A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian!
(Commiserations to whoever voted for Life of Pi)
Now all we need to do is wait until everyone has a copy of the winning choice and then we can start. Over to you guys!
Taps foot impatiently...
Read more!
Thursday, 27 November 2008
I can't wait any longer!
My copy of A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian arrived today! As voting seems to have stopped, I've altered the poll to finish in half an hour. Hope no-one minds. See if you can spot the subtle change to the blog picture when the poll ends :-)
Read more!
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Vote for one of Cornbread's books
... one vote per person, mind!
Wish I'd set an earlier date for the poll vote to close - I'm keen to get started on reading the first book! Looks like Tractors is unlikely to be beaten.....think I'll take a chance and get a copy from ebay now.
Oh no....so many to choose from! Shall I settle for a cheap paperback or shell out a bit more for the tactile pleasure of handling a hardback?.....The deed is done, I have made an offer on a hardback and am now waiting to hear back from the seller.
Yay! £3 offer accepted! I promise I won't start reading it until everyone in the book club has their own copy. Read more!
Wish I'd set an earlier date for the poll vote to close - I'm keen to get started on reading the first book! Looks like Tractors is unlikely to be beaten.....think I'll take a chance and get a copy from ebay now.
Oh no....so many to choose from! Shall I settle for a cheap paperback or shell out a bit more for the tactile pleasure of handling a hardback?.....The deed is done, I have made an offer on a hardback and am now waiting to hear back from the seller.
Yay! £3 offer accepted! I promise I won't start reading it until everyone in the book club has their own copy. Read more!
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
and here we go now....
Brother cornbread has come up with the following excellent suggestions:
Life of pi by Yann Martel
"After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The crew of the surviving vessel consists of a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan, a 450 pound Royal Bengal tiger and Pi - a 16-year-old Indian boy. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary pieces of literary fiction of recent years. ... Yann Martel's Life of Pi is a transformative novel, a dazzling work of imagination that will delight and astound readers in equal measure. It is a triumph of storytelling and a tale that will, as one character puts it, make you believe in God. Can a reader reasonably ask for anything more?"
A short history of tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
"A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is set in Peterborough, where 84-year old Ukranian immigrant Nikolai Mayevskyj announces to his daughters that he's in love and will remarry. The object of his affection is Valentina, a 36-year old old Ukranian woman with a visa about to expire and a pair of marvelous breasts. She's determined to use Nikolai to achieve the Western lifestyle she's assured she deserves, and he's willing to let her while he works on his book about the history of tractors. Meanwhile, his daughters, although markedly different in outlook and lifetime rivals, band together to thwart Valentina's ambitions. Valentina's turns their family home inside out, digging up old family secrets in the process. It's a battle of wills with all the participants shaped by their own pasts through recent Eastern European history. Marina Lewycka's novel is a comic look at family bonds and Western lifestyles and has received mostly positive reviews. The Telegraph says, "Lots more happens but the plot is really a vehicle for social satire, some good jokes and an overdose of slapstick. It adds up to a clever, touching story."
Rites of passage by William Golding
"An ancient ship of the line converted to general purposes is making her way from the South of England to Australia. She carries a few guns, some cargo, some animals, some seamen, some soldiers, some emigrants and a few ladies and gentlemen. There is a clergyman of the Church of England. There is Wilmot Brocklebank, lithographer, marine artist and portrait painter. There is a young army officer.
"Representing the higher echelons of administration is young Mr Talbot, setting out with the utmost confidence towards a distinguished career. But the voyage teaches him some unexpected things. It affords him more opportunities for observing the ceremonies that mark a progres through life - more chances for a mixture of acute observation and sheer misjudgement - than he could possibly record in his journal; though, for his godfather's entertainment, he tries his best. Though Talbot is mistaken in Deverel, instructed by Mr Summers, seduced by Miss Brocklebank, and shocked by Miss Granham, he finds it unnecessary in the event to keep an eye on Mr Prettiman. But it is a sadder and more responsible man who learns from the Reverend Robert James Colley what a bitter taste there is to remorse when it is unavailing. "
Any one of these three sounds promising. Unless anyone else is desperate to get started on a different book, all we have to do now is figure out a way to make the first choice! Any suggestions?
(Taking Cornbread's lead, we could take turns at proposing three titles each which should ensure we don't stay within our comfort zones!) Read more!
Life of pi by Yann Martel
"After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The crew of the surviving vessel consists of a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan, a 450 pound Royal Bengal tiger and Pi - a 16-year-old Indian boy. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary pieces of literary fiction of recent years. ... Yann Martel's Life of Pi is a transformative novel, a dazzling work of imagination that will delight and astound readers in equal measure. It is a triumph of storytelling and a tale that will, as one character puts it, make you believe in God. Can a reader reasonably ask for anything more?"
