This is the first book I have read by this author, although I know that he is well-established, having written the Bartimaeus sequence of novels and a number of others. It was the cover which drew me to this one whilst I was browsing around Waterstones about a year ago. I had a flick through it and placed it on my 'to be read' list and I finally got around to it over Christmas. I'm so glad that I did. From the first page the reader is drawn deftly and cleverly into a well-drawn world of teenage ghost-hunting with darkness and humour in equal measures. The book is written through the eyes of Lucy who is a young ghost-hunter with special talents. This surprised me at first as I had expected the viewpoint character to be Anthony Lockwood, given the title of the series, but it worked extremely well. Lucy interacts closely with Lockwood, together with a third agent, and the reader therefore sees these characters through her eyes and all three of the teenagers are central to the story. A sinister atmosphere of spookiness and mystery is established quickly at the outset and the style of writing is extremely accomplished whilst being accessible. For me, every aspect of this book delivered strongly: from vivid characterisation to a plot more complex and satisfying than I was anticipating to the detailed world-building involved in setting up an England in which different types of ghosts roam free after sunset and are hunted by talented children. It is lively, funny and chilling with wonderful attention to detail. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series and would recommend it as an original and gripping read. For those of you interested in categorisation - this is not a book aimed at grown-ups, although it is definitely one that many adults would enjoy. (When it comes to categorisations for books for middle grade and teens, I get confused but I think that this probably falls within the 10 plus range, although I've noticed a review or two on Amazon suggesting that 10 might be a little young - I wouldn't like to say as I suppose it depends on the child). With 85 out of 87 Amazon reviews giving this book 4 or 5 stars (the majority give it 5), I am clearly not alone in appreciating the work of this imaginative and talented writer. Loved it! I didn't set out to write a collection of ghost stories. If you'd asked me little more than a year ago what I was working towards I'd have said 'the eventual publication of a children's novel and breaking into the women's magazine scene'. But then I saw a competition advertised for a ghost story. I forget which publication it was (probably either Scribble or Writers' Forum) and I decided to give it a go - I was having no luck with the women's mags and knew that the novel was floundering. By this time I had already entered and won or been placed in a number of short story competitions so I knew the drill and embraced the challenge. Always one to be thorough, I set about my research. Here's how I went about it: 1 I borrowed The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories from the library. It contains true Gothic gems from the likes of Sir Walter Scott, Bram Stoker, E. Nesbit, H.G. Wells and Algernon Blackwood. Further, it has an excellent introduction broken down into three parts which serves as an informed access point into the world of the English Ghost Story with a consideration of its varying components over a period of time. I soon came to realise the value of the book and purchased a second-hand copy from Amazon. Then I set about using the introduction and a number of key stories to compile my own notes on the subject. I photocopied four of the stories which I then highlighted and annotated with thoughts and observations. 2 I read the winners of recent ghost story competitions. Whilst I instantly knew that I loved the old fashioned ghost stories I had discovered in The Oxford Book, I thought that it was important to familiarise myself with stories which were winning modern competitions. There are many ghost story competitions run each year and I didn't find it too difficult to get my hands on a few of the top entries, particularly as I tend to buy Writers' Forum and Writing Magazine anyway. 3 I watched a tv programme compiled and presented by Mark Gatiss on the palpable talent of M.R. James following which I tracked down a number of his stories (free or cheaply on Kindle). By this point I knew that I wanted to try something in the Victorian style. I just loved the atmosphere and the imagery and was also curious as to what I would produce having read fairly deeply into the genre. 4 I read an article by Jonathan Stroud about how to write a ghost story. I've tried to find it to include a link in this article but cannot lay my hands on it. It was for Waterstones, I think. 5 I purchased and read a Wordsworth classic: The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton. These are so good that they nearly put me off having a go! I'm glad that they didn't. Lesson learned: try hard not to be intimidated by the quality of other writers, particularly those considered to be among the best there has ever been. Even they must have started somewhere. 