Event 6 Wednesday 10 March 4pmAl Ras 2Meet the authors you know – and discover some you don’t know. Hear their thoughts on book clubs – and tell them yours. Bring along your favourite book, tell us why you love it – and pass it on to someone else. Pick up someone’s else’s recommendation. An informal exchange of ideas, recommendations – and books – for all book lovers.

Authors taking part will be drawn from: James Meek (The People’s Act of Love, We Are Now Beginning Our Descent), Chris Cleave (Incendiary, The Other Hand), RJ Ellory (A Quiet Belief in Angels, The Anniversary Man), David (DJ) Taylor (English Settlement, Ask Alice), Alice Kuipers (Life on the Refrigerator Door), Rachel Hore (The Memory Garden, The Glass Painter’s Daughter)

The explosion of book clubs around the world is one of the phenomena of the last two decades. Yet they are not a new concept, dating back to the 19th century women’s education movement in Europe, when they provided an opportunity to discuss literature and political studies. While reading is in itself a solitary act, we often have a strong desire to share our reading experience with others. Some of us do this virtually - blogging and tweeting about the books we’re enjoying. Others prefer to meet up in person and share opinions – often in a more structured way with one of the group members leading the discussion. And then there’s the raft of television book clubs – from Oprah Winfrey in the US to Richard & Judy in the UK.  Some argue that TV book clubs offer a great way of discovering new authors or challenging oneself to try something one wouldn’t normally read. Others feel their dominance is too great and we end up with everybody reading only a narrow range of titles. And how does an author feel? Terrific if s/he writes the sort of books chosen by Book Clubs. Frustrated if s/he doesn’t? (And is there such a thing as a typical book club read anyway?)
Our Festival provides the opportunity for book club members to meet both the authors whose books they have been discussing and (we hope) to discover some new writers for future meetings.

This session will be moderated by Rosie Goldsmith.

This session is free of charge, but festival-goers are advised to book a ticket to guarantee a seat.

tell a friend about this item

back

Permalink: The Book Club Phenomenon