Books and Banter

Hello Gihan & Friends from Down Under!

I’ve never been to Australia, but I’ve heard good things from several U.S. friends who’ve visited. If I’m lucky enough to get there, I’ll surely want to see The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia’s favourite icon. Thank you, Gihan, for this postcard with its c 1932 image. I also love the stamp from Australia’s Beautiful Cities series. The Melbourne skyline, Princes Bridge, and the Yarra River are magnificent!

See you all on Instagram!

~Anita~

About Books and Banter Book Club

Instagram: @booksandbanter16

How did you choose the name of your book club?

As we are a group of friends, we love our books and enjoy a good banter.

Number and names of members:

16 – Gihan, Gilnar, Suzanna, Natalie, Solange, Hanaan, Jacqueline, Janelle, Therese, Rebecca, Janet, Mary, Melissa, Natasha, Sandra, Elaine

Age range:

31-47

All women?

Yes

Date of first meeting:

April 2011

Meeting schedule:

Every 6-8 weeks

Meeting place:

It varies. Initially, we used to meet at each other’s houses, then we booked restaurants by theme.  Now we’ve found a pub with a private room which fits us perfectly. It’s a great space to allow us to all talk over each other! 🙂 We spice it up in December for our Christmas gathering.

Food & Beverages:

Modern Australian 

Book selection method:

Members used to put forward books and we would have our list scheduled for the whole year. However, now it is more haphazard. With instagram and social media, it is so much easier to connect with books and book recommendations. So after each gathering, we choose the next book and set a date for our next gathering.

Books recommended will have to go through the Goodreads Test – it must have a rating of 4 or more. Whoever puts forward the book, will book the venue, organize questions, and write the review.

Most popular book:

This one was hard, but our top 3 books were: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

Best Book Discussion(s):

Educated by Tara Westover and Franklin and Eleanor by Hazel Rowley

Currently reading:

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Next Book Scheduled:

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier