Are bookshops becoming a rarity?

This story in SMH today: Minister predicts unhappy ending for bookshops.  What do you think?  With more and more people buying online are bookshops dead and gone?  Will they become a boutique rarity?

The Joy of Reading

What draws you to a book?  Is it the cover?  The author?  The hype?  The blurb?  The recommendation of a friend?  The latest book review? I guess what I'm asking is - what makes you decide to go ahead and take the plunge by turning to the first page?  And then, what makes you keep reading?  I have to say, I've rarely stopped reading a book.  When I was in high school, I read every book that was on the reading list with one exception - Sally Morgan's My Place.  Other people have read it and enjoyed it but me - I couldn't do it.  I don't remember much about it other than that I found the rhythm of the book didn't fit for me.  The focus kept shifting from one character to another and I found that distracting.  And that's a trait that I still recognise in myself today.  I will skip or skim sections of a book that shift away from the main character, particularly if the main character's plot is enthralling.  I will grant that when used well this technique can increase suspense and tension.  Switching to the counter plot of the villain and making you think the hero/heroine has no hope.  

I've always enjoyed science fiction, fantasy and yes, trashy romance.  I think because it provided escapism, another reality, an alternate universe.  Offering possibilities far more interesting than my own.  If I truly look deeply within myself I would probably admit that these books may have given me unrealistic expectations or indeed, the opposite! (if you've ever read a trashy romance you'll know what I mean).  These days the books that I usually turn to are the ones with strong female lead characters that are a little bit different, a bit quirky, confident, successful and survive against adversity.  Like Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson or Kathy Reich's Temperance Brennan.  Why?  I don't know...  I wouldn't be so pompous as to say it's because I identify with them.  But I usually find myself reading these books until the early hours of the morning, knowing all the while that I have to get up in 2 hours and go to work, not caring! Resenting any moment that can't be spent absorbed in the character, the plot, the tension.  

I think the BBC mini-series Lost in Austen sums this up so well - where the main character loves her Austen books so much that her wildest dream comes true- to become a character in her favourite novel!  I think that's what makes a book truly good for me.  Where the author gets the right balance between strong character, rapid plot development, and sucks you in to another world that is so vivid the reader can't help but imagine themselves stepping through.

Why do you like the books you like?  Is it for escapism? Realism? Inspiration?  What makes you pick it up and start reading?  What makes you keep reading?

What the Dickens?!

Hoorah!  I finally finished reading David Copperfield.

When Charles Dickens was selected as our theme for book club I must confess I didn't know what to expect.  I knew of his works that had been converted into plays or movies (A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist) and I could name other books for which he was famous (Great Expectations, David Copperfield, etc) but that was the extent of my knowledge.  I had tried to read Great Expectations once, but didn't get past the first chapter.  

My book selection for this theme was David Copperfield - I happened to have as an ebook (blasphemy!).  And what can I say... It was a struggle? Yes.  It was rewarding? Yes. Did it take me long to read? Hell yes!  Did it make me cry? Very nearly. 

One of things Dickens seems to do best, which I believe has meant his books have lasted the test of time, is character development.  In fact sometimes, for our day and age (where information is always a touch away and in a format that can be rapidly consumed), I'd say he spent too much time (in David Copperfield).  I did find myself skipping whole paragraphs, particularly towards the end so that I could quickly find out what was going to happen.  I did find the language challenging at times and occasionally had no clue what a particular character was saying or doing.  But this did not have a significant impact on the story.  Actually, I could spend hours analysing the plot development, the character development, the literary style, the pros and cons but that has been done many times before and click this link for more info (wiki of course).

What I really wanted to say with this blog is - persevering with all these things is worth it.  The plot is so cleverly woven together it's not until the last chapters that the outcomes are revealed (Spoiler alert: I've read so many romance novels I could see that part of the ending coming a mile away).  And just like a Hollywood movie (or it should be the other way around) everyone gets their just desserts or comes out peachy.

