DECEMBER - CHRISTMAS THEMES

PAMELA:  ANNO'S MAGICAL CHRISTMAS

Pamela brought in some photocopies for us to learn about anamorphic drawing. Ana means back or again. Morphe means shape or form. Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use a special device to reconstitute the image. Pamela also brought in a book and a device to show us how this is done. This was very popular in the 16th century. Pamela always brings in something to increase our knowledge and stretch our imaginations. Very interesting.


SHEILA:  "KISSING CHRISTMAS GOODBYE" BY AGATHA RAISIN  

Sheila said it was the worst book she had ever read.  It was stupid.  She was disappointed as the author was a Fleet Street journalist and she also wrote the Hamish Mackbeth series.


ED:  "THE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS" AND  "CALL ME MRS MIRACLE" BY DEBBIE MACOMBER

The first book is very predictable.  In the second book, one of the main characters, Holly, is taking care of her nephew Gabe as her widowed brother is in the army and won't be home for Christmas. She doesn't bond with him very well and wants to get him a toy robot from Finley's for Christmas, but can't afford it. Holly is at Starbucks when her credit card is rejected.  Jake Finley, from the department store Finley's, pays for her coffee. Jake falls in love with Holly.  This book is part of the Angelic Intervention Series. Mrs Miracle, from the Angelic Intervention Series, is working in the toy department at Finley's and Jake Finley is her boss.  Ed enjoyed the book but said it was very predictable.

PAT:  "A WALLFLOWER CHRISTMAS" BY LISA KLEYPAS

Pat didn't think she would get through it.  It was very boring and very demure, or so she thought.  When she got further into the book it was very hot and spicy.  It was not at all what she expected.  It was set in the early 1800's.  The part about Christmas was the new Christmas tree being used in England which originated in Germany.  Pat said the book was well written.

JOAN:  "HOME FOR CHRISTMAS" BY ANDREW M. GREELEY

The author was an Irish/American priest who died at 85.  He was a very prodigious writer.  This book was written in 2009.  There are 3 main characters Petey, the son of an abusive drunk, Marianna, a wealthy professional and Father Jimmy.  Petey and Marianna met in 1st grade when they were preparing for their first communion. They fall in love. As teenagers they go to the Prom together.  Eventually Petey goes off to join the army and is sent to Iraq.  He gets bravery medals.  He has a near death experience and this is where it lost Joan. He goes through the tunnel up to heaven and returns to earth after 9 1/2 minutes.  He rediscovers Marianne and there is a happy ending.  Joan enjoyed the writing before this part and would read this author again.

TAM:  "IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS" BY KATIE FLYNN

Tam had not read this author before but said this was a nice light, simple story. It's pre second world war.  It's a story about two little girls and their widowed mother.  Addie does her own thing and Prue is a little angel.  They grow up and get boyfriends.  The boyfriends then go off to fight when war breaks out.  There is nothing much about Christmas.

CONNIE:  " A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY"  BY ANNE PERRY

The book is set in the 1850's.  It is about well heeled people who meet for a weekend in the English countryside.  There are two young widows looking for a husband to support them.  There is an eligible bachelor at the party and both have their eye on him.  They are catty with each other and one says about the other, in front of everyone, that "she is only after him for his money". It is a great insult.  Everyone is woken up in the night as Vanessa has fallen in the freezing lake and died.  There is a feeling she has been pushed but then they think it could be suicide. They feel it was the comment by the other woman that drove her to suicide and as there are no phones, they decide to get together to be judge and jury.  They decide, as retribution, she has to go on a journey to Scotland to tell the mother and bring back a letter from the mother.  If successful she would be forgiven and no one would ever know.  Although this widow does not want to go on the journey, to avoid scandal, she sets off with her friend in the middle of winter.  Connie was glad to read it because she did not know about retribution.

CLAURENE:  "THE QUEENE'S CHRISTMAS (ELIZABETH 1 MYSTERIES)" BY KAREN HARPER

Claurene said the author writes well with true details of the Elizabethan times.  There is a murder mystery in the middle of it.  In this book Queen Elizabeth celebrates the 12 days of Christmas as they used to do in her father's reign because Kat, her nursemaid and governess and the only woman she trusts, is dying.  The puritanical clergy don't approve of the celebration.  The chef is found hung and his body is decorated for Christmas.  There are more murders, all interconnected but they are really trying to kill the Queen.  Claurene enjoyed it and has read other books by the same author.

