Rochdale Rotary Book Group
Book Group Extravaganza
It was Emma Buckley's idea to start our very own book group in July 2009 and it’s kept going with six members so far but always welcoming new readers – on 20th June we discussed Damon Galgut's In A Strange Room (was a Booker Prize short listed entry last year).After that slightly unnerving, if short ,book about a mysterious person's travelling experiences; on 1st August is Martin Bell's Through Gates of Fire at John Cannell's.September's fayre is Mike Pannett's "Not On My Patch Lad". Latest book was Affinity by Sarah Waters -a fantastic period piece of Victorian London with grim Millbank prison(who would have been a prison visitor in those days?).Spiritualism and criminality overlap with a most surprising ending!Superb writing from the author of Tipping the Velvet.
Next thriller at John Whitley's on 4th January with an eye-watering plot is James Patterson's Don't Blink-certainly short chapters keep you on the edge of your seat!
We decided not to be too prescriptive on Book type but generally agreed to try and pick readable concise tomes!Been very impressed by Rochdale library online booking service to get books in time for meetings.
Just to give you a flavour of what has gone on the list so far A small island (Bill Bryson) - nice to see a Yank likes our homeland tho’ a bit more keen on Scotland than Wales. To continue travel, 7 Years in Tibet (Heinrich Harrer) gave a very uncomfortable history of a declining culture and Dali Lama chronicle (memorable as David Smithard read an extended version including South America - how keen can you get!)
David got his own back by picking the blockbuster Empire Channel 4 series book (Niall Ferguson) with lots of photos and a puzzling idea that the Brits really did the world some good after all - nice reference work really
Slightly surreal Time Travellers wife (Audrey Niffeneger) gave an image of Time travel with a new angle (lurv or something like it). Only 3 diehards managed this one but good buffet for those who made it!
Playing with fire by Nigel Havers gave a sight of the slog of his acting career (stage, film and TV) for someone who didn’t quite make the pinnacle but did and saw a lot and had an interesting family to boot - his barrister father got the Rolling Stones off on a drugs charge (couldn’t have happened to our boys of course) which would have stopped their lucrative career in the US.
Local interest was TransPennine Heritage by Keith Parry – really a local history of Railways, industry, canals and notable people. Rotary wasn’t mentioned. One of my patients from Todmorden was interested enough to show it to the local history group there.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hussaini was another travelogue of the breaking up of Afghanistan and class systems.
King of Torts by John Grisham was a good legal thriller. Slightly Americanised but basically ambulance chasing on a grand scale encouraging litigation as only the US does.
Quentin Letts's 50 People who B’D up Britain was a humorous take off of people with sometimes more egoism than common sense or ethics.
The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer was really a new version of an Historical era I only knew about via the National Trust houses and TV programmes - definitely a dipping in type of book for interesting facts.
MI5s Stella Rimington fiction Illegal Action – hot on action and intrigue; fast paced; not much technology - as an ex spy that would be telling!
Stalker by ex Deputy Chief Constable John Stalker (guess who chose that one) brought back the Stalker Affair in great life like detail. You felt so sorry for all caught up in the morass of the Irish Terrorist campaign and the dilemma of how to deal with it.
The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson was a well written story of old friendships affected by widowerhood,amusing slants on Jewishness and new forms of obsessive compulsion .It won the Man Booker prize last year -it is a great read.
An old favourite To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee gives an uncomfortable account of racism in the US South and how institutional attitudes are very hard to change.The story comes from a child's innocent perspective giving an added poignancy.
C by Tom McCarthy was a very imaginative surreal book over a man's lifetime with a rather obscure beginning; interesting for it's WW1 background ;early aviation; limited medical knowledge.Some ghastly descriptions of drug addiction along the way.An exceptionally well researched book with a disappointing ending
Other recent books have been Cobra by that old thriller writer Frederick Forsyth, Nobbut a lad- a tribute to Alan Titchmarsh's childhood memory of Yorkshire and Solar by Ian McEwen about a flawed genius with energy in all directions!
The group has people from medical,banking,retail,aeronautical,engineering,legal backgrounds giving interesting differing slants on the book's contents.Come along if you wish but you need to join the Rotary first!
Past President Elvet Smith