Try!

http://www.gilliansgardencafe.com.au/

September Book : The Beloved by Annah Faulkner

Cheryl's suggestion, the group pick.  This is a beautiful cover and available from local libraries, mine is already ready for pick up from the library; and it is a good price online.

This is a recently published book, June 2012.  The Australian Bookshelf, website writes,
 "Review- The Beloved is the debut novel by Australian author Annah Faulkner- winner of the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award for Emerging Writer. Set in Port Moresby in the 1950’s-1960’s, this story examines family dynamics, passion and a young girl’s determination to be true to herself."
http://australianbookshelf.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/aussie-book-review-the-beloved-by-annah-faulkner/

When are we meeting again,

Friday 21st September 2012
6pm, Location : The Lark, Paddington

Happy Reading !

A Life, A Review, A BookClub Breakfast ..... Good Ol' Charlie

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast at the Crosstown Eating House - the only downer was feeling to be made a little unwelcome because of holding a table for longer than they seem to like there guests to stay.  Oh well, the coffee was good and we all agreed, humbug to them!

Now a little about Claire's biography of Dickens.  While we all didn't get through the book....How many pages, did anyone ask that very important Q before we all agreed to read on.  Apparently not!  Not to worry, that is now a question we have decided to ask, while each looking at our busy diaries, to determine just how viable it might be for a few of us to complete a book in between sittings. 

Some might ask, "What type of bookclub are you?"  "Are you serious about literature, serious about reading, interested in expanding your mind through the art of reflective conversation?".  Well of course I can confidently say on behalf of all of us, "YES", "YES", "YES".  What i can proudly say is, "We are busy women, with a diverse range of commitments in our lives.  We read for enjoyment, we read to stimulate our thinking, we read to surrender from the structure and order of everyday life, we read to journey to other places, to explore through the eyes and voices created by the author experiences which are not our own.
And for Bec's Mark - it is hardly far to say we are the Bookclub where you don't need to read Books! So very wrong!!!! In the words of Catherine Tate, How very Dare You !!!!

Now onto Dickens, there was a resounding view that Claire the author, did a good job of writing this biography.  What stood out was the quality of how the author linked the description of Charles' character and significant life experiences with the themes and characters of his story.

Ruthie and Cheryl, really liked photos - and from now on, i think it is going to be hard to find books to outrate Dickens on the picture front. 

Oh, though i do remember a beautiful book we did read once which probably could top Dickens..... Bec your choice, a freddo for who can remember?

Now in closing, i accept, i was not a lover of this biography, but that is no reflection on the author's writing, it is more about my limitation to find relaxation and pleasure in reading biographies.  Maybe as i get older, that will change.  I am hoping it is something i will grow into.   However to be fair, the majority of the group did appreciate the quality of this book.  Our understanding of Dickens is that he was a man with his own character flaws and whilst he was a brilliant writer, writing was something he worked hard at to ensure his success.  He truly made being a writer a profession!  He was definitely not a perfect man and in many respects in spite of his interest to uplift the voice of the impoverished man and women through his writing and charitable acts, he was very traditional and conservative in many ways - and certainly could be quite harsh and uncharitable to people close to him such as his wife Catherine, who really did deserve much better.

Welcome other's comments.... Oh and the Challenge is out - for each of us to read a Dickens story sometime between now and the new year, for a New Year Dickens Revival! 

Cheers and Enjoy
V  

Crosstown Eating House - for Charles Dickens

Hi Ladies, 
We are meeting at the Crosstown Eating House  10am 26th August.

The location is 23 Logan Road, Woolloongabba - it is situated in the little antique precinct.

We will miss not having Dagmar along? If you haven't read Claire Tomlin's book.... It was quite a hefty read, can I suggest you bring along some thoughts about your favourite dickens books or characters for discussion! See you there. 



Lots of reading happiness to you - V  

Great Blogging!!!

