Brum Book Club

Feedback, logos and ideas for our next read!

Brum Book Club — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:26:29 +0000

If, like me, you’re stuck into What Was Lost then I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am. When I first thought about setting up a Twitter book club, I had imagined that people would tweet their reviews as they went along, but from chatting to a few of you it seems like the general feeling is to wait until we’ve all finished, rather than have any spoilers. So if you’re all happy with this, it would seem like giving some feedback the week of 31 May would work best.

So onto other things… The lovely people at Supercool Design have been in touch and very kindly offered to create a new logo for Brum Book Club. I’ve had a sneak peak at the designs and am really excited, so watch this space for the grand unveiling very soon!

We’ve also had a nice plug thanks to Created in Birmingham, which has resulted in new followers so a big welcome!

And as we’re half way through May, it would be great to get your suggestions for June’s read. As always, please post your ideas below in the comments or tweet them to @brumbookclub by next Wednesday 26 May and I’ll add them to the Wish List before going to a vote next week.

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions!

Our first book: What Was Lost

Brum Book Club — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:00:38 +0000

Thanks everyone for putting forward suggestions and voting for our first book, What Was Lost by Birmingham-born Catherine O’Flynn. I know that some of you will have read this already, but I hope it will be interesting to see what you take from it the second (or third!) time around.

It’s a great one for us to start with, here’s the list of prizes that Catherine was awarded for her first novel (as per the website of publishers, Tindal Street Press):

Winner of the Costa First Novel Award 2007
Galaxy British Book Awards Newcomer of the Year 2008
Winner of the Jelf Groupnovel Prize 2007
Shortlisted for Guardian First Novel Prize 2007
Shortlisted for the South Bank Show Literature Award 2007
Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2007
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2007
Longlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize 2007

You can find out more about the book and its author, buy it online and download a reading guide from Tindal Street Press. Catherine’s second book, The News Where You Are, is published in July and is already on the Wish List.

Voting time: May’s shortlist

Brum Book Club — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:19:10 +0000

Ok, so the most important vote you have to consider this week is for the first Brum Book Club read – make it count!

Suggested titles for May, following our Birmingham theme, are:

Beauty by Raphael Selbourne suggested by @ellielovell

What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn suggested by @helgahenry

Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold suggested by @parboo

The Rotters’ Club by Jonathan Coe suggested by @robweaverregen

To vote, tweet either Beauty, Lost, Dress or Rotters to @brumbookclub by midnight tonight!

PS. From what I can see, Paper Lanterns by Christine Coleman suggested by @paul4july won’t be available until the 15 May although there is a launch this Thursday at Ikon if you’re interested! I’ll put it on the wish list for next month.

Wanted: suggestions for May’s book!

Brum Book Club — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 18:17:52 +0000

So now that Brum Book Club is up and running, we’re looking for suggestions for our first read. With so much of our local talent gaining awards recognition in recent years not to mention Birmingham Book Festival marking it’s 11th anniversary in 2010, it seems only fitting to take up @parboo’s suggestion of a Birmingham author.

Please post your suggestions below or send them to @brumbookfest on Twitter. All suggestions will be posted on our Wish List page before being voted on by members and we’ll be selecting the final book by the end of tomorrow to give you time to get your hands on a copy!

Brum Book Club gets moving!

Brum Book Club — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:44:04 +0000

Brum Book Club opened for business today. I’ve always wanted to join a book club, but have struggled to find the time to attend a regular group. Today, as I was packing up my books ready for a house move, I was thinking about how often I use Twitter to ask for recommendations and advice, and share thoughts and opinions. Brum Book Club seemed a great alternative!

So how will it work?

To keep it simple, Brum Book Club members will chose a different book to read each month. By following @brumbookclub on Twitter you’ll get to put your suggestions forward and the title with the most votes will win.

Brum Book Club is open to all, and members can share their thoughts by using the tag #brumbookclub. At the end of each month, we’ll be asking for 140 character reviews and marks out of 5.

Brum Book Club reserves the right to change these rules if other suggestions make more sense/are more fun!