6 I read Dark Entries by Robert Aickman. This was another turning point for me. Written in the 1960's, this book contains six tales which are not necessarily ghost stories but defined by the author as 'strange tales'. Again I made notes as I went along and, whilst I found the endings of some of the stories a little too open for my taste, there was no doubt in my mind that I was reading the work of a master of his craft. 7 I set about writing The Final Soul. I'm not sure exactly where the idea came from. I remember wrestling with the plot for quite a long time before putting pen to paper but once I started writing, I couldn't stop. Don't get me wrong, the words didn't fly onto the page; I thought about every single one of them. I drafted and redrafted and despite the recommendations of many a writing tutor, my thesaurus was my best friend for the several weeks it took me to finish the piece. I then put the draft away and wrote a second fairly quickly thereafter. I called the second story Rock Me Gently and I Shall Sleep (and Pray the Lord My Soul to Keep). Now this one did fly onto the page. I was a little surprised at how much I relished describing hands of grey flesh with the appearance of gardening rakes thick with rotting leaves and eyes still bulging with violent death. I really got into the groove. When I'd finished, I revisited The Final Soul. 8 I submitted The Final Soul to a competition and paid a small amount extra for feedback. I always try and secure feedback when entering a competition. It's one of the main ways in which my writing has developed and I find it an invaluable resource (assuming that the person giving the critique has a decent level of experience, of course). The story didn't win but was given a 'highly commended' rating and the feedback was really positive, except for a plot hole at the very end which I had not spotted. Once I had got over my frustration at having made such a stupid mistake, I redrafted the story and went back to working on the novel. The journey ended there for a while, although the stories never really left my head. I knew that they were among the best things I had ever written and I got a real kick from their production so when I made a new writer-friend who offered to read them for me I nervously agreed to send them over. I'm happy to say that he loved them and encouraged me to write more. At the time I was still struggling with the children's book - I was on the wrong path with it and didn't know how to sort it out - so I jumped at the chance to revisit the dark, the Gothic and the downright strange, during which time... 9 ...I visited some real locations to get a sense of atmosphere and inspiration. The first of these saw me take a trip to York, a natural home of the ghost story. A separate piece on this trip can be read HERE (Using Real Locations In Your Writing). I also took a tour of the delightfully creepy Leeds City Varieties Music Hall where I decided to set my final tale. The grandfather clock in the bar features in the story. Both trips were hugely helpful and definitely added authenticity and some surprising angles to the stories I ended up setting in these locations. Going on tours or around old buildings can be a fantastic stimulant for ideas. 10 After my visit to Leeds City Varieties I tracked down some old music hall tracks on You Tube. The tinny and crackling gramophone effect really created a sense of atmosphere and helped me step into the situation I was writing about. It also gave me inspiration for the title to that story: We All Go The Same Way Home. It took a while but eventually I ended up with eight stories, each of which I enjoyed working on and I was proud of the end result. The project took me to a place with my writing that I would not have previously thought possible. I think it was something about the tone, the darkness, which brought out the best in me in a way that my other writing just hadn't done. I found that I could still write mysteries, romances, twist stories all within the overall umbrella of the ghost story. In the end I gleefully abandoned my quest to break into the women's magazine market and instead threw myself, hammer, stake and gargoyle, into writing the collection which found its way into the world as Into Dust and I loved every minute of it. I've been circulating more book reviews than writing updates lately so I thought that it was time to publish something a little more personal. I'll keep it (relatively) short! Last year was an adventurous one for me, writing wise. I learnt so much in a short space of time, progressing quickly from the two ghost stories I had written over the summer of 2014 (these were not the first things I had produced but they were the pieces I felt most strongly about at the time) to a completed book of 35,000 words which is now available via Amazon (click HERE). Publication date was six months ago and I have already posted several articles on the additional skills I needed to acquire/develop in order to produce Into Dust in both paperback and e-book formats. I haven't yet composed anything, though, on my thoughts post-publication. The main reason for this is that I cannot make up my mind what to say. It has been an exciting and educational (even sociable) experience but I can't deny that sales were disappointing and, although my book is 'out there in the world' and I am proud of it, not many people have read it. I'll leave it there for now and do a full piece when I have decided upon the points that are worth making. Since making Into Dust available I have been spreading my writing time between:
