<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
  <title>News</title>
  <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/</link>
  <description>Get all the latest news and views about reading groups for everyone here</description>
  <language>en</language>
  <copyright>Copyright 2012</copyright>
          <lastBuildDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 15:05:00 +0100</lastBuildDate>
    <docs>http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification</docs>
        <item>
      <title>Independent Foreign Fiction Prize announce winner</title>
      <description>The winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2012 has just been announced.

Blooms of Darkness by Aharon Appelfeld, translated by Jeffrey M Green from the Hebrew, published by Alma Books

At 80, Israeli author Aharon Appelfeld is the oldest author to win the prestigious Prize, following on from the youngest ever winner, Santiago Roncagliolo, who won the Prize last year. The £10,000 award is shared equally with Appelfeld&#039;s American translator, Jeffrey M Green.

Aharon Appelfeld said: Blooms of Darkness is a work of fiction that includes my personal experience during the Second World War. I wanted to explore the darkest places of human behaviour and to show that even there, generosity and love can survive; that humanity and love can overcome cruelty and brutality. It is a joy to win the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize alongside Jeffrey M Green - he is a highly professional translator and I love his work.

Jeffrey M Green said: Translators are humble people by nature, so it is astonishing and gratifying for translators to be honoured by the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Clearly, if Blooms of Darkness had not been excellent, even an excellent translation would not have won this Prize, but a bad translation would certainly have destroyed the excellence of the original. It has been a privilege to be Aharon&#039;s voice in English.

About the book


The ghetto in which the Jews have been confined is being liquidated by the Nazis, and eleven-year-old Hugo is brought by his mother to the local brothel, where one of the prostitutes has agreed to hide him. Mariana is a bitterly unhappy woman who hates what she has done to her life, and night after night Hugo sits in her closet and listens uncomprehendingly as she rages at the Nazi soldiers who come and go. When she&#039;s not mired in self-loathing, Mariana is fiercely protective of the bewildered, painfully polite young boy. And Hugo becomes protective of Mariana, too, trying to make her laugh when she is depressed, soothing her physical and mental agony with cold compresses. As the memories of his family and friends grow dim, Hugo falls in love with Mariana. And as her life spirals downwards, Mariana reaches out for consolation to the adoring boy who is on the cusp of manhood.

Get involved

Find out more about this year&#039;s Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist.

Has your reading group read Blooms of Darkness? Do let us know what you think.</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/independent-foreign-fiction-prize-announce-winner.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/independent-foreign-fiction-prize-announce-winner.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
          <item>
      <title>Authors at Museums at Night</title>
      <description>The Reading Agency is working with Culture 24 to get more writers into more places, so we&#039;re really pleased to announce that as part of the 2012 Museums at Night Festival, reading groups and book clubs can get to see and hear four top writers talking about their work at leading cultural venues.  

Museums at Night is the annual after-hours celebration of arts, culture and heritage when hundreds of museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sites open their doors for special evening events. It takes place over the weekend of Friday 18th - Sunday 20th May 2012.   

Museums at Night author events

Friday 18 May

Man Booker prize nominated novelist Jon McGregor will be at Dundee Discovery Point. He will use photos, videos, maps, a suitcase full of props and  mysterious works from his latest book, This Isn&#039;t the Sort of Thing That Happens to Someone Like You, for a short story performance. 1900-2000, free admission.  

Craig Taylor, whose book Londoners: The Days And Nights Of London Now captures the thoughts and feelings of hundreds of the capital&#039;s inhabitants, will be doing a reading at the London Transport Museum. 1900-2200, tickets £8 (£6 concessions)

Hugh Barker, whose Hedge Britannia celebrates the glory of the hedge, will be at Lyme Regis Museum discussing how we became a nation of gardeners.  1830-2000, free admission. 

Saturday 19 May

Veteran war reporter, ITN news anchorman and Afghanistan expert Sandy Gall will be at Surgeons&#039; Hall Museum, Edinburgh to talk about his book War Against The Taliban: Why It All Went Wrong In Afghanistan.  1800, free admission. 

Keep up to date with what&#039;s happening at Museums at Night on Twitter.</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/authors-at-museums-at-night.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/authors-at-museums-at-night.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Events</category>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
          <item>
      <title>Get involved with Summer Reads</title>
      <description>If you&#039;re in a reading group or book club in Norwich or Norfolk then check out Summer Reads. Between May and July the Writers Centre Norwich and Norfolk Library Services are inviting readers, reading groups and book clubs to read, meet and talk about five brilliantly written and readable books. Perfect whether you&#039;re in a book club looking for sure fire hits to share, or a lone reader just wanting something good to read. 

