Unsamaritans Book Group 28.01.11

The book: The Slap, by Christos Tsiolkas

The venue: James and Sarah's house

I'm sure Mr Tsiolkas didn't deliberately set out to write The Ultimate All-Boxes-Ticked Book Group Novel, but one wonders if a small part of his brain was imagining, as he wrote this story of the consequences of a man slapping a friend's child, thousands upon thousands of wine fueled suburban debates being sparked off by it. It certainly did the trick for us.

Mind you, the ethics of child discipline wasn't the first topic we got into. Did this story tell us anything about Australia? Was it a universal examination of the immigrant experience, or is the Australian version unique? Are men expert at concealing their animal nature, and does this book show us as we truly are?

But eventually, and inevitably, we got on to the slapping debate. Does it matter whether hitting a child is done in anger or cold blood? Is it relevant that belting other peoples' kids was the norm within living memory? Is it possible to have a good relationship with a relative who hit you when you were young?

I only managed a third of the book and found it compelling, but I probably won't finish it, not least because the consensus was that the novel didn't really deliver in the end.

Only Frances really hated the book, and I think only Geoffrey loved it. I suspect we'll remember it more positively as a discussion starter than a novel.

The evening was enlivened by a joyful and surprising announcement from one of our number: yes, Geoffrey offered to host. This was a first. We were shocked, we were moved, we offered, only partly satirically, to come in evening dress.

In a mood of giddy elation, we set about devising some awards for the night. Suggestions ranged from the predictable (best book discussion ever) to thought-provoking (most interesting member's input) to the blatantly provocative (least number of books read). The latter, not surprisingly, proposed by James, while staring at Jamie.

Our discussion took place over a fine vegetable gobi, with superb chutneys provided by Claire, and plenty of naan and samosas.

Sarah presented us with a shortlist of three books for the next meeting: Red Dust Road by Jackie Kay, Blood River by Tim Butcher and the winner Alone In Berlin by Hans Fallada. The date is Friday 11th May.

Sugru Style

Some clever person once reviewed The Big Lebowski saying "In an ideal world, all films would be made by the Cohen Brothers". The same might be true of all new companies and Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh.

Jane is the inventor and founder of Sugru.

I got in touch with her because I was impressed by the clarity of her website, and I felt her approach might contain lessons for our authors. Sugru.com transmits a strong personality and sense of purpose which magnetically compels you to join in.

We met, at Jane's suggestion, at Look Mum, No Hands in Clerkenwell - a cyclists' cafe (sensible idea). Jane was charming and inspiring. These are my notes from our conversation:

1) She took a while to get her head around blogging, but managed it by studying other peoples' blogs, discovering which ones she naturally gravitated to and admired, then emulating them.

2) ... but she still feels self conscious about blogging, talking about herself, her product. Her solution is to celebrate the work of others, and their great ideas. That way she's promoting Sugru by oblique means.

3) She has no interest in converting unbelievers. Rather, she spends her time interacting with enthusiasts, rewarding their involvement, and in the process making them even more likely to be Sugru advocates. A very natural and organic process.

4) It's imperative to establish the context for the product, and tell its story. You can't just have it sitting on a shelf (unless the shelf is wonky and had been hacked better, arf). Ideally, you have it introduced to you by a user, a believer.

5) She's focused on reaching out to pockets of enthusiasts, and going where like minded people and a sympathetic attitude exist: so not B&Q, but bike specialists, design specialists etc.

6) I think it's sort of conceptually pleasing that the user-empowering, hands-on nature of the product is mirrored in the the user-generated nature of the online community.

So there you go. Buy some! And see if you can beat my cable tidies.

The Percy Road Book Group, Southampton

For a work project, I visited my sister's book group in Southampton, having given them copies of one of our books in advance. Never got round to using it at work, so here's the discussion:

The Book:

The Chapel at the Edge of the World by Kirsten McKenzie

A moving story of Italian childhood sweethearts separated by war. Emilio is a POW in the Orkneys, Rosa remains in Lake Como. He builds a makeshift chapel (true story), she joins the resistance.


Who's who?

