Make time for books this New Year 2016 - Ponders End Book Club choices - January to March 2016

A very bookish New Year 2016 to you all.

Why don't you make one of your New Years Resolutions to join a local book group?

Indeed this resolution no 6 on Sadie L Trombetta's (@lady_strombetta) list of 11 Reading New Years Resolutions for 2016.)

Or why not sign up to a reading challenge such as the New Year Resolution Reading Challenge or the 2016 Reading Challenge. I have just signed up to the Good Reads Reading Challenge to read 30 books in 2016 which will include all of the Ponders End Book Club reads and also some other books in the 2016 Reading Challenge.

Anyway, the Ponders End Book Club has some great reading choices coming up over the next few months.

Our programme of future reads looks like this up until March 2016:

Thursday 21 January - "An Untamed State" by Roxane Gay
Thursday 18 February - "Lucky You" by Carl Hiaasen
Thursday 17 March - "The Man Who Couldn't Stop" by David Adam

We meet on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 7.45pm at the Ponders End Working Mens Social Club in South Street, Edmonton, EN3 4LB - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/ponders+end+working+mens+social+club/@51.64572,-0.043516,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x4e90db307e249852?hl=en

So why not turn your love for reading into a social activity and make 2016 a year of good company, drink, food and some serious and not so serious book talk. I really hope you can join us in 2016!

PS...Don't forget to support your local library more in 2016 and borrow books from Enfield Libraries (and no I am not paid to say that - I just love libraries!)

 

 

Book of the Month - The Hare with the Amber Eyes - August 2013

The Book
The Hare with the Amber Eyes is part memoir, part social history, part travelogue which weaves the story of De Waal's relatives, the Ephrussi's who were once an extremely wealthy banking and business family living in Paris and Vienna. The story is built around De Waal's search for the history of 264 netsuke, tiny wood and ivory carved Japanese carvings which are all that remain of his family's once tremendous wealth.

De Waal is a very present and involved narrator and takes us on a very personal journey of discovery. in the process he crafts a beautiful, absorbing microcosm of recent history covering the death of Empire, the rise of anti-semitism, the rise of Hitler and the Nazi's as well as exploring memory, identity and belonging.

The Author
Edmund De Waal is a renowed ceramicist. He is a professor at the University of Westminster. His works are exhibited in museum's around the world.

More Information
Read more at www.edmunddewaal.com

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/

Book of the Month - March 2012 - Me Before You

The Book

The publishers cover blurb bills this book as a romance, but it is in fact something more complex.

It is story of the coming together of two unlikely people - Will Traynor, a former successful  well-paid lawyer who has been injured in a road traffic accident - and Lou Clarke, a bright but directionless young woman who after losing her job at a local cafe reluctantly starts working as a care assistant.

It deals with some sensitive subjects - those of disability, quadriplegia, personal care and human rights which makes for a thought provoking read.

The Author

JoJo Moyes is both a successful author and journalist. Born in 1969 she grew up in London and gradauted with a degree from Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, London University. She worked at The Independent for over ten years including as Assistant News Editor and the Arts and Media Correspondent. In 2002, she became a full time novelist. She has written 9 novels and her first book was called 'Sheltering Rain'.

More Information

Access JoJo Moyes' website at http://www.jojomoyes.com. The book was selected as a Richard and Judy Book Club choice in Spring 2012. View the book club review at: http://www.richardandjudy.co.uk/books/Me-Before-You/169

Book of the Month - February 2012 - The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The Book
This was Dickens' final novel which he left uncompleted upon his death from a stroke in 1870. The story is a murder mystery set midst the fictional cathedral town of Cloisterham. It centres around two young orphans - Edwin Drood and Rosa Bud and Edwin's uncle, the troubled John Jasper, the cathedral choirmaster.
As with his other novels, Dickens includes a varied cast of true to life characters ranging from young urchins, the local town mayor, the 'angular' lawyer, Grewgious and Princess Puffer who runs an opium den.
This being a whodunnit....the question is to ask ourselves who is the culprit...Neville Landless? John Jasper?....or does the mystery have a different explanation? You'll have to read the clues Dickens peppers throughout the novel carefully.....
The Author
7 Feb 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of Charles John Huffam Dickens' birth. Dickens is one of, if not the most famous British author. His books have been adapted for film and television more than 400 times and his novels remain a part of the British psyche. He was the master of the cliffhanger ending and his name as entered the English language through phrases such as 'What the Dickens?'.

More Information

Find out more about the BBC TV adaptation of 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/04/mystery-edwin-drood-dickens-bbc
Access details about the Dickens Museums in London and Portsmouth - http://www.dickensmuseum.com/ and http://www.charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk/
If you are interested in Dickens you can also check out http://www.dickensfellowship.org/

Book of the Month - December 2011 - Timbuktu

The Book

Timbuktu is a short novel about the life of a scruffy mutt (dog), Mr Bones and his dying master, a vagabond called Willy G. Christmas. The story begins with the last journey of Willy and Mr Bones to Baltimore, as Willy searches for his mentor, Bea Swanson, who he was last in touch with over 20 years before.
After Willy's death, Mr Bones must fend for himself and his life changes irrevocably. After the deep bond he has shared with Willy, Mr Bones' comes into contact with a young Chinese boy, Henry (although Willy advises him to steer clear of Chinese restaurants and children!) and then a family (Polly, Dick, Alice and Tiger) where Mr Bones suffers the ignominy of the chop and becomes a 'dandified' dog.