But reading the books is just the start - with Summer Reads you can fully immerse yourself in the world of the book and meet lots of other people too. Download loads of extra info and resources on the books; meet the authors of the books in their special events; meet other readers at book clubs and book quizzes and join the buzz online. Last but not least, you can win some book tokens by voting for your favourite read.

Get involved with the 2012 Summer Reads books

The five Summer Reads books are:

All That I Am, Anna Funder: 1st - 20th May
Before I Go To Sleep, SJ Watson: 21st May - 10th June
Open City, Teju Cole: 11th June - 1st July
Of Mutability, Jo Shapcott: 2nd - 15 July
Down the Rabbit Hole, Juan Pablo Villalobos: 16th - 27th July

The dates alongside the book correspond to when the books will be discussed online and when the WCN book club will be meeting to discuss them. 

Book clubs and reading groups can borrow the books from your local library or buy them from participating bookshops. More information about how you do this here.

Find out more Summer Reads and how you can get involved.</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/get-involved-with-summer-reads.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/get-involved-with-summer-reads.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">General</category>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
          <item>
      <title>Dickens Champions: MK Borrowers read Dombey and Son</title>
      <description>Our Dickens Champions, MK Borrowers have been busy reading Dickens&#039; Dombey and Son. Here&#039;s their latest blog post:

We had a lively discussion about Dombey and Son and most of us liked it with its host of memorable characters. Some thought it a long book to read in a month; noting that it was originally published in 19 monthly instalments, which may have given a different impression. 

We decided that it is a very Dickens book with breathtaking coincidences and richly populated with characters that are perhaps caricatures of good, bad or comic traits for theatrical effect rather than believable portraits of people. But who can forget the brilliance of Mr Carker&#039;s teeth and Captain Cuttle&#039;s glazed hat? The book gives a panoramic view of Victorian life, encompassing the natural behaviour of the rich and poor:

&quot;Alas! Are there so few things in the world, about us, most unnatural, and yet most natural in being so? Hear the magistrate or judge admonish the unnatural outcasts of society; unnatural in brutal habits, unnatural in want of decency, unnatural in losing and confounding all distinctions between good and evil; unnatural in ignorance, in vice, in recklessness, in contumacy, in mind, in looks, in everything.&quot; (Chapter 47)

The detested coming of the railways:

&quot;There were railway patterns in its drapers&#039; shops, and railway journals in the windows of its newsmen. There were railway hotels, office-houses, lodging-houses, boarding-houses; railway plans, maps, views, wrappers, bottles, sandwich-boxes, and time-tables; railway hackney-coach and stands; railway omnibuses, railway streets and buildings, railway hangers-on and parasites, and flatterers out of all calculation. There was even railway time observed in clocks, as if the sun itself had given in.&quot; (Chapter 15) 

And the education of children through the Charitable Guild for Mrs Richards&#039; son (Toodle) and Paul&#039;s private education with Dr Blimber.

We are looking forward to our next book,  A Tale of Two Cities, which we shall discuss in the first week of June.

Our Dickens Champions

Watch out for our Dickens Champions&#039; blog posts as they read their way through Dickens during 2012.

Read Immaculate Conception Church reading groups thoughts on Dombey and Son and what they did when they finished it.

Check out our Dickens Champions photos on Facebook.

Reading Dickens in your reading group or book club? Get in touch or post a comment to let us know how you&#039;re getting on.</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/dickens-champions-mk-borrowers-read-dombey-and-son.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/dickens-champions-mk-borrowers-read-dombey-and-son.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Dickens Champions</category>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
          <item>
      <title>Dickens Champions: Mitchell Classics Book Group on Oliver Twist</title>
      <description>Our Dickens Champions Mitchell Classic Book Group have been reading Oliver Twist. Here are what members of the group thought:

What Rosalind thought...

Having been influenced by cartoon versions of Oliver Twist, I was struck by the biting satire and depiction of gratuitous violence in the first few chapters - Mr. Bumble&#039;s treatment of Oliver; the sweep&#039;s, Mr. Gamfield&#039;s cruelty to the donkey.

