Thanks all for a very fine meeting last night.
Most of us had quite enjoyed Underground, Overground, at least in parts. We liked his very personable and chatty style, some of the anecdotes and stories were great, like the fake houses at Leinster Gardens and the disused Bull and Bush station at Hampstead. The book did get better later on once you got past the excessive technical detail and all the different train companies which was a bit tedious at the beginning. Some of this history was interesting though, knowing all the different lines were in competition, and mostly followed the public roads above explains the random nature of parts of the tube. Overall some interesting stories written by someone who is clearly very enthusiastic about his subject. Anyone who liked it may be interested in watching this Culture Show programme on art on the tube, which also covers some of the history and stories in the book, available here on iPlayer.
Next month your reading has been chosen by Kathleen, the beautifully compact The Overhaul by Kathleen Jamie. Meeting on Friday 12th April at Kathleen’s flat.
Then for May, Ruth has chosen A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch – less gruesome than it sounds I believe.
And Sean is choosing next for June book club.
There was also a suggestion that we have December book club in Vienna, taking advantage of the Christmas markets and Ruth’s opening night in a show (sorry can’t remember the name of it!). I think this sounds like a marvellous idea, so who is in?
[…] Solitude in joint second place. At the other end, the wooden spoon winner was Paying for it, with Underground, Overground in (a slightly harsh) 11th […]