Next meeting February 17, discussing Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Published on 19 January 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed

Welcome (back) to book group!

I think we’ve got our best ever line up of books to discuss over the next few months. In February we’ll be chatting about Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, which Liv and I agreed was one of our favourite reads of last year. As a dissection of an outwardly perfect marriage, Franzen excels in depicting the dissatisfactions and personal tragedies that lurk behind a comfortable middle class life.  By the end of the book, we know Patty, Walter and the Barrier Street gang almost as well as we know our own friends. But do we like them as much?

Freedom is quite a long novel, but even if you have a chance to read a couple of chapters, it offers up loads of ideas ripe for discussion. It’s also a page turner – so pack the kids off to bed, curl up on the sofa and settle down for a few hours in the (newly gentrified) city of St Paul.

 

Also, just a reminder that we have moved our time and location. We now meet at BALTIC in the Quay education space, which is on Level 2 (sometimes behind an exhibition wall, but don’t worry, it’s always open). There are loads of toys for toddlers and pre-schoolers and plenty of space for new crawlers to test out their freedom. At the moment our children range from 0 – 4 years, so come along with your little angels/ rascals and join us for a grown up chat. Our meetings take place from 10.30-11.30am on the second Friday of the month. Next month is the exception, when we will meet on Friday 17 February.

 

Hope to see you all there!
Laura

How to be a Woman – 14 Oct – BALTIC

Published on 13 October 2011 in Uncategorized. Closed

Ah, autumn. Season of snuffles and sneezes. I have spent three nights in the last ten lying on my children’s bedroom floor while they cough and whine in their sleep – all the better for catching up with this month’s book, How to be a Woman. I love Caitlin Moran’s writing and have laughed and hurrahed! through these sleepless nights, always hanging around on the bedroom floor for longer than required while I read just one more chapter. I’m looking forward to discussing it with you on Friday.

 

Just to remind everyone that The Sage is closed on the 14 October, so we’re meeting at BALTIC instead – Level 2, in the Quay Education area.

 

See you there, Laura x

The Guardian Angel’s Journal – 9th September

Published on 7 September 2011 in Uncategorized. Closed

Hi everyone,

 

I hope you’ve all had a great summer and are looking forward to getting back to book group!

It’s been a while since I was at school (although my daughter goes for the first time tomorrow – yikes!), but September always feels like the start of the year to me. I suppose I’m still a sucker for new stationery, new books and new shoes. What could be better? (Oh, and new babies of course)

Anyway, whether your year is just beginning or 3/4 of the way through, we’ve got a great line-up of books for the autumn term. We are lucky enough to have the author of The Guardian Angel’s Journal, Carolyn Jess-Cooke, coming along to our meeting this month. I found this a fascinating book which I devoured in a day, but have been thinking about ever since. I’m sure we’ll have a great discussion and I hope to see you all there – new babes, new shoes and all.

 

Laura x

The Great Gatsby discussion Friday 17 June

Published on 22 May 2011 in Uncategorized. Closed

New parenthood is decidedly unglamorous. Whatever happened to candlelit garden parties, cocktails, sultry afternoons and mysterious men?

We’ve picked a real summer classic in The Great Gatsby, so come along and taste the American Dream with us (safe in the knowledge that needy babies and the chill of the Tyne will bring us back to reality, with a bump).

Please note that due to work and family commitments of different members, we’re now meeting at 1pm on the second Friday of the month (third Friday in June). We hope this still suits most people!

Corduroy Mansions discussion tomorrow

Published on 7 February 2011 in Uncategorized. Closed

Hi everyone,

I can’t wait for our meeting tomorrow. Must admit I am looking forward to coffee and cake as much as to discussing our deliciously cosy book of the month, Corduroy Mansions. I haven’t seen the babies since before Christmas, so am looking forward to lots of new tricks!

Speaking of which, there are going to be some changes at the Sage, meaning our usual meeting place will leave less space to park pushchairs and for babies to roam. With this in mind, we are going to meet upstairs this month and from now on, if it suits. We’ll be on Level 2, next to the Hall One bar – a nice quiet little spot where we (or our little ones) can shriek to our hearts’ content.

Finally, if you can’t make it tomorrow, please take note of the meeting dates for March and April, which are both on the third Tuesday of the month, rather than the second. This is because the Sage is closed on our usual dates for conferences.

Laura x

Art, for children’s sake

Published on 28 October 2010 in Uncategorized. Closed

Yesterday’s Journal article detailing funding cuts to North East arts organisations made depressing reading.

