Another type of group work

The weather here in the UK is dreadful at the moment with lots of snow and ice which always means the the whole country grinds to a halt, even when it has been forecast and there is time to prepare. Schools close and getting around can be difficult. Why we as a country can not cope, I do not know, but it is always so!

Indoors trying to keep warm, I thought I would do a blog about my reading group.

Every six weeks or so , six of us meet as a Reading Group to discuss the latest choice of book and catch up with each others news. The group was formed ten years ago when most of us were working at the Foundation for Conductive Education and because we get on so well, we have kept in touch in this way, while enjoying a good read at the same time. No-one is still involved with the organisation except for our latest recruit who is a volunteer.

We take turns to choose a book, (in alphabetical order by surname) and this person chooses the meeting venue - usually a restaurant in Birmingham with a special dining offer. After reading six choices we then open 1001 books you should read at random and that becomes the next book to read and discuss. We then return to each of us choosing in the order mentioned.

Over the years we have read and discussed a wide variety of books, some I have enjoyed, some have been disappointing and some downright awful - to me, anyway. I did not like Perfume or The Reader and found Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Everything very demanding. Some have been delightful, for example, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and Alan Bennett’s The Common Reader.

Sandra has chosen Kafka’s soup, which is a history of literature in seventeen recipes. I have just finished this and it is a winner for me. The recipes look very do-able and he has written wonderful pastiches in the style of each author. I particularly like the Raymond Chandler, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Some of the authors' writing I am not that familiar with but have still enjoyed Franz Kafka, Harold Pinter and Marcel Proust.

This is a lovely witty read, and also a very good antidote to the cold weather. Cheap copies are available via Amazon.

References

Bryson, B. (2004) A short history of nearly everything. London: Black Swan.

Bennett, A. (2008) The uncommon reader. London: Faber and Faber.

Boxall, P., ed. (2008) 1001 books to read before you die. London; Cassell.

Crick, M. (2007) Kafka's soup; a history of literature in 17 recipes. London: Granta Books.

Schlink, B. (1998) The reader. London: Phoenix.

Suskind, P. (2007) Perfume. London: Penguin.

Watson, W. (2008) Miss Pettigrew lives for a day. London: Persephone Classics.