Keeping Track of the New Book List

The Book List has Landed: Graham has already posted the new reading list for Rainbow Readers but for those of you who don’t keep a paper diary and love the 21st Century jiggery-internet-pokery then maybe you would want to check out Google Calenders.

It’s a free service and you can create your own schedule and also import events from public ones: like the Rainbow Reader’s Calender. So you can be abreast of Lancaster’s Premiere Reading Group for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trans and everyone else who loves a good read and a good old natter.

Rainbow Readers – Reading List August – November 08

At the last meeting of the Rainbow Readers book group the upcoming reading list was decided upon. It makes it a lot easier to know what is coming up in advance and buying books en-masse from the internet is also a lot easier.

Take a look at the list and if you feel that you would like to take part in any of the upcoming meetings then please feel free to let us know. You can either leave a comment for us here on the About Us page or email rainbowreaderlancaster@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing you at a future meeting.

August 10th: Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis by Wendy Cope and The World’s Wife by Carol Anne Duffy

September 14th: Toast by Nigel Slater

October 12th: Michael Tolliver Lives by Armistead Maupin

November 9th: Enduring Love by Ian McEwan

Rainbow Readers Lancaster – Meeting 7pm Sunday 20th July

Just a quick reminder that Rainbow Readers, Lancaster’s premier book group for the gay, lesbian, bi and transgendered  community will be meeting in Lancaster later today.

The meeting will be held at 7pm in the Sun Hotel on Church Street. We will be discussing Quentin Crisp’s The Naked Civil Servant. Even if you haven’t read the book feel free to come along and say hello.

Tonight we will be discussing the reading list for the next 6 months which was drafted in preliminary form last month. The book group itself is still only a few months old and we are still finding our feet, but each meeting is now seeing some very interesting discussions.

The group is still looking to expand further and if you would like to come down to see what it is all about then you are more than welcome. We are a small, but perfectly formed!! and very friendly bunch of people with a mix of different social backgrounds.

Everyone at Rainbow Readers look forward to seeing you there.

Thoughts on Michael Cunningham’s The Hours

Rainbow Readers met up last month to dicuss The Hours by Michael Cunningham. As the novel concerns the Lesbian, Gay, Trans. and bi, not to mention literary community it seemed fitting as a choice for our book group.

The novel it’s self is structured around the lives of three women who each affect the next in different ways; Virginia Woolf is imagined, at her death and at the time she is writing The Hours, the novel which later became Mrs Dalloway; Laura Brown a dissatisfied and lonely housewife in California, reading Mrs Dalloway in the fifties and Clarissa Vaughn a contemporary woman in New York City whose own life echoes that of Clarissa Dalloway in the novel

Without wanting to spoil the novel and tell the whole plot I do want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the way that it blends reality, imaginings and fiction. I especially love the part in the book where Meryl Streep appears and causes a commotion; it’s at this point in the film the author of the book is actually visible as an extra for a fraction of a second.

One of our members also said “ it was beautifully crafted (even if “Mrs Dalloway – to which it continually made literary reference – had sent me into  a literary coma years ago.)  Good to read a novel laced with gay and lesbian characters and references, sharp characterisation and a shocking denouement.”

All in all the book was well received. 

Rainbow Readers is a Lesbian, Bi, Trans and Gay reading group, the discussion is all inclusive and everyone is welcome. It’s not necessary to finish the book before the meeting, however it’s recommended that you read as much as you can or be left behind! All suggestions for books will be made at the meetings. The next meeting for the reading group is June 8th, and we are reading “The Well of Loneliness” accompanied by “Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis” Please email rainbowreaderslancaster@gmail.com for more info.

The Beginnings of Rainbow Readers

Rainbow Readers is a pretty new book group on the Lancaster scene; and new for the book group scene and also the gay, lesbian, bi and trans scene. I came back to Lancaster from a stint abroad in Milan where I was surprised to find gay groups meeting up to all sorts of things; swimming, skiing, reading, political groups, parent groups, hiv groups and even just plain old socialising groups. Milan isn’t a metropolis on the scale of Paris, London or New York though, and while it’s Italy’s largest city I think it may even be slightly smaller than Birmingham in terms of it’s size.

Lancaster on the other hand is a small town and when I came back I knew that there wouldn’t be as many groups to get involved with other gay, lesbian, trans and bi people but I was surprised that a google search returned few listings in the area.  

So rather than sit about fantasizing about a move to Manchester or Brighton I thought I’d get on the job myself and start an area book group for lesbian, bi, gay and trans people (and their friends) in the area. It started with me emailing all of my friends and facebook aquaintences and starting a group there, where response was a little slow but promising none the less.

