tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31833669142713888402024-03-06T08:26:30.596+00:00Prince Philip Hospital Library Book ClubBook Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-92221174182654950912018-01-24T12:33:00.000+00:002018-01-24T12:33:00.206+00:00The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O'Farrell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Almost the entire book group managed to finish this book and they almost all enjoyed it too! <br /><br />We found that having no chapters made this book a little tricky in terms of finding places to stop, but that the different voices within the book were very clear meaning we didn't get confused even with the lack of chapters. <br /><br />We had a long discussion about how women were treated in this paternalistic version of the world, and sometimes they still are in this day and age. We felt that we needed a little bit more about how Esme lived in the institution, what was her life like etc. We did get a little of this but we wanted more just so we could understand things a little better. We were also interested in finding out a little more about how places like these closed down, it all just seemed so sudden and with so little thought for the people living there. <br /><br />We liked the ending of the book but we do worry for Esme, what exactly will happen to her. Given how long she has been institutionalised it could be difficult for her to get used to living out in the real world.<br /><br />Overall we gave this book 8 out of 10.<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-63458597327134941462018-01-24T12:32:00.002+00:002018-01-24T12:32:21.711+00:00The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello,<br /><br />Don’t forget that the next book club meeting is on 15th December, not the last Thursday of the month! Also, we’re having our pot luck that night so please let me know what you would like to bring if you haven’t already.<br /><br />Here are some questions for this months book so you might want to look away now if you haven’t finished the book:<br /><br />• When Iris gets the call from the psychiatric hospital, she is put in a very difficult position. What does she stand to gain and lose from the decision she eventually makes? What would you do in her shoes?<br />• Why do you think Esme was sent to Cauldstone, and never released to go home? Do you think she is mentally unbalanced? Give examples from the book to support your opinion.<br />• As Iris discovers more about Cauldstone, she discovers some of the more outrageous reasons that women were sent to "mad houses" like it. According to the novel's descriptions of that time period, what do you think drove this trend? Do you think changes have occurred in our view and treatment of women who don't "behave"? Why or why not?<br />• How did you find the end of the book? Can you think of any alternative endings that might have worked? What do you imagine will happen to these characters after the last page is turned? Has the author satisfied your interest in these characters?<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-30089761643706682042018-01-24T12:31:00.001+00:002018-01-24T12:31:16.566+00:00Moriarty - Anthony Horowitz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Everyone in the book group had finished this book but not everyone had read the short story. It doesn't honestly matter if you've not read the short story it's just an interesting additional element. We were left wondering why there was a short story in the first place.<br /><br />As this is a Sherlock Holmes type of book we were all reading it looking for any red herrings or twists that had been put in to put us off the scent. We were all wondering for example who the coughing man was, was he relevant to the story etc. Having done this throughout the reading of the book when it came to the end we were left wondering if this did actually need to be a Sherlock book at all. It was a good book but it doesn't really need to be a Sherlock book. We felt that there were a lot of elements that were missing and just didn't feel quite like a Conan Doyle Sherlock book, but what was Horowitz trying to achieve with this book? Just to slightly emulate the style or to truly add another book to the Sherlock canon?<br /><br />We all felt that the ending of the story was very much telling and not doing. There wasn't as much action as we were expecting especially given that some of the group had previously read some Sherlock stories and there is a certain amount of action in some of them. <br /><br />Overall we gave this book 6 out of 10.<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-59654172353832028662018-01-24T12:30:00.002+00:002018-01-24T12:30:34.969+00:00Moriarty - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello everyone!<br /><br />I hope you’re all enjoying this months book club book Moriarty. Here are some questions you might like to look at while you’re reading the book:<br /><br />• Have you read any of the Sherlock stories mentioned in the book, or indeed any Sherlock stories at all? Did you decide to read some prior to getting into this book? Did you find that this new book was faithful to the original Sherlock stories?<br />• Were you upset that this story is narrated by people other than Sherlock and Watson? Or did you find that this was a positive thing?<br />• Would you consider this a good crime novel, did it keep you guessing or had you figured everything out way in advance? Did the pacing suit the story, did it grab you and carry you along or did you feel that it dragged a little?<br />• The most important question, did the ending catch you completely by surprise? Be honest! <br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-79760253974467485122018-01-24T12:29:00.002+00:002018-01-24T12:33:13.678+00:00All The Birds In The Sky - Charlie Jane Anders<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Almost all the book group finished this book even though many in the group felt that the book meandered around a lot. Many of those who got to the end felt that it fell a little flat and weren't impressed with it. We are wondering if there will be another book and this will become a series given the openness of the ending.<br />
