BOOK CLUB - Galway

Rowena P

Hi there
Delighted to hear you will try and make it. All book club members will be most welcome. It would be great if you could add it to your reading list. The authors name is Capt. Joseph W. Barbelo.

Rumoured to be living in Galway.

Ok, its a pen name, don't tell anyone tho! Actual author is called Joe, he will be at launch, but otherwise keeping his head down!

TristanPeter

If I ever win our super BookClub lottery again, I'll definitely nominate it

galwaybabe

I have just finished Barbelo's Blood and I have to say it is an excellent roller-coaster ride through 1980s' Brixton through the eyes of Captain Joseph Barbelo. Along this ride expect to contemplate many conspiracies and philosophies while experiencing the mental twists and turns of a man exposed to two world wars. I found it an eye-opening adventure from start to finish and a very intuitive portrayal of an elderly man trying to grasp what has happened to the world around him.

Rowena P

I am delighted to hear that TristanPeter thank you....

Galwaybabe I am also delighted to hear that you enjoyed it...I am amazed that women seem to like it including myself.. cause chick lit it aint....my mother (73 years old) is currently reading it and also agrees that it is excellently written albeit challenging for her on the profainity front!!

Rowena

galwaybabe

Rowena P wrote: »

I am delighted to hear that TristanPeter thank you....

Galwaybabe I am also delighted to hear that you enjoyed it...I am amazed that women seem to like it including myself.. cause chick lit it aint....my mother (73 years old) is currently reading it and also agrees that it is excellently written albeit challenging for her on the profainity front!!

Rowena

I agree, Rowena, chick lit it ain't. It is a very sensitive portrayal of the Captain's story despite the profanities, which probably makes it more attractive than one would expect.

I love the way I can hear the London accent when I'm reading it and I suppose the profanities help this. It would remind me of Irvine Welsh's Scottish accent in his books.

TristanPeter

galwaybabe wrote: »

I agree, Rowena, chick lit it ain't. It is a very sensitive portrayal of the Captain's story despite the profanities, which probably makes it more attractive than one would expect.

I love the way I can hear the London accent when I'm reading it and I suppose the profanities help this. It would remind me of Irvine Welsh's Scottish accent in his books.

I'm looking forward to reading it now. It sounds very interesting.

By the way, are we agreed on Catch 22 as the book to be read after Ms. Smilla's Feeling for Snow is there one in between I can't remember. God, the weeks are flying!

carol123

Hey

Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow is next, then Catch 22 but someone's been picked for the next choice so we're good for a few weeks. Plenty to 'finish reading'!:D

Like the Barbello suggestion too by the way.

Ms. Ka

hey lads,
I wont make it to the meeting tonight as have the sniffles and dont feel like sharing them.
Was a bit slow to read this week's book but about half way through and am really into it now. See you in 2 weeks.

Karmas Phial

Hello,
Apologies for jumping onto this thread, but just wanted to ask if ye guys are still accepting members to the Galway Book Club? I would be interested in joining.

Ms. Ka

New members are always welcome, just come along to the next meeting 28th of July 8:30ish in the Cottage bar. have to be over 18 just because of the location though. The next book we're reading is Catch 22 by Joesph Heller.

Karmas Phial

Cool Ill be there, Nice book choice! I read it a few years back so ill go over it for Tuesday week. Look foreward to meeting ye all.

carmex21

hey there,
I was just wondering if a book had been picked for after Catch 22 ? After the meeting the other night I wasn't sure if I needed to pick one or not !

If so, how about Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell?

Sorry, if that has already been read by the group before - which leads me to the next question. Is there a list of the books that have already been read ?

Thanks

carol123

Hi folks

Think Aenghus was last to have his name picked out so it should be his turn to nominate next.

TristanPeter

If Aengus doesn't nominate we could go ahead with Carmex21's nomination I suppose. Is Aeongus on Boards.ie And no, Carmex21's nom. has not been read for BookClub. I'll order it now I think.
There is no list put I can put one together quickly enough

carmex21

right oh.
well, I will check back Monday and see what the story ( no pun intended! ) is..

