Impressions from the English Book Club

One of the members of our English Book Club, Inge Lygo, shares her impressions from our English Book Club:

I always browse the wide-ranging course programme at the vhs Aalen. This spring, I came across the English Book Club. I signed up immediately. And I’ve had no regrets!

We decided on our first novel through an online poll. Our first meeting took place on Sunday 29 March. The books we’ve read so far are:

In March : Stuart Turton, The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle ( a truly original murdermystery)

In April: Guy Gunaratne, In our mad and furious city (a fresh voice from Neasdon, London)            

In May: Mike Gayle, The man I think I know ( a moving story about male friendship)              

Each month, members send book suggestions to our course leader, Nicole Deufel, who puts them into a poll for each of us to vote in.

So far the novels have been very interesting. My local bookshop got them for me! (Support your local store!:-) Our book for June will be the wonderful Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye. My choice!!!

Where do we get our English book recommendations from? I myself routinely listen to English radio, enjoying programmes such as BBC Radio 4’s ‚A Good Read‘, ‚Front Row‘ etc. I passionately fill my notebook with ‚Literature still to read‘. I also ask my friends in London. And of course the internet is a deep and endless sea of ideas.

Now who are our Book Club members? First of all: they are great! English, Irish, American and German- we have lots of different accents and cultures represented in the group. Such a big and fascinating bonus!

We are 11 members. We are happy and equally excited to see each other once a month. Due to coronavirus, we currently meet online which needs a bit of discipline (‚Turn your micro off, please!‘, ‚Stop rambling!‘ ). However, Nicole Deufel, our course leader, directs us gently, summarizes, asks questions and makes sure we all get our say.         

Ah –you may think this book club is a typical woman thing. Wrong! There is a man! The life experiences of all of us enrich the different and wonderfully diverse interpretations of the books we read and make our monthly discussion lively. I love it. I enjoy the pleasant anticipation and the challenge of participating. I just love the sound and words of the much-loved English language.