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We all felt that this book was a lot of different genres all mixed together making it tricky to decide what kind of book you were reading. This made it difficult to decide how to read it because we weren't sure what was going to happen next. We felt that maybe the author needed the courage to pick just one genre and stick to it rather than stuff all her ideas into the one book. <br />
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We weren't entirely sure when this book was set, we felt it might be in our very near future but in a slightly different time line to ours as they were going through the beginnings of an apocalypse and we don't think that's what we're going through at the moment. They had some technology which felt similar to ours such as the caddy, but it wasn't quite the same as things we have. <br />
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There were a lot of interesting characters within this book but they were unfortunately not looked at very closely, we all wanted to hear more from a lot of the background characters. Maybe this would have fleshed out one of the story lines a little more.<br />
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Overall we gave this book 6 out of 10.</div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-86155774995279575062018-01-24T12:28:00.002+00:002018-01-24T12:28:54.377+00:00All The Birds In The Sky - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello,<br />Here are some questions about this months book that you might want to look at once you’ve finished the book in time for the meeting:<br /><br />• Which side did you feel more drawn to, the magical or the SciFi (nature versus science)?<br />• This book is compared to The Magicians by Lev Grossman a lot, has anyone read that book, or watched the TV series? Would you say the two books do compare?<br />• How did you feel about the two very distinct parts to the book, the first being the two protagonists childhood, and the second being 10 years later?<br />• Did you enjoy the mishmash of different genres? We see elements of magical realism, fantasy, SciFi, apocalyptic, and a bit of romance. Or did you find it confusing?<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-80883433952867039352018-01-24T12:24:00.002+00:002018-01-24T12:24:56.016+00:00The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Almost everyone finished the book apart from one who felt she really could not finish it as she did not enjoy it at all. <br /><br />Everyone had a real problem with the end of the book, we felt that it was very hurried but at the same time it had too many lose ends and not enough clarity to it. <br /><br />We all enjoyed the fact that we were reading about women becoming stronger through the book, while the men in story became weaker and weaker. We were essentially watching the unravelling of this family group as the various rules outside the house were gradually seen to be being broken within the house. This was an interesting discussion point within the group. We all decided we enjoyed watching Petronella becoming such a strong woman who really tried her best given the circumstances to protect her family.<br /><br />We also discussed the whole aspect of the miniaturist and why she was in the book at all. Some people felt that she was somewhat pointless and just confusing, while others felt she was an interesting gothic element along the lines of Daphne Du Maurier. <br /><br />We felt that the ending of the book means that there is hope, even though such tragic things happened during the rest of the book. We kind of want to know what happened next, but understand that we'll just never know. We also wanted some kind of short story about the miniaturist to explain where she came from and where she went.<br /><br />Overall we gave this book 6 out of 10.<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-30512617519296495622018-01-24T12:23:00.002+00:002018-01-24T12:23:17.917+00:00The Miniaturist - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello everyone!<br /><br />Please find below some questions about this months book club pick, The Miniaturist! There may be spoilers so please be aware of that. If you’re unable to come along please let me know asap as it helps with organising the baking.<br /><br />• The Brandt household is full of secrets. Which made the biggest impression on you and why? <br />• Did your attitude to the characters remain consistent throughout the novel, or did your loyalties shift as you kept reading? Which character provoked the strongest reaction from you? <br />• If you were Nella and had to take up her role at the end of the book, what would you do next? <br />• "Words are water in this city. One drop of rumour could drown us." says Marin. Discuss the irony of this statement.<br />• The novel has an amazing sense of time and place. How does the author create such an immersive world for the reader?<br />• Could more have been done with the character of the miniaturist? Did Burton give enough of an explanation?<br />• How would the household have survived after the novel had ended?<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-2770015325602988472018-01-24T12:22:00.002+00:002018-01-24T12:22:38.571+00:00Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Unfortunately only a very few people turned up for this book club meeting so the discussion was a little shorter than usual.<br /><br />We discussed the issue that we might be missing certain elements of the book because we're all white, maybe we would have got more from it if we were of the same ethnic group as the author? Also, we're all a lot older than the protagonists so again we might be missing some elements of the story. <br /><br />We felt really sorry for all the children in the book and their family situation. Lydia had so much pressure put on her by her mother whereas the two other siblings (Nathan and Hannah) were really just ignored as the parents put so much of their effort into the one child they felt was going to achieve the most. <br /><br />It was so sad that everyone in the book was keeping a secret and if they had just spoken to each other about these things maybe some of the tragedy would not have happened. Everything just spiralled completely out of control so quickly and easily when they just didn't talk to each other. <br /><br />Overall we gave this book 6 out of 10.<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-20580278555073641062018-01-24T12:21:00.000+00:002018-01-24T12:21:17.087+00:00Everything I Never Told You - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello everyone,<br /><br />I’m doing something a little different this month with the questions. This time i’m sending out a document that the author has created and made freely available on her website. There are some questions we need to look at, and a little bit about the book and the author. The web address for this is:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.celesteng.com/book-club-kit">http://www.celesteng.com/book-club-kit</a><br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-26145599138915338592018-01-24T12:20:00.001+00:002018-01-24T12:20:26.701+00:00The Improbability of Love - Hannah Rothschild<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Almost all the book group members finished this book but many felt that it was a tough one to get through with so many different characters and some confusion as to the actual story at the heart of the book. We felt that the beginning of the book was quite slow and there were a lot of unnecessary characters that caused confusion.<br /><br />Many of the book group members enjoyed the bits in the book that were written from the point of view of the painting. We felt that these sections added a lot of interest to the book. We also really enjoyed the bits about painting restoration and how just five little dabs of paint can produce a whole person. We wanted more about this!<br /><br />We enjoyed comparing the characters to see which was the most unlikeable amongst the "baddies" we felt that some of them were simply impassively, they just went along with things rather than tried to make things better. Whereas some of the characters were very actively bad and went about things very forcefully doing particularly bad things.<br /><br />We wondered about some of the other characters like Barty. Do people like him really exist? He felt kind of like a caricature rather than a real person. We felt that although Delia and Morris were likeable they were also a little caricature like as well.<br /><br />We also had a bit of a discussion about art and what it means and why it's sometimes so expensive.<br /><br />Overall we gave this book 6 out of 10.<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-43216936752974976572018-01-24T12:18:00.002+00:002018-01-24T12:18:40.972+00:00The Improbability of Love - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello, everyone,<br /><br />I hope you’ve all been enjoying the book this month and you’re looking forward to our meeting on 28th July. Here are some questions about “The Improbability Of Love”, and as usual i’ll warn you not to look at these questions until you’ve finished most of the book as there might be spoilers.<br /><br />• Discuss the various players who are vying after the painting and their intentions behind purchasing it. Whose intentions—if any—are pure? Whose motivations are capitalistic?<br />• The dinner party scenes within the novel describe a world of unfettered lavishness. How do these scenes contrast with Annie’s day-to-day life? Did you find any of the meals appealing? Discuss the concepts of "consumption" and "excess" as described throughout The Improbability of Love.<br />• The "voice" of the painting provides important historical and aesthetic context throughout the novel. Trace the history of ownership for The Improbability of Love. What struck you about the painting’s provenance? Why do you think the author chose to utilize this unique stylistic choice?<br />• Discuss Rebecca’s role in the art world and in her father’s business. How would you characterize her professional persona versus her personal one? When is she most powerful? Describe her moral dilemma when she finds out the truth about her father. Memling’s life story is inspired by Nazi art thieves and the horrors of the Holocaust. Are there some parallels between Memling and historical figures?<br />• How familiar were you with the art world before reading this novel? Did your perception of the business change or shift throughout the reading experience? Can you recall any particular works of art, exhibits, or performance pieces that elicited the same sort of frenzy described around Watteau’s work in the novel?<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-63590719473241204842018-01-24T12:16:00.002+00:002018-01-24T12:16:54.370+00:00Anne of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Everyone in the book club finished and enjoyed this book, we found the characters and the place setting to be utterly charming and not at all annoying as some people seem to have. We felt that the place of Green Gables and Prince Edward Island are so beautifully described in the book that they fell like another character. You felt as though you could step in through the pages and you would know exactly what everything looked like, and even in some cases smelt like! The way that Anne looked at things and used metaphor to describe them made it much more easy for us as readers to visualise things rather than a long list of descriptions.