Dickens&#039; understanding of social psychology seems very modern: &#039;Oliver ... was in a fair way of being reduced, for life, to a state of brutal stupidity and sullenness by the ill usage he had received.&#039; (Chapter 4)

At a time when slavery had been made illegal as foreign trade, the reference to orphan children being bought as slaves was horrifying. The musical of Oliver and other children&#039;s adaptations have caricatured Mr. Bumble and other Board members into funny, ridiculous figures, but Dickens&#039; characterisation of them is chilling and brutally raw.

In Chapter Five, Mrs Sowerberry (&quot;vixen&quot;) gives Oliver (now ten) dog&#039;s food and he is made to sleep in the cellar next to coffins. It is ironic that Noah Claypole calls Oliver &quot;Work &#039;us&quot; but he is a charity boy himself - his father had been a drunken soldier and his mother a washerwoman. Again, Dickens shows a vital awareness of environmental influences in a sentence dripping with sarcasm:

&#039;It shows us what a beautiful thing human nature may be made to be; and how impartially the same amiable qualities are developed in the first lord and the dirtiest charity boy.&#039;

Dickens sympathy is not just confined to children; his description of the funeral of the woman dead of starvation is appalling.

When the action moves to London, Dickens gives his readers a horrifying picture of the &quot;den of thieves&quot;. Whereas Fagin can be seen as having some human emotions, Bill Sikes is very frightening indeed, and would be considered totally psychotic nowadays. His characterisation, together with the description of Smithfield, made me think of film noir and the recent wave of Scandocrime. Interesting, though, that he sends up the genre of good murderous melodramas in Chapter 17.

Nancy was the most interesting character to me. Her conflict between wanting to do the right thing and her love for Bill created suspense. Was she eventually going to help Oliver or was she going to co-operate in ruining him? I liked Dicken&#039;s tongue-in-cheek description of Nancy, the street-walker, making her way to the police office:

&#039;...notwithstanding a little natural timidity consequent upon walking through the streets alone and unprotected, she arrived in perfect safety.&#039;

In contrast, the description of Rose, especially in her fever, was incredibly saccharine and melodramatic. How could Dickens slip into such a stereotype of the &quot;pure&quot; woman, especially after his criticism of melodramas?  She is far too faultless and perfect to be considered human.

The latter is my only criticism, however. I found I couldn&#039;t put the book down. Having expected that the novel was going to be a worthy read that would do me good, instead, I found its appeal very direct and immediate. And the names were terrific!

What Brian thought...

For me, it is the character of Fagin in Oliver Twist that is most memorable. Eliza Davis complained to Dickens about his &#039;vile prejudice&#039;, prompting Dickens&#039; revision of the unprinted part of the novel to remove the universalised references to Fagin as &#039;the Jew&#039;, but Fagin is such an embodiment of vice that it is surprising there were not more objections.  
 
Perhaps there were not because, although Fagin was exaggeratedly grotesque, anti-semitism was commonplace in English society. The plans of Bevis Marks synagogue (built over a century earlier) are unsigned. The architect (believed by some to have been one of Wren&#039;s assistants) did not want to be associated with Jews. Moreover, the design is that of a Christian church and the building is deliberately hidden from the public street. 
 
How many of us still unthinkingly accept Fagin the rascally Jew without it even occurring to us that this in itself is a kind of anti-semitism? In the musical Oliver his stereotypical rascality is actually portrayed with affection. 
 
Critics, such as Anthony Julius in his book, Trials of the Diaspora, have argued that anti-semitism may be inherent in our literary culture. Fagin is just one example of it and we need to see him in that light.

What Mario thought...

It&#039;s quite likely that many of the readers who had enjoyed his first novel 
Pickwick Papers were more than a little surprised and bewildered when Dickens followed it up with Oliver Twist. 

Both novels first appear in serial form and some of the later episodes of Pickwick coincide with early chapters of Oliver and yet the two could hardly have been more different; the former was a light-hearted romp round merry England and the latter a mainly dark tale of low life in Victorian London.

Perhaps he wanted to demonstrate his versatility as a writer because as he states in the preface to Oliver Twist it is perfectly reasonable for &#039;Once upon a time&#039; stories to deal with the unpleasant as well as the pleasant, the villain as well as the hero.  At the same time he perhaps wants to be seen as a writer with social awareness, religious conviction and a philanthropic outlook which will transform the &#039;Once upon a time&#039; stories to identifying and improving the here and now.

To the criticism that his characters are not true to life, Dickens says this:

It is useless to discuss whether the conduct and character of the girl (Nancy) seems natural or unnatural, probable or improbable, right or wrong. IT IS TRUE.

