Book Club

[Hillcrestonian]

Due to the flooding, this weeks meeting of the Ballinasloe Book Club due to take place on Thursday has been put deferred until Wednesday 2nd December. 8pm.
Our meeting place is the library lounge in Gullane's Hotel, and we would like to use this opportunity to say well done to Tomás and the staff there for their efforts in accommodating so many who have been displaced by the floods.

On behalf of BBC members, Our thoughts are with those whose homes and business have suffered damage in the last week.

Somewhat ironically, the book we are reading this month is titled Fishing the Sloe Black River. A short story collection by recent award winning author Colum McCann. As always, new faces are always welcome. Come along and suggest a book for December. Something seasonal perhaps, but nothing to do with floods !
Hope to see you there.

[Hillcrestonian]

Hi,

Ballinasloe Book Club Meets this evening in Gullane's at 8.
As always new members are welcome along.
We usually hook up on the last Thursday of each month but as that
happens to be Christmas day this month we're meeting tonight instead.
Come along and suggest something to read over the festive season,
or reccommend something good to buy as a stocking filler !
Hope to see you there.

Nollaig Shona 

[Ladybird]

Next book: Notes on a Scandal - Zoe Heller

Next meeting: Thursday Jan 28th 8pm Gullane's

ALL WELCOME!

[Hillcrestonian]

Ballinasloe Book Club

Our next book Notes on a scandal by Zoe Heller is currently
on sale in Salmon's Department Store, Main St.

Discount available to BBC members !

Thank you to Dermot Salmon.

As Ladybird said our next meeting is on Thursday 28th of this
month in Gullane's at 8pm.

NEW FACES ALWAYS WELCOME !

[Ladybird]

NEXT BOOK: BROOKLYN BY COLM TÓIBÍN

NEXT MEETING: 25th Feb, Thursday, 8pm

VENUE: Gullane's Hotel, The Library Lounge

We had 3 new members at our January meeting, which was great - welcome, ladies!

And HUGE CONGRATS to one of our founding members, Debbie, who gave birth to a baby girl yesterday. Well done, Debbie - hope you get to read a few pages between feeds, nappies etc. etc.

[Hillcrestonian]

And HUGE CONGRATS to one of our founding members, Debbie, who gave birth to a baby girl yesterday.

Thats great news. Congrats to Debbie & Daddy 

Great to see a few new faces at our last get together. Welcome to the BBC.
Hopefully we'll have a few more on the 25th of this month.

As Ladybird said, our chosen book for this month is Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín.

This book won the Costa best novel award for the Wexford aurhor
recently and was shortlisted for the overall Costa book prize last month.

I'm looking forward to reading it.

[Martha]

Congratulations Debbie and best wishes to your family and your new baby girl.
A little one to love and raise with fresh eggs and bread and country air - I
remembered you mentioning the eggs and bread in a post way back when.

I read "Brooklyn" early last month and loved it.  I was sure Colm Toibin (forgive my
not knowing how to put the sine fada over Toibin's name) had lived in New York
in the 50's and was surprised to find he did not.  The book is a realistic view of
life in NY in the '50's and into the 60's.  In fact I knew a Kerry girl whose life
mirrored the protaganist, Eilis's life when I lived in NYC in the early 60's.  At times
a heartbreaking book but an excellent read.

Another book that I liked alot recently is "The Walking People" by Mary Beth Keane.
Reading this book I also felt the author must have had a very close relationship to
someone who had lived in Ireland - the story is set in the Galway coastal area
and in New York, and rings true in both locations. The title is taken from the
name given to the Travellers in times past - yet the book centers on a fishing
family, their hardships and their secrets.  The time period is 1956 to 2007 and
is well worth reading.

[Hillcrestonian]

Ballinasloe Book Club

The BBC hooks up for our monthly get together this evening at 8 in Gullane's.
Between swanning off to Spain and The UK in the past couple of weeks, I didn't
get time to put up posters around town !  So spread the word and tell your friends
that everyone is welcome to join in.

This month we read award winning author Colm Tóibín's latest novel Brooklyn.

Come along and suggest something to read for the month of March.

[debbie]

Hi All

Thanks for all your well wishes and kind words.

Keela is doing really well and I'm really looking forward to meeting up with ye this month - what are we reading?

[Hillcrestonian]

Hi Debbie,

Great to hear that Keela is doing well. Looking forward to
seeing you back soon.

I'll put details of the next meeting and this months book in the
post below.   

[Hillcrestonian]

Ballinasloe Book Club

Hi All,

The next meeting of the BBC takes place in the library lounge in Gullane's at 8pm
on Thursday 25th March. It was great to see more new faces last week.
Welcome Úna and Tony.

This months book is The God of Small Things  by Indian author Arundhati Roy.

It is a story about the childhood experiences a pair of fraternal twins who become victims of circumstance.
This book won the Booker Prize in 1997.

From the brief synopsis I've read it sounds interesting. I'm looking forward to reading it.

See you all on the 25th and as always, new members are welcome to come along.

[Kilconnell]

sounds good!

[Hillcrestonian]

The BBC meets tonight in Gullanes at 8.
All welcome !

[Ladybird]

The book we are reading for the 29th of April is The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien.

Meeting at 8pm that night in Gullane's.

[Hillcrestonian]

Just a reminder that Ballinasloe Book Club meets in Gullane's
this Thursday at 8pm.
As Ladybird said, the book we are reading this month is
"The Country Girls" by Edna O'Brien.

All are welcome to come along and suggest
a book for the month of May.