<br /><br />We felt that Anne herself was a very capable and intelligent young girl who just happened to have grown up in a bad environment. Given her formative years weren't spent in the best place she seems very confident and self-sufficient, quite a lovely girl in fact. She does have a tendency to become distracted and may over-react to some situations but she never means anything but the best for everyone she meets. This is why we were a little confused as to why she hated Gilbert for so long. Was it because she felt a spark towards him and didn't know what to do about it? Or did she really just hate having been called carrots?<br /><br />Anne really was someone who looked for the good in everyone and everything. Even when bad things happened she took a few minutes to herself and came out with a positive from it. We thought more people should be like her, but it such a difficult thing to do. Looking at the world through Anne's eyes made us all think about the world a little differently, and that's not a bad thing.<br /><br />Overall we gave this book 9 out of 10.<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-70910859271677164152018-01-24T12:14:00.001+00:002018-01-24T12:14:27.614+00:00Anne of Green Gables - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello everyone,<br /><br />I hope you’re all enjoying this months book, i certainly did! This email is coming to you a little early so please be aware that if you haven’t read the whole book you might want to stop reading this email now to avoid spoilers!<br /><br />Here are some questions for you to consider about the book:<br />• From the moment she arrives in Avonlea, Anne is insistent on renaming places and inanimate things. Barry’s Pond, for example, becomes “The Lake of Shining Waters” and Marilla’s geranium becomes “Bonny.” Why do you think she does this?<br />• Anne is a remarkably compassionate child and is able to forgive even those who have judged her unfairly, such as Mrs. Rachel Lynde or Mrs. Barry. Why, then, do you think she holds such a grudge against Gilbert Blythe?<br />• When Anne is at Queen’s College, she thinks: “All the Beyond was hers with its possibilities lurking rosily in the oncoming years—each year a rose of promise to be woven into an immortal chaplet” (p. 266). How is this message both hopeful and sad? How do you think Anne’s conceptions of the future change throughout the book? <br />• At the end of the book, Rachel Lynde tells Marilla, “There’s a good deal of the child about her yet in some ways,” and Marilla responds by saying, “There’s a good deal more of the woman about her in others” (p. 285). What do you make of her comment? How has Anne changed during her time at Green Gables? How has she stayed the same? <br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-22663410736335914022018-01-24T12:12:00.004+00:002018-01-24T12:12:55.465+00:00Havisham - Ronald Frame<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Only half the book group finished this book. This was mostly because people just didn't enjoy it at all and they didn't want to keep reading. Most said during the book group meeting that they had no want to carry on and finish the book. <br /><br />We had a bit of a discussion about why people write these kind of books. In some cases it can add something to the story, but we felt that wasn't true in this case. We didn't feel that the story rang true as something written for this particular time period. We also felt that it didn't really stand on its own, you had to have a lot of knowledge of the book it's related to in order to get the most out of this book. It didn't really go anywhere new or introduce anything we felt added to the original story. Ultimately we were disappointed in this book, although the end 1/3 was probably better than the start of the book.<br /><br />With regards the main protagonist we felt that she was a confusing and ultimately sad character. She seemed to be so very shrewd when it came to business but when it was matters of the heart she was completely naïve and useless. We weren't sure about her periods of madness, were they something she affected rather than an actual mental illness as they seemed to come and go so easily. <br /><br />Overall we gave this book 2 out of 10.<br /></div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-77077163453120594002017-06-29T16:45:00.003+01:002017-06-29T16:56:06.984+01:00Havisham - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello,<br />
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Here are some questions to do with this months book club. There may be spoilers in these questions so please be aware of this.<br />
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• Havisham belongs to a literary legacy of books that seek to expand on key characters from classic works of literature, like Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea. How would it be a different experience, now that you’ve read this book, to return to Great Expectations?<br />
• Though Catherine had the business acumen to be a success in today’s world, in her time that might not have been the case. Was Catherine, as a woman, doomed by her times not to be independently prosperous, or was her collapse solely caused by her heartbreak?<br />
• How do you think Miss Havisham would be treated by society at large these days, in light of her disturbed mental state? Would she, for example, be diagnosed as an agoraphobic and treated accordingly? Are we more enlightened about mental issues in the 21st century?</div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-42856427284085976482016-05-23T12:11:00.003+01:002016-05-23T12:11:42.911+01:00I Let You Go - Clare Mackintosh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We all watched the YouTube video create by Clare specially for our book club where she answered some question that I'd sent her. We all enjoyed the video and found that it gave us a lot of extra background with regards the book and some of its elements.<br />
