Bookclub (Radio 4)

Books are rubbish. We shouldn't read books. We should all be guzzling lager,
texting on our mobile phones, and test-driving new cars. All at the same time.
That's what Ciao want from us. It's our duty. Look at all those shiny pennies,
how quickly they will mount up. None for me though. I'm a naughty boy - I'm
writing about a radio programme about books. I should be ashamed of myself.

Radio Four's Bookclub is broadcast on the first Sunday of every month at 4pm
(and is repeated at the same time the following Thursday) feel free to tune in,
books don't bite y'know. Although if you drop them on your foot they can provoke
some discomfort and obscenity. Don't be afraid of Radio Four either.
Yes, listening to Radio Four does prove that you're getting old, but it's better than the alternative. Don't make the mistake of thinking that listening to R4 is safe and boring -
it made my whole house shake once. That was the Sunday before I wrote this opinion, when Open Book registered 3.8 on the Richter Scale. [Which reminds me, I must ask Ciao to open a new category for Members Advice on Surviving Earthquakes.]

Bookclub is presented by James Naughtie (pronounced Knockty, not naughty)
and features a different author, and one of his/her books, each month.
This is the radio equivalent of a reading group, with the added bonus that
the author also takes part, discussing his/her work with a group of readers.
Of course one limitation of the programme is that it can only really feature
books by living authors, as the dead ones make rather poor interviewees.

Reading groups are springing up all over the place - well mainly in libraries,
but anyone can set one up anywhere there's a room, and some people who like reading books, and argu erm, talking about them. Being part of a reading group can lead you
to discover good books you might not have heard of, or hadn't thought of reading. It was through listening to Bookclub that I came to read Touching The Void by Joe Simpson, which I reviewed on Ciao a couple of years ago.

It's difficult, nay impossible, to choose a book that suits everyone (unless you set up
a reading group of like-minded people who only read certain genres) but that's part of
the fun. The experience. Which is why I'm not in a group. Oh no. You won't catch me reading the kind of drivel other people read. Not on your nelly! I do give the books featured on Bookclub a go though. Well, sometimes.

Obviously you will find Bookclub more interesting if you have read the book,
but it's not essential, this isn't school - you won't be tested on it.
The Bookclub web-site usually gives a couple of months notice of the books that are going to be under discussion, and I will do the same here.

If you enjoy reading books then it's worth a listen, you never know, you might find yourself being introduced to a new book, or author, that appeals to you.
But remember - the first rule of Bookclub is that you don't talk about Bookclub... oops!
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The authors & books discussed recently, or in the next few months, are:-

2005
Jan 2nd/ 6th: Zadie Smith - White Teeth
Feb 6th/10th: Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
Mar 6th/10th: Stephen Fry - The Hippopotamus
Apr 3rd / 7th: Richard Ford - Independence Day
May 1st/ 5th: Andrea Levy - Small Island
June 5th/9th: Sue Townsend - The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾
July 3rd/ 7th: Oliver Sacks - The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat
Aug 7th/11th: Joyce Carol Oates - We Were The Mulvaneys
??? ???/???: Alain-Fournier (represented by Michele Roberts) - Le Grand Meaulnes
??? ???/???: Michael Dibdin - Blood Rain
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For more information, or to listen to previous shows, visit the BBC Bookclub website at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/bookclub/

There is also advice there on how to set up a reading group of your own:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/books/club/run​ningclubs/

Alternatively, you can get a guide from Waterstone's
or a starter pack from The Book Trust:

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/bookmates/bo​okmates.htm

And there's plenty of good advice at these two sites:

http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/packages​/uk/readers/

http://www.bloomsburymagazine.com/Reader​sGroups/howtosetuprg.asp?&BLI=

But beware of giant squids who ask to join because they don't get out much.
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Here are some books I would recommend for a reading group:

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
King: A Street Story by John Berger
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