Michelle (our host) - favourite book: The Five People You Meet In Heaven
Chris - favourite book: Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Angela - Jonathan Livingstone Seagull
Vic - If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things
Brendan - The Kite Runner
Me - The Name of the Rose (this week)


What did they like?

Plenty, thank God. The nightmare scenario of nervous silence thankfully didn't materialise. Here's a few likes: "The small, intimate cast of characters"; "the fast moving narrative; the story alternates between settings in small chunks, with lots of dialogue"; "really distinct styles to the two threads of the story; a pacier narrative in the Rosa bits"; "reminds you of the courage of resistance fighters"; "the strong theme of perseverance"; "the absorbing atmosphere".

Chris and Vic both re-started the book as soon as they'd finished it, to read again the bit at the beginning (which is actually the end of the story). Like The Kite Runner, you're uncertain what's happening at the start, until the story unfolds...

Like most people in publishing, I sometimes forget that not everyone likes reading. Michelle told us she'd struggled to get her colleague excited about this book, but then remembered he'd only ever read one book - a Mario Puzo novel badly finished by his wife when he died - and was so cross he never read another.


What did they not like?

Some of the group felt that the book didn't end quite as strongly as it had started. Others wanted the story to be bigger, and escape the episodic narrative. Angela didn't feel the relationship between Emilio and Bertoldo was very clear; their attitudes to one another seemed to shift in inexplicable ways.

The Chapel

Every book group needs a research fiend, and Michelle was that lady, finding pictures on the net of the actual chapel on Lambholm.

It turns out to be bigger and more impressive than people had imagined. Interesting question: is it better to see that before you read the book, or would that inhibit your imagination?

Chris observed that the chapel was a brilliant device for writing about people; each character projected their own needs and hopes onto it. It provides a release for some, a distraction for others.

The Characters

Bertoldo was considered fascinating and surprising; where did he find the courage to attempt an escape?

Rosa was the most controversial. To some she was gutsy, confused, changed by the war (whereas Emilio 'came back the same person'). To others she was deceptive. Was she engaged in resistance work as a distraction, as Emilio was with the chapel?

Emilio: he coped by not yearning.

Their Best Book for Discussion, Ever?

This lot, like many reading groups, often have good discussions about bad books. They named The Mermaid and the Drunks and The Death of Mr Love.

'Best book' votes went to Germinal, The Bone Setter's Daughter, and English Passengers. They love a book offering an escape to a historical reality.

Why a book group?

So you can discuss books at length without boring loved ones! And you find yourself reading books you'd never have normally picked up.

How do they decide on the next book?

They take turns. No messing. And they use a list from the excellent Southampton Central library for inspiration, and usually source the books from them. And compete in their vicious Christmas Quiz...

Do they use reading notes or similar?

They sometimes use questions from the back of books, and often research on the web. Sparknotes.com is approved of.

Catering Report:

Outstanding biscuits including those nice little oblong Jaffa Cakes, already well known to your correspondent. Red wine (likewise).

Next Time?

Restless by William Boyd. Never heard of him.

The Baby Cheeses

Last year my Mum asked me to make her some Christmas cards. I couldn't manage it because the damned things took so long to do and I was running out of time on our one (partly due to the amount of random tools I was using for the pressing).

Since then, Mum's generously given me a lovely screw-down press, making the whole thing much easier. So when she asked about making a card this year, naturally I said yes.

Mum's considerably less heathen than me, and wanted a nativity scene for her card, a bit like the one on the card in the picture below.

Step one was sketching a design. I tried out a star in the sky and a roof reminiscent of Mum's own crib which I remember fondly from our childhood. Client said no - just the Holy Family please. Baby Jesus (or Baby Cheeses as a young relative used to pronounce it) does, however, look like the crib version, so my sentimental reference is at least intact.

Step two, once the design sketch was finished, was to transfer it by primary school tracing paper rubbing, onto my lino.

Step three, cut out the design with lino gouges. Step four, ink 'em up and print with the press.

Voila:

I'm giving them to Mum on Sunday, so I hope she likes.

And I'll be listing a few spare ones on Etsy soon ..

Lino Printing For Fun and Profit

I decided to list some lino print cards on Etsy, that rather fine site for selling stuff what you made yourself.