What makes a great wine club?

So our wine (cheese chocolate and book) club, for each meeting, selects two bottles of the same wine priced between $30-$50.  Usually it's a red wine because they cellar best although we did recently purchase a sparkling white which we were advised can cellar for 3-5 years.  We did actually visit the wine cellar door in Hahndorf (Somerled)and taste the bubbles before we purchased.  We generally don't shop for a wine together - it's hard enough to find a date that we are all free to have the book club let alone go shopping!  This last purchase was pure opportunity.  We were celebrating the 1 year anniversary of the club and were in Hahndorf because that was where we had our first meeting. 

So anyway, we usually buy reds, one to drink now and one to cellar for a few years.  I came up with the price range because I got sick of gifting people with *nice* bottles of wine (in my world, that's a wine between $30-50 or more) whilst all I ever drank was the <$10 bottle of plonk.  We also support local wine cellars as much as possible - which is very easy to do when you live in the state that produces 44% of the nations wine.  

During my other travels (to wine cellar doors) I've heard tales of other wine clubs which operate differently.  I expect the more money you have the better the wine club.... or at least the wine selection.  Because again (if you read the other blog about what makes a good book club) a good club, any club, comes down to great company and common interest.  But there's always room for improvement.  So what does your wine club do?

What makes a great book club?

In the last few years I've come across a variety of different formats for a book club.  And in developing the format for our club, which is reasonably established now I think, we considered several formats (see Beginnings blog).  One idea was to follow a visible book club such as the First Tuesday Book Club or Oprah Winfrey.  My partner has a book club that meets once a fortnight, generally picks the Penguin Popular classics and must read a certain number of pages prior to each meeting of the designated book.  My mother has a club that's a bit different - a play reading group.  But what makes the club successful?  Is it the conversation, the shared common topic, the social gathering?  To my mind it's the great wine, great cheese, great chocolate and great company!  But I'd love to hear what other people do for their book club and what they like/dislike about it...

Confessions...

Ok I'm going to declare - so I've read J K Rowling and Stephenie Meyer (and if you don't know who they are, what rock have you been hiding under!).  And I did enjoy nearly every minute of it. But I've read much much worse and much much better. I know a lot of avid readers scorn both of these authors but really - you have to give either credit to them or to their marketing and PR machines for bringing books back to a whole new generation of readers in the age of digital media (and I don't mean ebooks!) and video.  

Blog Background

The purpose of this blog is really for me and fellow Club members to share thoughts, invite comments, and obtain ideas.  The Club began because one friend said to another "I want to start a book club".  The other friend said "Great - I love books, but I've always wanted to start a wine club!  And if we are going to drink wine, we'll probably need some food - cheese!".  These two friends then said to a third - "We're going to start a wine, cheese and book club.  What do you think?".  The third friend said "Great - I love books, I love cheese and I love wine.  But I really love chocolate!"  So once every couple of months the Club meets, shares a bottle of wine while eating cheese, crackers, fruit and bread, takes down wine tasting notes and how the wine compliments the cheese (or not!), discusses a book just read and the next to be read and enjoys a chocolate based dessert.  I think everyone would agree - a fabulous idea.  See blog "Beginnings.." for more info on Club dynamics.

Biographies

The book, or rather the theme chosen for discussion at the next WCCB meeting is "Biography". And it had to be of someone who is dead. I chose Roald Dahl. I didn't know anything about his life other than that he had a Scandanavian background.  But as a child I laughed and loved many of his books. As a Science and IT person I tend to think of myself as logical, analytical and factual. And I expected a non-fiction book on someone's life to be the same. I found it both interesting and disconcerting that a biography may be both fiction an non-fiction. The biography of Road Dahl puts colour, atmosphere, sight and sound to events that the author had no way of experiencing other than through documents and third person accounts. So this raised the question - what makes a good biography?