UKCCWS discussion
Reading Group
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- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (I admit I've already read this, but it's so good, and so topical, and there's a TV adaptation on at the moment)or if you were wanting to ease in gently with a short essay rather than a whole book, Joan Didion's "On Keeping a Notebook" is great reading for writers everywhere. free .pdf here: https://www.penusa.org/sites/default/...
If I can get my hands on a copy, then I'd definitely try and read the Essex Serpent.
After an agonizing perusal of the amazon description, most of which was reviews, i have come to the conclusion that The Essex Serpent sounds like an interesting read.
Mod
Mod
As for The Handmaid's Tale, if other's are up for that too, I'd be up for making that our next read if this one goes well. After talking about the Essex Serpent, we should decide together what to read next. In the mean time, I hope everyone enjoys the book!
(P.s. Jen, you were right, I was wrong -- it is indeed set in late Victorian times.)
Mod
Simon wrote: "Well peeps, don't know about you but I'm looking forward to chatting about The Essex Serpent tomorrow. I say we start sometime in the evening and just chat for however long we want. Of course, not ..."GAHHH!! Okay, so I may have misremembered the deadline and thought it was 15th. Ahhh well... Back to reading!!
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Simon wrote: "Oh no! That's a shame, Matt -- would be good to have your thoughts. At any rate I hope you're getting on well with it. You know you can always join the discussion regardless, assuming you don't min..."I'm about a third of the way through. I'll try and get most of it read tomorrow. It's on audiobook so I should be able to listen while I work tomorrow.
Mod
Mod
If you've never been part of a reading group before, the idea is straightforward: As a group, we pick a book each month, and then, on a certain day, we talk about it. As that Russian meerkat would say: "simples".
Now, because this is a trial, I would like to propose some options for you to decide on. First: about the book. Second: about when we talk about it. And third: where we talk about it.
The Book: everyone makes ONE suggestion (with a brief synopsis, if you like), and the group votes. OR, we can read The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry to get us started. Please could you let me know in your reply which option you would like, either by writing 'The Essex Serpent' or by providing your own suggestion, by the end of tomorrow (Tuesday 13 June). If more people give their own suggestions, then I'll make a poll and you'll have until the end of the next day (Wednesday 14 June) to vote on the book.
The Date: everyone reads at their own pace, but as this is the first session, I'm going to give us three weeks from the vote date to read the book (Wednesday 5 July). I will open a discussion on a new thread, where a couple of questions will be waiting to get things going. (Should you have a question(s) of your own about the book, ask away!)
The "Venue": if it turns out that discussions here do not work, we can move -- either to a Skype chat, or a Facebook group chat.
The idea for this group is to generate all sorts of discussion about the book, so I encourage EVERYONE to say something, no matter how insignificant you think it may be. What did you like about it? What did you dislike? What did you think about this or that character? If it's fiction, do they remind you of anyone in the real world? What did you make of the plot? Did you fall into any holes while reading?
We'll get to more of those questions when we come to talk about it. For now, we need a book to read. What's it going to be -- 'The Essex Serpent', or a reader's vote? You decide. Reply below by the end of tomorrow.
Cheers guys!