The title refers to the concept of the afterlife, as proposed by Christmas, who is a self-styled poet, who believes that it is a beautiful place called 'Timbuktu'. The question is will both Willy and Mr Bones be reunited in this heavenly place?

This is a book that examines finding one's purpose in life and has been described as being a meditation on late 20th century America. It is a highly inventive, creative book where we see the world from the perspective of a dog. It raises many questions such as whether animals have souls and the nature of love in society.

The Author
Like his character, Willy G. Christmas, Auster himself is an American of Jewish, Polish decent. Born in 1947, Auster written a number of novels including The New York Trilogy (1987), Moon Palace (1989), The Book of Illusions (2002) and the The Brooklyn Follies (2005). His works are a mix of absurdism, existentialism, crime fiction and searches for identity and personal meaning.

More Information

View Paul Auster's website at http://www.paulauster.co.uk

Book of the Month - November 2011 - We need to talk about Kevin

The Book

This a highly topical, dark, psychological novel published originally in 2003 which was recently turned into an acclaimed film directed by Lynne Ramsey in 2011.

The story is told exclusively from the viewpoint of a mother, Eva Khatchadorian, entirely via a series of letters. It explores the fractious relationship between a mother and her son, as she attempts to come to terms with her son's murderous actions in committing a school shooting.

Shriver consummately explores the intricacies of marital and parental relationships and also whether an individual's character is determined by nature or nurture.

This is a controversial book, which poses many questions about ourselves as people and as a society.

The Author

Lionel Shriver is an American author and journalist, who was originally born Margaret Ann Shriver in 1957 in North Carolina. She now lives in London and is married to a jazz drummer, Jeff Williams.

Shriver was awarded the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005 for "We need to talk about Kevin" which she considered her 'make or break' novel.

Shriver's other novels include "Double Fault", which charts the relationship breakdown of two low level professional tennis players and "The Post Birthday World" which takes a 'Sliding Doors' type approach to imaging the life of one woman living two possible lives in parallel imagined stories.

More Information

Shriver's publishers are Harper Collins - http://www.harpercollins.com/author/microsite/About.aspx?authorid=27687

A trailer of the film version is available at - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLRgAe2jLaw

Book of the Month - October 2011 - 61 Hours

The Book

61 Hours is the 14th thriller written by Lee Child. Each of his books features his main character, Jack Reacher, an American ex-Military Policeman seeking redemption while travelling without baggage around the States.

61 Hours takes place in South Dakota. As the book starts, a lawyer is conducting some shady business at the local prison and then while distracted on returning home, skids on the frozen highway, causing a bus carrying 20 elderly tourists (and Jack Reacher) to land in a ditch, stranded outside the small town of Bolton.

Reacher soon realises all is not as it seems as he gets involved with a police department under pressure, a mystery concerning all old military installation, protecting a witness to a drugs transaction and a killer on the loose, potential police corruption and a criminal mastermind pulling strings from Mexico. All the while, this thriller is set against the backdrop of severe snowstorms that make travelling difficult and dangerous and the clock is counting down to a date with destiny.

In 2011, Child won the Novel of the Year Award for 61 Hours at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival. What then will be the attitude of the Ponders End Book Club to Lee Child's book? Will they agree with the judgement of the award givers at the Harrogate festival or will they instead favour the opinions of a Booker Prize judge who has said that "hell would freeze over before a popular crime writer wins the Booker Prize"? I wonder which view will prevail......

The Author

Lee Child is a prolific and popular thriller writer with his books selling over 50 million copies worldwide (apparently one per second). Child might seem the quintessential American thriller writer but he is actually British born and bred. Child was born Jim Grant in 1954 in Coventry, England. Before becoming an author, Child studied at law school in Sheffield and then joined Granada Television where he worked as a presentation director. While working for Granada, hew was involved in producing a number of high profile and popular TV series including 'Brideshead Revisted', 'The Jewel in the Crown', 'Prime Suspect' and 'Cracker'.

After being made redundant from his job at Granada TV, Child decided to embark on a writing career and described writing as 'the purest form of entertainment'. His first novel, "Killing Floor" was published in 1997 and he moved to the United States in 1998 with his American wife, Jane. Since this date, Child has continued to publish a book a year. always featuring his main character, 'Jack Reacher'.

More information

You can find out more about Lee Child and his latest novels at http://www.leechild.com

Special Book Club Author Event - 22 September 2011 - Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt

Special Book Club Event

On Thursday 22nd September, the Ponders End Book Club are delighted to be hearing author, Rebecca Hunt speak, read from and discuss her novel "Mr Chartwell". This event will be held at Enfield Town Library at 7pm. (Booking essential).

The event is being held in conjunction with Enfield Libraries and as part of the East London Literature Festival.

Details are published in the local press in Enfield, including in the 'Our Enfield' newsletter. To book to attend please contact Enfield Town Library on 020 8379 8341.

The Book

'Mr Chartwell' has been described as an extraordinary first novel. It is a story set over five days in the summer of 1964. It features two main characters - the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who is on the verge of retirement and a young House of Commons library clerk, Esther Hammerhans, who is seeking a new lodger. These two characters are connected by the dark, charismatic charms of 'Mr Chartwell', who represents the 'black dog depression'.

The Author

Rebecca Hunt is a first time London-based author. A graduate of Central Saint Martins College with a degree in fine art, Rebecca is now a full time author. She was also identified as a promising new novelist by a panel of judges in the BBC 2 The Culture Show special - New Novelists: 12 of the Best on 5 March 2011.

More Information

For more information see: http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141049878,00.html