Like having to listen to the radio programs, it was no hardship to be asked to watch The Book Club on ABC Television. In the past this has been a regular favourite of mine - but strangely enough, I seem to be going out every Tuesday night for the last few weeks and have missed the usual monthly program as well as the other Tuesday night book discussions on Jennifer Byrne presents.
A past program that stands out was July's, where they discussed Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. As it happens, I have read both books, one recently and the other at school, so it was interesting to hear other people's opinions. I can't say that I totally agreed with everyone's dislike of the characters in Sharp Objects. To me, the back story and solving of the mystery were always more paramount and I suppose that these days we have become somewhat inured to violence, especially if we read lots of crime fiction and watch lots of forensic or police shows on TV.
The comments on Jane Eyre came as a complete surprise, as I suppose I still have the youthful idea of Mr Rochester as a hero. This is one book, that I will have to read again just to see if it affects me the same way it did the panelists. A very enlightening discussion.
Another program that stood out was the one where Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafon was a panelist. I was really taken with his articulate and insightful views. I particularly enjoyed the panel discussion on William Gibson's Pattern Recognition and I will be picking up this book from the library. Between the two in-depth book discussions and the panel members talking about what they are reading at the moment, there is usually at least one book that piques my interest and therefore makes the program well worth watching.
Website:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/
No comments:
Post a Comment