Tuesday Tipplers - we also read books

[Chick]

Hi everybody,

The Wednesday night book club may well have some spare free PG Wodehouse books. If you would like one in return for writing a few words about it please let me know.

Chick

[Alec John Moore]

The following message was sent to me via Reading Groups for Everyone ( http://readinggroups.org/ )

Name: Sarah Davies

Dear Alec,

Seren would like to invite you and

the Tuesday Tipplers to the series finale of New Stories from the Mabinogion on 21st October in Somerset House.

Featuring:

Owen Sheers | Russell Celyn Jones | Gwyneth Lewis | Niall Griffiths | Horatio Clare | Fflur Dafydd | Cynan Jones | Tishani Doshi | Trezza Azzopardi

In Seren’s ‘New Stories from the Mabinogion’, ten great authors have taken the Celtic myth cycle as a starting point to give us masterly re-workings with a modern twist in a series both various and wonderful. We’ve reached the orbit of Mars, the Tower of London and the edges of India, travelled in time to WW2 and forward to the near future, seen Iraq in drug-addled dreams, and viewed Wales aslant, from its countryside to its council estates. We’ve touched on nation-building and personal tragedy, bravery and betrayal.

Now you have the never-to-be-repeated chance to meet nine top authors at the Series Finale in the fantastic setting of Somerset House. Expect an evening of wit, argument and great readings as we celebrate the launch of the final two titles, Fountainville by Tishani Doshi and The Tip of My Tongue by Trezza Azzopardi.

Tickets cost £7, to include £2 off any book purchase made on the night and are available from https://newstoriesfromthemabinogion.eventbrite.co.uk/

I would appreciate if you could pass this message on to other group members.

I look forward to meeting members for a lively discussion on the night.

Best Regards,

[charmw]

Hi, I would really like to join a book club. Would it be ok to come to the November 5th session? Thank you

[waddinac]

Hiya,

New members are always welcome - we're usually at the tables by the front windows at the House of Tippler. Hope to see you on the 5th!

Alex

[charmw]

Hi Alex thanks that sounds great, looking forward to it!

[susan_]

Looking forward to the discussion tomorrow evening at the Tippler (7:45 for 8pm start as usual).

Below is the list for our December book choice...(I have a faint recollection that the last book may have been read by this club but I'm not sure so I've included it anyway.)

Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

Written in the 1960?s as a collection of skits, letters, notes, and occasionally stretches of dialogue between the teachers and students. It chronicles the goings-on in a large metropolitan high school, detailing the experiences of an idealistic first-year teacher who is plagued by difficulties arising from an overwhelming bureaucracy, inadequate facilities, and some unforgettable students. Made into a film in 1967.

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

Written in 1942, it takes the format of a series of letters from Screwtape, a devil high in the Infernal Civil Service, to his nephew Wormwood, a junior colleague engaged in his first mission on earth trying to secure the damnation of a young man who has just become a Christian. Although the young man initially looks to be a willing victim, he changes his ways and is ?lost? to the young devil.

The Documents in the Case by Dorothy Sayers and Robert Eustace

Written in 1930, this crime novel presents a series of documents (letters, medical reports, newspaper headlines, etc.) relating to the suspicious death of a man. This is the only of Sayers? major crime novels which doesn?t feature her famous detective, Lord Peter Wimsey.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Written in 1897 as a series of letters, diary entries, ships' log entries, and newspaper clippings - the story of Count Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff

Written in 1970 as the twenty-year correspondence between her and Frank Doel, chief buyer of Marks & Co, antiquarian booksellers located at the eponymous address in London, England. Hanff, in search of obscure classics and British literature titles she had been unable to find in New York City, noticed an ad in the Saturday Review of Literature and first contacted the shop in 1949, and it fell to Doel to fulfill her requests. In time, a long-distance friendship evolved, not only between the two, but between Hanff and other staff members as well, with an exchange of Christmas packages, birthday gifts, and food parcels to compensate for post-World War II food shortages in Britain.

[charmw]

Hi guys really wanted to make it tonight but unfortunately am ill :( which is rubbish because was really looking forward to it! Hopefully can make the December date!

[waddinac]

Hi peeps,

Afraid I won't make it tonight. Hope you all have a good evening

Alex

[JS33]

And I'll be a bit late but will get there eventually.

[Alec John Moore]

On my way. Alec

[susan_]

Next meeting will be Tuesday 3 December at the usual time of 7:45 for 8 o'clock start. We voted to read Dracula by Bram Stoker. Just a note on editions - we're reading the 1901 version (somewhat shortened by Stoker himself), not the 1897 version. I suspect most of what is easily available is the right version. Do also note that the text is available free from a number of online sources if you want to read electronically.

There is a gothic film festival on a the BFI this month - I haven't had a chance to look at dates and times. Any interest?

[JS33]

Apologies if I'm somehow missing something obvious, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find a hard copy of the right edition at a reasonable price. Amazon is selling something called the "Rare Text of 1901" for a mere 350 quid -- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dracula-The-Rare-Text-1901/dp/1551350009. Has anyone else managed to find a normal version of the right edition?

[Alec John Moore]

Hi

I spotted that after I'd already started the 1897 version on Kindle. I did see an Usborne edition but that seems to have been written more recently and aimed at younger readers. I'm finding the 1897 version really quite interesting and the language isn't so archaic that it is tough to wade through.

Alec

[susan_]

Hmm I was under the impression that the most readily available edition was the slightly revised one, but I guess that's not the case. I suggest we all just get whatever edition we can get our hands on and if we end up with a mix then we'll have an even richer conversation.

