Jane Austen Book Club Meets at Cowra & Orange

Jane Austen Book Club meets at Cowra Library Friday 14 December from 11am – 12 pm to talk about Northanger Abbey. Northanger Abbey was written in the late 1790s, but published only posthumously. It is the story of a deliberately ordinary heroine named Catherine Morland. The book is divided into two parts. In the first, Catherine travels with family friends, the Allens, to Bath. There she meets two brother-sister pairs – John and Isabella Thorpe, and Henry and Eleanor Tilney. Her own brother, James, joins them and becomes engaged to Isabella. Catherine is attracted to Henry, a clergyman with witty and unorthodox manners.

In Orange, the Club also meets on Friday 14 December from 12.30pm – 1.30pm to talk about another popular Jane Austen novel Sense and Sensibility. Sense and Sensibility was written in the late 1790s but much revised before publication in 1811. It is primarily the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. The death of their father has left them, with their mother and younger sister, financially pressed. Both women fall in love, each in her own characteristic way – Marianne is extravagant and public with her emotions, Elinor restrained and proper.

Classics Book Club Returns

Classics Book Club returns! Please note there meeting dates for Blayney and Orange and have moved back for one week, this month only:

• Blayney (3rd Tues) Tuesday 21 August 11am – 12 noon to talk about author Tirra Lirra by the River by Jessica Anderson. A woman returns to Australia after time spent in England and reflects on her life.

• Orange (3rd Thurs) Thursday 23 August 12.30pm – 1.30pm to talk about Patrick White’s Voss and 5.30pm – 7pm for discussions on George Johnston’s classic My Brother Jack.

• Cowra Classics (4th Tues) meets on Tuesday 28 August from 12.30pm to 1.30pm to chat about David Malouf’s award winning novel The Great World.

Jane Austen Book Club Meets Friday

The Jane Austen Book Club returns on Friday 11 May at Orange City Library to chat about Northanger Abbey from 12.30pm. This book was written in the late 1790s, but published only posthumously. It is the story of a deliberately ordinary heroine named Catherine Morland. The book is divided into two parts. In the first, Catherine travels with family friends, the Allens, to Bath. There she meets two brother-sister pairs — John and Isabella Thorpe, and Henry and Eleanor Tilney. Her own brother, James, joins them and becomes engaged to Isabella. Catherine is attracted to Henry, a clergyman with witty and unorthodox manners.

Cowra Library will host a discussion about Jane’s most famous novel Pride and Prejudice (think Darcy and Elizabeth) from 11am – 12pm on Friday 11 May. Dear readers, I think Jane would be most pleased!

Who's Reading Jane Austen?

Guess who is reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? They are getting ready for the next Jane Austen Book Club meeting to be held at Cowra Library on Friday 11 May at 11am. Come along to learn more about the book and, of course, talk about Darcy!

Pride and Prejudice was originally entitled First Impressions. It was written between 1796 and 1797, and heavily revised before its publication in 1813. It is the most famous of Austen’s novels. It is an inversion of the classic Cinderella fairy tale, when the hero, Fitzwilliam Darcy, first sees the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, at a ball, he refuses to dance with her. Come along to join in the discussion.

Orange Jane Austen Club meets on Friday 11 May at 12.30pm to chat about Northanger Abbey.

The Recipe Club meets again

 

 

Our thoughts are turning to food with the annual Orange F.O.O.D. Week celebrations coming up. There’s also something about food that gets everyone talking. Recipes, cookbooks, TV chefs and cooks provide plenty of fodder for a hearty lunchtime discussion.

We are hosting The Recipe Club on the last Friday of the month from 12.30pm with different monthly themes in keeping with the National Year of Reading.  In February we chuckled over the possibility of such a thing as low-fat pizza, a canary pudding featuring lemon, butter, an egg and 1/3 a gill of milk, but not a bird in sight. And recipes for 2,4,6, 8 cake and from the kitchen of Josie Dib a Lebanese Spinach, Lentil, Lemon and Dumpling Soup also known as the Atomic Bomb Soup (named in the 50s for good reasons).

The March meeting has us “thinking” about where our food comes from, discussion about the My Kitchen Rules final and the meaning of food such as Easter Buns.  Thanks to Heather we tried Matzah (unleavened Passover Bread) with Haroset used in the Jewish Passover ritual.  It was surprisingly delicious (see photo).  The recipe can be found in The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden.

The Recipe Club is proving to be lots of fun for people interested in sharing recipes, cookbooks, talking and writing about food. Everyone is welcome to come along. 

Orange City Library Recipe Club dates:
27 April – Feel
25 May – Escape
29 June – Dream
27 July – Discover
31 August – Question
28 September – Grow
26 October – Explore
30 November – Cry

The Recipe Club at Cowra Library meets 11am – 12 noon
on 3rd Wednesday in these months:
18 April – Feel (Chocolate!)
20 June – Dream
15 August – Question
17 October – Explore
21 November – Cry