Summer Reads 2011: Reader Events
Read-in CaféDrop in anytime between 12-2pm at Take 5, Norwich on May 12th, June 9th, July 14th
Ever thought: ‘I’d love to read that, but just don’t have the time’?
The Read-in Café provides readers with the most valuable resource: a quiet and distraction-free space in which to read. There’s no need to book, just bring along whatever you want to read (it doesn’t have to be a Summer Reads book), get a drink from the bar, and settle into a comfy chair. You can even bring your lunch with you. You'll find yourself in a welcoming, inclusive environment with other people just as keen about reading as you are.
The Read-in Café also offers a book swap. If you have any unwanted books lying around at home, bring them along and exchange them for new ones.
The Read-in Café believes in The Rights of the Reader – whatever you read, however you read it, you’re welcome to join us.
Book Lovers’ Quiz
6.30-8.30ish, Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, Thursday 28th July.
Come along to this special edition of the Book Lovers’ Quiz for an evening of book related fun (and prizes!) and help us celebrate the end of Summer Reads 2011.
The Book Lovers’ Quiz isn’t the sort of literary test that only English professors can pass. It’s fun, friendly, and accessible for all. There’ll be six rounds of book-themed questions with book prizes for the winners of each round and the winning team not only takes away the prestigious title but some National Book Tokens as well. There are even prizes for the best book-related team name!
Whatever you read, the Book Lovers’ Quiz has something for you.
Tickets for the quiz are £5 per team with a maximum of 5 people in each team.
The Book Lovers’ Quiz is always very popular – book early to avoid disappointment. To book your table please call Sarah Salmon at the Millennium Library on 01603 774707.
Readers’ Flashmob
We can’t tell you much about the Flashmob now – that’s not really the point of a Flashmob. But follow the WCN Book Club on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads and you’ll be the first to hear of our plans to help readers take Norwich by storm.
Seeing Stars by Simon Armitage
Tuesday May 17th, 6pm, Waterstone’s Castle Street
Language is on the loose in these poems, which cut and run across the parterre of poetic decorum with their cartoon-strip energies and air of misrule. Armitage creates world after world, peculiar yet always particular, where the only certainty is the unexpected.
Sam says: “Seeing Stars made me laugh out loud, even while pausing to take on a new perspective on life.”
After the Fire, A Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld
Tuesday May 31st, 6pm, Cafe Metro, Jarrold
Frank and Leon are two men from different times, discovering that sometimes all you learn from your parents' mistakes is how to make different ones of your own. A stark portrait of life on the fringes of society by one of the Culture Show's 12 Best New British Writers.
Sam says: "Powerful, white-knuckle writing. Debuts don't come much more impressive than this."
Ghost Light by Joseph O'Connor
Tuesday June 14th, 6pm, Waterstone's Royal Arcade
Dublin 1907, a city of whispered rumours. A young actress begins an affair with a damaged older man, the leading playwright at the theatre where she works. Rebellious and flirtatious, Molly Allgood is a girl of the inner city tenements, dreaming of stardom in America. Her affair with playwright John Synge is quarrelsome, affectionate and tender - and firmly opposed by all.
Years later Molly recalls the defining affair of her life as she walks through London's streets, alone, but sustained by memories and an inspiring passion for existence.
Sam says: "Hauntingly sad, yet packed with wit and invention; Molly's story will stay with me for a long time".
The Good Angel of Death by Andrey Kurkov
Tuesday June 28th, 6pm, Millenium Library, Norwich
When Kolya moves into a new flat in Kiev, he discovers an annotated manuscript hidden inside a copy of War and Peace. Intrigued, he sets out to discover more and is soon drawn into a madcap adventure that takes him accross the Caspian Sea and Kazakhstan with only three cases of hallucinogenic baby milk to sustain him.
Sam says: “I'm a big Kurkov fan: this is a first-rate satire that will keep you hooked from the first page to the last."
The Longshot by Katie Kitamura
Tuesday July 12th, 6pm, The Book Hive, Norwich
Cal and his trainer Riley are on their way to Mexico for a make-or-break remath with the legendary Rivera, who has never been beaten. four years ago, Cal became the only fighter to take Rivera the distance.
Only Riley knows how much that fight changed everything for Cal. And only Riley really knows what's at stake now, for both fo them...
Sam says: “The Longshot is hard-hitting, intimate and raw. It hooked me quickly and still hasn't let go."
The Mango Orchard by Robin Bayley
Tuesday July 26th, 6pm, Writers’ Centre Norwich, 14 Princes Street
As a boy, Robin Bayley always loved hearing stories about his great-grandfather's Latin American adventures. Intent on discovering the truth behind these stories, Robin gives up a career to retrace his ancestor's footsteps accross the Americas. What he discovers in a village in Western Mexico is nothing short of life-changing.
Sam says: “Travel writing and family history fuse in this engaging and enjoyable book. Bayley's journey warmed my heart and reminded me of thecommon humanity we share the world over."