This hasn’t been the best of weeks to be a parent. From child benefit to working tax credit, whatever the income bracket, families are being hit the hardest by the government’s rash of public spending cuts.

But much of the pain is still to come. The Art Council’s cuts have been revealed, but we are yet to hear how council budgets will further cut funds for many of our cultural gems.

And while libraries and the arts are for everyone, you can’t help but feel that families will once again be disproportionately affected.

Before having children, my local library was a useful resource that I rarely called upon. Now we visit twice weekly.

I used to visit galleries when I wanted to see a new exhibition. Now we visit the play areas and activity stations in The Shipley Art Gallery and the Laing Gallery every week. They are part of the fabric of my children’s lives.

It is hard to quantify what has been gained from countless sessions at Baltic, The Sage Gateshead, Dance City and Seven Stories – hard because having seen my children enthralled by imaginative programming and wonderful practitioners, I too am emotionally involved.

And I am grateful. All the riches of the arts – the opportunity to create, to dream, to make sense of their world – have been available to my children, often for free and never for more than the price of a trip to a dingy soft play centre.

Don’t imagine that every town is like this: we are fortunate to live in a city that has invested heavily and successfully in its cultural landscape for more than a decade. I believe it is the best thing about raising a family in NewcastleGateshead.

For a city that invests in its arts is one that invests in its children.

Curl up with a good book

Published on 15 October 2010 in Uncategorized. Closed

Well, autumn has definitely arrived and with it the fierce wind blowing in off the Tyne.

It’s not all bad. We are back in our cosy spot at The Sage Gateshead, where there is plenty of space for some of our newly-crawling babies to roam, and the cakes are always delicious.

This month’s book, The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, is also the perfect book to cuddle up with.

Remember ‘Wife Swap’, the Channel 4 programme that let sofa-bound parents everywhere bask in the glory of their own normal, boring lives? Well The Slap is like that. This fast-paced soap opera of a book looks at families behaving atrociously, allowing us to sit back and feel ‘for all of my faults as a parent – of which of course there are many – at least I am not like them!’

Nothing like a great blanket of smugness to wrap yourself up in on a cool autumn night.

Summer Picnic

Published on 13 July 2010 in Uncategorized. Closed

Just to remind everyone that today’s meeting will take place in Saltwell Park at the earlier time of 1pm. Meet by the bandstand (Low Fell end of the park, near the car park) or in the cafe in the event of rain.

See you all there!

Laura

Summer reading

Published on 25 May 2010 in Uncategorized. Closed

Hot on the heels of this month’s book group discussion on Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, we will be looking at another male author who creates a really credible female lead: David Nicholls and his latest novel, One Day.

Following friends Dex and Em over a period of almost 20 years, the book focuses on just one day each year, St Swithin’s day, or the 15th July. This is summer reading with soul, perfect for enjoying on the beach or – let’s be honest – in the sandpit.

Speaking of which, for our July meeting, we will be slathering our babes in Factor 50 for a fun afternoon in Saltwell Park, Gateshead. Preethi Nair’s delectable 100 Shades of White is the book up for discussion while we tuck into our rather more pedestrian feasts. The plan is for a picnic by the bandstand, but if it rains we will make do with bought sandwiches in Saltwell Towers.

As always, new parents and scrumptious new babies are more than welcome to join us!

Laura

Books are for life, not just for bedtime

Published on 15 April 2010 in Uncategorized. Closed

When I’m not reading to myself, I love reading to my children. But one thing that really irks me is the way every so-called childcare guru seems to insist on a nightly bath-book-bed routine.

Don’t get me wrong; I love bedtime stories. The three year-old, the baby and I all pile into bed and curl up with a selection of books. It’s all very Little House on the Prairie (when it’s not more House of Horrors). I just don’t like being told to read stories as a perfunctory activity, like brushing teeth.

The problem is, these experts have no interest in reading as its own reward (and if you’ve ploughed your way through The Baby Whisperer, you’ll know what I mean, ducky). To them books are a means to an end, as sleep-inducing as a bottle of Cow and Gate Good Night milk. Publishers are no better: the number of books for babies and young children ending ‘and they all went to sleep’ is practically criminal.

Surely we should be raising our children to see that books can be exciting, silly, sad and fun; they can even be naughty and dangerous. They are also the most portable of play things. Read on the bus, at the park, read in the bath. Books are not just for bed.

A favourite in our house, from a young age, was Pants by Nick Sharratt – a glorious underwear parade to appeal to a toddler’s sense of silliness. From now on, I’m on the look-out for books that affirm life, not that send my kids to sleep. If you have any suggestions, why not add them here?

Laura