Book Club: Cold Comfort Farm. Thursday 23rd September
  • Our next meeting will be at 8pm on 23rd September and we are planning a return to the Old Dairy. This month's choice is 'Cold Comfort Farm' by Stella Gibbons which has been variously descibed as a 20th century classic, hilarious, witty, charming and engaging. Here is an (abridged) review from Google Books/ Amazon but hey, why not read it for yourself and then come along and discuss why you loved or hated it.

    'Flora Poste leaves London and goes to stay with her gloriously eccentric relatives, who live in ramshackle "Cold Comfort Farm", where they wash the dishes with twigs, and have cows named Graceless, Pointless, Feckless, and Aimless. Headed by Flora's Aunt Ada Doom (who has not been right in the head since she "saw something nasty happen in the woodshed" nearly seventy years ago), they are a motley and strange crew indeed. What follows is Flora's attempt to 'civilize' the inhabitants of the farm and organise their lives in a series of entertaining events.'

    On another thread there are suggestions for future Book Club choices, it would be splendid to hear what people have to say about these. We try to choose things that will attract a mixed bunch of people and provoke lively discussion so all recommendations and suggestions are most welcome.

    Andy, would you be so kind as to make this the new 'sticky' thread please?
  • i'm definitely coming - can't wait! such a good discussion last time and such nice people!

  • Dear All

    Following on from Cold Comfort Farm I suggested Daphne Du Maurier for the October meeting.

    I will suggest 'The Birds and Other Stories' as my first choice, however, if people would prefer a novel rather than short stories we could go for 'The Scapegoat', a novel set in the 20th century or 'Frenchman's Creek' a historical drama with pirates and heaving bosoms galore!

    Will add these suggestions to the other thread too.

    Great to see everyone last week.
  • Where is the other list of book suggestions?
  • The thread is called 'Book Club Meeting - 26th April', sorry I (still)can't do the linky thing. I'm hoping that someone more technically able than me might help with this...
    There were a few suggestions at the more literary end of the spectrum. It would be good to do a mixture of books but I personally draw the line at anything with flowing gold writing on a pastel cover. I have no objections to pirates and as a curvaceous lady I certainly can't object to heaving bosoms.
  • another rather short suggestions thread is here. annie, what was the name of that circus lady one? i just remember it sounds a bit like muriel spark.

  • Oooo that was 'The final confession of Mabel Stark' by Robert Hough. it's one of my favourite books ever. I love anything about the old American circuses and travelling shows, I was definitely born in the wrong century.
  • OK - have added this suggestion to the shorter thread.
  • is it possible to join book club, i am new to site
  • @chrisusher
    Of course, all and any members of SG.org that would like to join in are welcome.

    Just come to the Dairy on the right day and you'll find us - we generally have the books quite conspicuously on the table so that we can find each other easily.
  • We'll probably be behind the curtain in the restaurant bit in the back.

    I've finished the book! Can't wait til book club x

  • This is one of my favourite ever books, so I'm going to try and make it.
    I won't have a clue who to look for, so make sure those books are visible!
    T
  • I love this book too. Do come along Tamsin, if you can't see us ask the bar staff - they will know where we are.
  • I'll definitely be there tomorrow, who else is joining in this month?
  • me! it's also in my top three books ever.

  • Although I'm not in book club at the moment, I'd like to add that "The Scapegoat" was one of my favourite books, but I think it is out of print. Other good books I've read recently: "Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts (set in Bombay - one of the best books I've ever read), "Burnt Shadows" by Kamila Shamsie (a leading Pakistani writer) and "Ordinary Thunderstorms" by William Boyd.
  • I've spoken to Adam at the Old Dairy this morning, it is fine for us to use the restaurant area for book club tonight. See you there at 8pm
  • SEE YOU SOON!!!!!

  • Andy: I notice that the comments about the December book choice, including my response to someone's suggestion re "snow" have disappeared. How does that happen?
    Oh! I have just realised that I entered them under a different bookclub heading (beginning "sticky" - I don't know what that means here), but when I tried to delete them I got a red message saying I had to add a "value" to the edit. What does that mean?? Please help!
  • you can't delete a message ( i think only us ninja admins can not mere mortals ) but you can edit a message. if you want to delete what you've written easiest to just replace the text with something like [deleted]. Stickies are just a way of pushing a discussion to the top of the page regardless of its last comment date.

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