NEXT MEETING Friday August 10th to discuss The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Phillip K Dick
Filmed as – Blade Runner
I really enjoyed this book though it did take me a few pages to really get into it. The reader is immediately immersed into the morning routine of bounty hunter Rick Deckard, and it takes a few pages to understand life in this dystopian future Earth, where many people have already emigrated to Mars. Deckard’s job is to hunt down and ‘retire’ androids who have gone rogue. However, nothing is at it seems in a world where replicants have very human qualities, and humans who don’t make criteria in health or intelligence are dropped out of human history.
Other readers in the group didn’t enjoy the book as much – but whether we liked or disliked it – it lead to an interesting discussion about human nature, and the moral dilemma posed by the creation of artificial life.
It’s a classic Sci-Fi novel and a must-read for fans of the genre, but definitely worth a try if you think Sci-Fi is not for you.
So, it appears after our meeting to discuss Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre that our favourite book so far is still Astonishing Splashes of Colour!
The general consensus beyond it being “one of those that you should read” was that it was definitely a book you had to focus on. Some were enjoying it (I’m not sure anyone had finished it by the time of the meeting) but found it slow going; others got the graphic novel into the shop (no prizes for guessing who) in order to be able to get to the end more quickly! Language issues were discussed, while it was said the descriptions were great, the dialogue was laboured!
So, here’s hoping our next book receives a more “colourful” review!
Friday 15th July is our next meeting to review “Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?”, maybe I’ll watch the film beforehand!
Friday 13th May saw 2 new members join our book group, so a welcome to Mary and Patrick is due, (and because we haven’t done it before hello to Jenny, Sara, Aillean and Janet). The book was:
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly.
Safe to say this was a definite departure from last month, with some of the group not finishing it. Although it wasn’t the most popular choice it did create some excellent discussion with regard to the group thinking about why they read the books they do. All in all a positive discussion ensued and we eagerly await our next choice, will will be in the shop by Thursday at the latest.
For more information on our book group please call or email using the details on the welcome page of the website.
Our Book Group met on April 8th to review:
Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall.
“Beautifully written and the type of book I keep thinking about afterwards.”
“Made me want to read another book by the author.”
Interestingly two of the group didn’t enjoy it to start with and walked away from it, but were really glad they returned to it. I think it’s fair to say it’s not a book you can say you ‘enjoyed’, the subject matter didn’t really lend itself to that verb, but everyone agreed it was engaging and very well written, especially for a debut novel. The general consensus was very positive and for some a book they wouldn’t have picked if it had not been Book Group book. Clare’s new novel “When the Floods Came” is out in paperback in August and will be in stock as soon as it’s released.
The 1st book choice was – The Good Father by Marion Husband.
This book, about a man trying to pick up his life after returning from the 2nd World War where he spent time as a prisoner of war in Japan, generated a good discussion about the relationships between fathers and sons and on how war leaves its scars, both physical and mental, on its survivors which in turn affect families and friends. The plot is very tightly woven and some of us found this made the story slightly unbelievable in parts as events began to seem too coincidental. On the whole we thought this was quite a good read.
We have moved, click the link below 