Good segment on this morning's Woman's Hour about Book Groups - commenting on a Daily Mail article disrespecting this Reading Group idea. Jenny interviewed two very enthusiastic advocates of what is now a national pastime.. I agreed with everything they said except regarding the choice of books.. The speaker said the choices should be checked out by reading reviews, checking prize lists etc.
Of course this is the very opposite to what I said in the preamble to my last post (below) about reading The Summer Book.
Despite the magisterial authority of Woman's Hour I stick to my guns. One needs to appraise a book with a fresh mind rather than use the crutch of published opinion, Once you have read,the book you can see what the pundits have said and check it against your own impression. That adds to the literary fun and keeps your own mind independent.
An added bonus is that this can act to stop the emperor arraying himself in new clothes...
I agree with you, Wendy. I always read the novel first and jot down my own reactions to it before I look at the opinions of others. Reading groups give us the opportunity to read books that we might not pick off the shelf ourselves. I loved your post about 'Suite Francaise'. It is one of my favourite novels.
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