ANNE: "A CHRISTMAS GARLAND"  BY ANNE PERRY

Anne enjoyed it but she said it was not a Christmas story.  The story is set in India in 1857 during the Indian mutiny, a very violent and brutal time. It is two weeks before Christmas in Cawnpore and there is an Indian prisoner in the British barracks, who is supposed to have killed a guard and joined the rebels.  He has to be captured as he has vital information about ten men on patrol.  He is not captured and nine of the men are killed and one survives. There is an investigation.  Everyone has an alibi that can be verified except for the medical orderly. They feel they have to do something and John Tallis, the orderly is arrested as he is the only one without an alibi. A young lieutenant has to investigate and they have a trial. He is John's only hope. He solves the crime and the result is unexpected.  Anne enjoyed it.  She said it was a very good book.

JUDY G: "CHRISTMAS AT THE CUPCAKE CAFE" BY JENNY COLGAN

It's called a delicious comedy but she said she didn't laugh.  It was a boring, boring book.  Maybe it picks up?

JO:  "A CHRISTMAS VISITOR" BY ANNE PERRY

Jo said it was very involved and she really enjoyed the book.  The family of a judge have a family gathering. They come from South Africa and other places to meet up in England.  The judge dies. He had fallen into a river and drowned.  There is an investigation and it is found he was murdered.   At first they feel it may have been a fellow who was tried for fraud many years before.  He had maintained his innocence and started badmouthing the judge. The killer is revealed and it all works out in the end.


JUDY:  CHRISTMAS LETTERS BY DEBBIE MACOMBER

Debbie Macomber's books are very similar.  There is a tradition of romantic comedy.
Judy said it was a light and easy read but she wouldn't read another one. The main character is an out of work P.A. who spends a lot of time sitting in a french patisserie. She writes Christmas letters for other people.  She meets a good looking man who is a child psychologist.  He has written a book called " The Free Child".  She disagrees with his philosophy and they argue. He has two children called Zoe and Zara and two dogs called Zero and Zorro.  Eventually the two fall in love.

JAYNE: "CHRISTMAS THIEF" BY MARY HIGGINS-CLARKE

Jayne thought it was trashy.  Someone steals a big fir tree. The thief hides diamonds in the tree but as it grows from the bottom, when he comes to recover the diamonds, they are right at the top of this very tall tree.  It was easy to read like "Scooby-Doo".

ROSEMARIE:  "CHRISTMAS CLOCK" BY KAT MARTIN  

Kat Martin is a best selling author.  The story is about an eight year old boy called Teddy whose mother has died. He lives with his grandmother but she has increasing dementia.  The story includes a young couple. There is the question about who will eventually take care of Teddy.  Teddy tries to get some work at a mechanics.  He wants to save enough money to buy a clock from an antique shop for his grandmother.  The mechanic befriends him.  Rosemarie said she could tell from Page 6 what was going to happen.  She said it was not a deep and meaningful story.


JULIA: "CHRISTMAS EVE AT FRIDAY HARBOUR" BY LISA KLEYPAS

It was in big print so easy to read at this busy time. It was a really nice story.  It is about a little girl, 6 years old, who lost her mother in a car accident and what happens to her afterwards. It all works out well.

ROSEMARIE O:  AGATHA CHRISTIE'S SHORT STORIES

The first story is The Christmas Pudding.  Poirot is invited to a mansion where a ruby gets stolen. The Prince had wanted to marry the girl who ran off with the ruby.  Rosemarie said it was nice to read about the traditional Christmas.  The ruby is found in the pudding. Poirot flushes out the person who is after the ruby. Rosemarie enjoyed the book.

MARIE: "CHRISTMAS WISHES" BY KATIE FLYNN

It is a story about twins who are sent to the countryside during the war.  They are sent to live with a grumpy old couple who eventually fall in love with them. They stay seven years longer as mum is killed by a bomb and the father is a shift worker. One of the twins has an accident and is left with an impairment.  Marie said it was well written, a really nice story and she really liked it.

JANE (OUR NEW LADY)"SQUATTERS CASTLE" BY GEORGE FARWELL

As she is new she did not read a christmas book.  She read this book as she is doing her family history.  It is a history of the Clarence area where some of her family lived.