He insists that there are people like Nancy who can and do change and, somewhat paradoxically, people like Sykes and Fagin who are past the point of no return in their degeneracy.

I don&#039;t disagree with this view, and the characters, especially the criminals, are well drawn and still alive and well two hundred years later. In fact, for me, it&#039;s this that constitutes the book&#039;s main achievement along with the insights it gives to the social ills of the day and in particular the grim workhouse and its unfortunate inmates who are &#039;despised by all...pitied by none&#039;. 

As to the plot and the manner in which the evildoers are punished and the virtuous receive their rewards, credibility is stretched to breaking point. However if a story begins &#039;Once upon a time&#039; I suppose a &#039;Happy ever after&#039; ending is not out of place. But herein lies the problem and the reason why, for me, Oliver Twist isn&#039;t a well written book but rather a patchwork of social commentary and storytelling.

What Matthew thought...

The novel is called Oliver Twist and it concerns his various adventures, but Oliver seems a mere cipher and is never really developed as a character. The people considered kind and morally correct are never clearly defined, and add very little to the development of the novel ie. Mrs. Maylie, Rose, and Dr. Losberne. Mr. Brownlow, Oliver&#039;s benefactor, becomes more pronounced near the end of the novel as he forces Monk&#039;s confession to being Oliver&#039;s brother and of his misappropriation of the inheritance, and he pursues the accusation against Bill Sykes and Fagin for the murder of Nancy.

There is something symbolic in the death of Bill Sykes as he is pursued by the mob and tries to escape across the roof tops. He slips and the rope he is holding becomes entangled around his neck and he is hanged - even his dog is killed. Was this action meant by Dickens as a kind of justice preceding the courts? The imprisonment of Fagin, and his eventual execution, is one of the most powerful chapters in the novel and has a strong narrative context.

Mr. Bumble, the beadle, starts off as an authoritarian figure until his marriage to Mrs. Corney, and their dealings with Monks. He becomes a mere caricature of his former self, and at the hands of Mr. Brownlow they are reduced to the workhouse and paupers of their former charge. Mr. Bumble sums up his downfall to the fact he did not remain a bachelor.

Mr. Giles, who acted as butler and steward to Mrs. Maylie, and his assistant Brittles, a lad of all work, having entered the service as a child and considered a promising young boy at the age of thirty,  pursue the burglars. This is the incident when Oliver is wounded, and Mr. Giles and Brittles, being short of breath and enthusiasm, are glad to give up the chase and to appear to have carried out their duty. Together with people like the Artful Dodger (John Dawkins) who latterly wants nothing to do with Bill Sykes and even Noah Claypole. One can relate to such characters through experience and therein lies the novel&#039;s strength.

Our Dickens Champions

Watch out for our Dickens Champions&#039; blog posts as they read their way through Dickens during 2012.

Check out our Dickens Champions photos on Facebook.

Reading Dickens in your reading group or book club? Get in touch or post a comment to let us know how you&#039;re getting on.</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/dickens-champions-mitchell-classics-book-group-on-oliver-twist.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/dickens-champions-mitchell-classics-book-group-on-oliver-twist.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Dickens Champions</category>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
          <item>
      <title>Chris Cleave competition for National Reading Group Day</title>
      <description>To celebrate National Reading Group Day on 30th June, we&#039;ve teamed up with Hodder and The Booksellers Association and are delighted to announce that reading group favourite Chris Cleave, author of The Other Hand, Incendiary and forthcoming novel Gold, is putting himself forward  as a &#039;prize&#039; for the reading group that puts forward the best case for him attending their group.

All reading groups and book clubs are being invited to enter. When the competition goes live, your group will need to tell us, in less than 100 words, why Chris Cleave should visit your book group and complete the following tiebreaker statement: &#039;Reading groups are for everyone because...&#039;. The deadline for entries will be 30th August.

Our dedicated Chris Cleave reading group competition page will be up on the site very soonn- please check back so your reading group doesn&#039;t miss out on this great opportunity to meet one of our bestselling authors. 

Get involved

Find out more about Chris Cleave.

Find out more about National Reading Group Day.

If your reading group is making plans for National Reading Group Day, do let us know. Post a comment below or tell us on our Facebook page.