Hi Ya Rachelle, No need for apols, your comments about the book are excellent and much more specific than my brief summary. You were definitely not alone with your feelings about Beau... Jen thought if he rolled one more cigarettes she was just as ready to close the book! Bec, Ruthie and Cheryl all cringed at the the first kiss, thinking of the cigarette breath and yellow finger nails! Clearly never ones to have dated a smoker :)  I don't know why, I just seemed to let that one fly right by my senses.
The blog I started for the very reason of our mums with bubs... This gives an opportunity for connection and participation. So make it if you can. Read if you can. Or blog about whatever is being read or eventful in your world!
Congrats on the christening event. I think it is awesome to be able to parent and plan a significant event. I would be lucky to get out of my PJs if I had 3 young children! I guess that is why I am childless and you are the brave one. Anyways, nice to hear from you and pls don't stop blogging or making it along if you can!  V xo

Apologies

An interesting email.  I was just in the shower composing in my head an email to send to the group, apologizing for my lack of attendance and my thoughts on the book thus far.  I was relieved I guess you could say of the reaction of the rest of the group to this novel.  I must say I hadn't read much about the book and reading the book has been a bit of a struggle and I didn't enjoy it anywhere near where I thought I may.  I haven't quite finished it yet (Bo and Annabellebeck - I did like the way he called her that - are just on their way to Verbana) so maybe it's too early to comment, but I too felt that the exploration of the themes was underdone...to me so much so that I found myself frustrated with the book and the characters and have not felt a great desire to persist with the book (although I have).  I thought the relationship with Bo was all a little too soon (realistically) and although Annabelle had been cheated on by her husband, doubted it possible that she could have the emotional capacity to engage in a relationship/romantic interests so soon.  I don't know what everyone thought of Bo.  I kept feeling that maybe I was supposed to be attracted or drawn to his character, but the more frustrated I became with the book the more his idiosyncracies grated on me.  I mean...he smoked so much...surely that's got to be a turn off.  Smoker's breath, tarnished, yellow fingers, dropping lit matches... I mean really uhhh!  And spitting out car windows?  Surely wouldn't Annabelle find that a little unsettling.  And I don't know why, but every time he called her my love, after just one night of love making made my stomach turn.  I'm not sure why I felt so harshly towards his character, I guess because he seemed to be someone with such presence and clarity of mind, that these just seemed like short comings.  And Arner - any discussion on him?  Come to think of it, Trace and Matthew sure did hit it off well....mmm...need I say anymore...does this sort of thing really happen?

I have to also agree with the first point below.  Although I haven't travelled much through the country in this story, I felt that his description of the landscape in many parts fell short.  However at times I did find the writing to be quite satisfying, "...the glittering bush beyond the dusty perimeter of the clearing the Hearns had made with their bulldozer, heat waves rising from the strewn rocks and dessiccated tussocks.  Now that the bulldozer had passed, a stillness among the trees again that might never have been broken, a persistent virgin quality in the bush that had not yielded to their presence and would close over once again after their departure and retain no trace of t hem."


I did intend to send this email and politely pull out of book club for the year as I'm finding it difficult to find the time to attend...but now that I'm at the computer maybe I'll try once again this month to (a) complete the book and (b) attend the meeting.  I'm hesitant to pull out as I've always enjoyed book club so much.  So I'm apologizing for my lack of effort thus far and promise to try a little harder this month.

Life here is good and things are starting to settle down and routine is once again almost happening.  We celebrated Charlie's 5th birthday on the weekend with a kindy party of McDonalds and had Patrick's baptism on Sunday - so it was quite a weekend.  Patrick was a good little boy and everyone was impressed, particularly the priest!  He'll be 5 months next week - where does the time go?  It certainly has taken some kind of adjusting balancing a third child and I'm just now starting to feel a little more confident about managing the household, although whenever I say that things usually change and go to poo.  So fingers crossed.  Charlie and Milla (Charlie in particular) have been quite sick this winter and I'm hoping that it is all behind us now as it is so exhausting.

Anyhoo, love to all.  I'll get on to the next book and I promise to try to be there next month.

Love Rachelle x

August Book : Charles Dickens : A Life by Claire Tomalin

Our next book thanks to Ruthie, is a biography.  It is the 200th year since the birth of Dickens.  A man who aside from his own strengths as a story writer, the biography written by Claire Tomalin, shows him as a man with foibles, weakness of character and positive qualities just like all of us.  The Gaurdian UK write, "Admiring but clear-sighted, illuminating but never so freighted with detail that it loses its pacey narrative thrust, this is a truly exemplary biography".
You can find out more about the celebrations of Dicken's life at the attached link.http://www.dickens2012.org/

Next Bookclub is Sunday 26th August 10am - Venue TBA (however a suggestion is, The Crosstown Eating House http://www.thecrosstown.com.au/ )

July Meeting - A brief Summary

Well Ladies, our most recent review of, Alex Miller's, "Journey to the Stone Country", was a mixed bag.  Overall it seems as though, the book didn't hit the mark for all of us.  As the 2003 Miles Franklin Winner, it probably wouldn't have recieved a gold star vote from all of us had we been asked to provide a comment.

