August Book Club - 'The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë' by Laura Joh Rowland

It took some of our readers a little time to warm to the idea that the

Charlotte Brontë who wrote Jane Eyre and lived the life of a parson's daughter could in fact be the adventurous heroine from Laura Joh Rowland's novel, 'The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë. But once we got our heads around the concept Rowland was trying to sell us, most enjoyed the read.

Rowland has toyed with the Brontë family and created a whole new world of fictionalised high adventure and espionage based on research she did on Charlotte Brontë some years ago.

Did it work? Well, we'll have to let you be the judge on that score. Everyone has their own take on the classics and let's just say that most of our readers enjoyed the story, although it did have many flaws throughout. But, if you skip over these and don't think too hard about them and simply read the book as a high adventure tale, then we are sure you will enjoy the story as much as some of us did. We found that the further along in the story we journeyed the better it became. Rowland made good use of tension throughout and kept our hearts pounding in places.

We did wonder if Charlotte and her family would actually ever put themselves in such perilous situations, but for the sake of the story, we decided not to challenge this too much.

Overall, we recommend this book. It is a good read. The storyline is interesting and creative and everything linked up. Charlotte manages to involve herself and interacts with some big names throughout story and the tale is very entertaining. It is not your run of the mill, modern day espionage story and Rowland does a great job authenticating the language used throughout. We all agreed the author did a great job and believed that Charlotte could have been the narrator of the story.

If you are interested in this author, please click on the link and find out more.


http://www.laurajohrowland.com/

We hope you have found this information useful.
So, until next time,
happy reading...

April 2011 Book Club: 'Eat Pray Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert

Take some tasty, chocolatey mudslide cakes and other small delicacies piled high atop pretty plates as well as gooey chocolate mini Easter eggs brimming to overflow in petite glassware and combine with tinkling china teacups and light conversation and you now have an image of the way this month's book club kicked off. And, what better way to celebrate this month's title, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert?

We had a small number who turned out for our April's meeting and, whilst the numbers were smaller this month, the discussion and social interaction, (which is a major focus in our club) was large. There are always plenty of opportunities to enjoy light-hearted banter and catch-up socially, but we always manage to balance it with an engaging discussion about the book of the month. How deeply we discuss a book depends upon the dynamics of the group. Each month we allow ourselves to be led by the feel of the group and usually, our reading guides.

Eat Pray Love was generally received with mixed feelings. Some readers loved the book, while others didn't, and still others enjoyed parts of it whilst other parts, not so. It was a mixed bag of thoughts and feelings. This is the type of book that makes for great discussion, especially with such a variety of feelings floating around, and depending upon how strong some of those feelings were.

Eat Pray Love falls within the travel documentary genre and if you've visited the bookstores lately, it doesn't take you very long to figure out that it is a very popular genre. Many writers take the opportunity to combine their love of travel and writing as a way to turn out running commentaries on their experiences. And who wouldn't mind doing that, especially if it became a major seller?

Because of the number of travel writers, it is often hard to choose the exact book you want and, on the flip side, as a writer with strong competitors, you need to have the cutting edge; a unique way that sets you apart from all the rest, namely, the Black Caviar of the field (speaking in horse racing terms).

Eat Pray Love is one of those major sellers I just mentioned.Why? Just what did Elizabeth Gilbert do that set her apart from all the rest?

Well, that question makes for much discussion, but she obviously struck a chord with a large proportion of the western population. Was it the entrapment of marriage, outgrown and now loveless that readers connected with, or was it the chance to travel with the author and visit three countries that they had not visited before? Or maybe readers simply wanted to experience the food, culture, meditation and prayer along with the author, and connected with these aspects. Who knows? But what became obvious from listening to our book club members was that the book, or at least parts of the book meant something different for each of them based on their own experiences, their culture, their views on life and religion, and where they were now in their life. So too, I think, for the general population.