Soon after I met three other friends who now co-run the group,  (if you get in first you get power!) originally called Queer Book Group Lancaster, but I was gracioulsy advised this may be a little too provocative a title for a social book group. Now we seem to be going from strength to strength, with a wonderful blog (thanks, Graham and monthly meetings- the next in June, 2nd sunday of the month as always, The Well of Lonliness) and it makes me proud to think now when lancaster book group is entered into google our group shines at the top of the board, where only a few weeks ago the only results were in Pennsylvania, USA. (I’m also proud of my attempts of publicity with the flyer I made- however this has received mixed results.) I’m looking forwared to seeing our entry in Wikipedia, but it hasn’t happened yet, but as soon as I work it out, we’ll be immortalised forever in the internet annals (don’t snigger). It may take some time so if you’re a local historian it may be quicker to make an entry yourself.

Rainbow Readers on Buying Books

The one thing that all the members of the Rainbow Readers (Lancaster’s only LGBT book group) have in common is their love of books. But after a quick straw poll with other members of the book group it seemed to be pretty much split as to how our members prefer to buy their books.

I suppose if you are lucky enough to live in a large city like Manchester or London you will not have a shortage of large, good or interesting bookshops. The Morecambe Bay area is lucky to have two Waterstone’s branches in Lancaster and one of the largest second hand book shops in the north west of England in Carnforth. Hardly a wide choice but at least we have got access to a fairly ready supply of literature.

There are other places that you can look of course for instance Lancaster University has a great bookshop and if you want to travel a bit further a field there is a really nice little bookshop (Henry Roberts Bookshop) in Kendal. I guess however one of the largest threats to traditional bookshops, especially in less urban areas, is the internet.

Whilst I am keen to support local shops with my purchases I do struggle to come to terms with the cost of books. As a for instance, I have just purchased The Hours by Michael Cunningham in readiness for Rainbow Readers Lancaster’s second meeting. The book was located on Amazon and was purchased, brand new, for the princely sum of 1p! The postage has cost another £2.75 but it still means I bought my brand new book for only £2.76.

Waterstone’s are currently selling the book for the RRP of £7.99 and they show their online price as £5.59. Without going through the whole process of registering with them online I don’t know if there is any extra cost for postage.

Saving money on books and CD’s by buying online is fairly commonplace now and for the more price conscious amongst us it is obviously not a bad ting. The flip side to all this is that buying from Amazon, eBay or any of the other new and second hand online retailers isn’t exactly a satisfying retail experience.

There is something quite unique about being able to browse through thousands of books at your own leisure. Treating yourself to this wonderful indulgence is quite unique. Losing yourself in your favourite section of the books shop where as your eyes scan a packed shelf you suddenly set sight upon a real gem, something you just wouldn’t have spotted with a clearly focused online search.

There is also another advantage of shopping in an actual books shop. You can seek advice, check out the very latest literary wonders to hit the shelves and occasionally get to go to a book signing, reading or other event that they may be promoting.

The verdict is pretty much that whilst book shops have been hit hard by the shopping antics of the more fickle amongst us nothing can replace a visit to the book shop.

 

 

Home of the Rainbow Readers

Being a book group makes Rainbow Readers a pretty portable sort of entity. For the moment we have chosen the Sun Hotel on Church Street in Lancaster to be home.

It has already hosted our first event at the start of this month, and unless we need to move to a bigger venue it is probably going to become a regular venue for some time to come. The Sun has a nice welcoming atmosphere and is easy to reach for most people and probably most importantly it can cope with bigger numbers as the group continues to grow.

Everyone at the Lancaster Rainbow Readers looks forward to seeing you soon.

 

What sort of books will Rainbow Readers choose?

Each month the Rainbow Readers will choose a new book to read, review, dissect, ponder and fingers crossed, enjoy.

Based in Lancaster in the north west of England and we are looking to fill a gap in the local gay social calendar  and hope that over time we will grow to become an established local event that will also be able to link up with other local events.

If you have any suggestions for future books then let us know. Our first book was Michael Tolliver Lives by Armistead Maupin. The next one that we have chosen is The Hours by Michael Cunningham. What we choose in the future is very much down to you.

 

Just because we are primarily a LGBT based book group doesn’t mean that books need to have a gay theme. After all there’s nothing wrong with a bit of diversity! So horror or humour, biography or romance, it’s your group so please feel free to shout.  

If you want to contact us then please either post a comment on this blog or send us an email to rainbowreaderslancaster@googlemail.com.