Stephanie’s Comments (group member since Jan 18, 2016)

Stephanie’s comments from the MidCoast Libraries Better Reading Bookclub group.

Hi Bev, I wanted to add that I also found your review very insightful -and after reading it I did give the book another go but still didn't make it to the end... I am glad there was some poetic justice in the end! And it is interesting how books can be totally different from what you expect after reading a review or recommendation about them - or even just from looking at the cover! Tricky things, books haha

I thought the premise of North Water (and the book cover) interesting and was keen to start reading but discovered it was much more violent than I had supposed. I like realist novels but at the same time I don't like to read graphic accounts of violence - I feel like there is already enough violence in the media. I read to escape...

I used to be someone who pushed on reading until the end but nowadays I'm not. So I'm sorry but I can't add much to the discussion because I didn't end up finishing the novel. I read to Sumner's discovery of the boy being sodomised - and predicted the boy would end up dead, because he would not disclose the perpetrator.

I did want to know what happened - but I couldn't bring myself to read on. I didn't care that much about the characters Sumner or Drax to find out....

Now I know this book has got good reviews on Goodreads and was longlisted for the Man Booker prize so I'll just put it down to my personal preference in books. (And I'm also attempting to write a series of tales for children at the moment so the two don't really gel).

I haven't been contributing lately but I'll be reading a lot of early Australian children's literature books this month for my fellowship! So far I have read some fascinating books - though the 'telling' style can get a bit monotonous after a while. Anyway, I think most will be unique titles so that'll add a few books to the tally :)

I listened to the audiobook version and - as Chris mentioned - found the narrator's "Australian" accent grating. I actually kept forgetting Ellie was Australian and thought she was South African! Next time I’ll get my hands on a physical copy of the book. I much prefer reading anyway. Accent aside I quite enjoyed the story. I felt that Ellie and Marty’s story from the 1950s to be the strongest plot strand and the one I was most interested in.

Something else I did pick up on because I was listening rather than reading was that Smith occasionally repeated details - as if to remind the reader of what plot strand they were reading and what had already happened. These seemed really obvious in the audiobook.

I can never review a book straight after reading it - because I’m still responding to the book emotionally. So a few days have passed and now I can reflect with a bit more insight. I thought Smith did a great job transitioning between the stories, revealing details in Sara’s life and Ellie’s past that made you want to keep reading to find out what would happen. And Sara's story turned out quite different to what I had predicted!

There were three scenes - or images? - that were really powerful for me. These were the dead whale on the beach, the village abandoned after the plague swept through and Ellie’s apartment above the dry cleaners in Brooklyn in the 1950s.

I’m only going to tackle one of the reading group questions because the others were too tricky, but for no.4 I think it was Sara and Ellie’s passion that empowered them.

Hi Chris,

That's a great idea! I can listen to it while I'm drawing.. I'm always on the hunt for things to listen to while I draw. It's not the same as reading a physical book but better than not being able to "read" it at all. Hmmm now I'm going to look for some more titles to listen to.

Cheers,
Stephanie

Something else to consider might be an artspace/gallery within the library (showing my background and bias here). Raymond Terrace Library has an Artspace run by volunteers where artists or community groups can have an exhibition on a monthly rotation. Such a space could draw people to the library, and echoes what moonshine said about enriching the community.

I also like the idea of a book nook. The uni library manages the noise level of its spaces by designating 'quiet' and 'silent' zones away from the computer hubs.

In that case I guess it's lucky my reading list is somewhat eclectic - with a few old, and probably obscure, titles thrown in:)

Happy to participate! Good idea that it be in the library's collection too.