Reading matters

Book Group: Session 13 discussion - DRACULA by Bram Stoker

** WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD **

Dracula was one of those books I've always meant to read but kept putting off because I thought it would be too much like hard work to enjoy. It was only after I watched a thoroughly enjoyable BBC TV production of Dracula last Christmas that I thought it was time I should read the novel and promptly bought myself a cheap copy from Amazon.

I knew a lot about vampire folklore: what attracts and repels them, how to kill them for good and the like.  I've read Anne Rice's vampire books (the first three) many years ago, and last summer enjoyed Elizabeth Kostova's reworking of the legend in The Historian, so I wasn't reading this in a vampire vacuum, so to speak.

The first thing that impressed me was the immediacy of the writing and the fact that the story hits the ground running from the word go. From page one you are immediately transported into the thick of the action, and from there on the relentless pace doesn't let up. Mr Stoker certainly knew a lot about narrative drive.

Of course the book isn't perfect -- the dialogue is stilted and unnatural in places and not all the characters are fleshed out properly  -- but that certainly did not take away from my enjoyment.

So what did you think of this book? To get your creative juices flowing, I have listed some questions (with the help of The Modern Library reading guide and SparkNotes) that you may wish to consider, but there's no need to answer everything listed. Just pick and choose as you see fit, add your own and by all means respond to the comments left by others.

Alternatively, feel free to post about the book on your own blog, but please do leave a comment below with the relevant URL/permalink so we can drop on by to see what you wrote...

No time for 'Dracula'

I knew this would happen. I got all fired up to read Dracula when it was voted as the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group but decided I should wait a few weeks before tackling it. Well, a few weeks has turned into almost two months. And now that the discussion is only days away -- this coming Saturday -- I realise I have actually run out of time to read it altogether! In fact, I'm not even sure where my copy is, I have so many unread piles of books laying about this apartment.

So, for those who haven't yet started the book, please join me is heaving a huge sigh of relief. Why? Because I've decided to postpone the discussion until SATURDAY DECEMBER 1.

I promise to have it read by then. And I'm sure you'll do the same. *wink wink*

Book Group: Session 13 book choice revealed

Thank-you to everyone who took part in the vote to select the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group.

I am happy to announce that the winner is ...

Thank-you to everyone who took part in the vote to select the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group.

I am happy to announce that the winner is ...

Thank-you to everyone who took part in the vote to select the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group.

I am happy to announce that the winner is ...

Thank-you to everyone who took part in the vote to select the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group.

I am happy to announce that the winner is ...

Book Group: Vote for the Session 13 book you want to read

Typically time has run away from me again and I've forgotten to organise a vote for the next book up for discussion in Reading Matters' Online Book Group! I should have done this last Saturday so I could reveal the results this Saturday. Instead, I'm going to open the vote tonight and will reveal the winning book next Thursday.

Time for us to read something Gothic and fantastic, no?  Something with witches or vampires? The books up for vote are...

Book Group: Session 12 discussion - THE RIVER by Tricia Wastvedt

** WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD **

The River was one of those spontaneous purchases made on the back of an Amazon recommendation (does anyone else take notice of Amazon's recommendations?). Previously I knew nothing about the book and had never heard of the author, but the storyline sounded intriguing.

Now, having read it I'm undecided as to whether I think it's as good as all the glowing recommendations -- "intense and lyrical", "impressively understated" and "with a finale that Du Maurier herself would have been proud of" -- that endorse the cover.  I found the narrative style quite original if a little hard work and got slightly annoyed that I had to put the flashbacks in order and piece the story together myself.

But ultimately, I found it an entertaining read, and I liked Wastvedt's languid almost effortless writing style that captured the river, the village and its eclectic inhabitants so well.

So what did you think of this book? To get your creative juices flowing, I have listed some questions that you may wish to consider, but there's no need to answer everything listed. Just pick and choose as you see fit, add your own and by all means respond to the comments left by others.

Alternatively, feel free to post about the book on your own blog, but please do leave a comment below with the relevant URL/permalink so we can drop on by to see what you wrote...

Just a friendly reminder...

... that it won't be long until Reading Matters' Online Book Group discusses our session 12 book -- Tricia Wastvedt's The River.

If you haven't read it yet, don't worry, there's plenty of time. The discussion won't open until Saturday September 8 -- and it will remain open indefinitely should you wish to take part at a much later date.

In the meantime, you can view other discussions or find out how the book group works here (downloads a 91K PDF).

Book Group: Session 12 book choice revealed

Thank-you to everyone who took part in the vote to select the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group.

I am happy to announce that the winner is ...

Thank-you to everyone who took part in the vote to select the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group.

I am happy to announce that the winner is ...

Thank-you to everyone who took part in the vote to select the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group.

I am happy to announce that the winner is ...

Book Group: Vote for the Session 12 book you want to read

Two years ago I mooted the idea of running an online book group. I received such a positive response I kicked it off pretty much straight away.

Since then we have read and discussed 13 very different books. Some discussions -- and the level of participation -- have been more successful than others. I'll admit there have been times when I've seriously considered winding it up and calling it a day. When only two people took part in the last discussion (thank-you to Isabel and Suki for their thoughtful insights), I wondered whether it was worth the effort of running the next session. Sure, I know loads of you will vote for the book you want to read -- that's the easy part -- but how many of you will bother to come back and join in the discussion when it kicks off seven or so weeks down the line?

Let's see, hey?

This time the books up for vote are...

Book Group: Session 11 discussion - THEFT: A LOVE STORY by Peter Carey

** WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD **

In my experience, reading anything by Peter Carey can be a bit of a hit or miss affair. There are certain books by him that I love (Jack Maggs, Oscar and Lucinda) and certain books I've struggled with and eventually abandoned (The Illywhacker, The True Story of the Kelly Gang). Fortunately, I found Theft: A Love Story to be immediately accessible and highly entertaining. I loved it's balance of humour and melancholy, and the twist at the end was a joy.

So what did you think of this book? To get your creative juices flowing, I have listed some questions, with the help of an online reading guide, that you may wish to consider, but there's no need to answer everything listed. Just pick and choose as you see fit, add your own and by all means respond to the comments left by others.

Alternatively, feel free to post about the book on your own blog, but please do leave a comment below with the relevant URL/permalink so we can drop on by to see what you wrote...

Book Group: Session 11 book choice revealed

Thank-you to everyone who took part in the vote to select the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group.

I am happy to announce that the winner is ...

Thank-you to everyone who took part in the vote to select the next book for Reading Matters' Online Book Group.

I am happy to announce that the winner is ...