BOOK CLUB - Galway

pseudonym1

Hi Guys
unfortunatly I cant make it this evening - something came up last minute. Its a shame because I was looking forward to venting my disgust at the book! It has been wierdest thing ever read.
Also may be the first time since my joining that ladies outnumber the men!
Anyway have fun - and look forward to seeing the opinions on book

Tawny

Hi - after last nights meet the idea of a Halloween book was mentioned again.

The suggestions so far were Dracula or Frankenstein, Dracula is pretty short and they should both be relatively easy to get.

Does anyone want to do it?

TristanPeter

I'd love to read Frankenstein. I have read Dracula before. I think it would be great to read somethinh Halloweeney

pseudonym1

Yep +1 for Frankenstein.
What were the reveiws Choke?!

TristanPeter

All in favour of reading Frankenstein for next BookClub for Halloween?

please let me know if this is a problem. I know it's short notice.


Only Tristan C managed to finish Choke but I will put up datails of it tomorrow. I should be finished it by then too
so I can give my own rating of it. Feel free to put up your own thoughts Pseudonym1 etc.

Pinkshoes

Frankenstein sounds good to me. Was looking up scary reads on the internet and it appears in pretty much all the top tens!

Tawny

So is Frankenstein the book for the next meet instead of Factotum, or are we reading both?

PopeBuckfastXVI

I think just Frankenstein

TristanPeter

Yeah, just Frankenstein for the 28th. We can discuss Factotum at the following meeting. It should be easy to get in town. Think I'll take a walk in now and look for it

PopeBuckfastXVI

Get me a copy T!

Tawny

Ok cool looking forward to it.

TristanPeter

I bought Frankenstein yesterday in Dubray books for €2.85. Not bad huh?

Angelandie

I didnt manage to make it for the last meeting but i did manage to finish Choke! It was undoubtly the wierdest book i have ever read! I'm not sure I would bother to read any of his other books! Looking forward to frankenstein.

Ms. Ka

Can anyone join the book club?
If so whats the next book and where are you meeting?

TristanPeter

Yip, anyone can join the club

Our next meeting is next Tuesday evening at 8pm in Bar No. 8 on the docks. We are reading Frankenstein at the moment...in celebration of Halloween.

Look forward to seeing you there Ms. K

rumplestiltskin

hey there.this sounds like a great idea. can i join please?? where and when do ye meet??

PopeBuckfastXVI

Hi Rumple... see the post above yours!

TristanPeter

Hello Everyone,

Just a few words in relation to Choke, the last book we discussed at BookClub. I know this is late, but as they say better late than never!

Ok, from what I could gather no one was to keen on the book at all. Tristan C finished it on time. I finished it a few days later and apart from us two, I'm not sure who else read the whole thing. I don't think anyone was to bothered about finishing it anyway.

I thought it was ok. Nothing special at all really. Lots of shock value used in it and none of the characters in it were really that likable. The Mother was an annoying bi**h especially. In all I think the whole thing was a bit childish, and trying too hard to be too cool for school. I don't know if there was any point to the book either. The plot was very thin in my opinion ans as I expected there was a twist at the end. I only expected it to be honest because I thought the book was basically a copy of FightClub, just with different scenarios. It's interesting that on the cover, there is a critique that says 'Choke is FightClub for sex addicts'. I get the impression that this wasn't necessarily meant as a "good" criticism, but those clever marketing people decided to make it into one by turning it around and putting it on full view...in a way letting this book ride on the coat tails of success of FightClub. As I felt myself, this was just a copy of FightClub but in a different situation and that's what I believe the critic was getting at when he wrote the review displayed on the cover.

The film will be out fairly soon. I'm kind of interested in seeing it because in my opinion the film FightClub was better that the book, so I'm wondering if they will manage to do the same here. Plus, Kelly McDonald (from Trainspotting is in it ). I think that's her correct name.

In all, I would give the book 5/10. The characters were too annoying, especially their dialogue. The plot was too thin and the whole shock value gimmick doesn't really work. Bit of a cheap trick. But having said that, some of it was kind of funny.

One question...is the main character a "sex addict" or is he just a regular young male doing what lots of regular young males do? Maybe this is one of the points of the book...to point fingers at percieved stereotypes. As in, if you go to the bar once a week, you're obviously an alco. If you like having sex, you're a sex addict? Political correctness gone too far. I know the book is an exaggeration and somewhat of a satire but is this the reasoning behind it?

The discussion was attended by:
Sec
Brian O' S
Pinkshoes
Tawny
Pope Buckfast
Tristan C (who wrote a review which I can't find at the moment )
myself
Think that's everyone who attended

TristanPeter

Hi Everyone,

Our Halloween Bookclub will take place this evening in Bar No. 8 at 8pm. Feel free to dress up in a Halloween costume

Pinkshoes

Hey guys!

I was thinking of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac as the next book choice. Any objections? Let me know if ye have already read it.

Pinkshoes

TristanPeter

I think there was a question in yesterday's Irish Times cross-word about that book. Hmmm, interesting!

pseudonym1

Pinkshoes wrote: »

Hey guys!

I was thinking of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac as the next book choice. Any objections? Let me know if ye have already read it.