Photograph C Niall McDiarmid</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/chris-cleave-competition-for-national-reading-group-day.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/chris-cleave-competition-for-national-reading-group-day.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
          <item>
      <title>Aberdeen City Libraries get ready for National Reading Group Day</title>
      <description>Ewan Scott from Aberdeen City Libraries has been in touch to about their plans for National Reading Group Day. Ewan tells us what will be happening:

Aberdeen City Libraries are organising a city-wide reading group on National Reading Group Day 2012 which will involve reading groups in the city reading the same book. Groups are being invited to vote for their favourite book, read it for the day and then discuss it online with other groups from the city and shire on the 30th June.   

We&#039;re hoping to get as many reading groups and book clubs as possible within Aberdeen taking part in order to make the day a success, so will be promoting the event in each of our 16 Community Libraries as well as our main Central Library.

Voting and reading

Aberdeen City Libraries have been building up a collection, for reading groups to use, which features about 110 titles of contemporary and classic fiction.  We currently support a number of reading groups in the city, but are aware that there are many more that we could connect with so we are hoping that this project will allow us to do so.  

The idea behind the project revolves around a blog that is being set-up on Wordpress. An online poll will be set-up on the blog to find out the book of choice for the event, allowing the reading groups that are taking part to vote on their preferred choice. We&#039;re aiming to treat the event as a normal reading group meeting so the books will be distributed at the start of June, giving the participants 4 weeks to read it in preparation for the event.

Taking part in the online reading group

The actual discussion will take place on our Aberdeen City Libraries Facebook page and will run between 10am and 2pm on the 30th June with participants dropping in and out throughout the day. In fact, the only constant should be myself as I will be monitoring the debate!

The hope is that the event will grow in the following years and allow for a much greater discussion and interaction between book groups in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. Some of reading groups can be in isolated communities and we hope to encourage them to use our service through the event.  

Get involved

Live in Aberdeen? In a reading group? Get in touch with Ewan to take part in their project.

Download the Aberdeen City Library reading group collection.

Sign-up to be part of National Reading Group Day.

What are your plans for National Reading Group Day? Post a comment or tell us on Facebook.</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/aberdeen-city-libraries-get-ready-for-national-reading-group-day.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/aberdeen-city-libraries-get-ready-for-national-reading-group-day.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
          <item>
      <title>Get yourself along to Derbyshire Literature Festival</title>
      <description>Derbyshire Literature Festival is just about to kick off with some great meet the author sessions taking place across the county for fiction and non fiction lovers alike.

Taking place between 11th - 20th May, the Festival offers book clubs, reading groups, readers and local writers the opportunity to get up close and personal with a superb range of writers. Priscilla Baily, from Derbyshire Libraries, tells us about some of the highlights that you won&#039;t want to miss:

Fantastic Fiction 

Acclaimed novelist Louise Doughty returns to Derbyshire to talk about her latest gripping novel Whatever You Love. Louise will be at Newbold Library on Monday 14th May at 7.00pm.

Carole Matthews, internationally best selling author of successful romantic comedy novels, could be the just the ticket for a fun night out.  Join Carole to hear more about her journey from Milton Keynes to Hollywood, and her latest novel Summer Daydreams, at Buxton Library on Tuesday 15th May 7.15 pm. £5.00


Award winning young writer Edward Hogan makes a welcome return to the county of his birth for an event at Glossop Library on Friday May 11th at 7.15 pm.  Edward will be discussing his intriguing second novel, The Hunger Trace, set in the Derbyshire Dales, which explores the relationships between a group of characters linked through the place where they live and their shared histories. £5.00

Calling all crime lovers! Steven Dunne will be talking about his third novel Deity at Darley Dale Methodist Church Hall on Friday 11th May at 2.00pm. Join the Derby based writer at a special preview event for the Festival, where Steven reveals all about his latest serial killer thriller. £5.00

Leicestershire based Martin Davies will be travelling up to the Peak District to talk about his third novel, The Year After, a historical detective story set around the time of World War 1.  Martin&#039;s bestselling debut novel The Conjuror&#039;s Bird was a Richard &amp;amp; Judy book club choice.  You can meet Martin at Hathersage Memorial Hall on Thursday 17th May at 2.00pm. £5.00

Set in 1950s Scotland, Isla Dewar&#039;s latest novel A Winter Bride will be the subject for her visit to Long Eaton Library on Thursday 17th May at 7.15pm Join this popular writer to find out more about her fictional world. £5.00

While Morag Joss is another Scottish writer taking part in this year&#039;s festival.  Morag is an award winning crime novelist, but her latest novel Across the Bridge is a multi layered story about missing people in the wake of a disaster, set in the Scottish Highlands.  Morag will be talking about her new book at Whitwell Community Centre on Wednesday 16th May at 7.15pm. £5.00

