Welcome – Wollongong Library Book Club Blog

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Warrawong Book Talk December Meeting

Book Talk’s December meeting on Monday 14th December at 2pm will be a planning  meeting, when we will decide what we want to read next year. We will share Christmas goodies along with our usual tea and coffee, and briefly talk about what we have been recently reading.  That should keep us busy for the time we have together.  New members  are always welcome to join our group.  If you are interested in the idea of joining a reading group come along and meet and have a chat with us,  and see what we are up to in 2010

Diane Group Coordinator.

Warrawong Book Talk

The group enjoyed Markus Zusak’s book The Messenger and are very keen for him to write another book.  We loved the way it was structured,  and the language used. The characters were very well developed and believable as people.  We enjoyed the element of mystery where Ed had to first work out what the cards meant and then once he had found the people  concerned how to help them We weren’t exactly sure about the ending of the book but to most of us it didn’t matter.  We were completely taken with the story. It is a story of hope,  and coming of age.  The group rated it a 7.5 out of 10.

Thirroul Library Book Club – People of the Book

Geraldine Brooks’ People of the Book is a fictional novel based on fact. The Book is an ancient, rare Jewish manuscript called a haggadah - a prayer book with beautifully illuminated painted miniatures depicting the exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt.

Each year the Jews commemorate this event with a seder feast when the family would pass the haggadah around the dining table as they ate, sang and prayed.

The people of the book are Jews, Muslims and Christians – all feature in the history of the haggadah through the Spanish Inquisition, pogrom, dispersion, two World wars and the recent ethnic war in Sarajevo.

There is Hanna Heath (Sharansky), the Australian book conservator extraordinaire, Ozren Karamen, the chief librarian of the Sarajevo museum library, the Kamals, Lola a young partisan, Herr Mittl the Viennese Christian book binder, Werner Heinrich, Amitai Yokov, Zahara - a Moorish woman, Amalie Sutter, an entomologist, Vistorini, a Catholic priest, Ruben Ayeh, a rabbi, an emir and an emira, a forensic scientist, representatives from the United Nations, Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc. etc. Some characters are based on real people others are entirely fictional.

The dedication “For the Librarians” is for the Sarajevo librarians who put their lives on the line to save this rare book throughout its history. Muslims saving a Jewish book? Yet it is a book that brings people of all cultures and religions together – a treasure to share and conserve.

The book is well researched – a busy book which leaps from Sydney to Sarajevo to Spain to Venice to Vienna to London, to Boston, outback Australia and back to Sarajevo. It jumps from the present day back and forth through the centuries and back to the present, which makes it a bit disjointed and sometimes difficult for the reader to keep the continuity of the novel. It has a central theme, but many, many stories which keep you glued to the book – a great read.

Warrawong Book Talk October meeting

For our October meeting members discussed a biography that they had read.  We had a wide variety of subjects and titles and as they say “truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction.” Members rated the books that they had read. Here are some of the titles shared.

The Wolf by Richard Guillatt and Peter Hohnen - a WWI story telling how one German raider terrorized Australia and the Southern Oceans in the first World War.  Scored 7

Never say die by Chris O’Brien – the story of the Australian cancer specialist’s struggle with cancer. Scored 7

Last tango in Toulouse - The second of Mary Moody’s books. Life can begin again at fifty. Scored 7

Destined to live: one woman’s war life and loves remembered – Sabina Wolanski with Diana Bagnall. This book tells of her early years.  She was 12  when her town in Poland was invaded by the Nazis.  It then goes on to tell of her life in Australia.  Rated 7.5

The forgotten children by David HIll.  The story of the children from poor British families who were transported to Australia between 1938 and 1974 to solve the problem of child poverty in Britain and to populate the colony. Rated 7

Dreams from my father: a story of race and inheritance by Barack Obama The story of his early years and his search to discover more about his father who died when he was very young. He had only met him once. This was a journey that would take him to Africa to meet up with more of his family there. Rated 7

If you are interested in one of these subject areas why not give one of these books a go.  All are available in the library.

