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“Let us read, and let us dance;
these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”

Saturday, 17 September 2011

Book Club 7 - Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

I made this: Unknown at 11:47 pm 0 comments
Date: 18th August 2011
Time: 5pm - 7pm

Discussed: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

Agreed On: The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald

While it was a fun and awesome book club - as always - unfortunately not many people had managed to finish the book. In fact, only two of us had managed to hit the finish line, though everyone had at least started it!
Some failed to finish because they were stuck in other books at the time, others because they had become hooked on a new series and literally couldn't put them down and still more due to various life commitments or having left it a bit late to start.

Now, if we were truly a dedicated and obsessive book club; I should have left there and then in a huff - reciting the rules of book club fight club stylee; cussing and fuming about life, the universe and everything.  But - thankfully - we aren't arses.
Instead, we discussed the bits that we could. I (and one other) offered sage and wise thoughts on our reading of the book and then the chat became - as it so often does, a general natter about...well...life the universe and everything (which mostly means Leeds and Doctor Who for me)

All of us had been intrigued about life in Iran - the book club members and how they lived their lives. We found them to be compelling and very unfamiliar - so different from our lives. The time jumps were fascinating to some; deeply irritating to others, We so much wanted to find our what happened to each of them that the literary meandering became a little distracting, rather than being the point of the book. Sometimes, the time leaps seemed totally arbitrary - if there was a point or a logic - it passed that majority of us by.

On the other hand, repetitive phraseology - such as the title 'Read Lolita in Tehran' started to drive us barmy. It's a clever title - it brings with it powerful imagery - but over-use has the potential to render it utterly meaningless. One person compared it to reading someones thesis. 

The tone of the book also irked some. The opinions expressed are very definite - as though only one viewpoint could possibly be valid. Without having always read the books being broken down; there is a particular sort of arrogance that was a bit annoying at times.  

Of the books that their book club covered that we had read - Lolita, The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice - we were fascinated by what that book club pulled out. How the differing context of their everyday life seemed to highlight particular aspects that we hadn't necessarily considered. Even those points that we had noticed were seen in different ways. Again, the counter point of that was if we hadn't read those books, aside from feeling like 'illiterate idiots' (NOT MY PHRASING), we felt pulled away from the emotional core of the story.

And there we have it. Though we toyed briefly with describing the plot in more detail - well I did...I'm a bit evil...we settled on detailing a few of the highlights to torture the others. Which was fun. 
The Verdict
7/10
Next Month's Book
The Great Gatsby - By F Scott Fitzgerald 




















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Arcadia LBC


21 - Nov - Hard Times - Charles Dickens
20 - Oct - The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster - GUEST - @CultureLEEDS
19 - Sep - The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - GUEST - @CultureLEEDS
18 - Aug - The Princess Bride - William Goldman
17 - Jul - A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini - GUEST
16 - Jun - Cry the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
15 - May - 1984 - George Orwell - GUEST - @CultureLEEDS
14 - Apr - BloodChild and Other Stories - Octavia Butler
13 - Mar - The Year of the Hare - Arto Paasilinna
12 - Feb - Heat Wave - Richard Castle
11 - Jan - The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - Brady Udall
10 - Nov - Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

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Book Club - Table of Contents

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Friday, 16 September 2011

There's nothing "condescending" about chick-lit

I made this: BookElf at 9:55 am 1 comments
Guardian Link
Novelist Polly Courtney, who self-published two books before signing up to a three book deal with HarperCollins imprint Avon, has ditched her publisher, after the launch of the third book, because she believes that they have marketed her as 'chick-lit'. According to her, 'chick-lit' is perceived as being "about a girl wanting to meet the man of her dreams", as opposed to dealing with "social issues", as her books do.

I have a couple of issues with this. Firstly, although, yes, as a further reinforcement of a redundant and restrictive gender binary, marketing products specifically as 'women's' fiction is wrong, it is not 'condescending'. Men are not superior to women, and considering a book having been written specifically for a woman does not make it a lesser book. It is the attitude that because a book is written by a woman about issues that modern women are thought to be interested in it therefore must be a lesser book that eventually leads to less women writers being present on Booker shortlists. Presenting a book in a pink cover doesn't patronise women; writing off that book as somehow lesser because pink is not as good as spunk does.

