{"id":348,"date":"2024-01-30T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/?p=348"},"modified":"2024-01-20T11:36:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-20T11:36:48","slug":"book-club-with-my-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/30\/book-club-with-my-father\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Club With My Father"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" media=\"screen\">\n        .gr_grid_container {\n          \/* customize grid container div here. eg: width: 500px; *\/\n        }\n\n        .gr_grid_book_container {\n          \/* customize book cover container div here *\/\n          float: left;\n          width: 98px;\n          height: 160px;\n          padding: 0px 0px;\n          overflow: hidden;\n        }\n      <\/style>\n\n                <script src=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/review\/grid_widget\/172435467.Book%20club%20reads?cover_size=medium&#038;hide_link=true&#038;hide_title=false&#038;num_books=200&#038;order=d&#038;shelf=father-book-club&#038;sort=date_pub&#038;widget_id=1705656784\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>My Father is nearly eighty and lives in the UK. I\u2019m in my early fifties and live in Australia. We both love books. Every month we pick a book that we\u2019ll read together, then one Sunday evening we&#8217;ll discuss it over the phone. One month it\u2019s my choice and the next month it\u2019s my dad\u2019s. We have a tiny book club, a book club of two.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG20231221095302-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\" class=\"wp-image-233\" style=\"width:350px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG20231221095302-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG20231221095302-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG20231221095302-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG20231221095302-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG20231221095302.jpg 1560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dad surrounded by books I&#8217;ve never heard of<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>At the time of writing we\u2019ve read 16 books together.  Of the 16 book club books:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>9 are literary fiction, 4 non fiction, 2 science fiction, 2 romantic fiction, 2 historic fiction, 1 crime fiction, 1 short story collection, 1 memoir and 1 novella. I know this doesn\u2019t add up &#8211; sorry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>8 are written by female authors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>8 were published before I was born.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3 were published before my father was born.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>12 were published before my daughter was born.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The longest one was 692 pages and the shortest 140 pages. 692 pages is too long. We\u2019ve agreed not to read a book that big again. It takes over all the other reading for the month.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m sure it\u2019s true of all book clubs, but this mini-family-cross-generational-bi-nation book club has broadened my reading. My father likes to pick books from the fifties and sixties, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/69517.The_Girls_of_Slender_Means\">The Girls Of Slender Means<\/a>, which I\u2019d never heard of, let alone read. I\u2019ve got a weakness for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/941731.The_Death_of_Grass\">old obscure sci-fi<\/a>, which I know he\u2019s enjoyed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The other thing that really pleases me is the good showing for female authors on the book club list. The members of the book club agree that men who don\u2019t read female authors are missing out. They\u2019re ignoring half the fictional world, and it could be the better half. Throw away your <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nick_Hornby\">Nick Hornbys<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Man_and_Boy_(novel)\">Tony Parsons<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Andy_McNab\">Andy McNabbs<\/a>, and swap them out for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Life_After_Life_(novel)\">Kate Atkinson<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/38447.The_Handmaid_s_Tale\">Margaret Atwood<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/36454237-the-standing-chandelier?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_14\">Lionel Shriver<\/a> &#8211; you\u2019ll be better for it. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/One_Day_(novel)\">David Nichols<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anna_of_the_Five_Towns\">Arnold Bennett<\/a> should stick around though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the best book we\u2019ve read together? For me, it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/156538.North_and_South\">North and South<\/a> by Elizabeth Gaskell. It\u2019s a perfect romance and kept me on the edge of my seat till the last page. I desperately wanted the lead characters to get together and I was really worried they wouldn\u2019t. I love Margaret Hale, the protagonist. She is fantastic and a force of nature. The midpoint scene where she faces down the rioting workers is incredible, and the icing on the wonderful fictional cake is that it is set in the north of England, where I\u2019m originally from. It drips with resonance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope there will be many other book club books in the coming years. I&#8217;m sure there will be. I\u2019ve just finished January\u2019s book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/18749.Half_of_a_Yellow_Sun?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_20\">Half of a Yellow Sun<\/a>. My dad and I had a book club pre-meeting, and we both agree it is first rate, a truly moving story. A full debrief will happen shortly. Next choice is my dad\u2019s. He was threatening <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/10988073-live-now-pay-later\">Live Now, Pay Later<\/a> by Jack Trevor Story; another book from the sixties I\u2019ve never heard of. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s even in print, so my dad is exceeding himself on the obscure choice stakes. I might try to edge him away from that one &#8211; or maybe not, and broaden my reading horizon once again.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@diesektion?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Robert Anasch<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/assorted-color-filling-book-lot-McX3XuJRsUM?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My Father is nearly eighty and lives in the UK. I\u2019m in my early fifties and live in Australia. We both love books. Every month we pick a book that we\u2019ll read together, then one Sunday evening we&#8217;ll discuss it over the phone. One month it\u2019s my choice and the next month it\u2019s my dad\u2019s. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/robert-anasch-McX3XuJRsUM-unsplash-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":377,"href":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions\/377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timothypatrickbrown.com\/index.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