Diane – Group Coordinator

Warrawong Book Talk November meeting

Earlier this year our Book club read The book thief  by Markus Zusak and enjoyed it very much.  It has been our top rating book scoring 9.  This month we will be reading another of Zusak’s books I am the messsenger.   This book is the story of Ed Kennedy, a cab driver and card player, who loves Audrey.  Ed lives a routine life in a surburban shack with his dog until one day his life is changed when he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That is when he becomes  ” the Messenger.”  He has been chosen to care and receives his first card the ace of diamonds. All the other aces follow and Ed must work out who it is that needs help and how to help them.  And then at the end of the story there is only one question left that needs an answer. Who has chosen Ed to be the messenger?   New members are always welcome to join our group.  The November meeting will be on Monday 23rd Novmeber at 2pm and if you would like to join us on this day and need to read the book ask at the desk for your copy.

 

Wollongong Bookworms – The Slap; by Christos Tsiolkas

Lots of mixed reactions to this one! Set in modern Australia it tells the story of the repercussions after a member of a family after having slapped a child at a family bar-b-que

What do others out there think about this one?

I thoroughly enjoyed this read- Ruth

Dapto Library Tuesday Book Club – October book Orpheus Lost

Orpheus Lost is a powerful and disturbing novel that spans America, Australia and the Middle East.

In the ancient myth, Orpheus travels to the underworld to rescue his lover Eurydice from death. In this compelling re-imagining of the Orpheus story, Leela travels into an underworld of kidnapping, torture and despair in search of her lover. A mathematical genius, Leela has escaped her hardscrabble southern hometown to study in Boston. There she encounters Mishka, a young Australian musician who soon becomes her lover. Then one day Leela is picked up off the street and taken to an interrogation centre. There has been an ‘incident’, an explosion on the underground; terrorists are suspected. Her interrogators reveal that Mishka may not be all he seems. But as she struggles to digest all this, Mishka disappears…

This book is the first of Janette Turner Hospital’s that our group has read and generally the feed back was positive for her writing style and talent. We all found the story intriguing with a well drawn plot and praised the inclusion of current social and political issues. It was agreed that only a talented writer could pull this one off! If you would like to learn more of what we had to say, visit our blog Over the Fence and read on.

 

Dapto Mystery Book Club September Book -The Mephisto Club

Tess Gerritsen proved a little too much for some of our members. Her graphic descriptions and presence of evil made for some uneasy nights. But for those of us with less queasy stomaches, we carried through and had a good discussion on the genre of ‘mysteries’ and what is now the difference between a mystery and a crime novel.
As for the characters, Bob was unsure as to how realistic they, and the workings of the US law enforcement, really were. And how far are we to suspend believe in such things?
The Mephisto Club was Patricia’s choice and she really does enjoy Tess Gerritsen’s novels. As for the rest of us, we may not be rushing back, but we found it interesting to make the journey into her world and believe that if you have a soft spot for thriller crime, you’ll enjoy this and probably all her titles.

Dapto Tuesday Book Club – book for September Sarah’s Key

This fictional account of the Vel d’ Hiv Jewish roundup in Paris had all our opinions and emotions flying. But one thing we did agree on was the important knowledge of this World War II event the book imparted. Very few of us had ever heard of it before. If you are interested in reading more, visit our Blog Over The Fence and hear more of our views.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy-Corrimal Bookchat 1

Set in the dying days of the planet, with scorched earth, and most signs of life obliterated, a man and his young son trudge their journey. We hope the Road leads to deliverance, but that is for the reader to decide. We argued over details, and wondered how two relatively whole human beings could be left to share their way with such horribly damaged souls. We revelled in some lovely passages and poignant exchanges. One of us, (and she’s no wimp!), gave up. But most agreed that tho’ it was a very hard row to hoe, it was worth the journey.

Robyn Cashman

Cormac McCarthy won the 2007 Pulitzer prize for “The Road”. His works include ” No country for old men” and ” All the pretty horses”-Rod