Women have always written, and read; the first book written in the English language was written by a woman, as was the first autobiography. Because, historically being a woman is to be treated as to be stupid, not as good as, and not as worthy as being a man, by default anything that women enjoy en mass must be stupid, not as good as, and not worthy of attention as what men en mass are interested in. In 'Northhanger Abbey', Austen defends the populist novels that were read by many young women, who were shamed for this by the intellectual (male) elite. She demonstrates how women fail to own what they like, rather that stand up and say 'yes, I like reading sensationalist, witty, prose. What is wrong with that?'.

Polly Courtney's main issue is, without disparaging the term 'chick-lit', her books are about social issues, and that chick-lit books aren't. This is incorrect.

In the 90s, when the serious marketing of 'chick-lit' began, publishers catered, as they always do, to a demand. If a book with a picture of a lovely garden on the front is a best seller one year because of the quality of the writing in that book, you can guarantee that the year after there will be three best sellers that all have pictures of lovely gardens on the front, despite the quality or otherwise of that writing.

Early chick-lit wasn't all handbags and shoes, the first cover of 'Bridget Jones' Diary', widely thought to be the bastion of the genre, has a silhouette of a woman smoking. However, the promotion of materialism marketed specifically at women in the boom period led to publishers following this to it's obvious conclusion; matching the book jackets to the lifestyles ascribed as acceptable by the market as a whole. The Sex And The City generation, five years down the line still merging their store cards into one affordable monthly payment on meagre incomes and rising costs of living.

If you look at the label 'chick-lit' on goodreads, one of the most popular book reviewing social networking sites on the Internet, the description distances the genre from romantic fiction because of the emphasis on family and friends within the books as well as romance.

Best selling 'Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic' is bright pink and covered in bags, but the story is of a young, independent journalist dealing with a serious debt problem; an incredibly important social issue in 2000 that many many women were dealing with. Yes, she finds love at the end, but so does Elizabeth Bennet, heroine of the fifth favourite 'chick-lit' novel on the goodreads reader-voted list.

There is nothing wrong with reading a book about your own life. If you are single in your late twenties, and being told repeatedly by society as a whole that you are a pariah, you are going to want to meet someone with whom you can empathise. There is a reason, in a country where one in three children will have suffered neglect of abuse in their lifetimes, leading to one in three adults having suffered, that the miseryography genre is so popular, especially with emerging readers. I see this every day at work, young women (and it is women) who have been in care, or are returning to education as adults owing to failures of the system in their childhoods to pick up on reasons they might have had for not going to school love to read about people whose lives they can relate to. By the same token, women working in office jobs on seventeen grand a year, that haven't been taught to aspire to better, that are dealing with threats of violence or harassment on a daily basis, that have no money but good friends, and that would really like to meet someone who loves them just the way they are, need relatable heroines. And there is nothing demeaning about writing them one.

If you want to read a book about the stock market, read a book about the stock market. But don't go telling me that I'm not as good as you cos I'm reading a book about my life.

BookElf

Again, obviously, this is my view point, not that of LeedsBookClub
Categories

Thursday, 15 September 2011

Chris Nickson Exclusive!!

I made this: Unknown at 11:58 pm 0 comments
*****EXCLUSIVE*****
*****EXCLUSIVE*****
*****EXCLUSIVE*****

Chris Nickson - music journalist and author (The Broken Token, Cold Cruel Winter, The Constant Lovers) and Leeds Book Club buddy has very kindly provided us with 'HOME' for our lovely readers. 

Originally published (with minor tweaks) in the now-out-of-print anthology 'Criminal Tendencies', it's a wonderful introduction into the world of Richard Nottingham and a short story in its own right. 

Indeed it's closely linked to the second in the series (Review coming soon!). 

Once you've read it, feel free to chat with @ChrisNickson2 on twitter!

Read Home here!!



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Chris Nickson

Richard Nottingham - Book 1 - The Broken Token Review
Richard Nottingham - Book 2 - Cold Cruel Winter Review

Christmas Short Story - Annabelle Atkinson and Mr. Grimshaw

Richard Nottingham - Exclusive - Short Story - Home
Richard Nottingham - Exclusive - December

Chris Nickson - Interview

Follow Chris on Twitter - @ChrisNickson2
Best Book of 2001 - Library Journal Award


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Chris Nickson Table of Contents
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Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Canongate Book 2 - The Girls watch the Boys watch the Girls go by...

I made this: Unknown at 6:41 pm 0 comments
While we at Leeds Book Club have always been delighted to fly the Rainbow Flag, I have to admit, I've always felt a tad out of the loop regarding the issues. 
Though I passionately believe in equality regardless of gender, orientation, age or racial origin, I'm rarely challenged or confronted over the mere act of being me. Over the years, a number of authors who have focused (not necessarily exclusively) on equality issues have been recommended to me.

