Bookclub is taking a break now until January (when we have the brilliant Rose Tremain lined up to come and chat to us - official announcement coming soon). It has been a wildly eclectic year (you can revisit all the books here) with some excellent author chats. Highlights of 2010, for me, were Colm Toibin's magnificent BROOKLYN, Lynn Barber explaining that Penthouse was a far better place than Vogue, and Sebastian Faulks describing himself as a 'frightened rabbit'.
But before we kick off in 2011, we'd like to know all your thoughts on books and bookclub, and how you'd like it to run. What works? What doesn't? What would make our bookclub evening an unmissable event?
Some starters for ten, to get the ball rolling:
Which authors would you give your eye teeth to chat to?
How valuable are the author chats? Could they be better?
Author chats or discussion amongst ourselves - which do you prefer?
Is the evening the right time, or would daytime be easier?
Is discussion night too long/too short?
Is a book a month about right? Need more time to finish?
Paperbacks or hardbacks?
How do you feel about autobiographies/memoirs? Any favourite/non-favourite genres?
Or are you happy with book club as it is?
And finally, what's the best book we've done and what books do you want to see more of?
By the time we kick off next year, I hope we'll have made
bookclub into everything you want it to be. So please don't hold back...