We all enjoyed our time together so don’t forget to come on the 4th April at 2.00 p.m. in the Library.
A large group attended our book discussion in March so a great deal of chatter and laughter kept us entertained. Shirley always entertains us with the variety of books read, Bill the Bastard the true story of a brave Lighthorse in WW1, who won the equivalent of a VC for his heroic deeds in battle. The story has a happy ending, he was given to a village and produced many offspring over the next few years. Two of our members had read and listened to a talking book on Outback Police Stories. Great reading. An article that was enjoyed about a 92 year old lady of Russian descent who with the help of her 21 year grandson feeds up to 500 people in Canberra on Friday and Saturday. They collect food from supermarkets and restaurants and put it to good use. Other books read include Bamboo Heart Island, about prisoners of war, The Secret Son by Jenny Ackland, and the memoirs of Mirka Mora the artist who describes her life as naughty and wicked but lots of fun. Once again Kent Haruf was mentioned as a good author of very enjoyable books. The Italian Detective Inspector Andrea Camilleri, always went home for a delicious lunch as well as solving crimes! We wondered about the lunch. The adventures of Burke and Wills were revisited and a DVD Secrets and Lies was recommended. The Wedding Shawl set in America was the story of family members knitting a piece of a shawl for the bride to wear on her wedding day. Only Saints push Barrows a 1940’s story of 2 Salvation Army officers in the UK delivering a bed on a barrow. Me Before You is a look into the life of a quadriplegic which is a follow up to Me After You. Green Mountain written by Bernard O’Reilly is the true story of the plane that crashed into Mt. Tamborine in Queensland. A text book that received very good reviews was the First 100 years.
We all enjoyed our time together so don’t forget to come on the 4th April at 2.00 p.m. in the Library. What a lovely gathering for our first Let’s Talk Books for 2017.
It was great to have Louise Doddrell our group and welcome to Rae Jeffers, I hope you enjoy our book chats Rae. Everyone seems to have done some reading, although Christmas is a busy time and we don’t always have time to indulge in quiet moments for reading. Our Souls at Night written by Kent Haruf was enjoyed and well known by several members of the group. He has other books in the Library so they might be worth a read. Unlikely Friendships a book about friendships between dogs and other animals/people, and also along the animal line A Cat named Bob, which has been made into a film. Stephen Fry wrote the mystery The Book of Dead, a good one if you enjoy a murder mystery. Freeing Peter the book written by Peter Greste’s family of the efforts and toll it took on their family to free their son and brother from an Egyptian prison is worth reading. The Good People written by Hannah Kent author of Burial Rites has been read by some of our group, it is a different style of story telling taken from very old Court cases, this one was set in Ireland and revealed the deep superstition that existed in the time the story was written. Wendy Solomon wrote Kitty’s Despair. This was built around characters from Pride and Prejudice, Wendy also wrote Portrait of a Duke. Other books read and enjoyed over the break were Brooklyn now a movie, High and Hidden Place by Michelle Clare Lucas, Working Class Boy Jimmy Barnes biography and Ubuntu, the tale of a motor bike ride from one end of Africa to the other. A lot of interesting African culture appeared throughout the book. Keep reading and if you haven’t read any books still come along and hear what everyone else is reading and enjoy a cuppa with us. See you on the 7th March. A small group braved the wind, rain and floods to attend Let’s Talk Books this month. This didn’t diminish the enthusiasm. Alice entertained us with quotes by Poets and a reading of a dream she had many years ago. The books read included A Sweet Obscurity by Patrick Gale a big book, and also Trial by Fury a Penguin Book. Both were enjoyed.
Also on the table was a book by Louis de Bernieres titled The Blue Dog. The same author wrote The Red Dog, of which a film was made. Most interesting. Lorraine had listened to a talking book by David Baldacci. Hazel Hawke’s story was enjoyed but everyone felt a little sad for this intelligent woman. Dorothy attended the launch of the book with Hazel at the launch and commented on her sense of humour in the face of many challenges. Philippa Gregory has a new book out Three Sisters, Three Queens. If you have followed the adventures of the Tudor dynasty this goes along the same theme. Liz Byrski has a new book The Woman Next Door. Took a bit of getting into but was worth the patience. Laurie listened to 2 audio books, Napoleon’s Last Island telling the story of Napoleons stay at St. Helena and the interaction between the soldiers in the Garrison and the civilians. The second book was The Commander by Thomas Kenneally, a story about Soviet aggression very relevant to today’s climate. The Tall Man a factual story of the first white policeman charged with the murder of an aboriginal on Palm Island. Found not guilty of murder the 3 sisters of the murdered man are taking civil action against the policeman. Some more good reading as follows: Bonchi; The Secrets We Share; Redemption Falls; and also Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. Don’t forget our next meeting is listed for Melbourne Cup Day, which we will miss but will meet again on the 6th December for our last gathering for 2016. Lots of time for reading. A group of 15 U3A members had a very pleasant time at the Library for our September session.
After reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens it was commented on how precise the written language was in that era. The same reader also enjoyed Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali the story of her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia to her journey and life in the Netherlands, to life under guard in the West. Shirley Roberts enjoyed two books, Ageing with Grace by Kathy Reichs and Jesus and Mohamed two totally different topics. An easy read The Light of Paris by Eleanor Brown was enjoyed as was The Ties that Bind and The Last Dance a novel by Fiona MacIntosh, who seems popular at the moment. Rhonda was reading Great Working Dog Stories a book that evoked memories and stories of our own dogs. Twisted by Lynda La Plante always a popular author and The Lakehouse which was an e book. The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King, a girl with a questionable past who married a Minister, interesting relationships surfaced through this book. It was voted a good read. For history buffs The Romanovs 1613-1918 was heavy reading but most interesting. The Agatha Raisin series by M.C. Beaton rated a mention, although the film of The Potted Gardener was not as good as the book. An article on what imported books are doing to books in Australia was discussed and from Brains Picking Weekly the question was put, Why do we read? To have something to talk about!!! Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar was set in the Coorong in the 1840’s and related the story of one of the 1st white families in the area. Home by Larissa Behrendt was written from an aboriginal perspective. Enjoy your reading, we will meet again on Tuesday 4th October in the Library. The next meeting of Let’s Talk Books will be at the Benalla library on Tuesday 6th September at 2pm.
A small group attended Let’s Talk Books in July, with many away, a few unwell & miserable weather outside.
What a fun afternoon we had! As usual the discussions went off the track a few times. 84 Charing Cross provided a wonderful recipe for Yorkshire Pudding, this book is still doing the rounds of the group. Dorothy then provided a huge book from 2003 Movie and Video Guide with all details of movies and videos produced from 2003 back. We then talked about how `Google’ has stopped all those arguments and discussions around the table with everyone having a different answer, now just google and the answer is there. Australian books mentioned were Out of Alice by Kerry McGuiness; Diamonds and Dust a story of a Northern Territory cattle station, it’s culture and aboriginal heritage and Queen of the Road. High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel, (author of The Life of Pi) is comprised of 3 stories and like the author’s previous book was a different read. Maxine enjoyed a book of short stories by Canadian writer Alice Munro and also The View from Castle Rock. Back in time we then went to The Alchemist about a shepherd who wanted to see the Pyramids. We had a very funny discussion about books that come in paper bags!...... and one of our group – no names – had an experience with the hose of the vacuum cleaner at the car wash that was determined to remove her trousers. Our next meeting is on Tuesday 2nd August at 2 p.m. Ten brave readers descended on the Library for Let’s Talk Books. While it rained and blew we sat in comfortable chairs and chatted on all manner of things, including the Four Corners program highlighting the plight of our Indigenous people. We also did some book talk.
Cheryl Turner found an original book written by Edna Walling in her bookcase, this was handled with care as it was passed around. A novel set in the 1800’s called The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan, the same author who wrote the 100 Year Old Man Who climbed out the Window and Disappeared. Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy was enjoyed second time around. Another book of interest was Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefield, a story of a Japanese mother and daughter living in Los Angeles when Pearl Harbour was bombed. The ever popular Patricia Cornwall was read in Silent Death and a book of short stories by Kate Atkinson, Not the End of the World. Shirley told us about A Rose for the Anzac Boys by Jackie French, which she felt the younger generation would benefit from reading. The Biography of Charlotte Bronte along with The Alchemist were both bought along by Alice. The books on the table for lending included The Beekeepers Secret by Josephine Moon, The Soldiers Wife and as Rhonda and Dave are moving house a selection of pre loved books were there for the taking. See you all on the 5th of July at 2.00 pm in the Library. The highlight of our group this month was Shirley Vickers telling us the story of how she came to have a book of children’s poems written by a friend who had passed away. It was beautifully illustrated and we enjoyed Shirley reading Morning Magpie to us.
