“The Atom Station” by Halldór Laxness (5 August, 2015)

I was really surprised at the reception to Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion.  While there weren't many people in attendance at the pub on a cold winter night, the people who had finished thought it was a really interesting story than told a different story than the usual Hollywood myth of the transformative journey from anonymity to success.  Written as a string of scenes playing out through the lives of second tier actors and auteurs, it's a less attractive view of people lost in a journey to stardom.

We toyed with a few books for the next book group meeting but settled on Mark's suggestion of The Atom Station by Halldór Laxness, a Nobel prize winner for literature.

Hope to see everyone at The All Nations Hotel on August 5.  There has been some discussion about trying Moondog Brewery as an alternative location.  Perhaps we could try that with an ex-curricular meeting on July 1?

“Play it As It Lays" by Joan Didion (3 June, 2015)

[I apologise that I’ve put this up a few days late – I’ll have myself beaten]

The discussion of The Sense Of An Ending by Julian Barnes, last month’s book, was really interesting: there were a group of us who really enjoyed it, and another set who thought that the story was a bit “confected” and implausible.

The next book, Joan Didion’s Play It As It Lays was chosen with an uncharacteristic lack of fuss.  Many thanks to Tom and Edward for bringing some books along for us to consider.

Hope to see everyone at The All Nations Hotel on June 3.

“The Sense Of An Ending" by Julian Barnes (6 May, 2015)

It was a smaller turnout than we’ve been seeing but there was a very good discussion Javier Marias’s A Man Of Feeling.  While the book was a little slow to start, it became compelling as the story progressed.

That led to a long discussion about the next book and the sorts of things that we’re looking for.  Mark had bought along a fistful of good books which were discussed and also used to spark wider discussion of others.  After considering a number of alternatives we settled on “The Sense Of An Ending” by Julian Barnes.

The date for this meeting was originally April 1 but as that falls during the holidays, the "extraordinary meeting" rules apply.

“The Man Of Feeling" by Javier Marias (4 March, 2015)

Unusually there were quite a few people who hadn’t read last month’s book, How To Be Alone by Jonathan Franzen, me included, though I was over halfway.  The discussion about it was a bit curtailed due to the need to discuss extensively Tony Abbott’s political travails in Canberra.

We also had a little book group excursion across the road to acknowledge the astonishing work that Rohan has done to the school and in particular the new entrance from Lennox street.  Ben gave a brief acknowledgement and then Quinn and Mark both read some poems that they’d both written, each of which was really touching.

The next book is Javier Marias’s book A Man Of Feeling.

We’ll be back at The All Nations Hotel on March 4.

“How To Be Alone" by Jonathan Franzen (4 February, 2015)

Our last book group meeting went very well with a good discussion of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.  While I found the book to be a well written story giving an insight into stolid and grey life in a gulag, it was pretty hard going, others found that there was a lot in it.  Tom said he felt it was the best book we’d read all year.

The next book is Jonathan Franzen’s How To Be Alone, a collection of essays and articles which appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, The New Yorker, and elsewhere.  It’s a little bit longer than our normal books at 278pp but we should have a little extra time over the summer break.

There will be an extraordinary book group meeting at The All Nations Hotel on January 7 for those who are available.  Normal meetings will resume in the new year at the start of the new term.

"One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (3 December, 2014)

Unfortunately, I missed this book group because I had a long-standing engagement with a certain Jagger and Richards at Rod Laver Arena (and most agreeable it was too); it wasn't because I hadn't read the book, I had. Really.

This month we're back across the Iron Curtain reliving a day in Russian gulag in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's classic novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

This will be the last book group for the year.  I did hear some talk of choosing a longer book to read over the summer holiday.  That sounds like something to discuss at the next meeting at the All Nations Hotel on the night.

"Dream Story" by Arthur Schnitzler (5 November, 2014)

There was a small turnout for the discussion of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha which was a shame because it's a really stylishly written story of a schoolboy growing up in Ireland, managing friends and watching the growing discontent between his parents.  I'm not sure whether it was cold weather, apathy or the 'flu that seems to have been going around that was responsible for the meagre turnout.

Initially I found the book to be a haphazard patchwork of reminiscences without much of a coherent theme.  As the book progresses – and Paddy gets older – it becomes more directed and the story and the relationships mature.  I thought it was a really interesting storytelling device having the short attention span of a younger Paddy growing into something much more focussed.

The next book is Arthur Schnitzler's Dream Story, the book on which Stanley Kubrick's film Eyes Wide Shut was based.  We have two months to find and read this because the next book group date would fall during the school holidays.

As per book group rule 11, there will be an extraordinary meeting on October 1 at The All Nations Hotel.