It's not really about the money (common fib, I know, but what I mean is that it's not really worth the money, given how long the printing takes). What I'm interested in is the process. I've spent a lot of time thinking about how authors promote themselves online, and this is my way of creating a parallel challenge for myself. And if I can combine two so-called skills of mine - print making and marketing - then I'll be rather pleased.

Anyway, having listed m'pinecone card, and a rather nice lady having bought one ... I now have to print the bugger.

Here's how it's going:

All the stuff, including rolled-out ink, lovely roller, board for keeping the lino in place (for fiddly registration purposes) etc.

Two bits of lino, one for the highlight colour, the other one for the rest (not printing the 'Christmas '09' bit this time round, for obvious reasons).

Nice new press, clamped to a bit of kitchen.

Highlights printed and drying.

- Update - All finished now:

All ready to send one out into the world. Exciting!

What I Want From An Ebook - Part II

Since I posted that, the excellent James Bridle has launched a campaign called Open Bookmarks, whose aim is to enable sharing of reader comments across reader devices. And he sets that aspiration in a very interesting historical and literary context. Read all about it here and also see the interesting comments below, in which James describes what he wants, and I would entirely second this, as "selfish socialising" ie control over who reads your annotations.

What I Want From an Ebook

I've tried three different types of ebook now: plain and simple on a sony eReader, an Enhanced Edition on an iPhone, and a standard ebook on the iPad.

I liked them all. Like many, I discovered that a Sony eReader isn't quite as perfect for holidays as you might hope: sunlight and screens don't mix, and you don't really want to leave it by the pool. But in general it's handy and doesn't get in the way of the reading experience. I read David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet on an eReader (on holiday), and it blew my mind.

Mind you, if I compare the experience of reading the Mitchell with that of the equally extraordinary Wolf Hall, there is just a tiny bit of extra satisfaction I gained from owning a physical copy of the latter. I liked the fact that it sat there waiting temptingly on the shelf in between reads. And I like that the object changed as I read the text within it. I now have a warped, creased and generally softened up paperback, containing a wad of paper - my bookmark - covered in notes and tucked inside. It remains on the shelf, unmistakably my cherished, pored-over book.

The Enhanced Edition of Bunny Munroe for the iPhone is terrific. Not so much for the extras, but for the basics. I didn't feel any need to watch the video of the author reading his book (very well produced, but just too reminiscent of Jim Morrison poetry scenes in the Doors movie), though I did think the synchronised audio was well done. What was most impressive was just how well the book read on a small screen, due to proper care and attention being paid to the formatting of the text.

When I came to read a book on the iPad, I spent a bit more time exploring the intuitive way you can highlight a bit of text, or just a word, and tag it with a typed note. Barely more effort than my scribbles on a bookmark, and probably more durable.

What I really want (to arrive, at last, at my point) is to be able to share such notes.

The main purpose of scribbling down stuff about Wolf Hall was to highlight things for discussion in my book club. I love my book club. We almost always have good discussions, but sometimes a tiny detail of prose style seems too small to raise in the discussion, or awkward, if it would require people to check back to a page reference. Or sometimes I just forget to mention things. What I want from an ebook is the ability to invite all twelve of my book group members, and a selection of friends and family whose opinions I find interesting, to see my annotations, and for me to be able to see theirs.

I think this would affect the reading experience quite profoundly, and almost certainly positively. It would be a genuinely social, collaborative experience, but one you control yourself. You can always ignore friends' notes, or read them later.

Two examples encourage me to think it would work. Firstly Apt's Golden Notebooks experiment; a close reading exercise where, theoretically, anyone could annotate the online text (in practice the academics leading it were too damn clever, and put normal people off). Apt is Peter Collingridge, the same chap who makes Enhanced Editions, so it's equally elegant.

Secondly, reading a draft of Chris Cleave's new book with his editor's comments in the margin (annotated in the Word doc) was fascinating. Partly because, as unfinished work, it gave an insight into the editorial conversation, but mostly because it was just fascinating to see where I agreed or disagreed with Chris' editor simply as a fellow reader.

Anyway, it all seems very doable from a technological point of view, unless I've missed the point massively. is anyone doing it?