Hi Lucy,
Guerande is North West of you near the coast - add an hour onto the time it would take you to get to Nantes. We visit Nantes several times a year e.g. picking up and dropping off friends at the airport.
Maybe we could meet up with a box full of books and do a swap? If more people were interested could we all meet up and have several boxes to pore over?
Hi Tony. Definitely interested in book swaps! Where abouts are you? :-))
Just started Amativ Ghosh's "River of Smoke" the second in his trilogy and it looks as good as the first "Sea of Poppies". I am trying it as a Kindle ebook and getting on OK with the technology on an Android tablet and on my trusty PC. Not sure I will always go this route but it saves waiting for Amazon to post it or a trip to UK to collect. Is anyone interested in book swaps - we have dozens of paperbacks we probably won't read again - does anyone do this already?
Have been reading "Foreign Affairs" - but not enjoying it much. Quite well written I th ink, but I find the characters universally unappealing! Anyway - picked up "French Lessons" by Ellen Sussman and started that. LOVING IT!! Definitely putting "Foreign Affairs" away, and may never get it out again!!
Recently finished reading 'When God was a Rabbit' by Sarah Winman. I picked it up as something to read on the plane back from the UK and didn't get round to reading it until a few weeks ago, really got attached to the characters and their developing relationships. A simply written easy to read book.
Finished reading Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne recently and enjoyed that very much, particularly the warm relationshiop between Alice, the main character and her grandfather. The "action" is partly set in Sri Lanka which I have visited so it was interesting to me fom that point of view too.
Cutting the Stone by Abraham Verghese was also a recent book which I would certainly recommend.
I usually have a few books on the go at the same time, one upstairs, one downstairs and for reading in the garden and yet another one in the car for waiting rooms etc. My children can't believe how many books I have and bought me a Kindle for Christmas to try and stop me buying so many. I like the Kindle, but shall always buy books - they just feel right and I like the covers too.
I have just started to reread 'The Nazi and the Barber' by Edgar Hilsenrath. It really is satire at its best telling a story of terrible times through the blackest of humour. Reading about the author's life as a German-Jew the other day made me pick it up again.
Do try Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game both by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The Prisoner of Heaven is his newly released third book in the series.
I can also recommend the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.
I've only seen the film of The Help but have yet to read the book. How about The Children's Book by AS Byatt which I have just started and like so far. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, - perhaps already read? Rohinton Mistry.
The Help? Excellent novel. Pretty awful film though.
Looking for a good read over the summer, try anything that Anne Tyler has written. An excellent writer with a deceptively simple style, but who has a lot to say.
I have just read the Help which I thought was super, passed it to my Mum who agreed although it's not her usual type of book. have google of it if you want to find out more. The best book I have read so far this year is Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese I am recommending it to anyone.
Hi Group,
Trying to find a copy of any William Wharton's more famous novels ie Last Lovers, Dad, but in french for a friend. Looked at ebay and amazon but ridiculous prices? Any ideas? Thanks. S
English poet Gordon Simms lives in the Deux Devres. His collection, Uphill to the Sea, which won the Biscuit prize, 2011, has just been published. Internationally respected poet. Christopher North writes that the, ‘poems have great sensitivity, physicality and muscle,’ and Katherine Gallagher calls them,’ lyrical, highly visual poems which dance off the page.’
The launch of Uphill to the Sea takes place on Thursday the 22nd March at the Literary & Philosophical Library in Newcastle upon Tyne at 7 pm. If you would like a reading or workshop in your area of the Deux Sevres please email Gordon at gordon.simms@aliceadsl.fr
Gordon has been living in France for 10 years. This year he is organising with novelist Glyn Pope, author of The Doctor, The Plutocrat & The Mendacious Minister (http:// cactusrainpublishing.com/the doctor.html) and Jocelyn Simms, creative writing tutor and author of Colour Matters the first ever bilingual LitFest in Saint Clémentin. The principal guest author is Helen Dunmore who will be joined by an interesting band of authors and workshop presenters.
Many of Gordon’s poems have won prizes and been published in anthologies. He is available for poetry readings and for workshops on poetry or other forms of creative writing in France and in the UK. Details of his online poetry course, Correspondences, fromwww.poetryproseandplays.co.uk
see
http://segorastclementincelebratetheword.blogspot.com/2012/02/st-clementin-bi-lingual-litfest.html
for up to information about the Literary Festival here in St Clementin Deux Sevres Glyn
Update, for the Literary Festival here later this year, Aug/Sept, we have now sold 12 tickets. Which seeing as the event is about 8 months away is pretty good.
PM me for info about The LitFest or Lynn Michell
(By the way I have no financial interest in either of these. I simply love books and want to make friends here aware of oppportunities)
@Nick, thanks for the booklists, I agree L Ron Hubbard...I don't think so...when I was a librarian he was one of the authors we never bought, Mickey Spillane was another!
@Glyn, thanks so much for all the news and info...keep up the good work!
'White Lies' by Lynn Mitchell is a superb book. One of the better books that I've read in a long time. Well written, insightful, thoughtful. It received good reviews from the guardian amongst others. Lynn lives south of Deux Sevres and is available to speak to writers groups and/or book clubs. I believe this to be a real opportunity before Lynn becomes too well known for the likes of us!:) If you are at all interested then in the first instance pm me. No commitment, no time limit. Lynn is looking for bookings over the next year. Glyn
The first six tickets have been sold for the Literary Festival here in August/September. Looks like if you plan to come along you'd better book early! Seriously though see blog at http://segorastclementincelebratetheword.blogspot.com/ for details on how to pre-order your tickets.
I came across this suggested reading book list, and thought is was interesting. However, the readers selected list at number 3 is rather suspect ;-)
http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/
It may have been posted before, if it has then please ignore.