Giving the gift of reading.....

Tonight - Monday 23rd April - is World Book Night.

Ponders End Book Club is participating in this event and has free copies of 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho to give away.

The whole purpose of this initiative is to celebrate reading, literacy and books. It is an event that it is celebrated worldwide in the United States, Ireland and Germany as well as the UK.

25 titles have been selected and will be given away by 20,000 passionate readers to homeless charities, prisons, sheltered housing schemes, schools, libraries and other places and to individuals who might not have the time or opportunity to read or buy books.

Books are eye opening avenues into a different world - and none more so than books by Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian writer, who writes books that stir the heart and are simple, beautiful tales of humanity.

You can find out more about 'The Alchemist' and World Book Night.

PS. And not forgetting Happy St George's Day and Happy Shakespeare's Birthday!

Book of the Month - May 2012 - The Sense of an Ending

The Book

Revolving around the themes of history, memory, aging and death, this short novel is one that potentially packs a big punch.

The book is narrated in two parts. Part one deals with the early adolescent years and friendship between a group of young boys including Tony Webster, an ordinary boy and a charismatic lad called Adrian Finn. Part two jumps ahead many years to Tony in late middle-age when he receives an expected letter and is forced to reflect on the past.

Much is said and unsaid throughout, resulting in a thought provoking novel which promises much for a book club choice.

The Author

Julian Barnes is a modern British author who was born in Leicester in 1946. He was educated at City of London School and then Magdalen College, Oxford. He is the author of several novels including Metroland, Flaubert's Parrot, Love etc, Arthur & George and A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. A common focus for his novels are the stories of characters obsessed with understanding and interpreting their past.

He won "The Booker Prize" in 2011 for this novel.

More Information

Read more at: http://www.julianbarnes.com/bib/senseofanending.html

Book of the Month - April 2012 - The Help

The Book
Having taken five years to write and having been rejected by 60 literary agents, 'The Help' has since gone on to sell over five million copies (as of August 2011) and has been at top of the book best seller charts as well as being published in 35 countries - not mention being turned into an Oscar winning film. What does that tell you about this book?

For one, it gives an indication of the sensitivities and poignancy of the story - which is the tale of racial divides in the deep American southern states.

Set in the 1960s, this is a story of the black servants who work and raise white children.

The Author
Just like her main character, Skeeter, the author was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. She graduated in English and Creative Writing from the University of Alabama. She then worked in magazine publishing and marketing in New York City before succeeding in publishing her debut novel, 'The Help'.

More information
Read more about Kathryn Stockett at: http://www.kathrynstockett.com/