Pinkshoes

Sounds Good

PopeBuckfastXVI

Yep I wouldn't mind giving that a go

Ms. Ka

cool that sounds like an interesting book.

pseudonym1

Hello All

In honor of Halloween we read Frankenstein, the popular novel by Mary Shelly written in 1818. Although I didn’t yet finish it, found this one of the most enjoyable and interesting book club discussions so far.

Whilst the book is not scary the issues it addresses are haunting; it questions mans attempt to control and create nature - poignant topics of the time
The authenticity and references in the story brought perspective to our discussion.
I am not going to give a synopsis of the tale. We all know the gist but surprisingly enough the popular image of Frankenstein is not as documented in the book.

Disappointingly there wasn’t a detailed description of and how the monster was created. He was however 8 foot tall could speak different languages (not sure how many?!) and graciously visited Ireland.


We discussed the ethics and topics the book posed and it brought up subjects that seem more relevant today than would have been 190 years ago.
Some of the interesting ones I remember

Who is to blame for the actions of Frankenstein?
Was Victor really the monster?
The ethic responsibility that needs to go hand and hand with science
Was it Victor’s responsibility to teach morals and code of ethics to his creation?

Enough of my ramblings here is how those who attended rated it:

TristanPeter = 8/10 Amazing original concept for its time, very well written but dialouge a little heavy. Poses interesting ethical questions..

Sec = 7/10 Not finished yet

Pinkshoes = 8/10 Very good. Well written and easy to read

Pseudonym1 = looking forward to finishing it

Mrs Ka = 6.5/10 Surprised enjoyed but wouldnt read it again - glad I did read it

Twany = 9/10 Brillaint ideas and themes. Really made me think

PopeBuckFastXVI = Didnt finish it, but enjoyed as far as I got

Sorry couldnt manage the link for the pic. Overall good meeting nobody dressedup though!

Think thats all. Those who didnt attend were sorely missed and see ye all Tuesday week!

Till then

TristanPeter

Great post Pseudonym! You can do it more often

TristanPeter

And...Frankenstein was a vegetarian, living on a diet of coarse foods, berries and nuts. He could also survive on less food than a human and withstand much higher extremes in temperature than a human!

Just thought that was interesting

TristanPeter

Hi Everyone,

Just to remind you that we will be discussing Factotum by Charles Bukowski tomorrow evening at 8:00/8:30 in Bar No. 8.

Looking forward to seeing you there

Tawny

Sorry for the delay in getting this done - but better late than never and all that!

Factotum, Charles Bukowski, 11th November 2008

Most people finished the book, and everyone enjoyed it for being something a bit different. It’s well written, easy to read and very funny when describing the situations Chinaski finds himself in.

Factotum is an account of a drifter, drinking and working (occasionally) his way across America. Getting drunk, arrested, sacked and womanising throughout the book, it’s a life of few achievements or successes, but somehow the main character, Chinaski, seems resigned to his fate, and determined to enjoy it as much as possible.

It sounds depressing, but in a strange way it’s quite uplifting. To see a character drift through from one strange situation or dysfunctional relationship to another, without having learned any lessons, and seemingly content to carry on, perhaps makes us all feel a little better about ourselves.

The discussion mainly focused on Chinaski, and how he felt about his situation. He did have some motivation; his dream of becoming a writer, but otherwise seemed to quite enjoy his position as a drifter. Or perhaps he didn’t, but couldn’t quite be bothered to pick himself up and settle down to a ‘proper’ job.

But maybe the whole point is that the idea of the ‘proper job’ doesn’t exist, it is simply what society expects of us, and through Chinaski the author is showing there is as much point and fun in having a crappy life as living the good life and the ‘American dream’.

There’s no revelations at the end of the book, nothing has changed for Chinaski and there’s no great eureka moment where he is inspired to join society as a respectable functioning citizen. This is good, as an ending like that would have made the whole point of the book null and void.

The group couldn’t decide what was meant by the last few lines in the book. Either it was a reflection on his life of dissipation and lethargy, or it was simply that this was just one more thing he couldn’t be bothered doing.

TristianPeter: Brilliant book. Very funny at times but bleak also. I find it hard to know if Chinaski has a great life in the book, or a sh*t one. Perhaps both.

Erika: I really enjoyed the book and it was an easy read and funny. Interesting to realise that there are people who have little or no ambition who seem content to drift through life.

James: Best book of the two I’ve done so far for the club and it is the kind of book I’d read myself and really enjoy. The repetitive, cyclical nature of his alcoholism and wildness was refreshing because no big lesson was forced at the end. Great!

Anne: Different to what I would usually read but found it all the more enjoyable because of that.

Damien: Book sounds great. Definitely reading it!

TristanPeter

I heard a short review of the film Choke on The Last Word last Thursday evening. I thought it was interesting that the woman reviewing it (from Crimealwayspays.com or Hot Press ???) said she thought that the film itself thought it was much funnier and smarter than it actually was. That's exactly how I felt about the book. The authoe was definitely trying to be to-cool-for-school. She didn't think it was a great film overall either. Still, I might go to see it just to see how it compares to the book.