The following twelve questions relate to the possibility of starting up a new crime and mystery readers book group here in Brisbane. I have attended many book clubs (reading a variety of genres) but never instigated one. Consequently my behind-the-scenes questions are numerous:
Venue
Time duration
Shared co-ordinator roles
Promoting new Book Group
Number of members – in person
Contacting/accepting members
How to choose crime and mystery books
Each reviewer/speaker timed length
Author talks
Guest speakers
Crime book swaps
Coffee afterwards…
More could be included and it all seems straight forward when written down. Members of the current U3A Brisbane book readers group are all very cordial and polite even when we disagree on the topic and/or the chosen book.
There is tonnes of information online but how to tailor one for the conditions, for example– Book source/transport/accessibility? Coffee shop/library/private home? Drop me a line in my Contact.
At this stage a new book group could possibly be under the auspices of U3A Brisbane or independently in a Brisbane City Council Library. As mentioned I am only tossing around ideas, nothing official yet, or as my old boss used to say ‘Nothing carved in stone’ so flexibility is the key. Research time!
Happy reading whatever your preferred genre, format or comfortable chair.
Interested in hosting a Welsh blog post, holding the Reading Wales dragon standard high? Consider compiling, coordinating and hosting an annual event started on WordPress by Book Jotter aka Paula Bardell Hedley. Then read ‘Time to Say Hwyl’…
Oh, Paula, such a bitter-sweet blog post but so very understandable! Life is full of changes and challenges and new things. Your Dewithon will live on in the hearts and minds of all who participated each year and the personal touch you gave to the literature of wonderful Wales.
That flash sale I was telling you about, well, Jen says it’s on it’s way! Here are her details:
Cart opens this Friday, 10 January 2025. For three days only.
•Instant access! Jen says no faffing about waiting for module deliveries. You can hop in and get busy straight away.
•Full access for lifetime of the course. No more to pay. EVER! Once you have it, it’s YOURS.
•Eleven jam-packed video lessons including revelations, insights and innovative exercises. (Plus Jen’s support videos to motivate you and keep you on track).
The Character Creation Intensive looks at:
*Romancing the Story (A brilliant exercise to get you writing and keep you writing).
*Show Don’t Tell (Jen goes hard with this one! TWO sessions).
*Ghosts (Not the paranormal kind but the kind every main character needs!).
*Symbols and Props.
*Secondary Characters (Again, Jen goes hard here. TWO sessions with Beware slapped on them! That’s how important secondary characters are. She sees countless emerging authors slip on this banana).
*Alternative, fun and powerful approaches to character creation and story writing (‘Tried and true, Jen says, I use these methods myself’).
*Downloadable PDF course notes (always handy for a printout).
Aim to start the New Year 2025 with a spring in your step. Learn to create characters (and stories) your readers will NOT forget! Click Jen’s Character Creation Intensive Flash Sale
PS: Writers of adult fiction are warmly invited by Jen to grab this intensive, too. It’s for all creative writers not only kidlit authors! 💗 Gretchen Bernet-Ward2025
Sherwood Arboretum Brisbane volunteer workers preserving the future. Photograph courtesy of Sherwood Arboretum Committee 2024. Get active in 2025!
Exercise followed by quiet contemplation does wonders for your brain and your inner self.
Charles Allston Collins masterpiece titled ‘Convent Thoughts’ circa 1851 held by Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Charles Allston Collins (1828-1873) was a British painter, writer and illustrator associated with the Pre-Raphaelite era.
Totally surprised by this information from Goodreads. Yes, I do read a lot but when I saw it all laid out like this, well, it was a pleasant shock to read the stats.
I did not realised that I had read such a varied collection of good books over one year. Perhaps many other Goodreaders were sent a similar result? Maybe we should form our own book group? Either way it is nice to think the algorithms ‘liked’ me enough to let me know.
In the back of my mind I am torn between being happy and being dubious about having my reading habits logged so meticulously when only a handful of books were absolute standouts for me. Only a few are loved unconditionally!
Gretchen Quote: ‘Books are the Three E’s, Entertainment, Education and Enlightenment.’
What is it with the anonymous people who give a one-star rating on Goodreads without having read the book? I call them Bad Goodreaders. They don’t even pretend to know the author, the contents of the book or the country of origin. How foolish they appear to real readers by giving a well rated new book a one-star rating for no reason whatsoever.
