A Portuguese Party
This evening was another successful book club event! We enjoyed some Portuguese food in honour of our most recent author, Jose Saramago. The book prompted some interesting discussion. It was definitely an interesting choice for the book club, and a novel that I would not normally have made myself finish but which turned out to be worthwhile.
The next meeting will be hosted by Jessica and Graham, location TBA. The novel is After Dacchau, and Jenn will be leading the discussion. The food theme was not decided, but German is the obvious suggestion considering the basis of the book.
A number of decisions have been made:
1. Carolyn's book choice Strange Traffic will be switched to Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels.
2. We will try to hold our next "suggestions and choices" meeting in early December at which time we will choose our next round of books. Start thinking about what you would like to recommend. We'll be looking for one classic novel this time around.
3. Our fall book readings will be re-arranged as follows: The Fountainhead will be discussed in September, Fugitive Pieces will be discussed in October, and Cocksure will be discussed in November.
posted by Rachel Ann @ 11:18 PM
5 Comments:
Yes, thanks to Jenn, Rachel and Jess! Good food for both tummy and brain.
Did we decide to switch to Fugitive Pieces? I thought we were going to buy used copies of Strange Traffic. I found some on Amazon and I could order them on my visa and collect $ at the next meeting. I think the concensus was that short stories would be a nice change. Let me know if I'm wrong!
I had a look at used copies of Strange Traffic as well. On Amazon, the used copies shipped from the U.S. which means they will probably end up becoming quite expensive as we'll get hit with higher shipping and extra taxes. The ones at Chapters online had extra shipping costs for each individual book as well because they are each shipped by a supplier other than Chapters. It just seemed a little too unpredictable in terms of costs to me.
If we really want to do short stories, there is the option of Alice Munro's Runaway. This is a collection of short stories as well, and was the winner of The Giller Prize. Description: The incomparable Alice Munro’s bestselling and rapturously acclaimed Runaway is a book of extraordinary stories about love and its infinite betrayals and surprises. In Munro’s hands, the people she writes about—women of all ages and circumstances, and their friends, lovers, parents, and children—become as vivid as our own neighbours. It is her miraculous gift to make these stories as real and unforgettable as our own.
Hi ya,
I just thought that I'd add my suggestion as well: if we think that the cost might be a little high to order the used copies of Strange Traffic, and since I looked at three used book stores downtown and couldn't find Strange Traffic, than how about we move it to Fugitive Pieces? I think that's a better idea than switching to a different book of short stories, because than it won't be Caro's pick. Perhaps the Alice Munro one could be suggested at the meeting in December. I remember that Fugitive Pieces was a close second in terms of voting for Caro's suggestions.
How much $ are we talking to get the used books for Strange Traffic? I already have Fugitive Pieces, but haven't read it, and I'm sure it would be much easier to find used copies of Fugitive downtown at City Lights. Scott goes down there once a week, so I would be able to scope it out through him to see how many copies they have and what it would cost if anyone else needs a copy.
Yes, I agree. I think it's best to move to Fugitive Pieces. There is no way to tell exactly what the used copies of Strange Traffic would cost, because we can't get any details on shipping and duty fees. Let's just move to Fugitive Pieces as originally discussed.
By the way, it's already been changed under the Reading List. If anyone gets confused about what book is being discussed when, just check that again.
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