So that's where I am up to. It is looking like it will be a good long while before I have any new material to put out except, perhaps, if I decide to enter the fantasy shorts in competitions later in the year. In the meantime I will hopefully push forward with the novel and of course, much of my attention will go towards having my second baby boy. In the meantime I would like to say a huge 'thank you' to anyone reading this who purchased Into Dust and to those of you who assisted in its production and sale. You know who you are. Every single reader and/or word of encouragement means the world to me and your support is invaluable. Have a wonderful new year. Bernie x I came upon this author only a few weeks ago whilst killing ten minutes browsing in WH Smiths. I don't mean that she was actually lurking in the store but rather that my eyes were drawn to a book called 'The Cheapside Corpse' which had an interesting cover and, upon closer inspection, promised to be a historical mystery. When I realised that it was the latest in a series I decided to acquire the first one and start from the beginning (for once). If you have been reading my reviews on a regular basis you'll know that I struggled with my last read and, if I am being honest, with a few books which I have not reviewed on here. I therefore needed something to restore my enthusiasm; something which was both well written and absorbing. I'm so pleased to say that this book was definitely that something. It was first published in the UK in 2006 and begins a series following the adventures of Thomas Chaloner, an English spy recently returned to Restoration London from Holland. He finds himself penniless and in need of work. He turns to his previous employer and is soon treading a very fine and consistently dangerous line between a number of interlinked investigations and intertwined relationships. There is plenty of murder and intrigue to satisfy lovers of crime novels and the setting is so vivid that it drew me in at once and will doubtless appeal to fans of historical fiction. London in 1662 is brought to life superbly and in a subtle way which does not involve reams of description but rather provides an immersive backdrop to what turns out to be a complex story. It is extremely accomplished and I was not at all surprised to find that this author has an extensive back catalogue featuring another series character, Matthew Bartholomew, (set in the fourteenth century) and that there are many Thomas Chaloner novels for me to devour. It was a total pleasure, feeling like I was in the hands of an experienced and talented writer who would not let me down. Having said all of that, I can see how some readers might find the sheer numbers of characters in this book overwhelming. Indeed, I found it hard to keep up at times, especially since many of them were referred to sometimes by first names, by second names and also by their titles (eg the Earl). At times I was lost but I went along with it and I kept up most of the time. A strong lead character with a few key people around him helped. but make no mistake, there is a lot going on in this book. The writing is so smooth that it is not difficult to read in that sense but the layers of complexity do necessitate a fair amount of recapping - done largely through the thoughts of Thomas Chaloner. So if you are looking for something simple, perhaps this isn't for you but I personally adored the fact that there was so much going on, lots of twists and red herrings and colourful characters. For the first time in a while I reached the end of a novel wishing I had the sequel already on my bookshelf. A hearty thumbs up and five stars from me. In the new year I will doubtless be reviewing some of my Christmas reads, but I also hope to post a few writing-related articles. I am thinking: an update/reflection on how the experience of self-publishing 'Into Dust' has gone and also a piece on how I began writing, the path I have taken so far and some of the key decisions I have made along the way. In the meantime, thanks for reading and have a wonderful Christmas holiday x I've not been looking forward to writing this review. I did think about not posting it at all but I invested a significant amount of time in reading the book and it raised several points which, I decided, might make for an interesting piece. Further, this author has already sold millions upon millions of copies so I don't think my little blog will cause much consternation. I have, however, decided not to use the book cover as I don't want to get into any copyright hot water. I have thus far taken the view that if a review is favourable, a publisher is unlikely to take issue with an image used in a post which gives free, positive publicity but as my review is going to contain a number of negative comments, I decided to go with some lovely pictures taken by my brother when he went to Istanbul last year which, I can assure you, directly relate to the novel's plot. I am assuming that most people reading this will already be familiar with Dan Brown and his novels, which include the hugely famous The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons so I will move straight on to his latest book and the subject of this review