The story of Annabel and Beau was an interesting way to explore the cultural and racial issues of colonisation and the persistence of racial disadvantage and oppression of our indigenous brothers and sisters.  The writing of Miller about these sensitive issues of our past and present, seemed under developed. It was a general view given the complexity and delicate hidden intricacies of the connections being explored, Miller left too many issues under suggestion without taking time to unpack the depth of the themes. Given the views of all present at our breakfast meeting, I think I will just jot down, some of the comments made by individuals, to provide a bit of the diversity of perspective.

• "enjoyed the landscape descriptions, but it didn't hit hte mark for all", "having travelled through some of the country, i could feel and see the imagery of what was being described", "the landscape descriptions really, I couldn't picture the beauty of our country as i know it"
• The relationship between Beau and Annable, seemed a clash of such difference; A couple of our group said, "couldn't see the sustainability of their love and that confounded believability of the quickness of the conneciton forming"
• resoundingly, a joint perspective.... "resolution of themes, unsatisfying.  The unspoken issues, not seeded into the depth of the characters. Their was a view writing failed to deepen the understanding of the less informed reader about the complexity of the issues.....", "if a reader was not Australian, i wonder how well they would have understood the nuances of the indigenous characters' unspoken gestures referred to by the author"
• The cross generation mending-healing process, as a core storyline was appreciated and in reality is the only way reconciliation and healing for a better future will happen.  There was important message expressed through the story of the novel.
• Writing style of Miller, was a little unsatisfying compared to the writing style of Australian authors such as Tim Winton and Geraldine Brooks.... The exploration of themes was underdone, left too late into the book and as a consequence there were too many unresolved issues which left most of us feeling unsatisfied about the exploration of the themes

So all in all, unfortunately i guess, it could be said, it was a reasonable book which we all enjoyed because it addressed themes related to our own history.  However in comparison to authors such as Winton and Brooks, as readers we were left wanting....... 

I am left with a last comment.... Maybe Miller achieved exactly what he intended, the feelings and issues we were left with from the read may not be s not such a strange place to be given the themes of our current time and the continue lack of resolution of equality of health and continued disadvantage generally for our indigenous Australians in relation to current time!

Sorry if i didn't do our discussion justice ladies, it ws such a diverse discussion!

V

Apologies

Morning all, Apologies but I won't be able to make book club on Sunday. We are in NSW at Scott's Head enjoying a long weekend. I have read Journey to the Stone Country and truly loved the depictions of the Qld country. I did however struggle to get my head around how quickly Bo and Annabelle ended up in a relationship. Hard to explain in a few short words why I felt this. Would be interesting to hear what the rest of you think. The frequency of Bo lighting up cigarettes became a real annoyance to me and I began to think this was a convenient way for the author to not write anything meaningful and just default to "Bo smoked a cigarette" "Bo rolled a cigarette".......am I just being picky???? Hope you enjoy the breakfast spot and a good chat. Cheers Jen

Celebrations at the Toohey's

> Hi girls,
> My sister Robyn, Lizzy, Jen and I enjoying a champagne. Jen bought Lizzy a yellow dinosaur cos it looks like a kangaroo from a distance. Our new family theme song is now "From a Distance".
> Aren't we crazy?

Fifth Element - our little nook!

Hi Ladies, this is the little nook I have reserved for our next Bookclub.
The address is Little Stanley St, far southern end.
Hope you are all enjoying the Alex Miller read. Oh and the Miles Franklin Award read looks great. Looking forward to talking about it.

Breakfast meeting on 22 July 2012

Hi Girls,

I mentioned at our last Bookclub meeting that "Fifth Element" might be a possible meeting place for our July 22nd catchup.  I checked it out again this morning and it has a great little nook that would be good for our purposes.  It serves brekky and coffees.  Staff are friendly and ambience good.  It is located on Little Stanley St at the far southern end.  It is the first business as you enter Little Stanley St from the southern end (end closest to Somerville).

Lets meet at 8 - 8:30am parking should be ok right outside Fifth Element should not be a problem.  This is not to say, we have to have a breakfast meeting if that was not agreed upon.

Happy reading.

Cheryl

Restoring the integrity of the Family Name

James Mayne contributed tirelessly to the community, a philanthropist and an honorable sincere man. Ruthie we missed you on tour!

The grave of Patrick Mayne

Hidden in a little pocket of Milton is the grave of the father of the Mayne Inheritance...

In Memory of Mary - St Stephen's Cathedral

On Tour - the Mayne Inheritance Brisbane

Cheryl & I are enjoying an afternoon around Brisbane visiting the highlights of the story of the Mayne family. The beautiful stained glass windows of St Stephen's Cathedral!

