How the Light Gets In

We have consensus - How the Light Gets In by M.J. Hyland is this month's book club choice.
I hope everyone enjoys it, or at least finds it interesting! I have reserved a copy at Ashfield Library and I think they might have another. I'm happy to pass mine on when I've read it. Leichhardt Library has a copy but the catalogue says its out till 29/9.

Thanks Susie for this info. I have not read either book and I would be interested in reading both. I saw that Great Expectations is long, possibly around 500pgs. I am happy to read it but I would have to get cracking! Thanks Again Susie.

September Book Choice

I've had a couple of ideas for books to read in September and so I thought I'd post them here and give everyone some input into the choice. I wanted to choose something that wasn't the usual 'book club' fare.

The first alternative is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Its a classic that I haven't read and appears on a few of those '100 books you should read' lists.

From Wikipedia:

"Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It is regarded as one of his greatest and most sophisticated novels, and is one of his most enduringly popular novels.

Great Expectations is written in the genre of "bildungsroman" or the style of book that follows the story of a man or woman in their quest for maturity, usually starting from childhood ending in the main characters eventual adulthood. Great Expectations is the story of the orphan Pip, writing his life from his early days of childhood until adulthood and trying to be a gentleman along the way. The story can also be considered semi-autobiographical of Dickens, like much of his work, drawing on his experiences of life and people".

If people aren't keen to read another older book I've chosen a contemporary novel by Australian writer M.J. Hyland as the second option. Her first novel How the Light gets in (2003) has been translated into many languages, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize, and took third place in the 2005 Barnes and Noble Discover Award. In 2004 Hyland was jointly awarded the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Novelist Award for How the Light Gets In. (Her second novel Carry me Down was shortlisted for the Booker Prize).

M.J. Hyland's How the Light Gets In is the story of Lou Connors, a super-smart 16-year-old from the slums of Sydney who wins a scholarship to partake in a year-long student exchange program to the United States. She's thrilled at the opportunity to get away from her scummy home and even scummier relatives, predicting she'll thrive in this new environment, able to build and create a persona closer to what she believes is her authentic self.

I'm not sure that either book is an easy read but should be well written at least!