I know this anonymous deceit is done, and done frequently throughout the Goodreads website. I have a very old volume of ‘King Anne’ written by Ethel Turner, pseudonym of Mrs. H.R. Curlewis, a well-known Australian children’s author in early 1900s. It is a hardcover book with illustrations, owned by my great-aunt and her sister who was my grandmother. It was bequeathed to me when I was a teenager and I though nothing about it until many years later.
I believe the ‘King Anne’ book has been out-of-print for many many years; perhaps it will never be republished but rare copies are available. There is a blank bookcover on Goodreads but I posted the real bookcover with my review.
This book has attracted a couple of genuine star ratings and, without a shadow of doubt, two random one-star ratings from two anonymous people. It would seem to me that they did not know the author or the age of the book. It is not a contemporary story. Come on, one hundred years ago, guys! Of course, it may not be thrilling reading for today’s young readers but it’s part of the Australian classics and there is no need to give it a worthless rating just because you feel spiteful. Move on if you don’t know anything about it.
Are these Bad Goodreaders hiding behind anonymity because they are unhappy, bitter ex-readers who cannot bear a book to be successful or popular or well liked? Perhaps because they themselves are not liked? Are they lashing out with their single click because it represents the only meanness or passive/aggressive behaviour available to them without repercussions from social media or cyber police? There is no government body assigned to prosecute a non-reader, or issue a fine for a rating from an anonymous person who gives a single star reflecting their malcontent with life and literature.
Could these non-readers be resentful of devoted readers and perhaps authors they have met who are successful when they themselves have received publishers rejection? That seems feasible because we all know our own work is best. However, all the more reason to give another author a helping hand because “what is given is given in return”.
So next time, One-Star Reviewer, unless the book is actually terrible or one you hated as a child, why not pass over that random book you are about to give a poor rating and get involved in computer gaming instead? Battle it out with something animated, something virtual that can at least challenge you.
All in all, the Goodreads website may be clunky but it’s about the best book reader website surviving on the world wide web today. Just don’t get me started on spoilers or huge tracts of a book sometimes reproduced without acknowledgement or consent from the original author.
In closing, Dear Reader, we can differ in our opinions. But just so we see both sides of the page, be aware of book reviewers who are known to give too many stars to boost their favourite author. This is also misleading for readers who are looking for a good book.
Be fair, be honest, you may gain more followers by giving a genuine rating and review from what you have actually read.
Our tree orchid is thought to be an Orchid Dendrobium native of the Asia-Pacific region. Maybe even a Cymbidium Orchid. I have checked various sources (eBay included) and almost went cross-eyed with the stunning varieties but cannot find an exact match. Do orchids change regularly like fashion? Perhaps my WordPress friend (Literary Lad and horticulturist) Graham Wright has the answer. GBW.
Our tree orchid flowers every September, springtime in Brisbane, and coincides with my birthday every year. It features in many, many happy family photographs and it is the most hardy exotic flowering plant I have ever known. It wraps its delicate tendrils around an old Illawarra Flame Tree and they seem to enjoy each others company. Through drought, flooding rains and intense summer heat, it happily covers its stalks in pink flowers, needing no special care, and survives even when the possums take a nibble or two. There are suspicions that the blooms were ‘stolen’ one year when in full flower. It could have been ravenous possums, or a neighbour making a bouquet for a wedding, or perhaps a floral display at the local aged care centre. At least I like to think they were used for something lovely and not financial gain. I myself have never picked them and I doubt I ever will.
The Centenary Theatre Group, a company based in Chelmer, Brisbane, has made an official announcement calling for actors to fill roles in Agatha Christie’s inimitable stage production of ‘Verdict’ with opening night in November 2024. You may like Agatha Christie novels, or perhaps keen to tread the boards with this seasoned amateur group, read on—
SYNOPSIS Karl Hendryk, a brilliant professor who, with his wife and her cousin, have fled persecution in their homeland to find themselves ensconced in London. This stage play revolves around human experience and relationships. ‘It satisfied me completely. I still think it is the best play I have written with the exception of Witness for the Prosecution,’ said Agatha Christie.