My response usually follows this pattern  - I read the blurb; announce loudly that it looks fascinating; that I need to learn more about the particular focal point; that it's clearly an essential read; add said book to my mountain-like to-read pile; turn my back for a mere matter of months (or years) and find that it's slowly disappeared into the mire - never to see the light of day again. Acclaimed authors such as Colm Toibin, Sarah Waters, Louise Welsh, Alan Hollinghurst to name a few have all been consigned to this fate, despite my best intentions.

When I realised that Ali Smith had produced a book for the Canongate Myth Series, I was at once delighted and relieved. I've heard positive reviews from so many friends. I've enjoyed her book reviews in the Guardian, intending several times to pick up one of her books.
Finally, I would DEFINITELY read one.
Finally, I would feel a bit more informed.


Background to the Myth - Iphis
The myth of Iphis, as told by the Roman Ovid, is one of transformation and metamorphosis. It is also one of the few Greek tales about interactions between mere mortals and the gods that avoids violence or bloodshed. 

Isis and Iphis by Bauer engraving
Iphis was a daughter of a Cretan family. Immediately prior to her birth, her father had warned his wife that he would only raise a son - any daughter would have to be killed. The distraught woman - already somewhat attached to the child she carried - travelled to a temple and begged the gods for advice. She is told by Isis to raise the child regardless of its gender, vaguely assured that everything will work out well. Once Iphis is born, she is brought up as a boy - the secret kept between mother and daughter. (I'm sensing a rather absent father figure here!)

 Iphis grows up and falls in love with one of her classmates. After negotiation; a marriage is arranged. Iphis becomes concerned before the ceremony and flees to the temple with her mother. She cries out to the gods, bemoaning her life as a fraud - terrified that she is certain to be discovered. Her mother adds her voice to the pleas. In a dramatic moment, the goddess Isis appears and before her mothers eyes, Iphis changes into a man - able to marry her love. 


*****
Review

*****MILD SPOILERS*****
 *****MILD SPOILERS***** 
*****MILD SPOILERS*****
Anthea and Imogen are very different sisters. They are back living in their home town - in the house they were raised in; inherited after their eccentric grandparents sailed off to Europe on a whim and were never seen again. 

Imogen works for the marketing department for Pure - a bottled water company in Inverness. Anthea attempts work experience there before discovering that she disagrees with everything Pure stands for and rather dramatically chucks it in. 
While Imogen is slowly losing herself to her work place, societal expectations and an eating disorder; Anthea discovers love with an eco-warrior - Robin. (Who happens to be female.) It is Robin who tells her lover Ovid's myth of Iphis.
This love story informs the action that takes place within the novella. The love story is not the point, rather it is the  catalyst necessary for the sisters growth. While Anthea embraces the warrior within herself; Imogen is forced to confront her worth and that of the corporation she works for and realise her true value.



It transpires that I had somewhat over thought my approach to this book. Although the author is a gay woman; this is not a 'gay' book. It's not a 'mainstream' one either. It is, in fact, an incredibly well written, engaging and lyrical novella. Despite it's brevity; the author manages to express social, political and gender issues with a subtle and light touch. It is a pleasure to read.   

At no point did I ever feel that there was an agenda within the book - rather Girl Meets Boy focuses on the unique and beautiful inter-relationships that can occur between people irrespective of gender or sexual orientation. Each chapter is told by one of the sisters. Anthea is a dreamer, with a solid voice - relating her thoughts in an upfront manner. Imogen voice is initially more obscure - her thoughts are often coded in brackets and repetitive phrases - particularly in relation to her sisters emerging (bi)sexuality. However; once she has had her moment of realisation; her voice - distinct and unique - emerges in a structurally beautiful and poignant way.

I read Girl Meets Boy in one sitting; shifting on my sofa only to prevent a limb from falling asleep. I didn't even think to refill my coffee - which, if you know me at all, is the strongest statement regarding to my enjoyment of the book that can be made. Ali Smith has a fresh and vibrant writing style. I look forward to reading more of her tales in the future.  

Ongoing Challenges - Table of Contents
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Cinderella - Roald Dahl

I made this: Unknown at 9:13 am 0 comments
The primary reason I grew up knowing that life wasn't going to end up the way the Disney films suggested. 
Especially with regards to the princes!!