A short history of tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
"A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is set in Peterborough, where 84-year old Ukranian immigrant Nikolai Mayevskyj announces to his daughters that he's in love and will remarry. The object of his affection is Valentina, a 36-year old old Ukranian woman with a visa about to expire and a pair of marvelous breasts. She's determined to use Nikolai to achieve the Western lifestyle she's assured she deserves, and he's willing to let her while he works on his book about the history of tractors. Meanwhile, his daughters, although markedly different in outlook and lifetime rivals, band together to thwart Valentina's ambitions. Valentina's turns their family home inside out, digging up old family secrets in the process. It's a battle of wills with all the participants shaped by their own pasts through recent Eastern European history. Marina Lewycka's novel is a comic look at family bonds and Western lifestyles and has received mostly positive reviews. The Telegraph says, "Lots more happens but the plot is really a vehicle for social satire, some good jokes and an overdose of slapstick. It adds up to a clever, touching story."
Rites of passage by William Golding
"An ancient ship of the line converted to general purposes is making her way from the South of England to Australia. She carries a few guns, some cargo, some animals, some seamen, some soldiers, some emigrants and a few ladies and gentlemen. There is a clergyman of the Church of England. There is Wilmot Brocklebank, lithographer, marine artist and portrait painter. There is a young army officer.
"Representing the higher echelons of administration is young Mr Talbot, setting out with the utmost confidence towards a distinguished career. But the voyage teaches him some unexpected things. It affords him more opportunities for observing the ceremonies that mark a progres through life - more chances for a mixture of acute observation and sheer misjudgement - than he could possibly record in his journal; though, for his godfather's entertainment, he tries his best. Though Talbot is mistaken in Deverel, instructed by Mr Summers, seduced by Miss Brocklebank, and shocked by Miss Granham, he finds it unnecessary in the event to keep an eye on Mr Prettiman. But it is a sadder and more responsible man who learns from the Reverend Robert James Colley what a bitter taste there is to remorse when it is unavailing. "
Any one of these three sounds promising. Unless anyone else is desperate to get started on a different book, all we have to do now is figure out a way to make the first choice! Any suggestions?
(Taking Cornbread's lead, we could take turns at proposing three titles each which should ensure we don't stay within our comfort zones!) Read more!
Woo-hoo ... lift off!
Two brave souls have given me their e-mail addresses, so soon there will be three posters on here! Cornbread, I agree with you that it would be best to choose something we've never read before, so we come to it fresh.
There is the potential problem of all team members not being able to get hold of the same book, given that we're spread out a bit, so I thought a good way to get over this, would be to pick something from this year's Booker Prize list - I've included a link to the website in this blog. I'm going to try find 2 or 3 likely candidates and if everyone else does the same and names their choices in a post, we can have a vote on which to tackle first. Read more!
There is the potential problem of all team members not being able to get hold of the same book, given that we're spread out a bit, so I thought a good way to get over this, would be to pick something from this year's Booker Prize list - I've included a link to the website in this blog. I'm going to try find 2 or 3 likely candidates and if everyone else does the same and names their choices in a post, we can have a vote on which to tackle first. Read more!
First stumbling block
I'd like to make this a team blog so that members can put their own posts up and don't have to keep checking long lists of comments to see what each other thinks about the current topic. Here's the catch....Blogger says I need e-mail addresses to create members. I realise folk may not be comfortable about this. If you're happy to let me have your details, put them in a comment - I won't publish it.
I suppose the alternative is to create a post out of each comment. Que sera, sera. Read more!
I suppose the alternative is to create a post out of each comment. Que sera, sera. Read more!
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Help!
I'd love to be a member of a book club, it would kick start my old love of reading (which has to be good thing, right?) and it would be fun and fascinating to share opinions with others. I can just imagine myself retiring to bed at a sensible hour and reading a chapter or two of the chosen book before drifting off to sleep. Much better than the current routine (11pm time check)!
The trouble is, I just don't have space in my life to fit in book club get-togethers. So I had this idea...I will create a blog where my very own book club bloggers can meet and choose books to read and discuss. What do you think? Good idea, daft idea?
Would anyone like to join me? Any thoughts on the first book?
Oh crikey, its 00:59! Goodnight x Read more!
The trouble is, I just don't have space in my life to fit in book club get-togethers. So I had this idea...I will create a blog where my very own book club bloggers can meet and choose books to read and discuss. What do you think? Good idea, daft idea?
Would anyone like to join me? Any thoughts on the first book?
Oh crikey, its 00:59! Goodnight x Read more!
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