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Please be aware that there might be some spoilers in this review, do not continue to read this review unless you've either read the book or don't mind being spoilt!<br />
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The main element of this months discussion focused around how we mostly all fell for the big twist in the very middle of the book! We all loved how it was done, and even if we had slightly guessed at it we were still excited by it and wanted to know how Clare would work the rest of the book so that is kept our interest. We really should not have worried! There was so much more to come, and the real culprit of the crime isn't revealed until right at the end of the book.<br />
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The second half of the book was really creepy in contrast to the first half after we're introduced to Ian. We really enjoyed reading about how the relationship between Ian and his girlfriend/wife evolved. It really gave an excellent example of how an abuser can be so manipulative in order to keep their partner with them. The fact that we could see the relationship mature over a long time period made so much more realistic. It made everything that happened afterwards seem so completely believable and understandable in terms of how everyone reacted. Ian was so incredibly creepy as he isolated his wife from her friends and family. He even learnt from his mistakes in previous relationships in order to be a "better" abuser! We had a lot of discussion about how someone could have that amount of power over someone so easily.<br />
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We felt that the background Clare Mackintosh has as a police officer dealing with people like Ian and situations like a hit and run really came through in this book. It wasn't cold and factual but you could tell that the basis for the story was real. Having some chapters from the viewpoint of the police was interesting and just enough for us as lay people reading a thriller.<br />
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Our final thoughts were for the last part of the book and what that meant, thankfully Clare explained her reasoning in the video which settled our minds a great deal. We then wondered if Jenna would ever be happy given her past. We came to the conclusion that although the things that happened would always haunt her she would probably be happier now than she ever would have been before. We all liked Jenna as a character and felt that this ending was appropriate for her.<br />
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Overall we gave this book 9 out of 10.</div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-25273194166945652922016-05-23T11:32:00.005+01:002016-05-23T11:32:39.438+01:00I Let You Go - Clare Mackintosh - Youtube Video<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Here is the link to the youtube video that Clare Mackintosh made for our book club. If you haven't read the book please be aware that there might be spoilers.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"></span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wHFwg3ne4Y&feature=youtu.be"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span lang="EN-GB">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wHFwg3ne4Y&feature=youtu.be</span></span></a></div>
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Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-825714086179753542016-05-23T11:31:00.003+01:002016-05-23T11:33:03.234+01:00I Let You Go - Clare Mackintosh - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-GB">I hope you’ve all been enjoying this months book, and thanks for the questions you sent me for the author.</span></div>
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Don’t forget to vote for the next few months books, i need your votes before Thursday 28<sup>th</sup> April.</div>
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Here are some questions for you to look at after you’ve finished the book, please be aware there might be spoilers in the questions!</div>
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<li>How does the author pull the wool over the reader’s eyes in preparation for the first major twist? How did you feel when you reached it?</li>
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<li>The ending is intentionally ambiguous: what do you think happened at the end of the story, and do you think it was the right ending? How would you have resolved the story?</li>
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<li>The author of <i>I Let You Go</i> is a former police officer. Do you think this is evident in the storytelling?</li>
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Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-89179462233899013052016-05-23T11:09:00.002+01:002016-05-23T11:28:45.092+01:00The Crimson Ribbon - Katherine Clements<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Everyone had finished the book that attended book club this month.<br />
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The main points that came from our discussion was that we felt that we were following things through the wrong person, we would have preferred to be watching through Lizzie Poole's eyes rather than Ruth. That would have meant we would have some idea as to why she did what she did. We wanted to know why Lizzie became as politically active as she did, it just seemed to come out of the blue for us as readers. Given that there was so little written about Lizzie Poole in terms of first hand evidence the author really could have done a lot more with her in terms of giving her possible reasons for her behaviour.<br />