We then meandered on through Room by Emma Donohue which was shown as a movie at Swanpool, The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks – a family saga, and The Lucky One a story of Iraq that was also made into a movie. Brooklyn was enjoyed as a film, but our reader enjoyed the book as well along with Ralph the story of a therapy dog at the RCH. Fiona McIntosh’s Perfume Secrets was not enjoyed as much as her previous book The Lavender Keeper. Catherine Cookson made an appearance with Desert Crop. I think we have all read Catherine over the years. On listening to ABC radio in April, a new biography of Charlotte Bronte was mentioned. This gave rise to much discussion on the Bronte’s and their various skills in writing. All in all a very enjoyable afternoon. See you all on the 7th June at 2.00pm at the Library. A few laughs were the order of the day for Let’s Talk Books. Shirley and Dorothy read us some very funny poems and set the mood for a pleasant afternoon.
Three books written by Alan Bennett including The Lady in the Van were lent and then we skipped along through Rebecca Shaw and The Village Series, The Daughter in Time, Richard 111 and the nephews in the Tower, and an interesting History of New York, one of a series of books written by Ed Rutherford. Continuing on the history side The Story of Pearl Wallace who was the inspiration for All the Rivers Run. Quite a few other books were discussed and we finished up with a cuppa and cake. See you all on the 3rd May at the Library. At our gathering on Tuesday 1st March the usual books were swapped and exchanged. A feature of our discussion this time was Shirley reading some Chinese poems from a much worn and loved book. Thank you Shirley. Sometimes in discussing books we have read we allow little glimpses of our life to come into our reflections. What diverse and interesting backgrounds we all come from.
Carol by Patricia Highsmith, now a current movie, received good reviews as did The Lie by Helen Dunmore. Rebecca Shaw has written a series of books such as Love in the Country, Country Vet and A Village Deception. A book written by Hazel Hawke – My Own Life was retrieved from a bookshelf and thoroughly enjoyed, what a great lady she was. Looking forward to catching up on the 5th April in our very comfortable library. A great roll up of 22 for our first meeting of Let's Talk Books. We welcomed some new members to our group. It is always nice to have some new faces in whatever group is running and they were assured that they didn’t have to read a book during the month to come along. Sometimes it is nice to sit and listen and perhaps take some notes on books others have enjoyed. Laurie Melgaard told us how reading a normal print book is difficult with fading eyesight. Laurie has discovered the `libraries’ available to download on his iPad and the wonderful choice of books from Vision Australia.
A great range of books were discussed. Dave Barry bought along a family book At the Toss of the Coin he came to Australia, a personal story written by his niece. We then ranged from the new J K Rowling novel, Danielle Steel; A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey; The Lie by Helen Dunmore, written about a soldier returning from WW1, to Lilian’s Story by Kate Grenville, which didn’t get a very good review. A reread of Billy Connelly written by his wife Pam Stevenson and Our Souls at Night a book full of love, humour and gentle shocks. Dream Wheeler by Deb Hunt was enjoyed whilst the Bill Bryson book A Walk in the Woods was not too popular. Others mentioned were South of Darkness by John Marsden, ‘a good read’; Burial Rites by Hanna Kent; Cane River about slavery in Louisianna; The Changeling, a Phillipa Gregory novel; House of the Hanged by Mark Mills; Kingdom of the Brave, by Australian author Tamara McKinley; The Curiosity, a Sci Fi book and lastly Christine Falls an Irish Mystery by John Banville. Such a nice way to spend a couple of hours in the afternoon! We look forward to seeing you all on March 1st at the Library. Happy reading. Hello all you great readers. As we missed out in November (Melbourne Cup Day) we will have our last gathering at the Library on December 1st at 2 o’clock with a little celebration for Christmas as well. See you there. Geraldine
Due to the very hot and unpleasant day our group was a little smaller than usual, but the discussion about what we have been reading was lively. One book that took our interest was Who Called the Cook a Bastard’, a little bit of history in that offering. A book that several members had read or heard about Light between the Oceans came highly recommended. For Better For Worse or Lunch by Christina Hindhaugh gave us all a laugh. Books were swapped and given away in the manner of all book lovers, a very enjoyable afternoon.
Our next meeting is on Cup Day so we have cancelled, so we will have our last gathering for the year on the Tuesday 1st December. Our September meeting held at the Library revealed that many of the books we are reading are not only taken from the Library but sourced from second hand book shops and op shops. So many pre loved treasures are found hidden away on shelves and pounced on when found by our keen readers.