DIANNE:  "THE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS" BY DEBBIE MACOMBER

Dianne said it was Mills and Boon with tinsel on.  She didn't get very far.  She wouldn't recommend it.  She also said "don't bother, life is too short".

LESLEY:  "MEETING IN NO MAN'S LAND"

There is a collection of authors.  It is a collection of soldier's diaries and letters home.  It is about the Christmas truce.  It is about the first Christmas in 1914 along the western front.  The war has just begun.  Some of the trenches along the front are only 20m apart.  The opposing armies can hear what is being said by each other.  A lot of the Germans spoke English and some of the English spoke German.  Over Christmas they had a truce and they shared things with each other, swapping cigarettes, puddings etc.  There was a lot of flooding of the trenches and they respected each other while they cleaned out the trenches.

KRIS:  "CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES" BY ALAN WAKEFIELD

This book is very similar to Meeting in No Man's Land read by Lesley except that it is about all the Christmases spent in the trenches from 1914-1919. Alan Wakefield trawled the archives of the Imperial War Museum, National Archives and National Army Museum to provide a fascinating selection of first-hand accounts of the six wartime Christmases 1914-19 by combatants from Britain and the Dominions. It was widely believed that the war would be over by Christmas but they were still there at Christmas and were determined to set aside the war to celebrate Christmas, if only for a day or so.  I only read the first part of the book due to time constraints at this busy time of the year, but I found the stories of the Christmas truce very touching. I enjoyed reading it.

WENDY:  "SIX GEESE A LAYING" BY DONNA ANDREWS

It is 8.30am on December 23rd.  Meg Lanslow from Virginia U.S.A.is organizing a Christmas holiday parade involving the "The 12 days of Christmas".  There is a reporter covering the story.  The man chosen to play Santa Claus is a horrible man, a bad choice.  Something has happened to Santa.  He is found with a stake through him. The policeman is an African/American.  An investigation begins and the six men playing the geese (but now in duck costumes) are taken in for questioning. The story unfolds.  Wendy said it was light and very funny and she will read her work again.

Wendy will not be back in the New Year as she is going to the U3A bookclub in 2014. She will be missed by us all. Good luck in the future Wendy.

NOVEMBER: Books of our Childhood

This month, members were asked to talk about favourite books from their childhood.

TAM:
Tam had brought along her original Beatrix Potter books. She adored the Peter Rabbit series, with Mrs Tiggy Winkle being her favourite. She remembers being afraid of Mr McGregor!
Another much loved book was The Littlest Reindeer by Joahanna de Witt. The reindeer doesn't have any antlers and can't go to school until they grow. He has to learn to wait and be patient.
Little House of My Own is a book about cubby houses that children love to build with illustrations in black and white.
But her prized possession is a badge from the Famous Five Club. She had written to England requesting it, after having read all the books in the series.

JUDY G:
One of her favourite books was Grimm's Fairy Tales. She reread some of the stories, and commented that several of them were very grim. Her favourites were Hansel and Gretel and The Elves and the Shoemaker.
In contrast, Judy also showed a recent book "Clem Always Could" by Sarah Watt about a boy who didn't want to go swimming. This book had been read to her grandson, who at one stage also had a fear of the water.

KRIS:
Kris was another who loved The famous Five particularly Five Go to Smugglers Top. She loved the Britishness of the characters, the holidays they had, the smuggler's tunnels in Cornwall.
Another favourite was Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights Dream.

WENDY:
Wendy bought along a treasured copy of Jane at Lantern Hill by L M Montgomery.
In the story Jane is a misfit in a cheerless house. Her mother is a wimp and her father has been missing for many years, and thought to dead.
When she is later reunited with her father, life has changed for her. Grandma no longer has power over her, her parents have separated, but they later get together and the story has a happy ending.
Wendy loved the beautiful descriptions of King Edward Island as in the Anne stories.

PAMELA:
Pamela brought along a book of amorphic drawings (distorted pictures) and will share them in greater detail next time.

ED:
Welcome .....just enjoying listening this time.

CLAURINE:
Her favourite was Black Beauty and she remembered first reading it (and crying) as an eleven year old when she had his tonsils out.
It was written in 1877 by Anna Sewell  who died 5 months after the book (her only book) was published. It was very successful with 50 million copies being sold. In the story, told from the point of view of horses, they speak to each other and in those days everything was done by horses.