[sparklehorse]

Oh dear I somehow got unsubscribed from this thread, so hadn't seen this discussion until now ... I've finished the book on kindle ... No idea which version?! Although had to ban myself from reading before bedtime!

I'd be interested to catch some of the gothic season at BFI too if I'm not to late ... Eg nosferatu is on this coming week if of interest to anyone?

E

[eaneal]

Hi

I just wanted to say i'm thinking of coming along, as I've been looking for a book group nearby. I assume it's not compulsory to have read the book beforehand? I'm not sure I will have time before Tuesday!

Elizabeth

[Alec John Moore]

Hi Elizabeth

Sorry, just picked this up. Hope you can make it tomorrow. It's not essential that you've read the book since our discussions tend to range quite widely. We don't seem to have agreed a theme for the list for the next book. I'll get my thinking hat on. Hope to see you tomorrow.

Best wishes

Alec

[kennethw]

Well, you asked me to compile a list on Russia. So in no particular order, here are my final 5. See you all tomorrow.

Yevgeny Zamyatin ? We (256 pages)

In the 26th Century, in a glass city, the citizens of OneState live under the totalitarian rule of the Benefactor freedom - until D-503, a mathematician who dreams in numbers, makes a discovery: he has an individual soul. ?We? was written before George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. It was finally published in 1988 after being suppressed for 60 years.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn ? One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich (144 pages)

The story about the fate of millions of Russians under Stalin. Here safety, warmth and food are the first objectives in an atmosphere of incarceration, brutality, hard manual labour and freezing cold - and participate in the struggle of men to survive both the terrible rigours of nature and the inhumanity of the system that defines their conditions of life. First published in 1962 and a real milestone in the de-Stalinisation of the USSR under Krushchev.

Ivan Turgenev ? Fathers and Sons (256 pages)

Turgenev?s study of conflict between the generations is best known for the character of Bazarov, the energetic, cynical, and self-assured `nihilist' who repudiates the romanticism of his elders. The image of humanity liberated by science from age-old conformities and prejudices is one that can threaten establishments of any political or religious persuasion still resonates today and is the main reason why this novel is hailed as Turgenev?s most durable work.

Boris Akunin ? The Death of Achilles (368 pages)

Erast Fandorin returns to Moscow, only to find himself instantly embroiled in court politics and scandal. His old friend General Sobolev - the famous 'Russian Achilles' - has been found dead in a hotel room, and Fandorin suspects foul play. He embarks on an investigation, during which the political and the personal may become dangerously blurred. With the assistance of some formidable martial arts skills, acquired whilst Fandorin was in Japan, our eccentric and ingenious hero must endeavour to discover not so much whodunit, as why...

Leo Tolstoy ? Anna Karenina (817 pages)

Now, the other 4 choices have been cribbed from the back cover, but I can take this one from here. This isn?t a story about a woman who dies under a train after a love affair goes wrong. It?s about going on a journey. It?s about gradually unveiling a portrait. It?s about discovering and looking at things that seemed familiar with a fresh pair of eyes. It?s about thinking you?ve got it right and then realising you haven?t. It?s about going out on a limb. It?s about questioning where you are and where you?re going. It?s much easier to read than the length suggests, and I really hope we pick it.

Kenneth

[Alec John Moore]

Hi Kenneth, think I was having a senior moment, or something, and forgot about the Russian list.

See you tomorrow.

Alec

[waddinac]

The Russians are coming!!!!

[JS33]

So sorry, but I'm afraid I'm staying home sick tonight. Very annoyed, as I read the book 1.5 times and was looking forward to the discussion. In lieu of my germy self, I'll contribute the following excerpt from the introduction in whatever edition of the book I have, which I'd been planning on sharing in person: "The achievement of Dracula is all in spite of its author, whose cack-handed attempts at literature only accidentally unleashed the primal force of myth." Please discuss and let me know next time where you think the book lands on the "literature or not?" scale!

Great list, Kenneth! I'll PM you separately with my vote, so as not to skew the results.

[susan_]

And the winner is....Leo Tolstoy ? Anna Karenina

Given the length of the book and the busy time of year we agreed to give ourselves a bit longer to read before meeting to discuss. Date to be determined...and I don't think we picked a theme and list maker yet for the next book...

But, since we all enjoy getting together we'll meet at the Patch (previously the Mag) on Tuesday 7 January. Alex offered to book a table.

And finally as I mentioned last night, I would really like to see Gone with the Wind on the big screen. It's showing at the BFI Southbank through the end of the year. So I've booked seat F3 for the showing at 6:20pm on Wednesday 11 December. There are seats available for this showing, so do come along.

[Alec John Moore]

Another fine evening sitting around a book, chatting and enjoying a nice tipple. So, Anna Karenina, I wonder how that one turns out.

We mentioned the joy of putting together our lists of books and how valuable they are for reading inspiration between official book group titles. Well, I've put a few into pdf format and saved them in a Dropbox folder. You can get the link by going to the Tuesday Tipplers page on Reading Groups for Everyone:

http://readinggroups.org/groups/location/london/southwark/tuesday-tipplers.html

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the link to Our website. Let me know how you get on.

See you in the new year.

Alec

[susan_]

Hi tipplers, are we still on for dinner at the Patch on Tuesday? Are we booked for the usual time?

[waddinac]

Yep, table is booked under my name for Tuesday at the usual time. See you there!

Alex