June Book: A Journey to the Stone Country by Alex Miller

Thanks Cheryl for this book. Winner of the 2003 Miles Franklin Award, this is going to be a great read!! It is a timely thematic read as we celebrate reconciliation and remember the voice, victory and courage of Mabo.
Paul Genoni writes,
"It seems inevitable that Miller would eventually turn his attention, and the joint search for self and place, to the Australian inland. In his new novel, Journey to the Stone Country, Miller deals with the journey away from the coastal fringe. It is a theme that has rarely been out of favour since Patrick White's Voss, and cannot now be tackled without addressing the issue of Aboriginal disinheritance. In this, Miller conforms to expectations."
Readings.com.au web page captivates you to want to get the book and start reading....

"With the consummate artistry of a novelist working at the height of his powers, Miller convinces us that the stone country is not only a remote and exotic location in North Queensland, but is also an unvisited place within each of us. Journey to the Stone Country confirms Miller's reputation as one of Australia's most intelligent and uncompromising writers."

'A terrific tale of love and redemption that captivates from the first line.' - Nicholas Shakespeare, author of The Dancer Upstairs.

Is "the Dice Man" Our Most Despised Read Yet....

Well, we had a very lively discussion over breakfast yesterday. I didn't take notes so I apologise in advance if my summary isn't quite upto scratch. Feel free to add more by posting comments. Oh, I should say in advance -- Bec we all do have faith in your literary choices, although we might seek a second opinion on your future cult classic recommendations! I can safely say, collectively we are unlikely to recommend this one to other bookclubs. Although I do need to say, this negative recommendation is based on our full acceptance and unashamed feminist analysis and critique of The book.

Now some reflections.... We had lengthy discussion about the themes explored in this book. The idea of living your life by the die, giving over free will to the randomness of the die to paradoxically provide a freedom from the constraints and habituated societal norms of society-is this achieved by dice theory.... Our view is No how can there be randomness and existential freedom, when the thrower of the dice sets the parameters of choice. While Luke R might want us to believe that dice living allows for deconstruction of the humanised self to a purer state of the Id. That is exactly what the author explores, an insatiable Id persona which grows in hedonistic, narcissistic stature as the story unfolds. There is no deconstruction of the personality as a process of self exploration, there is the anti effect and that is the pathway toward fuller self expression of a narcissistic, anti-social emotionally disconnected individual. Luke's dice therapy just gives him an excuse for self preoccupation, self indulgence and masochistic expression. The intensity of the sex storylines left one wondering about the meaningful purpose of them. In the end we were left feeling the author had a penchant for objectifying women, negros, and homosexuals, and for what purpose... The self gratification and satisfaction of the male character's most primal animalistic urges.
We wondered if the cult like fascination with this book was due to the social and cultural timing of it's release. The 70's was a progression of the sexual revolution of the late 60's. The allure of the dice theory as a way of spicing up and testing one's conservative ways, we can understand is likely appealing for some groups of individuals. But really... All in all it is just a big grown up's game of truth, dare, double dare! Unfinished adolescent business... And an excuse for bad behavior!!!
In a nutshell, controversial issues, over sexualised story, irritating unlikeable protagonist, and totally a nihilistic rant which not exclusively yet quite centrally and repeatedly objectifies and devalues women, and reduces men to the most primitive of levels.
Hmm not much more to add, except I did read this Bloggers review which was probably as close to our experience as I could find on the review lists. Search this site http://hannahdoublebarrel.wordpress.com/

I enjoyed the discussions yesterday, even though I did not enjoy the book - however, getting back to work after the nice morning tea, I remembered that there is a book exchange in the CSIRO library. Guess what - I exchanged "The Dice man" with "Small Island" written by Andrea Levy, one of the books Cheryl talked about! Winner!

Sunday Gathering

Hi There ......
Hope you are all looking fwd to catching up on Sunday. Thanks Jen for booking Hampton's. We are back at our old haunt!!! See you at our old FlowerShop, Yeh!

Hi all,  I have booked the Hamptons for this weekend's book club get together.  It sounds all rather posh doesn't it, but alas I am not offering a weekend of 'Kennedyesque' revelry but a more modest brunch get together at 10am at the Oold Flower Shop Cafe in Paddington, now called the Hampton's Cafe.  Look forward to seeing you all there.  I believe some lively discussion will be on the menu.
Cheers

Jen

Ok Pg 148 ... 1 little Gem!