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We also wanted to have more from the other characters in the book like Joseph, as he was one of the only characters we actually liked. We would have liked a little more of his history as it did seem interesting to do with the printing presses etc.<br />
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We all felt that Lizzie was a very spoilt character who seemed to do everything she could simply to get attention with little thought as to how it would affect those around her or even how things would pan out for her. We honestly could not see what Ruth did in Lizzie, why did she follow her like a little puppy dog into so much trouble? Lizzie seemed to think of people as simply things to acquire to make her feel special. She wanted Ruth so she just took her and took advantage of her, and this happened with a few other people in the book as well.<br />
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Considering when this book is set we didn't really feel any kind of fear either to do with the politics of the day or to do with the witch trials, both of which Lizzie and Ruth were mixed up in. We all wanted more background in these elements put into the book because to be honest it really could have been anywhere with the amount of historical detail we felt we'd been given. The witch trials especially could have been a really interesting element given how the book started. We felt that there was a lot of missed opportunities in this book overall. We came away from the book with not much more knowledge about this period in history than we had going into it, not the sign of a good historical novel.<br />
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We really didn't like the insta-love between characters and the love triangles that happened. This just made it feel like a badly written YA type book relying on the typical love tropes.<br />
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We gave this book 5 out of 10.</div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-29064724911166849022016-05-23T11:02:00.001+01:002016-05-23T11:02:09.976+01:00The Girl On The Train - Paula Hawkins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Everyone in the meeting had finished the book. This was probably because it was quite a short book written in an easy style. But we did not think this was much of a page turner, it didn't grip anyone.<br />
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As this book was sold as a tense psychological thriller we were all looking forward to reading it, but we found that we got a little confused with all the jumping backwards and forwards in time. Especially as a lot of the characters felt very similar and quite 2 dimensional. Plus we felt that there really wasn't much of twist as some of us had worked out what was happening and the rest just weren't taken that much by surprise.<br />
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A lot of the book was written as if we were in the characters minds so we didn't get a lot of interaction between the characters. This meant we felt a little put to one side with little connection to the characters. We also felt they were a little dull and we didn't really empathise with them very much. We weren't given enough background to feel anything for them at all. We felt that the story wasn't very well developed, and the characters and the plot could have been much better with a lot more polish. It felt like we were reading just facts, maybe the outline of the book rather than a completely realised book. There just wasn't enough depth to the book, and it lacked the creepy factor that is needed in a psychological thriller.<br />
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We did find the use of the "rear window" trope to be interesting as it is something that everyone does either on a train, bus or simply out for a walk. To see a lit window and not glance at it is unusual. We thought about how the things we might see through that window might look like a perfect life as a beautiful domestic scene but we never know what's lurking beneath.<br />
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We discussed the issue of domestic abuse, both physical and emotional and the reasons that people in abusive relationships might or might not stay.<br />
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Overall we gave this book 6.5 out of 10.</div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-19294113624317657282016-05-04T15:05:00.000+01:002016-05-23T10:12:31.285+01:00The Girl On The Train - Paula Hawkins - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-GB">Here are the questions for this months book club:</span></div>
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<li>The chapters alternate between the three narrators – Rachel, Megan and Anna – and move back and forth in time. How did this structure help to maintain the twist and the secrets? How did you find this added to the suspense and intrigue?</li>
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<li>At the end of the book everything is revealed to the reader, and the characters explained. Did it change how you felt about Rachel? Or Megan? Did it affect the way you thought about all of the events leading up to this moment?</li>
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<li>A crucial question in <i>The Girl on the Train </i>is how much Rachel Watson can trust her own memory. How reliable are her observations? Yet since the relationship between truth and memory is often a slippery one, how objective or "true" can a memory, by definition, really be? Can memory lie? If so, what factors might influence it? Consider examples from the book.</li>