ROSEMARY:
Rosemary's book was The Diary of Anne Frank. She couldn't remember her original thoughts about it, but after rereading it, commented that as a 13 year old school girl, Anne was very intelligent and precocious. She had a great understanding of what was happening, the depression etc.
Her last entry was August 1st 1944. Soon after this, all 8 who had been hiding in the attic were arrested, not knowing who had tipped off the police. Her father was the only one to survive the Concentration Camps and devoted his life to spreading the word about the diary.

PAT:
Pat had chosen To Kill a Mockingbird. She thoroughly enjoyed it at 14 years old, but doesn't like rereading anything, knowing what is happening.
But she did enjoy the language, how it transported you to the south of USA.
She also commented on the changes with modern life; children played out in the yard, they used their imagination. It reminded her of how she has spent many holidays.

CONNIE:
Connie also chose a Famous Five book, Five Get into Trouble.
She appreciated how gently Enid Blyton taught the readers to behave. In the book, the children lived in the town but had their adventures in the country. They went camping, used sleeping bags, buried their garbage etc. There were lots of  lessons that children could learn from the book..eg bike safety.
These stories made her reminisce of her childhood growing up in England.

ANNE:
Anne chose a book that her daughter had read and recommended.
The List Maker by Robin Klein published in 1997.
The story revolves around a young girl whose mother had died, her father is always busy and so  she is looked after by eccentric old aunts.To cope with her life, the girl makes lists. Anne found it quite funny and touching at the same time.

ROSEMARY:
The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis.
Having seen the movie and feeling that it was quite different, Rosemary reread the book and enjoyed it more this time around. She found that regressing to reading at that age group was very relaxing.
She also read one of The Famous Five books. She thought the content was a bit lame and the children always very good, which was not the case in the C S Lewis story.

MAREE:
The Bobbsey Twins at Indian Hollow by Laura Lee Hope.
Maree had read this at a very young age and recently had visited many  Op Shops etc to track down a copy. 
The Bobbsey Twins want to go to summer camp. Their father and mother rent a house on Indian Lake and create a summer camp for the four children and four of their friends. Maree found the treatment of the black servants very interesting- what would be classed as racism today was then seen as the norm.

JUDY J
Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner, first published in 1894 and is still in publication today.
The author's early life may have been the model for the 'blended family' we read about in the book. Her mother married 3 times and children were born in each relationship.
Judy had very vivid memories of being distraught at the death of her namesake.
On rereading it, she was again drawn to the character of Judy. Ethel Turner had said in her notes for the book, that she couldn't see any future for Judy....too wild, too bright, she doesn't fit into society...she has to be repressed and so she 'kills' her off. Certainly a reflection of the times. 

JULIA:
Julia proudly showed her copy of the Enid Blyton book, The Mystery of the Strange Bundle. This had been presented to her as a Sunday School prize in 1952!
She also pointed out differences in the 1946 and 2011 editions of The Magic Faraway Tree including the names of the characters.....Fanny and Dick are now called Franny and Rich.  

DIANNE:
Famous Five Go Off To Camp. 
The children seemed so innocent on the stories, but Dianne found that often there was a let down after a big build up in the storyline
She also particularly could relate to their adventures with stream trains and the black market, having spent her younger life in England. 
  
JANE:
Jane also read the Seven Little Australians. It had been her favourite book and then she watched and enjoyed the ABC series. 
She had also  enjoyed Little House on the Prairie.

LAURA:
Laura had grown up with a German grandmother and remembered the book Der Struwwelpeter by Dr Heinrich Hoffman. She was fortunate to recently have been able to find another copy. The book contains nursery rhymes and fairytales, told in German but with English translations by Mark Twain. Each one has a message, eg playing with matches, sucking thumbs, eating up our dinner. They are great stories with morals/message you don't forget.

JO: 
Jo has reread all 21 of the Famous Five books. She couldn't believe how innocent the children were and yet they had all these adventures and nothing really bad happens to them.

JOAN:
Joan missed last month but wanted to share her Australiana book, S'pose I Die by Hector Holthouse.
The story begins when Evelyn Evans arrived in Cairns from England, in 1912, to marry Charles Maunsell. They lived under very primitive and basic conditions.
Joan described them as beautiful stories of hardship and life growing up on the Atherton Tablelands.

NEXT MONTH - December  Christmas  stories.
Don't forget
Lunch at The Evergreen Cafe, your Secret Santa gift, and if possible a bra for the Uplift Project.
For more information go to www.upliftbras.org