Alright, I was just about to throw in the towel ( sorry Bec ) and then a read this thought provoking little gem. "what if we were to bring up our children differently? Reward them for varying their habits, tastes, roles? Reward them for being inconsistent? What then? We could discipline them to be reliably various, to be conscientiously inconsistent, determinedly habit free - even of 'good' habits"
An interesting challenge to think about...
V

How are People Going with this Book.....

Well Ladies - I don't know about all of you, but I am struggling.  I can't seem to get past page 50.  I stop and start and then find myself back at the beginning.  While it is meant to be a cult classic, I am finding Luke Rhienhart literally revolting and self-indulgent.  Someone assure me it gets better ---- please.

Reviews from the Good Read Blog, I am having trouble concurring with, yet I know I must persist because I really haven't given old Luke a chance.  Anyways here are the reviews, if any of you are struggling as I am!

A rollicking good read and an irreverent parody of American psychoanalytical culture, The Dice Man is entertaining, humorous, shocking, and subversive -- one of the international cult bestsellers of our time.

"Luke Rhinehart and The Dice Man have launched a psychiatric revolution". -- The Sunday Telegraph (London)

"Witty...reckless...clever, a caper at the edge of nihilism". -- Life magazine

"Weird, hilarious...an outlandishly enjoyable book". -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70912.The_Dice_Man

Love2Read

Hi Ladies,
Has anyone started the book yet? Just to let you know I didn't have to retrieve the book from my recycle to a good home pile. I had kept this little cult classic on my bookshelf, which is now by my bedside!
Check out the Brissie calendar of events @ love2read.org.au

Sent from my iPad
Ven-nice

Re: [Flower Shop Book Club] New comment on The Beauty of Edgar Sawtelle.

LOL I did say Luke R, first up but it was suggested by one of our esteemed reviewers I might have gotten it wrong! Guess I got it right on both counts!!!! Missed you the other night :) 

On 06/05/2012, at 8:53 AM, Dagmar <noreply-comment@blogger.com> wrote:

Dagmar has left a new comment on your post "The Beauty of Edgar Sawtelle":

OK, I got it... George Cockcroft (born November 15, 1932) is an author who writes under the pen name Luke Rhinehart.



Posted by Dagmar to Flower Shop Book Club at May 5, 2012 3:53 PM

2012 Shortlist for Miles Franklin Award Announced

2012 Shortlist for Miles Franklin Award Announced
Sorry about all these posts.  I have just joined The Reading Room website and I was experimenting with being socially networked/synced...not sure what it's called.  However, I hope you like the links.  They raise food for thought at least for those of us who are voracious readers...unfortunately that's not me but I wish I could be.  Thanks for looking.  :-)

WIN Free Books While Discovering a Gem of a Book!

WIN Free Books While Discovering a Gem of a Book!

The Best of the Best in British Nonficton Writing: The 2012 Orwell Prize shortlist announced

The Best of the Best in British Nonficton Writing: The 2012 Orwell Prize shortlist announced

The Beauty of Edgar Sawtelle

Well ladies, it was a lively discussion - thanks for a vibrant conversation. We missed Dagmar, Rachelle and Robbie yet we did hold you mind. Dagmar great choice! Rachelle the overwhelming sentiment is that yes this is a book worth finishing, though you might want to revisit it when you have a few more hours of uninterrupted reading time!
A few comments - definitely check out the links sent by Ruthie as the review on Geeb's website fits our collective experience perfectly.

Next book, The Dice Man by George Cockcroft. Date is Sunday 3 June at 10am.

The Miles Franklin Short-List - A Pair of Ragged Claws Books Blog | The Australian

http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/alr/index.php/theaustralian/comments/the_miles_franklin_short_list1/

hi Ladies I thought you might like this link ....

Cheers
Ven-nice

Hey Ven-nice what was that last post?  Looking forward to the book discussion Friday night.  Can't decide if I loved the book, got the book, understood all of the book or indeed whether I didn't like the book!!!  Very unlike me to be undecided.  But what I do know is that since I finished it I have continued to think and ponder the characters and the narrative.  Not often does a book keep me thinking beyond the last page.  Look forward to the chat and the company.  Cheers  Jen

Fwd: Man's best friend

Hi All - Ruthie I loved that email post.  I have tried to post the images onto the post without much success.  Weren't those pics beautiful!!!  They said so much about the beauty between humans and their beloved pets.