AUDITION For Centenary Theatre Group PRODUCTION OF ‘VERDICT’ by Agatha Christie (opening November 2024) TIME & DATE: 2.00PM SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2024 LOCATION: CHELMER COMMUNITY HALL, 15 QUEENSCROFT STREET, CHELMER, BRISBANE. GOOGLEhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/GPWBBYnpwgjcncKS7
‘Verdict’ Written by Agatha Christie Directed by David Bell ‘Verdict’ is a 1958 stage play by British mystery writer Agatha Christie. It is unusual from other Agatha Christie plays: it is an original not based on a story or novel and, although there is a murder, it is more than a typical ‘whodunnit’ mystery.
CAST REQUIRED Lester Cole 25 years old. Mrs Roper 40 years old plus, gruff and rude. Lisa Koletzky Early 30’s, attractive. Professor Karl Hendryk 45 and handsome (German accent). Anya Hendryk 38, invalided in wheelchair and Karl’s wife (German accent). Dr Stone 60 years old and a typical family doctor. Helen Rollander age 23 and beautiful. Sir William Rollander middle age, tall and Helen’s father. Detective Inspector Ogden 40’s and pleasant nature. Police Sergeant Pearce sergeant’s age open, mid-thirties plus. NOTE All cast need to be proficient in English accents.
SETTING This 2-act play will be set in the year it was written – 1958. ‘Verdict’ is one of only a few Christie plays written directly for the stage and not adapted from another story. It originally opened at Strand Theatre in West End, London, May 1958.
Planning an overseas holiday? This looks perfect for book lovers!
A yearly event: The Day of Books and Roses will be celebrated in Catalonia, Spain on Wednesday 23rd April 2025. This day is traditionally known as Diada de Sant Jordi (Saint George’s Day) in Catalan. On this special day, love and literature are celebrated throughout Catalonia, and books and roses are exchanged. In Catalonia on 23rd April 2016 more than 1,580,000 copies of 45,267 book titles were sold, and a percentage of those were in the Catalan language.
Always learning: This is a part of the world I have never visited and I had no knowledge of this beautiful celebration. Catalan’s Sant Jordi Day really is commemorated with books, roses and love. Since 1997 the official slogan of the day has been ‘A rose for a love, and a book forever’. Perfect!
Love is in the air: The rest of the world awaits Valentine’s Day to celebrate love, Catalan’s most romantic day of the year is Sant Jordi, which also coincides with World Book Day on 23rd April. A day dedicated to ‘literature and love’, and of course books and roses are the main attraction.
‘Rose and Book’ Public Domain image by George Hodan
Tourism: Visitors and locals can stroll through stalls full of books and red roses. You can visit any Catalan city and soak up the festival’s atmosphere in and around the city’s central streets. Librarians take their books outside and set up stalls with the latest must-reads and some old classics. Flower vendors display thousands of red roses. Both make a brisk trade. Also, there are small tables of illustrators and authors selling and signing their books. I wonder if the patisseries (la pastelería) bake cakes and pastries shaped and decorated like books?
Culture: Although being part of Spain, Catalonia’s culture is quite different. They have their traditions (such as Sant Jordi Day) public holidays, and the language is Catalan. Sant Jordi is celebrated throughout Catalonia, so no doubt where you are, you’ll find a red rose and an excellent book. Some of the older buildings are decorated with red roses, the photos look amazing!
The legend of Sant Jordi: Catalans celebrate Sant Jordi’s Day to commemorate the death of Saint George in the year 303 AD. He became the symbol of Catalonia during the 19th century when the cultural and political movement known as the Renaissance reclaimed the signs of Catalan identity.
Modern-day Geography: Catalonia comprises most of the medieval and early modern Principality of Catalonia (with the remainder northern area now part of France’s Pyrénées-Orientales). It is bordered by France (Occitanie) and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, and the Spanish autonomous communities of Aragon to the west and Valencia to the south.
World Book Day: The book tradition on this day doesn’t come from Saint George himself. It comes from the International World Book Day which started in Spain in 1923. The date coincides with the death of two world-famous writers, Spanish Miguel de Cervantes and English William Shakespeare in 1616. In 1995, UNESCO declared 23rd of April as the UNESCO World Book & Copyright Day. In 2017, a group of Catalan publishers, booksellers, florists, and other professionals presented an application to UNESCO to have the ‘Day of Books and Roses’ recognized as Intangible Heritage. Extremely special things to celebrate!
Thoughts Become Words 