Another highlight is a special readers/writers day with Sara Sheridan (photo above) who will be running a writing workshop and giving an author talk, featuring her extensive use of archive material in producing her best selling historical novels.  This is a great chance to hear more about how historical records and documents can come alive, with an introduction to local archive material by staff from Derbyshire Record Office as well.    This exciting day for writers, historians and readers, takes place on Saturday 19th May at the Medway Centre in Bakewell. £8.00

Non fiction highlights


BBC Security Correspondent Gordon Corera lifts the lid on the secret world of MI6 and British intelligence in his latest book T_he Art of Betrayal: Life and Death in the British Secret Service_.  Join Gordon to hear more about this fascinating and topical subject at Chesterfield Library on Thursday 17th May at 7.15 pm. 

Jasvinder Sanghera discusses Shame Travels, sequel to the best selling Shame, at Ilkeston Library on Wednesday 16th May at 7.00pm  In her new book, she challenges thirty years of rejection by returning to her roots and family history on a life altering trip to India.  Derby born Jasvinder survived a forced marriage to co-found a national project supporting men and women affected by honour-based crimes and forced marriages. 

Around the World in 80 Books with Oxygen Press.  An introduction to writing from the world&#039;s greatest cities by acclaimed City Picks editors Malcolm Burgess and Heather Reyes. Join them for an action packed journey round the world at Buxton Museum on Sunday 13th May at 2.00pm. 


Get involved

Borrow books by all these authors from Derbyshire Libraries.
 
Download a festival brochure and find out more here.

Pick up a brochure or buy tickets at all Derbyshire Libraries or get in touch for tickets and booking: by phone 08 456 058 058 or by email. 

Follow the Festival on Twitter.

Like Derbyshire Libraries on Facebook.</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/get-yourself-along-to-derbyshire-literature-festival.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/get-yourself-along-to-derbyshire-literature-festival.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Events</category>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
          <item>
      <title>Get the Chatterbooks newsletter and publisher supplement</title>
      <description>We&#039;re hope you&#039;ve all been having a great time running your Chatterbooks groups. We&#039;ve been busy here at Chatterbooks HQ pulling together all the latest news and stories just for you and all the latest books that publishers are recommending for Spring and Summer. 

Download our Spring newsletter to get information about our offers and training, news from groups and much more.

Download our Spring publishers supplementto see all the latest titles and to get hold of posters, proofs and activity sheets.

Come back soon for more news and offers and don&#039;t forget to get in touch if you&#039;d like to tell us about what your Chatterbooks group is up to.</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/chatterbooks/post.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/chatterbooks/post.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Chatterbooks</category>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">General</category>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
          <item>
      <title>Orange Prize 2012 shortlist announced</title>
      <description>The Orange Prize for Fiction 2012 shortlist has just been announced.

The six shortlisted titles are:



Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan (Serpent&#039;s Tail) 	
The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape)	
Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding (Bloomsbury)
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Bloomsbury)
Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick (Atlantic Books)	
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (Bloomsbury)	




This year&#039;s shortlist honours both new and well-established authors, including a debut novelist and a previous Orange Prize winner; Ann Patchett, who won the Orange Prize for Fiction ten years ago for Bel Canto (2002). 

&quot;This is a shortlist of remarkable quality and variety,&quot; commented Joanna Trollope, Chair of judges. &quot;It includes six distinctive voices and subjects, four nationalities and an age range of close on half a century. It is a privilege to present it.&quot;

She continues, &quot;My only regret is that the rules of the prize don&#039;t permit a longer shortlist. However, I am confident that the fourteen novels we had to leave out will make their own well-deserved way&quot;.

The award ceremony will take place in The Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London, on 30 May 2012.

Reading groups

Do you have reading groups shadowing the Prize?

We would love to hear from your reading groups about their views on this year&#039;s longlist and shortlist. We have an all-male reading group reading On the Floor by Aifric Campbell and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, and so if you are an all-female reading group reading either of these books, it would be great to hear your views so we can see how they compare! Email us your reviews and we will publish them on this site, or post a comment.</description>
      <link>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/orange-prize-2012-shortlist-announced.html</link>
      <guid>http://www.readinggroups.org/news/orange-prize-2012-shortlist-announced.html</guid>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">General</category>
              <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 16:51:58 +0100</pubDate>
    </item>
    </channel>
</rss>

