YC Reading

What Dreams May Come raises an enormous question both frightening and fascinating: what happens to us after we die? This book attempts to answer the question with what sounds like impossible science, but as Richard Matheson takes us from life to death, heaven to hell, you can’t help but wonder if he’s got it right. It’s written with such brutal clarity it sounds like he’s talking from beyond the grave. Beneath the science and the speculation lies a story worth reading, a story about heartache and misery and the very definition of soulmates. Quite simply, What Dreams May Come is incredible. LIFE AFTER DEATH   The story starts off with a woman delivering a manuscript to a man. The story is from his brother, Chris Nielson, who is dead. Chris dies in a car crash and you follow his twisting journey from hovering in limbo watching his family mourn his death until finally he ascends into heaven. However, heaven is empty without his beloved wife, Annie, and after he discovers tha...

On Friday 5 th December the Yeovil College Learning Resource Centre held a book swap in The Spot, their Student Enrichment Centre. Simply stacks of books were donated to the swap, and both staff and students were encouraged to come along and swap old for new – or nearly new! They had a great response from keen readers across the college, and many old favourites found delighted new owners. The Book Swap was just one of the many planned book-themed events taking place this academic year to promote the 6 Book Challenge. A fantastic scheme hosted by the Reading Agency, the College wants to challenge everyone on campus to get reading! From actual books to e-books, magazines and newspapers to webpages, blog posts and even digital games – every word really does count when taking the Challenge. Simply choose 6 things to read, then write a short review in your Reading Diary (provided – it’s all part of the fun!). Then, when you’ve finished, hand your diary back in at any Library Helpd...

With only a few days left here at Yeovil College before the Christmas term begins I would like to wish all Book Club members past and present and all Blog followers/readers - a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year! We will be back on Tuesday 6 th January 4pm (Yeovil College QSA), to discuss ‘What Dreams May Come’ and to issue ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’. For all new members interested in joining the club please contact me directly on carey.simpson@yeovil.a.c.uk or call 01935 845450.     Carey

http://readingpassport.org/2014/12/03/video-adam-nevill-in-yeovil-library/     http://readingpassport.org/2014/12/03/video-gareth-l-powell-in-yeovil-college/   Check out Gareth L Powell and Adam Nevill talking about their life works, experiences and much more!   It was a great privilege to have Gareth and Adam visit the Yeovil College last month and we wish them all the best for their future endeavours.    

 

The Yeovil College Book Club now features on The Reading Agency website under 'Reading Groups' check it out at http://readingagency.org.uk  

I have just started reading 'What Dreams May Come' by Richard Matheson, our current book club read and it immediately reminded me of a book which is quite possibly my favourite read, 'For One More Day' by Mitch Albom: I found this beautiful book captivating and devoured it in two sittings.   “And one day spent with someone you love can. . .”   'For One More Day' is about a broken man, Charley, who tries hard to take his life one day. However, the result is one more day with his dead mother. He gets to spend one more day with a mother who to a degree, he thought he had recklessly lost forever. It is based around the concept of spending one more day with that person, you can't. So simple and yet so clever. We can all relate to this book as we all have at least one person who we'd like to spend that extra day or chance with. For Charley, this is possible –as Albom suggests that the dead may be carried in our hearts and when we think of th...

Book Club member Sam went along to see Rachel Joyce at the Yeovil Literary Festival held at the Octagon Theatre. A future book club read will be 'The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry' so it was fantastic that Joyce was at the festival and members could pop along to hear her thoughts:   I have yet to meet anybody who has read 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' who was disappointed. I've already read this future book club read and loved it. This book could quite possibly fall in my top ten or so reads ever. In my journal, I summed it up as a lovely, beautiful read that makes you think, laugh and cry. That's all I'll give you now, I'll save my actual review for Jan/Feb of next year but obviously when I heard the author, Rachel Joyce, was participating in Yeovil Literacy Festival, I was there!!     Joyce was here promoting the companion novel to Harold Fry, ‘ The Love Song of Queenie Hennessy ’, a book I'm now desperate to read! ...

There are novels where you quite happily fall in love with the characters, and then there are ones where if you met them you would ask them what on earth were they thinking, and shake your head and sigh. And that would be a polite response. There were many times when reading “The Paying Guests”, the latest novel by bestselling author, Sarah Waters, when I felt thoroughly aggravated by its reluctant heroine. Set in the aftermath of the First World War, a shabbily genteel widow and her daughter Frances are in reduced circumstances and are forced to rent out rooms to a young, ambitious working class couple, Lilian and Leonard – the “paying guests” whose presence is necessary but undesired. Frances, who has previously sacrificed her independence and her lover out of duty to her family, finds herself irresistibly drawn to Lilian, and their tentative friendship soon becomes a passionate love affair with unforeseen – and catastrophic – consequences. Frances herself is a difficult cha...