Have a nice weekend..

Optimus Whine

Howdy. This is Aonghus, yeah I do have to select a book. I'm going to go with White Noise by Don Delillo.
As far as I know Charlie Brynes have a few copies knocking around.

TristanPeter

Hi All,

The last book we discussed was Ms Smilla’s Feeling for Snow by Peter Høeg. It was this book that earned the author international literary success. At just over 400 pages long, it seemed to take me forever to get through it and if anything, it felt a lot longer than 400 pages. The literary style was quite complex, hence the slow pace and I found that I really had to concentrate or I’d find myself reading over the same lines again and again.

The main character, or heroine, is Smilla, a 37 year old woman who was born in Greenland (Denmark’s northern-most county according to the book) but who was brought by her Danish father to Denmark when she was a child, following the death of her much idolised mother. Because of this Smilla, even at the ripe old age of 37, still has a major chip on her shoulder. She bangs on about Greenland all the time and how great it is blah, blah, blah and after the 100th time she mentions it in the story, I felt like telling her (if that would have been at all possible) to pi*s off back to Greenland so if you miss the place so much!

Apart from the annoying whining of Smilla I did like the story overall. It was a bit far-fetched in places and especially when Smilla progressively turns into the female equivalent of Rambo, kicking ass all around. The book won Time magazine’s “Book of the Year”. Why? I don’t know! A lot of it did read like a scientific journal on the topics of ice and snow formation. Maybe it was this natural science aspect that appealed to Time magazine judges, but for me, this grew old fairly quickly, just as Smilla’s whinging did. I felt it would be like me saying “I was taken from some bog in Connemara when I was 3 years old, but God, how I miss those lovely peat formations and those wondrous wet patches, and the starvation and the lovely, freezing, wet, shi**y weather…and I’m only 37 now. What a great memory for the good old times I have!”

There was also a freaky sexual act on page 171 (you’ll have to read it to find out what it is) which at least in my own limited knowledge of the human anatomy, is not very likely…but please, correct me if I’m wrong

Throughout the story, there are many reflective passages on Smilla’s part. These were interesting mostly and I did learn quite a lot about Greenland and the Inuit inhabitants because of them. So, for me the book was more educational than a fun read. The author is very thorough in his descriptiveness and his research must have been formidable. However, as an exercise in fiction, I felt that the plot was a little loose. The story was too focused on certain aspects such as…yes, the snow and ice while the other characters apart from Smilla were not explored in enough depth to make them seem real. Some of the characters, to me, were quite similar and I found myself asking numerous times “who’s that again?” The story for me was like a forced marriage of adventure, science fiction, poetry, natural science and research…and not forgetting a tiny, awkward hint of the karma Sutra thrown in for good measure

But enough from me; here’s what the other attendees had to say:

Carmax21 (5/10)
“Half way through book. So far I like the mix of realism and philosophical musings. Very disjointed, but keeps the mind alert!”

Maja (10/10)

“I just love this book! Lovely, reflective style of writing, interesting heroine, engrossing plot.”

Bethm (6/10)

“Long time since I read this but found it difficult to remember. A bit disjointed as far as I can remember.”

TristanPeter (5/10)

“Overly descriptive. Too much hard work so any good parts I felt were negated by the boring, finite details. I liked the heroine Smilla I must admit, despite her whinging and I would love to visit Copenhagen now because of this book. The ending was a real anti-climax.”

Ms. Ka

TristanPeter wrote: »

Hi All,

There was also a freaky sexual act on page 171 (you’ll have to read it to find out what it is) which at least in my own limited knowledge of the human anatomy, is not very likely…but please, correct me if I’m wrong ”

Oh thank god it struck someone else as being completely wrong too!

