Last Thursday Book Group

Posted on 24 April 2014 by admin

Joyful Strains – Making Australia Home

Summary

Joyful Strains collects twenty-seven memoirs from writers describing their expatriation to Australia. These are stories about what they found, who they became and what they now think of Australia – stories that provide entertainment, perspective and cause to celebrate our increasingly diverse nation. This is an insightful, compelling and sometimes confronting collection for all Australians.

Contributors include: Alice Pung, Danny Katz, Mark Dapin and Diane Armstrong, with an introduction from Arnold Zable.

Group Comments

Reader 1 – Interesting to hear stories from migrants when they just arrived, especially the language aspect. Continue reading →

Alan Walker Village Book Group

Posted on 1 April 2014 by admin

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

Group Comments

A well-attended meeting of 12 members ensured there were a variety of opinions on most questions, but there was general agreement that the book was enjoyable and amusing. Some found it ‘shallow’.

Not many could name our Prime Ministers from Federation on, let alone the recent Prime Ministers of many other countries.

The group accepted the comment ’30,000 years of ocean-going seacraft’, citing Heyerdal’s Kon Tiki expedition as an example.

We felt that reading this book could have influenced how visitors (and we ourselves) experienced Australia, and agreed it does add to your enjoyment of a place you are visiting.

One member whose husband’s profession took them around Australia in three-monthly moves was most definite that you can’t properly experience a country by just touring. This was a rather superficial look at Australia. Bryson’s comments on Uluru were instanced.

We thought Bryson himself relied too heavily on his researchers, whom he himself reported as being sometimes varied in their facts.