Everyone likes a good day trip don’t they? Well, members of the New Writing North book groups have been invited to a special book-related day at the Sage in Gateshead.

As part of BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival, we (you and me!) have been invited to talk to the awesome Lionel Shriver (author of ‘We Need to Talk about Kevin’) about her new book A Perfectly Good Family.

The idea is that you can go along to the Sage on Saturday 24 October and there will be a reading plus Q+A, just like when Stella Duffy came to visit us last year.

Then, in November book group, we’ll talk about A Perfectly Good Family at Uncle Alberts in Middlesbrough.

Apply for free tickets here (go to the ‘book online’ section or call them to reserve)

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ps – this is not a compulsary trip and if you don’t go it won’t affect the november book group, it’s just an optional extra

So, yes, take a look at the updated reading list and get reading!

The onset of Autumn brings with it the promise of scarves, driving rain and more time holed up indoors reading books. Ive been reading all sorts but for group, i sped through Sarah Moss’ Cold Earth.

I wasn’t sure of how people would react, as I had found it slow to start, with an infuriating lead narrator, but an inventive premise. The group were not enamoured with the book at all . Mostly due to the characters and their lack of variation and lots of glaring holes in the plot (the internet going down cos of flu? whatevs!)

We also had a visit from a lady who is organising a new and exciting group for creative people on Teesside – you can find out more here and discussed plans for the next book group – when we’ll be looking at Jacob Polley’s Talk of the Town.

The best thing about September was always getting a new pencil case for school. I would spend days in Smiths testing zips, sniffing plastic, working out what patterns would look good against my pencils (I was a strange kid).

Sadly, although being grown up comes with the freedom to eat cake before your tea and not make your bed if you want, the simple things that make life good can ebb away…….not this year though!

This September brings a pile of (takes deep breath) shiny new BOOKS!  My favourite things in the world alongside greyhounds, roller derby, driving with the music up loud and Paul Smith from Maximo Park.

The lovely people at New Writing North gave me a stack of them which I carried around the vintage shops of Newcastle whilst trying to find a fancy dress outfit last month (I got one and went as Janine Melnitz from Ghostbusters).

Anyway, yes, back to books. There is no theme or slant, just new fiction, chosen by NWN, the group and me . We have a whole list of em for you to read and then come talk about in our awesome new home, Uncle Alberts – just opposite the train station in Middlesbrough.

And any suggestions for future books, post em up on the blog and we’ll see what we can do

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So, following the rather curtailed Middlesbrough Book Group meeting last month, we’ve finally managed to sort out what will hopefully be the Book Group home for the foreseeable future (and let’s hope the future is very, very long…!)

Uncle Albert’s Bar on Exchange Place, opposite the Middlesbrough train station (used to be called Bar Vienna), has offered to host the book group from next Tuesday onwards.

So, the next meeting will be Tuesday, 28 July, from 6.30pm to 8pm, at Uncle Albert’s. The book being discussed is THE CROW ROAD by Iain Banks.

There won’t be free teas and coffees laid on but there are lots of drinks (soft and hard) at the bar.

See you on Tuesday night.

X

Being ‘in charge’ of the book group is fun but sometimes it’s nice to let everyone else have there say about what we do

To celebrate summer, all of the NWN book groups are doing a summer read for the July group. At our June meeting, where we discussed Nik Jones’ 9987 (another book with a scary male loner- we’ve had a run of em!) all of the members bar me picked a book they liked, and just like at school, we put them ina hat (aka my hand) and picked one at random.

So, July’s book is Iain Banks’ The Crow Road, which I last read when I was 16 and I have a lovely pristine copy just waiting to be read.

Every time we have a meeting, someone in our group reveals something exciting and new about themselves. A married couple who told us how they met in a 1950s jazz band, anecdotes about family and pets that range in light and shade, and we’ve had had a few brushes with fame.

The Boro group, which is a mix of regulars and intermittent visitors is a mix of ages and backgrounds and it’s always a bit lively.

Our last book ‘Richard Milward’s Ten Storey Love Song’ can also be descibed as lively and it’s graphic depiction of life in a Middlesbrough tower block got a mixed response, but by the end of the night, even the people who hasn’t been able to keep reading it ahd said they fancied finishing it after hearing everyone elses reviews.

The group is open to anyone who fancies it, and even if you can’t come every month, that’s a-ok.

Come along and join in, you’re always welcome.

so, here comes another bank holiday ( i LOVE May!) and after it comes our May meeting.

We’re discussing Ten Storey Love Song by Richard Milward and am really looking forward to find out what y’all think about it!

Set in a peach tower block on Brambles Farm, one of the grimy bits of the Boro, the book is one long paragraph involving the people who live there. I loved it, although the location wasn’t what won me over…it was far more than that.

So if you want to come down and chip in, come along on Tuesday 26th, 6.30pm Central Library. Free tea and biscuits as usual. Cider and pick n mix optional.

Looking at  my calender, I was surprised to see that our little book group has been going for a whole year!

A lot has happened over the last year.

I’ve met fantastic people from all sorts of backgrounds and age groups at the group, and as well as reading some awesome books, I also met and hosted a night with one of my favourite authors Stella Duffy.

Reading is such a weird solitary pasttime, that having this group to go to once a month really makes my life a lot better.

In the style of a Miss World contestant, I’d like to thank  Claire and Olivia at New Writing North for supporting us;  Sara Dennis and Middlesbrough Libraries for rescuing us and providing my favourite place in the town as a venue;  and, most importantly,  the people who come every month or once in a  while – you make this happen!

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Is it just me or are there a lot of so-so books about at the moment?

I keep finding ones in my library, and buying them in bookshops, excited at the cover, blurb and reviews. Then I get em home, read em and am deflated.

I’ve got two on the go at the moment which are ok, but the one I hated recently was ‘Wetlands’ – which i reviewed here .

 Don’t. Believe. the. Hype.

Thankfully I have read some swesome books too and am also excited about an event organised by New Writing North to celebrate the release of Richard Milward’s Ten Storey Love Song. It involves cider and pick n mix at mima. Awesome. More details here.

And remember, next book group is this coming Tuesday. 6.30pm. Middlesbrough library. Free tea and cake, and maybe crisps. We spoil you innit.

It’s a busy time at the moment for me….as well as working lots, reading books and lurking in libraries, I’ve been busy training with my roller derby team for our first public bout in Birmingham, and also, welcoming another greyhound into the house.

The two of them have joined forced in stealing food and went through a packet of club biscuits plus foil the other days.

I’ve also been buying books (helping the economy!) and have purchased the next two books we have for the group and the much hyped Wetlands. The first page made my eyes pop so it’s living up to it’s promise.

I’ve had to set it aside to continue reading the Time Travellers Wife, which I LOVE! I can’t wait to find out what everyone else thinks about it at the next meeting, which is next week!

Whooh! Middlesbrough libraray, 6.30pm, Tuesday 24th…see you there?