Inferno. Inferno was first published in the UK in May 2014. It is the fourth book in a series which features fictional renowned symbologist Robert Langdon. I have read the previous three books plus the other two novels which this author has published and, with the possible exception of The Lost Symbol (which I had a few issues with towards the end) I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. I was therefore very much looking forward to Inferno, particularly as I had been reading something heavy and demanding beforehand and was craving some light relief - a good page turner which would keep me guessing whilst engaging my brain sufficiently that I felt entertained throughout. Unfortunately this isn't what I got. Now, there are plenty of four and five star reviews out there for this book so thousands of people were obviously thrilled by it and I respect that. I believe that people should read whatever they enjoy and I don't like it when people look down upon the work of a particular author on the basis that they write popular fiction which is perhaps lacking in heavy-weight literary merit. I attended a literary festival a few years ago where the panel engaged in frequent 'Dan Brown bashing' and I found it uncomfortable. Therefore, I was hoping to love this novel but sadly found myself disappointed. After giving this review considerable thought, I have decided to break it down, with childlike simplicity, into 'things I liked about it' and 'things I didn't like about it' with the hope that I will give a balanced view. Things I liked about it: Locations - The cities used within the novel greatly appeal to me. Florence and Istanbul are portrayed as beautiful, vibrant places steeped in history and the author has clearly immersed himself in both. Sights and smells were brought to life and iconic buildings described in detail. I did, however, find aspects of the setting problematic and these are covered below. Dante references - Each of Dan Brown's books is based around a historical/artistic theme and set in one or two well known cities which complement the narrative. In this case the poet Dante Alighieri, and in particular his infamous work The Divine Comedy, written during the early fourteenth century, formed the backdrop to the puzzle and chase at the heart of the plot. This was a big draw for me and I found the insights into Dante fascinating. I had recently read parts of The Divine Comedy and so had a natural interest in it as a backdrop for a modern mystery/thriller. So far so good. The pacing, after about page 200! - This is also a good point and a bad point. I found that the first half of this book dragged but it suddenly picked up about half-way through and I found myself much more engaged and reading more quickly. Things I didn't like so much Character development was sketchy - Ok, so this is meant to be a fast-paced thriller and it features a series character with whom many of the readers will already be familiar but this doesn't mean that character depth can be ignored completely. I still need to care about these people and I found that I did not. The main character is rather flat but my biggest issue was with the female counterpart, Sienna. Fair enough, the author tries to make her bright and capable but it was done in a very cumbersome and inconsistent way. We are told rather than shown so much about her that it read like a character synopsis. I found descriptions of her appearance to be cringe-worthy and the interaction between herself and Robert Langdon in the first half of the book made me squirm at times, it was so flat and stereotypical. Description - Atmosphere was severely lacking, at least until the mid-point. The word 'eerie' was used dozens of times to the point where it jarred me out of the story every time it appeared. It makes me wonder where his editor's head was. Eerie is a good word but there are plenty of others and its constant use came across as lazy. Location - Whilst I found the settings to be attractive and interesting, I was puzzled by the way in which much of the information and description was inserted into the narrative. Rather than being cleverly woven into the plot, there were huge paragraphs of informative text just dropped into the book, slowing down the action and, to be honest, much of it just seemed out of place at times. The writing style - I wasn't after something beautifully crafted when I picked up this book but I did expect something professionally put together. After all, this is Dan Brown. He has made millions of dollars and doesn't churn books out. I would have thought, therefore, that significant time and effort would have gone into his latest offering. The resources available must have been immense yet, in my opinion, it reads like an early draft. It was too long (a hundred pages could have been cut and it would have been better for it), the same words were repeated regularly, often in the same line or paragraph, the use of the singular 'was' and the plural 'were' was dubious in several places, the reader is repeatedly told how the characters 'felt' (again - this is meant to be a fast thriller and the action shouldn't be slowed by too much description but I thought it went too far - Langdon 'felt' one way then Sienna 'felt' another way all the way through and it started to grate quite early on) and the