by Deborah Rogers -  Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver's Pulitzer and Women's Prize for Fiction winning novel, was that most rare of reads: a unanimous hit for our group. Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise considering its critical acclaim, but it's not always a guarantee. The structure of the novel, its key dramatic moments, [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  Des Kennedy's gentle tale of communal living on a small Gulf Island was just what our group needed for some light summer reading. Commune tells the story of a young and idealistic couple who decide to give up their lives and academic pursuits in Vancouver and join the back-to-the-land movement in [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  We kicked off a new year of Book Club discussing Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. It is the ninth novel from this well-loved American author, but the first that we have discussed, and for some of our group the first book of hers they had read. The story is Lara's; a [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  Monica Ali gave us lots to talk about with her novel Love Marriage. Set in contemporary, multi-cultural Britian, the story introduces us to Yasmin, a junior doctor, newly engaged and struggling to reconcile the worlds of her family and her fiancée. This compelling novel examines aspects of modern identity such as [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  Cho Nam-Joo's slim 2016 novel, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, sold over a million copies upon release in South Korea before being translated and published globally. It created a wave of discussion in that country and beyond about women's rights, and coincided with the #metoo movement that was gaining momentum elsewhere. We [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  We started our reading year off strong with a beautifully written tale about family secrets and personal identity. In The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett takes us into the lives of twins, Stella and Desiree. They grow up in the American South, in a town that's been built for fair-skinned black people. [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  Permanent Astonishment is Tomson Highway's first installment of a planned five-volume memoir series. It covers his early years, from birth in sub-Artic Canada to age 15. Highway is a concert pianist, a playwright and a novelist; he's the speaker of many languages, and today splits his life between Canada and Italy, [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  Sometimes when you reach for a book what you're reaching for is comfort and entertainment, something that will sweep you away and let you forget about the world outside. Many of our book club readers found this month's selection was just that. In Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting, Clare Pooley provided [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  A world of extreme wealth and inflexible social rules was the setting of our September read. In her historical fiction The Social Graces, Renée Rosen explores the "Gilded Age" in a New York awash with money, and the developing conflict between the "Knickerbockers" with their family wealth, and the new money [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  Imagine spending months alone, with only musk ox, elk and wolves for company. Imagine paddling, poling and towing a canoe upriver and through ice floes! Imagine covering nearly 4,000km of Canadian wilderness all under your own power. After reading this month's selection, Adam Shoalts' Beyond the Trees – A Journey Alone [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  We held our July meeting outdoors and a larger group meant lots of insights into our selection, Emily St John Mandel's Sea of Tranquility. It's a book that defies easy categorization, but our starting point of agreement was that Mandel's writing is beautiful. Sea of Tranquility spans hundreds of years and [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  What a pleasure to be able to hold our book club at the library again and talk together in person. Dave Eggers certainly gave us lots to discuss with The Every, a terrifying vision of a near future where the world is in the grip of a large tech company. The [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  Lorna Crozier’s Through the Garden - A Love Story (with cats) was a beautiful read, appreciated by our group for its openness and honesty. This memoir, published in 2020, tells the story of Crozier’s life with poet Patrick Lane. She started writing it in 2017 when Lane became seriously ill. It’s [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  We had selected Liz Levine's Nobody Ever Talks About Anything But the End to discuss at our March meeting. Unfortunately due to job action at the library, we have not held meetings in March or April, but I didn't want this exquisite little book to go undiscussed. The book is a [...]

by Deborah Rogers - Our February meeting saw some new faces to the group, and a weird and wonderful book to discuss. Susanna Clarke's Piranesi has critical acclaim and awards, but our past experience as a group is that award-winning doesn't always translate into readable or enjoyable books! On first approach Piranesi could seem similarly [...]

by Deborah Rogers - We are back for our sixth year of the Seaside Magazine book club! At our January meeting we didn't discuss a specific book; instead we had a "book chat" introducing each other to the titles we've been enjoying since we last met. There were 22 of us at the meeting so [...]

by Deborah Rogers -  In a wonderful act of symmetry, our Book Club finished the year as we started: with an author Q&A. In January we welcomed Jennifer Manuel to our meeting. In November we were very grateful to have Tricia Dower join us to answer our questions about her novel, Becoming Lin. Tricia is [...]

