Hi everyone. I’m sorry I missed the last book club discussion. Thanks @Landbiscuit and @geoff.hom for organizing and running the meeting. It sounds like it was a great book and the meeting went well.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a September discussion? Including the author has been wonderful, but it’s definitely not required.
Hi @Karen_E, et. al., I am reading an old issue of Granta that I picked up for free at a library I visited on one of my sits. For anytime who is not familiar with Granta, it’s a periodic writer’s magazine in the form of a paperback book that contains a compendium of essays, short series and short pieces, both fiction and non-fiction, by first-rate authors, some whose names you will recognize. There should be at least one or more pieces that will speak to everyone.
This is from wikipedia;
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its “belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real.”[1] In 2007, *The Observerstated: “In its blend of memoirs and photojournalism, and in its championing of contemporary realist fiction, Granta has its face pressed firmly against the window, determined to witness the world.”[2]
But I do not want to be the facilitator of the meeting if we do read this.
This is just an idea. I am not invested in it and don’t mind if this is not our choice. I am enjoying the Spring 2008 issue now.
Hi @Karen_E and everyone else!
I’m happy with a classic fiction if that’s what the majority would like to read, although these usually take some time to get through and as we are already on September 5th I thought I’d propose a short non-fiction book I’ve been meaning to read for a while now.
“Retirement rebel” by Siobhan Daniels is a book that came out in the UK last year about a lady who on retirement took up living alternatively full-time in her motorhome. It’s relatively short and supposed to be good for a quick, easy read. I know a lot of people who have read it and enjoyed it.
It’s available on Amazon - but I am based in the UK so I’m not sure if it’s available on other continents.
I do have a loose connection with the author so if we chose the book I’d be happy to reach out to her and ask if she would join our discussion, no promises though!!
Any thoughts on this one let me know
@hitchedandhiking: Thanks for the suggestion! I gotta say I like the cover a lot. But isn’t there a saying about that?
I see the book here in the US on Kindle and paperback:
FYI, there’s a totally different book with almost the same name: “The Retirement Rebel” by Margaret Nash. It also has a colorful cover. So if we do this, make sure the author’s right (Siobhan Daniels).
@hitchedandhiking Thanks for the book suggestion. I have downloaded the book from Amazon and will start reading it this week. Any thoughts about the date for our discussion?
Sorry that I haven’t posted recently, I’m in Marrakesh which has been a bit chaotic but we are safe and well.
Great news @Landbiscuit - I am also reading it at the moment so hopefully others give it a go too. I’ve found it a very easy and quick read so far, it’s just under 200 pages so perfect if we still want to discuss it in a few weeks time.
Due to changes in my travel schedule I’ll be back in the UK w/c 2nd October, if that week works for anyone else? I’m aware that pushes us into October slightly but the last week of September I will have limited internet access!
If we nail down a date now I can message the author to see if she would join us on the call.
Pretty much anytime in October would be good for me. I’ll probably try to get the book from an independent seller other than Amazon. But can buy through Amazon in a pinch.
Excited to be able to potentially connect with the author! Thanks for being willing to reach out.
@hitchedandhiking Anytime before Oct. 14 works for me. I have finished reading the book and enjoyed it. It just seemed to end so suddenly! I’m going to check Siobhan’s blog later this week to see what she’s been doing since the end of the book
Thanks for your initiative, @hitchedandhiking. Sounds like we’ll go with your book next!
“Retirement Rebel” by Siobhan Daniels. Available in paperback and eBook.
I just ordered a copy from AbeBooks.
As for the date, it sounds like sometime between when you’re back in the UK and Oct. 13 (per @Landbiscuit). @Karen_E seems to be pretty busy these days, so you (@hitchedandhiking) may be hosting. =) If the date/time makes it more amenable for the author to join us, so be it. Your call.
Also, even though we talk about an August/September/October discussion, we’ve never been tied to doing a book/discussion per month. If we can be flexible, I’m glad.
Hey everyone! Life has been so full on at the moment, I’m writing this from a shopping centre in Barcelona as I make my way back to the UK. Sorry for being quiet on here.
I’m pleased to hear we’re going with the book. I’ve messaged the author, no response as yet but I’m thinking we should go for Sunday 8th October, around 7pm GMT (3pm EST) as I think that’s the same day/time combo we used for our last meeting which worked well. Any issues please let me know.
With regards to hosting, I’m not too sure what this entails but happy to give it a go! Any tips/advice appreciated
Let’s hope the author gets on board, but if not it’ll be fun anyway.
Thanks all,
Jess
Hi @hitchedandhiking! Gosh, maybe you should write a book! =) It reminds me of a line in Ted Lasso about “eat-pray-love.” Lol.
As for date and time, the latter sounds good but I’m not sure about Sundays. I think we’ve always done Tuesdays? But personally, I can make Sunday.
As for hosting, I think it depends if the author joins us or not. If not, then we can keep it simple and just do whatever you think. =) You just need a meeting platform (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc.) and to let everyone know.
Funny you should say that Geoff as my first book is just about to be published - it’s about housesitting full-time! (Also, love a bit of Ted Lasso).
Ah yes, apologies, I do see the last meeting was a Tuesday.
If anyone can’t make Sunday 8th October please let me know and we can rearrange!
I think we used Google Meet last time (although please do correct me if my tired mind is confused again!) and that seemed to work well, so let’s stick with that.
Many thanks
Jess
Congratulations @hitchedandhiking on your book! You’ll have to let us know when it gets published so that we can add it to our reading list. And congrats on your cute cat video that was in the newsletter!
A Sunday book club discussion is ok with me or Tuesday also works. Have you received any response from Siobhan about joining us?
Sorry @hitchedandhiking I should have said before, I cannot make Sunday 8th but any other day works for me. I’m happy to sit this one out if that date works best for everyone else.
Congrats on writing your first book! Please let us know more once it’s published. I think that could be quite the candidate for book club, unless it’s too close to home.
Yes, we’ve used Google Meet each time. The free version has a time limit of 1 hour, but hey, that helps us stay on track.
It sounds like either Oct 8 or Oct 10 (3 pm EST) should work. After we’ve nailed down a date, you may want to send the author a follow-up message just in case.
One thing to consider is sending a group message to everyone in the book club. That would be everyone in the original post for this topic, plus whoever else has replied. I say that because people may not see replies to this topic, but they will see direct messages.
Also, I’m not sure how many people will have actually gotten the book, read it, and attend the meeting. 3 or 4? 7? If we keep our expectations low, we’re less likely to be disappointed, and more likely to be delighted. I think of it like a road trip: A solo trip for me isn’t fun, even as an introvert. But with just one other engaged person, it can be a memory for a lifetime.
Thank you @Landbiscuit! It is available for pre-order now, as it gets released on 23rd October. Exciting times. I’ll pop the link further down the thread.
Would it be possible for you to send me the link of the newsletter? I don’t seem to get them, so I can’t see the video of mine that was in it!
No response from the author yet, I’ve messaged her again but it’s not looking likely at the moment.
Ah - I’m so sorry @Samox24 but I am absolutely slammed on weekday evenings in the next couple of weeks so I don’t think realistically I could host another evening.
But isn’t there a saying about that? 