whole thing 'felt' clunky. A thorough edit and a rewrite could have made it a much more satisfying read and I think this is what annoyed me most. This isn't his first offering and I know he can do so much better on the basis that his earlier books were a pleasure to read. Such a dip in quality is a real shame and I found it a little insulting. To end this point on a positive note, however, I found that many of these issues were in the first half of the book. Then it mysteriously picked up in quality and tempo and I even began to enjoy it - reminded of his earlier books which I found so engaging. Plot - My main issue with his last book The Lost Symbol was that the plot faded away at the end. I just ddidn't buy into it. Having said that, it managed not to spoil the entire book hence my desire to read Inferno. I have to say, the plot in Inferno didn't quite hold together for me either, at the end. I don't want to include any spoilers so I will simply say that I think he just about got away with it again but I would have liked to have been presented with a more satisfying conclusion. In summary I was relieved when I finished this book. Whilst it had its plus points and I would not knock anyone for enjoying it (or anything, for that matter!) I found it to be too poorly put together to get any real joy from it, although it improved markedly from around the mid-point. I am glad that there are people still enjoying his work but I don't think I will be reading his next offering. TODAY ON THE BLOG I welcome Jennifer Joyce and her luscious new book The Mince Pie Mix-Up. I am delighted to have her here and hopefully her tale of success will motivate and inspire other writers (as well as me). So, here goes... Hi Jennifer, thanks for agreeing to be interviewed on my blog! It’s great to have you here. Hello and thank you for having me! We first ‘met’ on Twitter last year and I have been delighted to follow your progression from self-published author to your recent deal with Carina (Congratulations, by the way!). I was going to do a piece on you as a ‘spotlight on a self-published author’ but as you are now a fully-fledged traditionally published writer, I will have to change the title! As someone who has been involved with both publishing routes, your experiences will be of interest to many of us writers. Shall we start from the beginning and work our way to The Mince Pie Mix-Up? Thank you! And yes, that sounds like a good plan to me. Can you tell me when you started writing? I’ve always made up stories, scribbling them down on bits of paper and filling up notebooks when I was younger. When I was around ten, a teacher took us to our local library where a children’s author was doing a talk and I remember sitting there thinking this is what I want to do when I’m older. It hadn’t occurred to me before that I could write actual books. You have self-published two novels, A Beginner’s Guide To Salad and Everything Changes But You.Tell me a little about the experience with those two books. Did you seek a traditional publisher or did you fancy going it alone from the beginning? I’ve always wanted to go down the traditionally published route and I’d never planned to self-publish. But when I wrote and submitted A Beginner’s Guide To Salad to agents and received rejections (some were lovely, encouraging rejections but rejections all the same), I knew I couldn’t give up on it. I loved writing the book and I adore my main character, Ruth. I couldn’t shelve her so that’s when I decided to look into self-publishing. Ruth was going out into the world one way or another! As I’d already self-published my first novel, I did the same with Everything Changes But You. I know you designed your own covers, how have you found doing everything yourself? What lessons have you learned and what have you enjoyed most about it? I’ve had to learn everything from scratch as I had no idea how to design a cover. There was quite a bit of head-scratching when I first opened the program as it looks so complicated. Even the ‘helpful’ guide had me baffled! So I decided to jump in feet first and learn as I go. It seems that every time I open the program (I use Gimp, a free program that’s a lot like Photoshop) I learn something new! Although it can be frustrating at times when I can’t figure out how to get what’s in my head on the screen, I loved making the covers and even make them for the short stories I write for fun on my blog. I love playing around with images, colours and fonts until I find the one that fits. Do you have any other books in your top drawer awaiting rescue or were these your first two book babies? I’m not sure I want to even think about the monstrosities I wrote (and submitted) before A Beginner’s Guide To Salad. They were awful and won’t be seeing the light of day as they are far beyond rescue! I see you have some short stories on your website, did these come before the books or were they something that you did later? I wrote my first short story for my blog for Christmas 2011, when I was still writing and submitting to agents. It was just for fun but pressing submit on that first one was nerve-wracking! I like to put short stories on my blog at Halloween and Christmas as I love these times of year so it’s great to write about them. Can you give me 5 bullet point tips for self-published writers?