I think I'll have to give this month's book club a miss.  I must admit I'm really struggling with this book.  As you can imagine, I'm not getting a lot of time to read, but each night I try to get a bit further and I feel like I'm failing miserably.  I'm up to page 188 and feel like I'm getting very little back for all my efforts - nothing much has happened!  I feel there are good things in there waiting for me to get to them, but I just don't know if I can.  I'm kind of looking for the light tale that will aid me in drifting to sleep (not that I need much aiding at the moment).  The review you posted Ven-nice sounds great...but I don't think I'm going to get to the good stuff.  Let me know what I'm missing.  Got to run...babe awake!
R

Preparing For Our Book Review

In reflecting on this book I thought I would do some google search of other reviews, here is what Amazon Book Review had to say, In The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Edgar Sawtelle is a mute boy growing up on a Wisconsin farm that trains a unique breed of dogs. Edgar uses a sign language that lets him communicate easily with both his parents and the dogs. When his Uncle Claude comes to live at the farm, and then his father dies under mysterious circumstances, Edgar takes three dogs and heads for the woods. Edgar and the dogs struggle for survival in the wild, but he knows he'll have to eventually return and confront his uncle. David Wroblewski's debut novel has received glowing reviews with the New York Times saying, "One of Mr. Wroblewski's most impressive accomplishments here is to exert a strong, seemingly effortless gravitational pull. The reader who has no interest in dogs, boys or Oedipal conflicts of the north woods of Wisconsin will nonetheless find these things irresistible. Pick up this book and expect to feel very, very reluctant to put it down." It will be interesting to hear everyone's experience..... Especially the dog lover's amongst us, "a man's best friend" See you all next week.

The Book Group ABC Show - Episode 3 "Love in the Time of Cholera"

Hi Ladies,
I have just discovered this quirky new Tv series. Check it out on ABC iview, here is a link below to episode 3

http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/926384

Sent from iView

Sent from my iPad
Ven-nice

Hi all,  Plenty of our book on the shelf in libraries.  Annerley, Bulimba, Nundah etc.  I have just placed a hold and should have it in my hot little hands by mid week.

Hope you all have a peaceful and relaxing Easter.  Jen

Book availability

I have managed to buy a copy of our April book from Dymocks. Cost $19.99. Hope this helps. I haven't started reading it yet.

A new cool link

Hey Ladies IHope you are all planning a great Easter!
I have just found this great site called The Big Bok Club. It has lots of interesting book reviews and I have registered our Bookclub to receive a monthly e-newsletter which I can post. Cheryl you probably already know about this site. The Big Book Club Inc. is a not for profit community arts org. which promotes reading and literature (unlike our new premier!!!), so check the site out I think you will find it interesting.
Anyways I am enjoying a cup of tea in bed after doing an early drop off to the airport....

Oh and who has got the book yet? Dagmar I am having all sorts of trouble getting my hands on a copy, which is surprising, I thought it would be easy.

Enjoy & Not too much Chocolate.

A State of Literary Demise.....

Well ladies, you all would of heard of Can-Do Cambell withdrawing support for the Premiers Literary Awards!!!! Now I am sorry, the excuse of economic downturn just doesn't cut it. This is a clear sign about our new Premier's interest and lack of appreciation and commitment for the arts. Philosophers like Descartes, Aristotle, Plato and ShOpenhauer would turn in their grave, not to mention authors such as Oscar Wilde, Lord Byron, Jane Austen and Tolstoy. Or maybe they would have been use to the narrow mindedness of their times and been staunch advocates and emissaries of change. The written narrative of our contemporary writers does more than tickle an elusive itch in terms of creative thought, the narrative of our contemporary writers provides a diverse and rich philosophical commentary on life in all it's dark, light, complexity and simplicity. Without authors nurtured and encouraged a whole episode of our historical and cultural time is lost. Roads and balanced budgets don't provide much in terms of a cultural remembering etched forever in the journals & chapters of the stories of our time. I am not sure how you are all feeling but I feel anxious for our community arts sector both big and small over the next period of time.

New Links Bar

Hi Ladies I have added a new gadget on the left hand side of the blog-it is a spot for adding interesting links to websites. I have added Ruth's recommendation for outofprintclothing .... It is a really cool site so check it out. Good present ideas too!

If you have some links either to websites or blogs let me know I am happy to add so we can share the love! Just send me an email.

Cheers, I am now off to have a coffee and croissant in Acland St, St Kilda!

Next Meeting 4th May - wine and book review at the 2e's abode!!!

Just to squish any confusion, and with the firm reinforcement from JC and Dagmar .... Here is that actual date of our next meeting. For people who were hoping to download this book there seems to be a little glitch with Amazon, so if you have luck with any other e-book provider pls post to let those of us that have't had success know about your triumphant search!