by Deborah Rogers The life and politics of Petra Kelly, German Green Party pioneer, seem to have been forgotten in the years since her murder in 1992. One of the aspects of this month's read that our group enjoyed so much was being immersed into the past and learning about this charismatic, passionate young activist. [...]

by Deborah Rogers In 2015 Sylvia Olsen and her partner (now husband) Tex McLeod embarked on a cross-Canada road trip to conduct a series of knitting workshops. Along the way they met knitters from all backgrounds and exchanged knitting stories and experiences. The trip also turned into an opportunity to explore Canada: physically as they [...]

by Deborah Rogers From the outset it seemed likely that Alyssa Cole's When No One is Watching would be divisive. Billed as a psychological thriller, the story is set in a traditional Brooklyn "brownstone" neighbourhood undergoing rapid gentrification. The main character, Sydney, is disturbed by the way that the black neighbours she has grown up [...]

by Deborah Rogers Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe, was a chilling read, depicting the mystery surrounding a murder in Northern Ireland, whilst also illuminating the time period of The Troubles. A journalist and writer for The New Yorker, Radden Keefe dug deep in his mission to uncover secrets and truth. The title is well [...]

by Deborah Rogers – “Dear Evelyn” is a beautifully written novel, set in England, that takes us from birth to (almost) death in the life of Harry Miles. There’s literature and poetry woven throughout the novel as we follow Harry’s life: meeting Evelyn before the second world war; their relationship during the war; marriage, children, […]

by Deborah Rogers – We started our May meeting with a little slide show; making the most of our online capabilities! For a book that is as colourful and evocative as Alice Hoffman’s The Marriage of Opposites, it was an extra gift to be able to look at the paintings of Camille Pissarro whose life […]

by Deborah Rogers – Richard Wagamese was an incredible writer and speaker, and our book club thoroughly appreciated getting to know some of his words this month. Our book for discussion, Medicine Walk, was published in 2014, and was his last novel. Several of those who joined our meeting had had the good fortune to […]

by Deborah Rogers – I came away from our March online meeting feeling a little giddy! It was a huge turnout to discuss Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library, and gave us the opportunity to experiment with meeting “breakout rooms” where small groups could chat more easily. It was a high-energy experience and as I jumped […]

by Deborah Rogers – When we proposed to the group that we would look at Podcasts – instead of a book – this month, I wasn’t sure what the reaction would be. It was a suggestion from one of our long-time members, but because I had never had much inclination to listen to a podcast, […]

by Deborah Rogers – Welcome to another year of Seaside Book Club! We started our fifth year off with a bang, combining a stunning Canadian read with a discussion with its Vancouver Island writer. The Heaviness of Things That Float was the debut novel by Jennifer Manuel and is wholly influenced by the years she […]

by Deborah Rogers – Thirteen people “tuned in” to our final book club meeting of the year, held via Zoom. It was the largest turnout we’ve had since in-person meetings had to be put on hold. It felt so good to reconnect with some members we hadn’t seen for many months, and to know that […]

by Deborah Rogers – Instead of just one book, we tackled an author at our October meeting, encouraging members to read any of the works of Lisa See. She’s an American writer with Chinese heritage and has published 11 books so far in her career: a memoir, three books in a mystery series, and seven […]

by Deborah Rogers – The selection discussed at our September meeting is a bit of a sleeper success. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass was originally published in 2013 by an independent publisher; this year it hit the New York Times bestseller list and has seen a surge of interest, reviews and book sales. It seems […]

by Deborah Rogers – Book club online is definitely better than no book club and I was really pleased to see so many friendly faces again this month for our Zoom meeting. We had chosen Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles as our book for discussion – in part because it is out of […]

by Deborah Rogers – Our first online Book Club went really well – thank you to everyone who ‘tuned in’. Everyone shared the title and a few thoughts about a book they’ve read recently and I thought I would share that list with you all. As always it’s a varied group of readers which means […]

by Deborah Rogers –  It was cold and dark outside but inside the Nell Horth room coffee and treats from Quince Café warmed everyone up, ready to tackle the serious issues of January’s Book Club picks. Jumping in with both feet, we kicked off the Book Club year with two books: Persepolis, a graphic novel […]