I liked the book but I'm still not finished it which isnt a good sign

carmex21

Optimus Whine wrote: »

Howdy. This is Aonghus, yeah I do have to select a book. I'm going to go with White Noise by Don Delillo.
As far as I know Charlie Brynes have a few copies knocking around.

Hi there,
Just wondering if anyone going to the next Tuesday meet up may have a spare copy that they would trust me with please? The Libraries in Galway do not have a copy.....

Thanks a mill...

ps. yes, p171 does rather boggle the mind ! :eek:

TristanPeter

Hi,
I assume you mean Catch 22? I have a reserved copy ready for collection in the NUIG Library. I bought one for myself in the meantime however. I can still get it I'm sure if you like?

carmex21

Hello there,

Thanks for that but I meant White Noise by Don Delillo...
I am trying to use the Libraries where possible as I like to support them but when I called they only had 1 copy and it is in Tuam!

I will ask around and if I have no luck I can try Charlie Byrnes...Just slow to buy more books at the moment as they are stacked out the door and down the path at this stage!

Thanks though...:)

TristanPeter

I'll check the library here for it in NUIG. According to my search, there should be a copy on the shelf. I've already ordered a copy from AwesomeBooks.org

It is Catch 22 we are supposed to read next isn't it
It's such a brilliant book. I forgot how funny it is

TristanPeter

Requested White Noise from the customer service desk in NUIG library. It wasn't on the shelf when I looked. It should be available tomorrow or the day after they said, if you still want it Carmex21? If not, I'll just cancel the request

Hmm if I'm not working this day next week I think I might mosey along. Where are ye meeting?

TristanPeter

See signature below please

carmex21

Oh, thanks a mill.
Yes please, if you can pick up a copy for me that would be great.

I can pick it up on Tuesday (and yes it is Catch 22, sos if i confused the issue!) and will return it the Tuesday we meet to discuss it. Is that ok ? Can you keep the book out that long ?

Thanks again...:)

TristanPeter

carmex21 wrote: »

hey there,
I was just wondering if a book had been picked for after Catch 22 ? After the meeting the other night I wasn't sure if I needed to pick one or not !

If so, how about Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell?

Sorry, if that has already been read by the group before - which leads me to the next question. Is there a list of the books that have already been read ?

Thanks

Hi,

Here's the list of books that we have read so far...finally

The Life of Pi
The Time Traveller's Wife
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
The Motel Life
Fahrenheit 451
The Silver Swan
The Siege of Krishnapur
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town
The Sea
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Poor Mouth (An Beal Bocht)
The Bridge Across Forever :eek:
Factotum
Choke
Tender is the Night
Frankenstein
On the Road
A Christmas Memory
Slaughterhouse 5
The Doors of Perception
Oryx and Crake
Two Caravans
Birdsong
Animal Farm
Lord of the Flies
I'm Not Scared
Shooting an Elephant and other Short Stories
The Crying of Lot 49
American Psycho
Vernon God Little
To Kill a Mockingbird
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow
Catch 22 (current)

Please let me know if I have left any out.

TristanPeter

Rowena P wrote: »

Hi there
Delighted to hear you will try and make it. All book club members will be most welcome. It would be great if you could add it to your reading list. The authors name is Capt. Joseph W. Barbelo.

Rumoured to be living in Galway.

Ok, its a pen name, don't tell anyone tho! Actual author is called Joe, he will be at launch, but otherwise keeping his head down!

Hi All,

Is anyone going to the Barbelo's Blood book launch this evening in Charlie Byrnes? I'm definitely going so if anyone wants to meet up in advance for a pint, let me know

carmex21

Would go but heading to a gig..

Sounds interesting..

Enjoy the pints and the reading !

PopeBuckfastXVI

TristanPeter wrote: »

Hi All,

Is anyone going to the Barbelo's Blood book launch this evening in Charlie Byrnes? I'm definitely going so if anyone wants to meet up in advance for a pint, let me know

T,

I'll be in the Front door from about 6ish with the lads from work...