Enjoy

Book for April - Edgar Sawtelle

Thanks Dagmar for choosing this book - the reviews are fantastic, so looking forward to hearing how everyone enjoys it.  If you want some pre-reading prompts to get you into the mood, try Oprah's Bookclub Review.
Our next meet is at Cheryls (2e) - she will send out an email with more personal details.  Remember it s a Fri evening 4th May  

Cheers and Enjoy ..... Oh and Happy B'day Dickens!!!!

Sunday 25th March - Book Review

Well Ladies - Lovely meeting again to talk about our recent read, "Poor Man's Wealth" by Rod Usher.  Thanks for the choice JC it was good choice, which certainly could be recommended as a holiday read.
Now to be fair not all of our bookloving crew enjoyed this book,which always adds to an interesting critique of a novel.  A brief summary of some peoples perspectives.... (sorry i didn't catch them all down)
JC- "a quiet peaceful book"
R - "everything ens up just as it should be in the end"
V - "a lovely story with some important thees explored about relationships"
2e ; "some very likeable characters"
Bec..... "I just need a little more sleep...."
D - "I just couldn't quite get into it, the author writing his lead character as the writer with ESL just didn't pull it off for me".
We all agree some interesting story lines and a story that made you realise, life isn't always greener on the other side and there is appreciation to be had in even the most ordinary of life's nuances.

Hope you have all stared to enjoy some of those nano naps - the people of Higot so keenly and swiftly came to savour.

Cheers V

Happy 200th Birthday Dickens!

I am planning to go to a talk on Dickens (another Robyn F put me on to it) at the State Library if anyone is interested. http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/calevents/general/talks/deepen/dickens Hopefully we can include one of his works this year, or a Doctor Who take off, maybe have a Dickens party where we dress up as a favourite character:)

Apologies...

Hi all, I won't be able to make book club this month...may have been a tad ambitious of me to think that I would be able to finish the book (I haven't even had a chance to buy it yet!). Things here are going well, but am just inundated with completing centrelink forms, washing, feeding and trying to catch up on the sleep I'm missing. Also to further create chaos this weekend, Kim is heading south on Friday for a cousin's wedding and will be away all weekend. As much as I love my children, I appreciate all your friendships far too much to test them with having my children attend breakie this Sunday. (BTW, Milla loves books. When I went to tuck her in tonight, I found 17 books in her bed!)
Finally finished Love in the Time of Cholera, and whilst I did enjoy it... I always enjoy a good love story, I found Florentino just so hard to like. I think it was the grooming of and affair with America Cicuna that finally turned me off and although he felt some sorrow over her death, the fact that he thought it best just to erase it from his mind. There were some beautiful passages in the book...which I'm struggling to find at the moment... but I did like this one towards the end,
"It was as if they had leapt over the arduous calvary of conjugal life and gone straight to the heart of love. They were together in silence like an old married couple wary of l ife, beyond the pitfalls of passion, beyound the brutal mockery of hope and the phantoms of disillusion: beyond love. For they had lived together long enough to know that love was always love, anytime and anyplace..."
Enjoy Sunday. Hope to be in better form next month.
R x

Checked out the d flower shop today (now called the Hamptons)the old room is no longer but there are some tables that would accommodate us and they do take bookings for 5/6 people on weekends. But happy to go where ever suits most. Jen

I am keen to give the Austrian cafe a go. The Cooparoo patisserie also sounded rather yummy! Jen

Possible Venue Options for March Meeting 25th 10AM

So where will we meet?  That is the Question.... Cheryl has explored Woolloongabba and doesn't think this is a great option.  We are going for morning tea, so that changes things somewhat, but we are still looking for somewhere quite nice for a coffee and chat.

Here are some options and I am open to taking votes....

Option One - http://www.dandeliondriftwood.com/ Danelion & Driftwood at Hendra, probably a little small spot but great coffee

Option Two - Three Monkey's at West End http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1361201/restaurant/Brisbane/Three-Monkeys-Coffee-Tea-House-West-End

Option Three - Cream Patisserie at Coorparoo http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1360341/restaurant/Coorparoo/Cream-Patisserie-Boulangerie-Brisbane

Option Four - Lido Cafe, Ascot Road, Ascot

Let me know & I can book a table .....

Poor Man's Wealth by Rod Usher - Book for March

Our book for March for those of you who need a reminder is, Poor Man's Wealth by Rod Usher. 

