7.30 pm on 6th June saw eight members meet at our favourite watering hole to discuss and analyse “The Third Policeman” by Flann O’Brien.

Numbers were slightly down due to :-

“Podiatry in Penzance”

“Perambulations in Pembrokeshire”

“I havn’t read the book”

But we now have two new mwmbers – Jane and Dave.

The book in question proved to be a challenge and at one stage was compared to “Puckoon” by spike Milligan,James Joyce’ Ulysses or a Franz Kafka novel but with laughs

The quirky storyline and the language pulled people along – was the star of the show the bicycle,the murderer or the policeman ?

The score achieved 6.2 out of 10 – we expected better – one of the low scorers had the error of his ways pointed out and was induced to reconsider – which helped.

Despite being offered an Irish tea loaf recipe this month’s patissiere made Nigella Lawson’s guinness and chocolate cake  – good looking and delicious.

If anybody would like to read the book please contact your correspondent on 310352

Next months choice is  “Diary of a Bookseller” by Shaun Bythell

On the 2nd of May 10 bibliophiles forgathered in the captains cabin of the S S Three Kings to discuss “Waypoints” by Ian Stephen – a maritime saga located in and around Scotlands west coast

.Apart from the technical aspects of boat building and sailing around the western isles each chapter contained poems by the author and island folk tales.

Some members considered the poems were “passable”but most enjoyed the folk tales.

The score averaged out at 6.18 out of 10 – unfortunately during the scoring when low numbers were registered the marine chart of the western isles fell off the cabin wall.

There being a shortage of ships biscuit the crew were forced to eat a chocolate sponge provided by the first mate.

The June book is  “The Third Policeman” by Flann O’brien

The Elegance of the Hedgehog – Muriel Barbery

Despite the title this months book did not follow in the steps of Kenneth Graham nor A A Milne.

The tale chronicles the life of a Paris concierge,who while not quite despising the intellectual ability of her employers ,none the less proves to be a much more rounded human being whose life is obviously more satisfying and sympathetic to “The lower orders”

Although some members found Mme Barbery’s style a little difficult to “get in to” the consensus was that it was a good read proven by the score of 6.97 out of 10.

This months cake was based on the recipe for glautof or kugelhopf as mentioned in the book..

The pattissiers wife did consider that the recipe was “unforgiving” It proved challenging and the result though enjoyed did not please the eye.

Next months book is :-“Waypoints” by Ian Stephen – seascapes and stories of Scotlands west coast  – Ahoy there my hearties !

7.30 pm  – 7th march – another jolly evening for the Three Kings Book Group,

The book in question being  “Standard Deviation” by Katherinr Heiney – a novel based in the 

U S A charting the life of a family including a child obsessed with origami.

Reactions were mixed – “Enjoyed- A holiday Book- Started Well – Just Entertainment – Poor “

However all members finished the book – for a change !

( Your correspondent did find the characterisation rather flat and the fulsome recommendation on the cover by Nigella Lawson rather off putting )

the score worked out at 5.77 out of 10

Ross had been unable to find his apron this session ,but all was not lost = Tracey provided some scrumptious sausage rolls and Lesleys orange and hazelnut cake just disappeared –

Not a crumb was left.

Next month on the 11th of April we will discuss ” The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery – Intrigued ?

Decembers choice of “If on a winters Night a Traveller” by Italo Calvino proved a challenge..Few of the members were prepared to confirm that they had read the book in it’s entirety.

This resulted in a low score of 4.1 out of 10 and the presentation of  “Certificates of Bravery” to all who “said”they had read more than 27 pages.

However all was not lost – and spirits were raised by the consumption of mince pies and stollen washed down by a glass of 3 K’s best.

January’s choice is “Leonard and Hungry Paul” by Ronan Hession – 10th January – Three Kings

Michael Andrews

We met as usual in the bar of the Three kings,on 7th february to discuss and review “Owls of the Eastern Ice” by Jonathon Slaght.

The owls in question live and breed in Eastern Russia and are to a certain extent endangered due to deforestation and /or climate change.

Did we care – well ,yes we did – after all they are part of the natural world but the consensus was that J Slaght could have done with help to turn an interesting saga into a better book

(personally I found the style pedestrian and heavy going despite Bill Baileys’ fulsome praise)

Group comments included :- “Nice Pictures” – “Loss of the birds didn’t upset me “

The score was 4.6 out of 10.

The cake was another feather light sponge on a rich nutty base – delicious.

The choice for march is “Standard Deviation” by Katherine Heiney – a funny novel about the challenges of a good marriage and the heartache of raising children.

Will there be many laughs ?

Mike Andrews

Our November choices were :-“Once upon a river” by Diane Setterfield  and  “A Whole Life” by  by Robert Seethaler

The general consensus was that Once Upon a River was beautifully written and a gripping mystery – saying that one member expressed the opinion that he/she didn’t really care what happened to the characters – this affected the score which came out at 7.2 out of 10

Interestingly  A Whole Life also achieved a 7.2 score – mainly because two of our members gave it top marks – It was a simple tale gently told of an unremarked existence.

All of our “Reads” are unforgettable if only for different reasons.

Our choice for December is :-“If on a winters night a traveller” by Italo Calvino.

Michael Andrews

Incidentally you can listen to BBC World Service’s Book Club edition featuring A Whole Life by clicking on this link….

On Monday 4th October a select group of readers gathered in the main bar of “The Three Kings” to discuss H G Wells “The History of Mr. Polly”

The scoring worked out at 7.2 out of 10 – due to the fact that the older members were able to give high scores – others found it heavy going.

So what were the comments  :-

(a) it was dated  – yes i think we all agreed on that

(b) despite its age it highlighted many of the current personal problems that 20th century persons still present

(c)how astonishing that it was still in print

As to Mr Polly –  how he exhibited that positive slightly humourous attitude despite not being  “A winner” in life’s race.

Our next meeting will be on 1st November- same venue as before -when we will be discussing “Once upon a River “by Diane Setterfield and also  “A Whole Life”.

Mike Andrews

Our September meeting once took place in the outdoor conference suite at the Three Kings on Monday 6^th! Several regular attendees were sadly otherwise engaged but with a new member and a returning friend we were of sufficient numbers to do justice to an interesting text and a lemon drizzle cake…

A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler was our first book in translation and prompted some excellent discussion. However without Mike Andrews being with us we did not assign a mark out of 10 and will return to this title at our meeting in November.

Book choices for the next few months are currently being finalised but we have settled on The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells for our meeting on Monday 4^th.

4th January brought us to our first anniversary with a conversation about Old Filth by Jane Gardam. We have also started on our list of suggestions for this year…

A Month in the Country	J.L. Carr
The Handmaid’s Tale	Margaret Attwood
The Shadow King	Maaza Mengiste
Moonstone: The boy who never was	Sjon
A Whole Life	Robert Seethaler
English Pastoral	James Rebanks
Hamnet	Maggie O’Farrell

There is still time to have your say and add your choice to the list!