Links for the next meeting - Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell

Here are some discussion links for the book:

The Wikipedia link gives the background to the book - apparently quite a lot of artistic licence was taken with some events and timing:

The Spike, the 1931 essay that first told of his British experiences

The concept of a 'poverty threshold'

The welfare state

Guardian article from last weekend about a young jobless man in Brighton

Benefits 'have wrecked Britain's work ethic' from the Daily Mail (inevitably)

TV Book Club - Summer Reads

The TV Book Club is back on Channel 4 (28th June) & More 4 (27th June) this summer with 8 new books:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Man Who Disappeared by Clare Morrall

The Legacy by Katherine Webb

The Bed I Made by Lucie Whitehouse

Stone's Fall by Iain Pears

Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan

The Devil's Acre by Matthew Plampin

Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

The email I've had from them is very confusing though - they don't say whether it's one show, or a new set of 8. In fact the email was more about trying to sell the books than telling you anything about the TV Show. Strange.

They seem to have re-jigged the presenting team too - looks like Gok and Nat are both not in the new series (or single show)

You can see more about the books here.