2009

Holiday Reading - Holidays are a time to lay back and relax with a good book.  I scored an Angus & Robertson gift card at our Brisbane office party and when I went off to spend it on Saturday morning I found there was a buy two get one free offer so I've got my holiday reading planned. I look forward to hearing what everyone else has been reading when we kick off our book club program in February. 

Pulitzer Prize 2008 - The 2008 winner was The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz, and the finalists.... Tree of Smoke, Denis Johnson and Shakespeare's Kitchen, Lore Segal.  Check out www.pulitzer.org for more info on the prize. 

New Zealand Authors - One author who may be of interest is Patricia Grace, winner of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature.  I'm not that familiar with this prize, though apparently it is widely considered to be the most prestigious literary award after the Nobel Prize for Literature.  Grace is a living icon of New Zealand and has written 6 novels, 5 short story collections and a number of children's books. 

Geraldine Brooks - I suggest that we move our meeting back a week to 15 July to avoid the school holidays.  Brooks' novel March was the 2006 Puplitzer Prize winner.  Other novels are Year of Wonders and her latest People of the Book.  Her non-fiction works are Foreign Correspondence and Nine Parts of Desire.  I have March (currently with Sue) and Year of Wonders if anyone would like to borrow them.  I seem to have started a Geraldine Brooks collection as I also have People of the Book and Nine Parts of Desire but haven't had the chance to read them yet.

Local Writers - The plan for this month is to read work from the local writers' group and invite them to our meeting to discuss their work. 

Women Travellers - Sue and Bonnie have recommended their coffee table book of traveller's tales.