Cinderella

I guess you think you know this story.
You don't. The real one's much more gory.
The phoney one, the one you know,
Was cooked up years and years ago,
And made to sound all soft and sappy
just to keep the children happy.
Mind you, they got the first bit right,
The bit where, in the dead of night,
The Ugly Sisters, jewels and all,
Departed for the Palace Ball,
While darling little Cinderella
Was locked up in a slimy cellar,
Where rats who wanted things to eat,
Began to nibble at her feet.
 She bellowed 'Help!' and 'Let me out!
The Magic Fairy heard her shout.
Appearing in a blaze of light,
She said: 'My dear, are you all right?'
'All right?' cried Cindy .'Can't you see
'I feel as rotten as can be!'
She beat her fist against the wall,
And shouted, 'Get me to the Ball!
'There is a Disco at the Palace!
'The rest have gone and I am jealous!
'I want a dress! I want a coach!
'And earrings and a diamond brooch!
'And silver slippers, two of those!
'And lovely nylon panty hose!
'Done up like that I'll guarantee
'The handsome Prince will fall for me!'
The Fairy said, 'Hang on a tick.'
She gave her wand a mighty flick
And quickly, in no time at all,
Cindy was at the Palace Ball!

It made the Ugly Sisters wince
To see her dancing with the Prince.
She held him very tight and pressed
herself against his manly chest.
The Prince himself was turned to pulp,
All he could do was gasp and gulp.
Then midnight struck. She shouted,'Heck!
I've got to run to save my neck!'
The Prince cried, 'No! Alas! Alack!'
He grabbed her dress to hold her back.
As Cindy shouted, 'Let me go!'
The dress was ripped from head to toe.

She ran out in her underwear,
And lost one slipper on the stair.
The Prince was on it like a dart,
He pressed it to his pounding heart,
'The girl this slipper fits,' he cried,
'Tomorrow morn shall be my bride!
I'll visit every house in town
'Until I've tracked the maiden down!'
Then rather carelessly, I fear,
He placed it on a crate of beer.

At once, one of the Ugly Sisters,
(The one whose face was blotched with blisters)
Sneaked up and grabbed the dainty shoe,
And quickly flushed it down the loo.
Then in its place she calmly put
The slipper from her own left foot.
Ah ha, you see, the plot grows thicker,
And Cindy's luck starts looking sicker.

Next day, the Prince went charging down
To knock on all the doors in town.
In every house, the tension grew.
Who was the owner of the shoe?
The shoe was long and very wide.
(A normal foot got lost inside.)
Also it smelled a wee bit icky.
(The owner's feet were hot and sticky.)
Thousands of eager people came
To try it on, but all in vain.
Now came the Ugly Sisters' go.
One tried it on. The Prince screamed, 'No!'
But she screamed, 'Yes! It fits! Whoopee!
'So now you've got to marry me!'
The Prince went white from ear to ear.
He muttered, 'Let me out of here.'
'Oh no you don't! You made a vow!
'There's no way you can back out now!'
'Off with her head!'The Prince roared back.
They chopped it off with one big whack.
This pleased the Prince. He smiled and said,
'She's prettier without her head.'
Then up came Sister Number Two,
Who yelled, 'Now I will try the shoe!'
'Try this instead!' the Prince yelled back.
He swung his trusty sword and smack
Her head went crashing to the ground.
It bounced a bit and rolled around.
In the kitchen, peeling spuds,
Cinderella heard the thuds
Of bouncing heads upon the floor,
And poked her own head round the door.
'What's all the racket? 'Cindy cried.
'Mind your own bizz,' the Prince replied.
Poor Cindy's heart was torn to shreds.
My Prince! she thought. He chops off heads!
How could I marry anyone
Who does that sort of thing for fun?

The Prince cried, 'Who's this dirty slut?
'Off with her nut! Off with her nut!'
Just then, all in a blaze of light,
The Magic Fairy hove in sight,
Her Magic Wand went swoosh and swish!
'Cindy! 'she cried, 'come make a wish!
'Wish anything and have no doubt
'That I will make it come about!'
Cindy answered, 'Oh kind Fairy,
'This time I shall be more wary.
'No more Princes, no more money.
'I have had my taste of honey.
I'm wishing for a decent man.
'They're hard to find. D'you think you can?'
Within a minute, Cinderella
Was married to a lovely feller,
A simple jam maker by trade,
Who sold good home-made marmalade.
Their house was filled with smiles and laughter
And they were happy ever after.


Poems for Children
Roald Dahl Day 

Hello Old Friends
  • The Magician's Nephew - C.S. Lewis
  • Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf - Roald Dahl
  • You Are Old Father William - Lewis Carroll
  • On the Ning Nang Nong - Spike Milligan
  • The Vulture - Hilaire Belloc

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