How did the deal with Carina come about? You must be absolutely delighted! I am stupidly delighted! I started writing The Mince Pie Mix-Up last November and was planning to self-publish it as I had with A Beginner’s Guide To Salad and Everything Changes But You but decided to take a chance and submit it to Carina as you don’t need to have an agent. I was stunned when I was offered a two-book deal with them. Can you tell us a little about the book, without any spoilers of course! The Mince Pie Mix-Up is a bit like a festive Freaky Friday. Judy and Calvin both think their other half has an easier life. Calvin works full-time for a mean-spirited boss who is constantly breathing down his neck while Judy ‘only’ works part-time at the local village tearoom. Judy bears the brunt of the childcare and wishes Calvin would help out more around the house. One night, they’re given the opportunity to swap lives over the festive period and they take it! So, what’s next?? Carina will be publishing another romantic comedy early(ish) next year. The story revolves around Delilah James as she tries to find a date to take her oldest friend’s wedding. Thanks Jennifer. The best of luck with all your books and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next! Thank you so much for having me on your blog! Jennifer has a lovely website over at www.jenniferjoycewrites.co.uk where you will find details of all her books and her Facebook and other sites. I follow her on Twitter via @Writer_Jenn.
Book Reviews: The Case of the Exploding Loo & The Case of the Exploding Brains by Rachel Hamilton10/11/2015
First up is The Case of the Exploding Loo, the first book in a developing series starring twelve year old Noelle Hawkins and her unusual family. You can probably tell by the title and the cover that this is a children's book and one that promises to be full of quirkiness and humour. The plot is centred around the apparent death of Noelle's wacky scientist father, who the police believe self-combusted whilst visiting a portaloo. But Noelle isn't convinced and sets about trying to uncover the truth about her father and the mysterious 'brain ray' he had been working on before the explosion.
This book moves at an engaging pace and I found it refreshing to read something which was pure fun, with pieces of science thrown in to add an extra layer of interest. It is written in a hugely entertaining style and the characterisation is extremely strong. Humorous illustrations complement the text and there is a series of 'clue boxes' which set out various important aspects of the investigation and help the reader to follow a plot which turns out to be more meaty than I expected. In my opinion, this is a terrific read for children. I know I would have absolutely adored it thirty years ago and it still gave me much pleasure now.
The Case of the Exploding Brains is the second book by Rachel Hamilton and follows on from The Case of the Exploding Loo, reviewed above. Once again Noelle Hawkins has a mystery to solve. This time it involves the seemingly impossible theft of a moon rock from the museum. But nothing is that straightforward for Noelle. It turns out that the moon rock isn't quite what it seems and needs to be recovered before it affects the brains of everyone who comes into contact with it. As if that wasn't enough, Noelle strongly suspects that her father is once again at the heart of the puzzle as his behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre.
As with its predecessor, this book is paced beautifully and engaged me from the start. If anything, I enjoyed it slightly more than the first one as the characters were familiar and had come together to form a team. This mystery involved more clues, more red-herrings and lots of fun. There is teamwork, deduction, humour and slap-stick comedy. What's not to like? I'm very much looking forward to the next installment and can only applaud Rachel for coming up with such off-the-wall, clever and well thought out stories. Great stuff.
