Have a look at what we did! From week One...

WEEKLY SUMMARY

WEEK 1

As the English Reading Club is a new concept the first session was an
introduction to establish the aims and objectives of what all the members can and want to achieve from attending.
Following a group discussion the aims and objectives became quite clear.
Consensus surrounded the opportunity for each member to be exposed to
variety of books, music, history, culture, discussion and debate ‐ all presented and expressed in English. In terms of what is presented and discussed the group had expressed an extremely open mind and each member offered their kind recommendations for future sessions. However, there was no specific request for books to be discussed as you would expect in a conventional reading club. It was also an opportunity for members to introduce themselves as well as state their favourite author, book and genre of literature. It was quite clear from going around the room that there was an eclectic mix of favourable literature. Some names of books and authors popped up more than once and as a result it is likely
these topics will be the course of debate for future sessions.

WEEK 2

The second week we studied an uncontroversial and universal song to introduce literature as art, poetry and music. We studied What a Wonderful World by the legendary American Jazz trumpeter and singer, Louis Armstrong. With lyrics and a melody that represents peace, appreciation, general calm and happiness I felt that it was a good introducer for the group to talk about music as a form of literature and proved to be so. There was a wide enthusiasm and diverse appreciation for music and something that was possible to discuss further in the future.

WEEK 3
Famous and powerful speeches are a very prominent part of modern society. The Great Dictator is a comedy film written, directed, produced by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. First released in October 1940, it was Chaplin's first true talking motion picture. Through all the critical analysis it was widely agreed that this speech is well written and applies to modern day life. The group agreed that they would like to see more of this type of material in the future.

WEEK 4

Throughout the previous weeks I had been conversing with various members via email about several forms of literature they enjoy. As such, I continuously asked for recommendations. I received an overwhelming amount of potential material that could be discussed during each session. A member, Angeles, kindly forwarded me a video that can be found on youtube which was a short 10minute video named ‘We Are All One’. From the first time I watched the video I was highly impressed by the way it was put together, from the narrative to the visual accompaniment. The group were very impressed by the video and it generated a lot of discussion.

WEEK 5

Zeitgeist: The Movie is a 2007 documentary film by Peter Joseph examining
possible historical and modern conspiracies surrounding Christianity, the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the Federal Reserve bank. This session was about the similarities within the vast amount of religions that exist today.We only watched the first 30minutes of a 4‐hour, two part documentary so it was hard for us to fully comment and critically agree or oppose the entirety of the documentary but it did allow people to see another view of a what is historically a global phenomenon regarding the origin of religion. A great deal of conversation was developed from this video.

WEEK 6

Today we watched the first 45 minutes of the Kite Runner. A film that is based on the book by Khaled Hossieni. The first 45 minutes of the film goes up to approximately page 66 of the book. It was agreed by the majority of the members that the book was not very easy to read. Fortunately the book was accompanied with a film which meant we could enjoy watching the film together
and discussing it. For those who were able to read the book it was fantastic to share their thoughts and opinions.

WEEK 7

Today was an interesting and very organically evolved session. I had come
prepared with an exciting true story documentary about a young British man
and his proactive and adventurous actions after his life was affected by the global economic crisis.
We spent every week watching a video or listening
to a song so this week it was a pleasure to allow everyone to have a chat. With the summer holidays arriving very soon it was a pleasure to listen to the exciting places to visit on our most diverse and splendid planet.

WEEK 8

As the main title of this seasons Reading Club it was important for me to show the members the film.
Apart from the similar observations that were made from the first 45minutes of the film, it was great to hear that most people did not expect such a thrilling ending. As I remarked in the club, I feel that this book (and film) ticks all the boxes of a Drama.

WEEK 9

2010 UK General Election had just taken place. It was the perfect opportunity to discuss a subject that was interesting and controversial to everyone. The discussion brought about a lot of humour, laughs, differences of opinion but also a serious consensus that Politics is a major aspect of life for each and every single human being on the planet. Of all the sessions, this topic resulted in the equal top amount of responses on the blogsite.

WEEK 10

Due to a personal request, we then embarked on a group conversation about the various and best methods to learn a foreign language. We talked about the different methods people had tried. The most common was to learn in a school environment. The local Language School was a resource that
many members had been utilised over the years but had experienced different
results. Apart from that, some listened to music or watched films and
documentaries in the foreign language accompanied with subtitles. With the help of a dictionary, reading literature, whether it is novels, textbooks or newspapers all appeared to have their advantages of practising a language. Language tools such as BBC Language or Podcasts can be a great supplement for personal study and practice. All agreed that a reading club in the desired language was a very effective tool.

WEEK 11

Last Tuesday’s session was a small and intimate session as many were busy with various exams, work etc. I had watched a UK based Channel 4 documentary over a year ago (shortly after the beginnings of the global economic crisis) called Around The World In 80 Trades and was extremely fascinated. So, I decided to share it with the group. The feedback within the group was fantastic. Some were dubious as to whether this series was real or simply a sensationalised reality T.V programme. We were all in agreement that it was a great adventure that we would encourage anyone to embark upon (of course with the right research in place first).

WEEK 12

I had come to know that there would be public protest against the actions of Israel at the obelisk in central La Coruna. Due to my own personal reasoning I admitted that I don’t go to protests/marches and therefore I would not attend. It was clear from the discussion to notice that people do care about a lot of causes but are frequently distracted from making any significant changes on a macro and micro level, even if they live in an area of the world which is more lenient with public freedom of speech.

WEEK 13

We spent our time talking about the recommended book and theme for next
season. We gave all the members a list of the books with a list of reviews from
various websites. I read the reviews to the class and we discussed each option
individually and gave them points.
Below are the results of the vote:
Sweet Bird Of Youth and or plays By Tennessee Williams 16POINTS
Awakening By Kate Chopin 17 POINTS
White Teeth By Zadie Smith 17POINTS
Brooklyn By Follies Paul Auster 29POINTS
Color Purple By Alice Walker 32POINTS
The God Of Small Things By Arundhati Roy 30POINTS
The Joy Luck Club By Amy Tan 30POINTS

After lots of discussion on the blogsite, Color Purple By Alice Walker has
been elected as the most popular choice for next season.