I have always loved Donna Tartt’s debut novel, “The Secret History”, with its bleakly nostalgic and dark tale of a group of college students who, mesmerised with the ancient world and their own golden youth and privilege, commit murder. I loved how, reading it as a student, it spoke of both the allure of the clique and its suffocating, corrupting grasp. It was pure tragedy – unrequited love, fatal flaws, a plot hinged on coincidence and fate and human error. So I approached “The Goldfinch”, Tartt’s award winning third novel, with high expectations. The novel begins with its young teenage protagonist, Theo, who is caught up in a terrorist bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This catastrophic event, vividly rendered, drastically alters the entire course of Theo’s life – and thus sets in motion the key themes and plots of the novel. His mother is tragically killed, which precipitates Theo into a troubled, rootless existence, exploring how fractured and difficult ...

There has been a slight change to the running order of the books for the Book Club. Please find below the new and final list of dates and books attached. All meetings will be held at Yeovil College in the Quiet Study Area (formerly the ARC).     Tuesday January 6 th 4pm: Discussing ‘What dreams May come’ and issuing ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ Tuesday 10 th Feb 4pm: Discussing ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ and issuing ‘A farewell to Arms’ Tuesday 7 th April 4pm: Discussing ‘A farewell to Arms’ and issuing ‘The Husbands secret’ Tuesday 2 nd June 4pm: Discussing ‘The Husbands secret’ and issuing ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’ Tuesday 4 th August : Last meet of the academic year- discussing ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’ My last date as the formal manager will be Tuesday 10 th February before I go on my Maternity leave-although I intend on being an active member throughout the rest of the year. Sharon Smith will ...

David: Although I haven’t yet finished ‘The Goldfinch’ I am enjoying   the story and the way it is heading. However I am finding it a struggle to get through as it is so descriptive- almost journal like. I was disappointed when Theodore’s dad came onto the scene as I was hoping he would stay in NYC. I will keep an open mind and endeavour to finish- however long that may take! Ann: I downloaded this book onto my Kindle as the thought of reading and holding such a massive hard copy was too much! I have to say after finishing it, I was very disappointed. While I think the story is a great idea and beautifully written it is far too long and descriptive. Theodore’s lifestyle in parts just didn’t ring true- the drug use didn’t quite match his character. The ending I found was also flat- I had read over 800 pages and expected something fantastic! All this being said I would read Tartt’s other pieces- if they weren’t as long but I definitely wouldn’t recommend ‘The Goldfin...

In contrast to we were liars, I really liked the characters in the book and I guess, that is why it was such a heart-wrenching read. The prose moves between the presence where Mia has been in a car crash and lost those she dearly loves and her memories of the past, where we see exactly why she loved these people and others so much. She is trying to choose as to whether to still live a life she has loved but without so much dear to her or dying. Obviously this is a tearful read but being yet another teen title ( seems to be my new favourite genre), it is bearable and actually quite uplifting. A special mention has to go to the grandparents portrayed in this book, they're the embodiment of what grandparents should be and I'm proud to say reminded me very much of all my own.

The Yeovil College Book Club has the availability for all members and non-members to read any or all of the previous club’s reads- all we ask is that once you are finished reading to write a short (or long!) review for the blog. - A million Little Pieces- James Frey - The Goldfinch- Donna Tartt - And the Mountain Echoed- Khaled Hosseini - City of Bones- Cassandra Clare - One flew over the Cuckoo's nest- Ken Kesey - The Catcher in the Rye- J D Salinger - Norwegian Wood- Haruki Murakami- - The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm- Robert Galbraith - Atonement- Ian McEwan - The fault in our stars- John Green   This option is perfect for those who cannot attend the termly meetings and like to take their time reading a book- you can borrow the book and read it at your leisure without any pressure to finish it on time for a meeting. If you are interested and would like more information please contact learning.cent...

We had fantastic success last night at the Reading Passport Tour. Adam Nevill and Gareth L Powell presented chapters from their books 'Ack Ack Macaque' and 'No one gets out alive' with great response from the audience.   The Yeovil College and Learning Resource Centre were privileged to host the event, we love to encourage and promote local author's successes and works, and leisurely reading within the community and the students.   Thank you Adam and Gareth!

