For the Love of Reading
Our group is well established and the ten women of this group has been reading, discussing and critiquing a variety of fiction and poetry for a number of years. During this time we have read 60+ books.
Our members have a variety of interests and have very full lives: working and taking care of family and friends; or those of us who are enjoying their retirement years with all the pleasures' that may bring. The town of Renfrew and the people who live here have a strong sense of community.
Our group of women come together once a month from September to June. At our first meeting of the year we choose the ten books we are planning to read. The books with the most votes make the list. The person who recommends a particular work of fiction leads the discussion. We usually give a summary of an author's work(s) and then we have a lively discussion of what we liked or disliked about the book. Each book is ranked on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the lowest rank with a 5 being the highest score.
Our last discussion was about Alice Munro and her book: "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage."(2001) Ms. Munro's works of fiction over the years' has been excellent. Her treatment of the short-story genre is beloved and acclaimed by critics and readers. The themes' in this volume addressed the problems of middle age, of women alone and the elderly. Our group ranked this work with rankings of 4's and 5's. She is one of our favourite author's.
Next month's selection is Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones. I will post what we thought about this book in June 2010.
Happy reading everyone.
Candice D. Renfrew, ON.
Rankings of the Books Read to Date
Please note all rankings are between 1-5.
| DATE | BOOK AND AUTHOR | RANKING |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 09 | The Book of Negroes By Lawrence Hall | 4.0 |
| Oct. 09 | The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society By Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows | 4.O |
| Nov. 09 | Three Day Road By Joseph Boyden | 4.5 |
| Jan.10 | The Hour I First Believed By Wally Lamb | 4 |
| Feb. 10 | Hateship, Friendship, Courtship Loveship, Marriage By Alice Munro | 4 |
| March 10 | The Piano Man's Daughter By Timothy Findlay | 4 |
| April 10 | Fault Lines By Nancy Houston | 3.47 |
| May 10 | Alexander Graham Bell: the Reluctant Genius By Charlotte Gray | 3.7 |
| June 10 | Mr. Pip By Lloyd Jones |