The Harper Collins Publisher book summary goes like this,
"Part fable, part love story, part comi-tragedy, Poor Man´s Wealth is narrated, somewhat unreliably, by El Gordo--the Fat One. He is the mayor of Higot, a dusty village in an unnamed Spanish-speaking country under military rule. He and the secret Marisol Committee--a group of local councillors--dream up a plan to save the village from economic death and the exodus of its young people, especially now that tobacco--their one source of income--is a suspect crop. They start a hoax. El Gordo, whose charming English comes via a library bequeathed to him, argues that the hoax which so changes the life of Higot is no more a deception than, say, the Loch Ness Monster, Ireland´s Blarney Stone, the Colossus of Rhodes... Can they pull it off and attract tourists to unattractive Higot? Will the hunchback Bartolomeo, a sex scandal involving a bicycle, or the military junta blow the hoax apart, see its perpetrators ′disappeared′?

I have read Shantaram quite some time ago - I loved the first 2/3 of the book, but not that much the last 1/3, although I have to admit, I cannot really remember why....

A North Coast Perspective

Posted by Robyn.....

Hi everyone,
It sounds like the first event went off strongly. I am very sorry I was unable to attend. I agree with the comments posted. Thanks ven for organizing blog and posting comments. I have tried repeatedly to make gmail happen and have even had an account previously. I need to wait for tech support. I'm currently reading shantaram so I may not make it the next book in time.
Looking forward to keeping up on the blog though.
Love rob

Re: Getting the Band Back Together - February 2012

Post by Bec....

Hey V, thanks for taking the time to share I totally agree about "The Help"
it could've been so much more but I guess that has been done before. I am
LOVING L in T Cholera - been a while since I've read a book of that
calibre, your comments make me just want to read on... Looking forward to
touching base soon and still looking forward to my first bookclub revival...
xo

Re: March Book Club - Sunday 25th 10.30am

Post from Clan2e

Subject: Re: March Book Club - Sunday 25th 10.30am

 

Hi All, I drove through the Woolloongabba Antique centre on Sunday morning at 10:30am. It was very crowded. People lined up to get into cafes.  No parking at that time of the morning unless you park in surrounding streets. I would suggest a different location.  There's a lovely new little coffee shop in the Stones Corner precinct. It's next to a little bookshop.  I will check it out and see if it's up to our high standards and report back.

 

:)

C

PS. Good luck on Friday Rachelle...hope everything goes well for you and bubby.

 

Getting the Band Back Together - February 2012

It has been a long while between coffees and there has even been  baby or two.... It was lovely for us to get together again on Sunday - We did miss you Robyn and Bec!
We had a healthy discussion about our 2 books of the month, Ti: The Help, Au: Kathryn Stockett; and Ti: Love in the Time of Cholera, Au: Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
2 books - 2 very different periods of time and genre.  Both are stories which explore the intensity of relationships, the meaning those relationships bring to one's sense of belonging, identity and experiene in the world - yet through 2 very differen naratives.
In 'The Help' we are invited to take a peek into the experience of african americans during the african-ameican civil rights movement of the late 1960's, and in 'Love in the Time of Cholera' we are are invited to reflect on the meaning and intensity of love and the impact the notion and experience of love has on the formation of one's identity.

The were many different views expessed in our discussion & I will take author's penwoman ship to characterise the differet levels of our discussion. 
'The Help' is one of the many tea cup, coffee table books definitely worth a read as a modern popular novel.  It brings to the fore some important themes, yet we all agreed it presents a loose and at time flimsy portrayal of what it must have felt like to live with the fear and intergenerational oppression in a racially bigotted and the discriminatory social climate of the times (and generations before).  Kathryn Stockett's attempt to highlight the love and respect which existed between the classes of black and white, is lost somewhat in the reality of abuse, violene and over-riding oppression of segregation laws and behaviours of the time.
'Love in the Time of Cholera' is a beautifully written book.  Every paragraph laden with richness which commanded presence of attention of the reader so as not to loose the potency of the love story.  A book which is to be savoured and not read quickly or when tired.  A remarkable love story spanning more than fifty years.  Oprah said, "one of the greatest  love stories I hve ever read...It is so beautifully written...it will make you ask yourself how long couldyou,or would you, wait for love?".  Characters which will endear themselves and at other times invite you to be less than generous in your appraisal of their character and choices. Sounds just like the nature of caring relationships - love and care always, yet not always approving in our judgement or liking of behaviours displayed in others whom we love dearly.

NOW this is just a very rudmentary start, not at all reflective of all of the perspectives at thte table from our Sunday morning coversation.  Feel free to add posts too....