I’ve read several books since my last published review so it is catch up time. Today it is the turn of Starborn, the first in a new epic fantasy series by debut novelist Lucy Hounsom. If you follow this blog you will know that I met Lucy at a Waterstones event some months ago and obtained a signed hardback copy of her book. Lucy was extremely generous with her time as the audience picked her brains relentlessly on her route to becoming a published author and she was hugely likeable and eloquent. A review of that event can be found HERE. You can probably tell, therefore, that I really wanted to like this book and be able to share a positive review with you all. Fortunately I have no problem in recommending it - it is well written and absorbing and an exciting introduction to a brand new world. So, a little about the plot... The story is set entirely within a fantasy world and revolves around the fate of Kyndra, young girl whose coming-of-age ceremony is disrupted when she inadvertently breaks an ancient relic revered by her village. She is forced to flee as everything she has ever known burns around her and two mysterious strangers give her little choice but to join their travelling party. As Kyndra and her new companions embark on a journey to the hidden city of Naris, she knows that her life will never be the same again. I found the world to be convincingly drawn and the characters interesting, particularly the two strangers who were travelling through Kyndra’s village at the time of her ceremony. Part-way into the story, Kyndra begins to have visions and I found it a little difficult at first to keep track of the multitude of characters across the visions and reality but it all came together nicely in a satisfactory conclusion which set up the story for book two. I have to say (without including any spoilers) that the ending surprised me a little. I thought that the story was going in one direction but that aspect of the plot was wound up quickly in the end and the characters went another way. In the next book, I look forward to Kyndra developing further and I hope to discover more about Nediah and Bregenne (the two strangers from the beginning of the story) as they really did become engaging characters and injected some depth and passion into the plot. In the meantime I hope that Lucy is enjoying her well-deserved success and is, of course, knuckling down with the rest of the series!! On a personal note, the first story from my book INTO DUST can be read for free HERE. An old-fashioned fireside ghost story, perfect for Halloween. The first story from 'Into Dust' is available free on this website on the Into Dust page (click HERE) until Halloween. It is the first supernatural story I wrote and really got the whole thing going. I hope you like it. For my piece this week I thought I would take a look at the role of the ‘book club’: why do people join? What do they hope to get from being a member? How do such clubs influence the literary world? And by ‘book club’ I mean a gathering of people, either physically or online, for the purposes of reviewing and discussing books. I first began thinking about this article some weeks ago when I was in the midst of a flurry of coffee dates with friends. Several of them separately mentioned their attendance at ‘book club’ and it got me wondering whether this was something which was on the rise. So I did a little digging and I became intrigued. It seems that meeting up with friends or family to talk about books is going on all around me: behind closed curtains, through cafe doors, in large groups which welcome strangers and in small, intimate parties of two or three. I had no idea and it pleases me greatly. You have probably gathered by now that I am not a member of a book club. It is something I would have embraced at almost any other time of my life but, right now, it is just not practical and so I have had to satisfy myself by peeping through curtains and hiding behind sofas (metaphorically, of course or it would be creepy) as I vicariously experience three very different examples of the ‘book club’. Can I say at the outset a big ‘thank you’ to the groups who have shared their experiences. First up, let me introduce to you to The Book Club at the Neighbourhood Cafe, Liverpool. The Neighbourhood Cafe is located in Allerton, the suburb of Liverpool where I grew up (although the cafe did not exist back then). It is owned by Lynn and she throws open the doors for book club once a month, with a break during the summer holidays. Two of my family members attend (‘Hi’ to Aunty Chris and Cousin Mary), along with between 20 and 50 other people. There is a charge of £5 per session and this includes nibbles. All ages are represented but the clientele is predominantly female. The set up is informal. Attendees form smallish groups, made up of people who may be strangers, and they talk about the chosen book while Lynn does the rounds and stimulates discussion. A sheet of questions is made available at the outset to give groups a good starting point. The selection of books is usually made by Lynn, although she is open to suggestions. Some members borrow the chosen book, many buy cheaply on Kindle