This is a book that you choose for personal reasons and not based on the recommendation by others. This is a book that the author must have the edge; the Black Caviar of the racing field.

I know personally, that with all the hype that surrounded this book, even before the movie came out, I ummed and ahhhhed about it. Oprah and her Book Club (which I respect) had sanctioned and promoted it and the general population raved about it.

For me, it took many visits to a variety of book stores, where it wooed me before I purchased a copy. As I wandered around the stores, looking at new and old titles, it always managed to intrigue me when I found it displayed. I'd pick it up and fondle it, run my fingers over its front cover. I'd hold it and read the back cover then carry it around the store with me, only to return it back to its rightful place on the shelf, edged out by other titles more pressing for me to take home. Finally though, one day I eventually felt sorry enough for it. I'd had enough of it begging me to take it home like an orphaned puppy. I finally decided it was its turn to come home to my place. Why this time? I don't know. Perhaps I was finally curious enough for it.

Was I glad? Was it worth the purchase? For me - definitely. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was glad to have shared some of my time with this author and her tale of self discovery. Elizabeth Gilbert is a writer who is easy to read. She kept the language simple and the themes a little more complex. I enjoyed her writing technique so much so that now I would like to read her other documentary called The Last American Man.

Novel Tea 'n Pages recommends Eat Pray Love to those book lovers where it either 'jumps out at you' (blatantly) or if it woos you. No matter what way - it will get you. Good luck. All I can say is, enjoy it for what it is.

So, until next time,
happy reading...

Words About: The Ice Age by Kirsten Reed

The Ice Age by Kirsten Reed

I always look forward to reading a debut author's work almost as much as I enjoy reading a favourite author's work. I anticipate fresh ideas and writing from the unknown...you never know what treasure will be unearthed. I particularly enjoy reading emerging local authors in order to see what talent is mulling around our own community.

The Ice Age is Kirsten Reed's first novel and is described by other reviewers as something between Lolita and On the Road. It is the tale of a young female hitchhiker who hungers for independence, life experience and in her search for these things, attaches herself to Gunther, a much older guy who seems to exist purely to travel across America's hicks ville highways looking up his interesting and quizzical collection of misfit friends.

It is a quick, fun read with quirky lines like "We drove past all the gaudy painted signs telling us where the next doughnut shop was, the nearest hamburger joint; pizza, now doughnuts again. The road stretched across this wasteland like a big silver rubber band, stapled down by fluorescent mustardy-yellow lines. Even the sky looked tacky, needlessly aqua, a tourist's T-shirt."

The novel pans out like a road trip journal. The young narrator delves into the mundane daily grind of long journeys, the same cheap motels in any town, food on the go, survival, sanity, the people they meet along the way and Gunther's friends dotted along the way.

There are several threads that pull this journey along. One thread is the relationship that develops between Gunther and the narrator. Not yet 18 and travelling with a much older guy draws quizzical and sometimes suspicious looks. Both characters seem up to task to put their relationship to the test as well. Society seems quite intolerant, even judgmental, for friendships of this nature.

Another thread is the narrator's rush to move from innocence to experienced and the immature way she goes about it. She longs for a closeness to Gunther he seems torn to be a part of. The see-saw of emotions between the two protagonists is intense and sometimes leaves the reader feeling tense and maybe even a little frustrated.

As a reader I kept asking myself questions about the two main protagonists. I like stories with layers that get uncovered ... I like depth and I found myself wishing I knew more background about the two main characters. I'm not sure I liked them. They sometimes made me feel awkward, which is probably the best way to feel reading a novel of this nature because the loss of innocence is an awkward time.

I enjoyed this story because it made me think of lots of possibilities and outcomes that could have transpired, but didn't. Throughout the entire story I thought like a writer and for someone who enjoys both reading and writing, that is a good thing. This trip is probably not for everyone, but if you're adventurous, I say ... go for it ... and enjoy :o) ( )