Meeting Details
| Frequency | Monthly (September to June) |
| Time | 1.45 pm |
| Day | Friday (third of the month) |
| Duration | 1 3/4 hours |
| Location | Castle Street Centre |
| Coordinator | Clare Courtier |
What we do
As a group we plan a programme of reading for up to about a year in advance. For each meeting a member introduces the chosen work, and this is followed by a discussion. The books we choose are mainly novels, both classic and modern, but, for variety, we may include a play, a selection of poetry, and/or a biography. We also have regular 'Own Choice' sessions at which members have an opportunity to discuss any book which has interested them.
We are not just a 'reading group'. We like to look in some depth at various aspects of the work in question, such as: How is it structured? What themes are explored? Is the description effective? Are the characters believable?
This is a friendly group and would appeal to anyone with a love of reading and lively discussion. We usually gather a few minutes before 2 pm and begin each meeting with tea/coffee and biscuits. However, at the moment we have 24 members so hope to start a second group in 2009.
We try to keep down cost by borrowing sets of books from the County Library service, and by buying cheap, paperback editions.
Reports
October 2010
Next term's programme is:
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January 20th Own Choice
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February 17th Good Wives, by Margaret Forster
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March 16th Restless, by William Boyd
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April 20th The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
In January we start the New Year with an “Own Choice” session when all the members have an opportunity to talk about a book that they have recently read and would recommend to others. This is also the meeting when we vote on the book that was most enjoyed, or made the greatest impression, in 2011. Although “We Need to Talk About Kevin”, discussed in October, was not exactly “enjoyed” by everybody, it did provide material for a very interesting discussion and no one failed to finish it!
Clare Courtier
July 2011
In May we read Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis, a selection of poems by Wendy Cope; these produced lively discussion and even the people who admitted that they do not usually like poetry enjoyed this session. After reading Jamaica Inn in June we look forward to finding out more about Daphne du Maurier when we read her biography by Margaret Forster in November. We also wonder if some people will have seen the new film We Need to Talk about Kevin (it was shown in Cannes in May) when we come to discuss this book in October. It certainly added interest when we were talking about A View from the Bridge in April that so many of us had just seen a performance of the play in Keswick.
Our next programme is:
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September 16th: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards;
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October 21st: We Need to Talk about Kevin, by Lionel Shriver;
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November 18th: Daphne du Maurier, by Margaret Forster.
Clare Courtier