Quite a range of books were discussed from The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat; Not Quite Right an autobiography of Jeffrey Smart and Quebec by Louise Penny. Two books relating to Egyptian history were introduced to the group – River God and The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith. Belly Dancing for Beginners by Liz Byrski was also enjoyed as well as other titles by Liz. We also discussed the recently released book, Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee of To Kill a Mocking Bird fame. It was recommended we revisit To Kill a Mocking Bird before reading the new release. We had a visit from a young schoolboy at the end of our session. He'd asked the librarian if he could join our group, explaining he read a lot of books and we seemed to be having a great time! We hope he comes back after school next month. See you all on the 6th October. Geraldine and Lorraine A hardy group of 13, with several apologies registered, gathered at the Benalla Library for our August session. Once again the reading range was wide and interesting. Dorothy had borrowed a book from the Library that contained letters written by Queen Elizabeth to her Secretary over the last 20 years, these contained her thoughts about British Prime Ministers and members of the Royal family, good to take a peek inside the walls of Buckingham Palace. Another book of interest `The Price of Life’ was the account of Nigel Brennan who was kidnapped and held for ransom. Heather had read the history of John Gould (of bird fame) - it seems his wife was the artist who created the beautiful drawings. We have Gould books displayed in the library in a glass case. Peter Watts featured and also the Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See was said to be a good read. Once again some books were swapped and lent and a pleasant couple of hours passed very quickly. See you all again in September.
Geraldine and Lorraine A group of 10 gathered at the Library for our July meeting. Quite a few are away seeking warmer weather and Louise was away ill. Get better very soon Louise we missed you. It is wonderful to listen to the different types of books people love reading. There are obviously favourite authors and it is lovely to have books recommended that people are reading for a second time. A trilogy of Nora Roberts books was swapped and Dave had the librarian put aside a book for me to read, much appreciated.
See you all in August and happy reading. Geraldine and Lorraine On a chilly Benalla winter afternoon there was nothing better than sitting in a sunny corner of the Benalla Library chatting books with 17 enthusiastic readers. Our interests are wide ranging from Golden Fiddles by Mary Grant Bruce, The Hills is Lonely by Lillian Beckwith to a lovely book bought along by Louise called Kitchen Table Memoirs of Notable People, the proceeds from the sale of this book go to Food Bank. Some recommended reads were Carry a Big Stick by Tim Ferguson, The Broken Shore by Peter Temple, The Necessary Aptitude – a biography by Pam Ayres, The Hare with the Amber Eyes, by De Waal. A book written up in the Age from the previous week The Mothers by Rod Jones tells the story of Rod finding out he was adopted at the age of 17, a good discussion followed about adoption. Keep reading and come along to our next get together on Tuesday 7th July at 2 p.m. in the Library.
Geraldine and Lorraine Our group met on the first Tuesday in May at the Library. The enthusiasm of this group is wonderful, if you haven’t read a book recently it doesn’t matter and it is great to see everyone writing down books and authors that interest them.
A good discussion was held on the book by Richard Flanagan `The Narrow Road to the Deep North’, several other members of the group had read this book, we spoke about forgiveness and the futility of war. Shirley Gilmour had been to the Adelaide Writers Week in South Australia, bringing back several books of interest to show us and discuss. Everyone contributed in some way with new or very old books to show and talk about. A most enjoyable way to spend a cold and wet afternoon, and finishing off with afternoon tea. See you all on the 2nd June 2 p.m. at the Library. Another great day at Benalla Library talking books. Great location, great company, great subject.
What more do we need to have an enjoyable two hours of chatting. Came away with more books added to my list. Lorraine It was with great enthusiasm Geraldine and I welcomed 25 members to our first meeting. Things were a little quiet to start with but we soon got started talking books, we stopped for afternoon coffee and we were back into it. Before we knew where we were it was 4.00 pm and time to go home. A great afternoon in our new Library, a really beautiful place, after all we were talking books. I went home with a list of MUST reads. Lorraine
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About 'Let's Talk Books'Have you read a good book you would like to share with others? Bring your book along and tell the group about it. This is a casual discussion group about books, papers or magazines we have read and enjoyed. You will hear about books others have read that you may also be interested in reading. Convenor/s and contact detailsGeraldine McCorkell
0408 522 662 Meeting times1st Monday 2 - 4 pm, Seniors Auditorum Fawckner Drive.
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June 2024
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