or second-hand and some buy new copies. The books vary in genre, age and tone ranging from classics penned by Aldous Huxley, Edith Wharton and George Orwell to contemporary works by Angela Carter, Maya Angelou and Jeanette Winterson. Stephen King and Gillian Flynn have also made the cut in recent years. A recent book to be read and discussed by the group was The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice, a 1950’s ‘rites of passage’ story which Cousin Mary thoroughly enjoyed. This wonderful club has been providing stimulation, companionship and stories for around ten years. Long may it continue. www.neighbourhoodcafe.co.uk/book-club/ For our next stop let me take you into the living room of one of the lovely ladies of the circle which gathers in North Leeds once a month on a Thursday. The group comprises around 10 women who met, on the whole, via their young children. The group was established by Zuzana McMillian and each member takes turn to play host. Zuzana co-ordinates the calendar and the person who hosts the meeting selects the book. Recent titles have included The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Paying Guest by Sarah Waters and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Members try to borrow the book wherever possible, although some do buy copies, either in paperback or as an e-book. The host opens the meeting by explaining why she chose the book and what she thought of it. Each member then states whether or not, on balance, they enjoyed the book and the discussion generally goes from there, although sometimes questions lifted from the internet are used as a basis for the conversation. The host provides nibbles, perhaps in line with the period or country in which the book is set and, importantly, everyone brings liquid refreshment! The book club forms a basis for wider social activities and the group may have a Christmas meal together, or visit the theatre or cinema, particularly if the production relates to a book which has been read by the group. This is a group of good friends who enjoy reading fiction, sharing their thoughts in a challenging discussion and spending time in each other’s company. For our final stop we are taking a journey South. To Watford, in fact, where we can find book blogger Sarah Watkins cuddled up in her living room with her cats together with her nephews and nieces chatting about whatever reading material they fancy. They call it ‘Book Chase’. ‘I’m an aunt to three nieces and two nephews, aged between 8 and 14 years old,’ says Sarah. ‘A couple of years ago the girls and I thought a monthly book club would be fun; the boys were more non-committal at that point. My nieces came up with the name, with a little help from my dad – chase is an old printing term (both my dad and granddad were printers in Watford’s glory days as a print town) and coincidentally contains the initials of all the kids! The premise of Book Chase is that we meet up and talk about anything that we’ve enjoyed reading over the past month. There’s no set book, in fact it doesn’t even need to be an actual book; magazines, comics, football sticker albums are all welcome. If it has a reading element then it ‘counts’. This rule is important for us because we have a wide range of reading ages as well as abilities and no one should feel excluded from the club. Until recently the girls have been more bookish than the boys, but Beast Quest and Alex T. Smith’s Claude books have turned one nephew into a reader, and the other one has always loved having stories read to him. We take it in turns to present our reading matter to everyone else, in reverse age order! Sometimes people bring a stack of things, other times just one. My eldest niece is quite strict that everyone pays attention whenever someone is speaking; when the kids tell each other off for not respecting each other’s turn I can’t help but smile. I read lots of children’s and YA books (I was a children’s bookseller for years) so I always talk about a book I’ve read too. Sometimes we read a story out loud. We also occasionally go out on trips, to a bookshop or library, or do book-related craft activities. We’ve been doing Book Chase for over two years now and I love it. If we miss a month at least one of the children will nudge me about the next one. The two older girls keep notes of each meeting! I hope we keep having them for years to come.’ I love the idea of this club: an adult encouraging reading in children without imposing restrictions or snobbery on their selections. Sarah’s opinions about books can be found on her blog at www.andthenireadabook.blogspot.co.uk and she can be followed on Twitter as @janesharp1671. So there we have three accounts of the ‘book club’. Each offers something a little different to its members whilst doing a wonderful job of keeping the art of telling and sharing stories alive.
Thanks again to everyone and happy reading! |
Bernadette KeelingI love most types of fiction - crime, mystery, fantasy. Oh, and historical fiction of course and middle-grade books and, well, you get the picture. Subscribe for Blog updates via email:Categories
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B.M. Keeling