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<li>Other characters in the novel make different assumptions about Rachel Watson depending on how or even where they see her. To a certain extent, she understands this and often tries to manipulate their assumptions—by appearing to be a commuter, for instance, going to work every day. Is she successful? To what degree did you make assumptions about Rachel early on based on the facts and appearances you were presented? How did those change over time and why? How did your assumptions about her affect your reading of the central mystery in the book? Did your assumptions about her change over its course? What other characters did you make assumptions about? How did your assumptions affect your interpretation of the plot? Having now finished <i>The Girl on the Train</i>, what surprised you the most?</li>
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Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-67315256218681152412016-05-04T15:01:00.004+01:002016-05-04T15:01:52.681+01:00Alison Weir - Six Tudor Queens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
During January 2016 we were lucky enough to be working with Nudge books website and New Books magazine. They gave us the opportunity to read Alison Weir's new book Six Tudor Queens - Katherine Of Aragon - The True Queen ahead of publication, which we all got pretty excited about. Once we'd read the book we then created a review which was published in New Books Magazine, and also on the Nudge Books website. If you would like to see what we came up with then please click on the following links:<br />
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<a href="http://www.nudge-book.com/blog/2016/04/so-who-are-the-prince-philip-hospital-library-book-club/" target="_blank">So Who Are The Prince Philip Hospital Library Book Club?</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.nudge-book.com/blog/2016/04/the-verdict-six-tudor-queens-katherine-of-aragon-the-true-queen-by-alison-weir/" target="_blank">The Verdict - Six Tudor Queens: Katherine Of Aragon, The True Queen</a><br />
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We would like to say thank you to Mel and Guy at New Books magazine, and also to the publisher Headline Review for allowing us this opportunity.<br />
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Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-70348254999209450682015-12-30T12:05:00.002+00:002015-12-30T12:05:55.744+00:00We Were Liars - E Lockhart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Apologies for the shortness of this review but this is one of those books where you can't really say much without giving away the plot of the book and I would hate to spoil it for anyone!<br />
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Everyone had managed to finish the book as it was a really quick read and relatively short, however most people came away from it not feeling it had been that great a book. Many of the book club members were unsure as to the point of the book as they were reading it, and this feeling was not alleviated by the plot twist at the end.<br />
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This story hinges around one big secret hidden by multiple little secrets that are used by a particular family to ensure that their lives continue in the way they have become accustomed to. As a reader you don't know what that large secret is until almost the very end of the book at which point everything is revealed. Then you can look back at the rest of the story to see all the little secrets that were being used as well. We think this might be part of the reason why the book is called we were liars, although we're unsure of why a small group of the youngsters called themselves liars in the years preceding the larger lie.<br />
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We talked about the lives that this family lives, with them having a private island and each daughter having their own large house. They have servants on the island that the family don't even know the names of. Even with all this privilege the daughters and squabbling over whose house is larger and who should get what when their father and mother die. The father isn't much better as he plays the daughters and his grandchildren off each other to make them do what he wants while promising them each other houses and inheritances. All in all it's a pretty ugly family situation.<br />
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This book is aimed more at younger people, maybe mid teens, so we wondered if this was a book that is more suited to them rather than us and this is why we didn't enjoy it quite as much?<br />
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Overall we gave this book 5 out of 10.</div>
Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3183366914271388840.post-33327124734258907732015-12-30T11:52:00.002+00:002015-12-30T11:52:48.930+00:00We Were Liars - E Lockhart - Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hello,</div>
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I’m sending out these questions a little early so please be aware that if you haven’t started this months book (We Were Liars) then there might be spoilers!</div>
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<li>Is the Sinclair family acting of their own free will or are they in some way merely moving through patterns established in fairy tales that existed long before them? Consider the author's use of Shakespeare's King Lear and Bronte's Wuthering Heights.</li>
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<li>Was the ending a surprise...or did you see it coming? Return to earlier passages in the book and locate instances of Lockhart's of foreshadowing of events to come.</li>
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<li>Do you trust Cady's narration? Is she lying...or hallucinating?</li>
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Looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday 17<sup>th</sup> December.</div>
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Book Clubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02676506929730766799noreply@blogger.com0