Our next Book Club meeting is to be held on the following:   Tuesday 11th November 4pm Yeovil College, Quiet Study Area   We will be discussing 'The Goldfinch' by Donna Tartt and issuing 'What dreams May come' by Richard Matheson.   Looking forward to seeing you there!   - Carey      

It is with great pleasure to announce that the Yeovil College LRC will be hosting a Reading Passport FREE event.   We have two guest authors- Adam Nevill and Gareth L Powell- joining us on Thursday 6th November 2014 at 7pm to talk about their passion for their chosen genres of horror and science fiction with selected readings and book signings.   Tickets are available from the Yeovil College Learning Centre, call on 01935 845450 or email learningcentre@yeovil.ac.uk  

Check out http://www.tauntonliteraryfestival.net/  for the latest talks you can book tickets for!

  Check out this fantastic competition the Yeovil College LRC are holding- all you have to do to be in for a chance of winning is write a short review of your favourite Horror or Sci-Fi novel!   So come on- in homage to all things spooky give us a scare!   Good Luck!  

'We are liars We are beautiful and privileged We are cracked and broken A tale of love and romance A tale of tragedy Which are lies? Which is truth? You decide' It seemed like everybody was talking about this book a few weeks ago. The clever thing was they were talking about and raving about this read but actually said very little about what it was actually about. It feels like everybody is committed to keeping the secret so I'm not going to tell you too much about the actual book but wow, for me, it was a whole new reading experience. The plot is amazing and seamless when you look back on it and maybe I'm naive but I never guessed the outcome. I think there was a lot I probably missed in my first reading of this book but one day, I will read it again to try and deconstruct Lockhart’s marvellous prose. She is a fantastic writer and even though, I didn't particularly like any of the characters, her writing just carries you along and you quick...

I absolutely adore this book and cannot recommend it enough. Maybe I was first attracted to the book as it carries an endorsement from John Green on the cover and like John Green; I too fell in love with this book. Sorry people, I think, I would choose it over TFIOS!   Yes, Eleanor and Park was a book written for the young adult market but for me as of late, that seems to be where some of the best writing is at (especially if you want your heart strings pulled) and to be fair, this book stands alone. There is very little about this book that is typical. The characters are vividly drawn with words and very much their own people. The setting is the late 80's, an era written not so much about now. Reading this, I realised just how much the world has changed over the last 30 or so years. Life now seems more complicated and I'm not sure set in 2014, there would ever be an Eleanor or Park to read about. There is a balance of love, comedy and serious matter. I absolutely ado...

It is with great pleasure to announce that the Yeovil College LRC will be hosting a Reading Passport FREE event.   We have two guest authors- Adam Nevill and Gareth L Powell- joining us on Thursday 6th November 2014 at 7pm to talk about their passion for their chosen genres of horror and science fiction with selected readings and book signings.   Tickets are available from the Yeovil College Learning Centre, call on 01935 845450 or email learningcentre@yeovil.ac.uk

Check out the Young Poets Network latest competition here:   http://www.youngpoetsnetwork.org.uk/2014/09/23/gold-the-challenge/   Good Luck!

Just a reminder of the Book Club meetingL   Tuesday 30th September 4PM Quiet Study Area to meet- then up to the 1st Floor Pod 'The Goldfinch' to be issued.   I look forward to welcoming old and new faces. See you next week! - Carey

We had great success at the UCY Fresher's Fayre yesterday- I look forward to welcoming all new members next week!    

  Although i cannot reveal to much at the moment- i can confirm that Adam Nevill and Gareth L. Powell will be guest speaking and doing book signings at Yeovil College in November. Check out their books! If you are into Sci-Fi or Horror i highly recommend them!   More details of the event to follow..        

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/11483430.Student_protest_leads_to_U_turn_over_Weymouth_College_library_closure/?ref=var_0 A fantastic representation of the power of the people- in this case students! It is always wonderful to see any library remain open with a united support of its customers.

     Christmas has come early! We had a lovely delivery today at the Yeovil College Learning Centre and this beauty was included! 'The Goldfinch' is Book Club A's next novel to read and my- doesn't it look a mighty one!   I am looking forward to getting stuck in. See all Book Club A members on Tuesday 30th September at 4pm.    

I have just received this information from the Yeovil District Library:     Come and help us read aloud the full text of the 'Scottish play'. Acting skills are not necessary! Saturday 20th September 11.00am - 3.00pm in The Performing Arts Library (2nd floor Yeovil library). FREE EVENT no booking necessary For further details please contact the Performing Arts Library, phone 01935 472020 or email muslib@somerset.gov.uk   https://sites.google.com/site/shakespearealoudgroup     Have fun!