Oyster Book Club

Oyster Book Club No More

Last night the Oyster Book Club met for the last time - there are no future books and no future reading lists and no book club!

Louise

Oyster Book Club 6th June - Life and Laughing: My Story Michael McIntyre

Life and Laughing: My Story Michael McIntyre chosen by Mandy is the Oyster Book club for 6th June.

Michael McIntyre has become Britain's biggest comedy star. His debut stand-up DVD was the fastest selling of all time, only to be eclipsed by his second that sold over 1.4 million copies and was the 2009 Christmas number one. He hosts his own BAFTA nominated BBC1 series, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, and won the British Comedy Award for Best Live Stand-up in 2009 following his record breaking fifty-four date Arena tour. But how did he get there? Michael reveals all in his remarkably honest and hilarious autobiography Life and Laughing. His showbiz roots, his appalling attempts to attract the opposite sex, his fish-out-of-water move from public to state school and his astonishing journey from selling just one ticket at the Edinburgh Festival to selling half a million tickets on his last tour. Michael's story is riveting, poignant, romantic and above all very, very funny.

General Non Fiction questions to think about when reading the book:

What did you find surprising about the facts introduced in this book?

How has reading this book changed your opinion of a certain person or topic?

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he or she achieve this?

If the author is writing on a debatable issue, does he or she give proper consideration to all sides the debate? Does he or she seem to have a bias?

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter? Is this a subject area you knew anything about before? If so, were you surprised by any facts introduced in this book? If not, were you surprised by how interested you were in it?

How do you think the author treated the subject? Was the material presented in an interesting and thought-provoking way? How did the author achieve this?

May 9th Book Club Catcher in the Rye Questions

Ive sourced some questions on Catcher in the Rye for you to think about before the next book club meeting. As usual these are just topics to talk about & discuss on the night.

Please remember that the next book club meeting is on the 9th May - to avoid the bank holiday next week.

1. What do you think Holden Caulfield is searching for?
2. Would you say that Holden is delusional?
3. Why do you think Holden chose to lie to the bully's mother? Do you think that he is generally a nice person?
4. Why do you think that Holden sees the world in so much detail? Why does he choose to explain the way he does things, the way he does?
5. Why do you think he chickened out with prostitute? Why did he merely pay her just to talk?
6. What was the symbolism of the merry-go-round? How does that connect to Holden directly?
7. Do you think Holden is gay? Are there any allusions in the book that would point to him being gay?
8. Would you say that Holden is a social outcast?
9. Can you, yourself, relate to Holden Caulfield at all? If so, how?
10. Why do you think this book was so controversial?
11. Why do you think it was banned by some schools to be read by students?

9th May Book Club - Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Please note the book club in May will be on the 9th May - the 2nd Monday in the month (and not the first Monday in the month the 2nd May which is May Bank Holiday). The book club will still be held at the Continental Hotel at 7pm as usual - we may move to the beach weather permitting.

Mays Book Club Book - Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger chosen by Louise

Holden Caufield is a self-proclaimed excellent liar who hates phony people. He just recently failed out of Pencey Prep, and this failure is just one in a string of failures. He knows that his parents will be receiving a letter in the next few days, telling them that Holden failed once again. He also knows that they will be upset with him, but he has been there before.

Holden, the narrator of J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye decides to leave school early after learning that his roommate went on a date with Jane Gallagher, a girl that once lived next door to Holden. He makes an impulsive decision to spend his last few days before the inevitable confrontation with his parents in New York City.

Discussion questions for April's book Room by Emma Donoghue

Below Ive listed 10 questions Ive sourced for April's book club discussion concerning Room by Emma Donoghue remember before you read the questions below that they contain spoilers to the actual plot of Room – so its up to you if you want to read them before you have finished the book or not.

   1. Why do you think the author chose to tell the story of Room through Jack and not through a third-person narrator?

   2. Why does Jack call their captor "Old Nick?"

   3. What are some of the ways in which Jack’s development has been stunted by growing up in Room? How has he benefited?

   4. When Ma is interviewed, the interviewer implies that perhaps not everyone would agree with Ma's decisions regarding Jack

first, her decision to keep him in Room when she could have tried to have Old Nick abandon him at a hospital, &

secondly Ma teaches Jack that Room was all there is, that things in TV aren't real, etc.

What are your thoughts regarding these decisions? What would you do differently if you were Jack’s parent? Would you tell Jack about the outside world from the start?

   5. Have you ever heard of someone getting into a car with someone they don't know, as Ma did? Did you find this to be a believable way for a 19-year-old to be kidnapped?

   6. Did you find yourself wanting to know more about Old Nick? If so, why do you think this is?

   7. Jack often wishes he were back in Room. Is there any way in which he would be better off back in isolation with only his mother? Why or why not?

   8. What sort of problems do you think Ma will face now that she and Jack are out on their own? What does joining the outside world do to Jack? To Ma?

   9. If Ma had never given birth to Jack, what would her situation in Room be like?

10. What role do you think the media play in the novel?

Room by Emma Donoghue - Aprils Book chosen by Sarah

Room by Emma Donoghue - April's Book chosen by Sarah

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Questions for March's book club meeting

After last nights book club I thought I would list some general 'non fiction' questions I looked on the web and I wasnt able to find any specific questions for More than Just Coincidence, the questions might give you something additional to think about while reading the book.