Links for the next meeting - Room by Emma Donoghue

The site for the book, including this diagram of the layout of the room, & 12 questions (see below)

Click to enlarge

A Q&A with Emma Donoghue

A review in The Observer

"Donoghue has not been so crass as to make light of their plight: at times it's almost impossible not to turn away in horror. When Ma's kidnapper comes to the room in the evening, she makes Jack hide in the wardrobe, where he listens as they get into bed: "I always have to count till he makes that gaspy sound and stops." Ma has days where she is "gone" to blank-eyed depression and Jack, left to his own devices, reveals: "Mostly I just sit." But the grotesque is consistently balanced with the uplifting and there is a moment, halfway through the novel, where you feel you would fight anyone who tried to wrestle it from your grasp with the same ferocity that Ma fights for Jack, such is the author's power to make out of the most vile circumstances something absorbing, truthful and beautiful."

A review (with lots of comments) from someone who liked the first half but not the second:

(Too many spoilers to include an extract)

Plus - the 12 questions from the official site:

Why do you think the entire book is told in Jack’s voice? Do you think it is effective?

What are some of the ways in which Jack’s development has been stunted by growing up in Room? How has he benefited?

If you were Ma, what would you miss most about the outside world?

What would you do differently if you were Jack’s parent? Would you tell Jack about the outside world from the start?

If Ma had never given birth to Jack, what would her situation in Room be like?

What would you ask for, for Sundaytreat, if you were Jack? If you were Ma?

Describe the dynamic between Old Nick and Ma. Why does the author choose not to tell us Old Nick’s story?

What does joining the outside world do to Jack? To Ma?

What role do you think the media play in the novel?

In a similar situation, how would you teach a child the difference between the real world and what they watch on television?

Why are we so fascinated by stories of long-term confinement?

What were you most affected by in the novel?

Penguin Threads

Penguin Threads is a sumptuous new set of 3 books, with covers hand embroidered.

The three titles are The Secret Garden, Emma, and Black Beauty.

See more at the artist Jillian Tamaki's website. As you can see, both the front and back are embroidered, although from what I can see, the books you can actually buy will be embossed rather than hand embroidered (because that would be pretty impractical). They're available to buy from October.

Thanks to Beth for the link!

50 books every eleven year old should read

There's some good inspiration in this list of 50 books that would be ideal for kids starting secondary school, compiled by The Independent.

Selected by Philip Pullman, Michael Morpurgo, Kary Guest, John Walsh and Michael Rosen, there is lots to induce nostalgia, or spark the curiosity, for example:

Emil and the Detectives

A Hundred Million Francs

The Phantom Tollbooth

Just William

The Elephant Child

Refugee Boy

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Private Peaceful

&

The London Eye Mystery

Lots to think about for our next 'Classics We Should Have Read' month.

Penguin Essentials

Penguin Essentials is a new collection from Penguin. Essential books, with specially commissioned covers, capturing the feel of the book, and the time in which they were published.

We've read several of the books (we're so damn essential), including The Great Gatsby, On The Road, Lolita, and A Confederacy of Dunces.

I think I like the Confederacy of Dunces cover best (by Gary Taxali)

Great books, great covers, would make great presents!

'On The Road' Luggage Tag

Loving this!

£6.99 on Amazon.

Links for the next meeting - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Links on Rebecca Skloot's own site, including videos and audio

Adam Curtis' blog on the BBC site, which has the full length 1990s documentary that is referred to a lot in the book

The Lacks Family website

The Henrietta Lacks Foundation, set up by Rebecca Skloot to help the descendants of Henrietta Lacks through education and healthcare payments.

(Donate here)

(Or, donate directly to the family here)

A review on the Literary Corner Cafe blog

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a fascinating book for people interested in scientific or medical research, but its real achievement lies in it’s humane – and deeply human – look at both Mrs. Lacks and her descendants. It’s a wake up call to the medical community to remember that while they may be working with highly advanced technology and science, there’s a human being – a suffering human being, with people who love him or her – at the bottom of it all."

A review in The Guardian

"It would have been better to trust the story and tell it in as straightforward a way as possible. Skloot's final discussion of the ethics of the use of human tissue is followed by nine pages of acknowledgments that are more than usually fatuous and self-regarding, and the author's determination to write herself into the story distracts the reader from the dense factual background. But The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks succeeds despite itself: it is a fascinating, harrowing and necessary book, marred only slightly by the fact that the author wishes to be considered a heroine for writing it."

Plus, a bit off topic, David Simon's article about a contemporary woman living in Baltimore, the actress Felicia 'Snoop' Pearson

"In an essay published two years ago in Time magazine, the writers of The Wire made the argument that we believe the war on drugs has devolved into a war on the underclass, that in places like West and East Baltimore, where the drug economy is now the only factory still hiring and where the educational system is so crippled that the vast majority of children are trained only for the corners, a legal campaign to imprison our most vulnerable and damaged citizens is little more than amoral. And we said then that if asked to serve on any jury considering a non-violent drug offense, we would move to nullify that jury's verdict and vote to acquit. Regardless of the defendant, I still believe such a course of action would be just in any case in which drug offenses—absent proof of violent acts—are alleged."

Name your favourite book, and donate to the Ministry of Stories

The Ministry of Stories is a reading & writing centre for young people, based in Hoxton.

Modelled on Dave Eggers' Pirate Supplies Store in San Francisco, it "provides a free space for fresh writing by young people. Here in Hoxton we provide workshops and one-to-one mentoring. The services are provided by volunteers: local writers, artists and teachers, all giving their time and talent for free.

The MoS is inspired by young people, and aims to inspire them to transform their lives through writing. We work closely with schools, supporting the work of teachers, but our great benefit is that we provide one-to-one mentoring for young people to enjoy imaginative stories, improve language skills, increase abilities in communication, add to social and educational confidence."

To donate money through Just giving, visit this page and donate the amount that your favourite book costs. Stephen Fry picked one of our previous reads, The Confederacy of Dunces as his favourite, so presumably donated £8.99.

Donate - it could change someone's life.