BabyMac Book Club: Between a Wolf and a Dog

Just like clockwork I have found myself in a bit of a funk this week. The post holiday, school holidays, event craziness is over and I have found myself feeling a little meh. Of course I am! I know I need to exercise, I know I haven’t been eating the best, I know I haven’t been drinking enough water, probably too much alcohol and being lazy on my phone…all the bad habits that I fall into when I am over worked and stressed and not putting myself anywhere the top of the list of people to look after in this family.

So when I lamented on Instagram (where I do my very best lamenting mind you) that I wish I would start reading again, I had a book recommendation from Jodi at Practising Simplicity and I quickly went online to Booktopia and added to cart quicker than you can say whyamIsosadthisweek? And today the book arrived! So I had an idea!

Time to get started on the BabyMac Book Club again! Having a firm deadline will force me to read and we can all get on board with it too.

HOW IT WORKS

We chose a book (you can send me suggestions at any time so I will go to you guys with a short list and we can vote…or maybe I will just choose!). We have 6 weeks to read the book (I was going to make it a month but we all know that’s not going to work). Then we come on and have a chat about it, I’ll ask some questions and we can comment on here as well as on Facebook (I think it’s an easy platform for throwing around quick ideas/conversations) which we can do over a glass of wine on our couches. We can all pretend we are sitting around my fire if we close our eyes…

#BABYMACBOOKCLUB ROUND FIVE

I have chosen (because Jodi suggested that I would like it) Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain.

“Ester is a family therapist with an appointment book that catalogues the woes of the middle class. She spends her days helping others find happiness, but her own family relationships are tense and frayed. Estranged from both her sister, April, and her ex-husband, Lawrence, Ester wants to be able to let herself fall in love again. Meanwhile, April and Lawrence are battling through their own messy lives, and Ester and April’s mother, Hilary, is facing the most significant decision she’ll ever have to make.

Taking place over one rainy day in Sydney, and rendered with the evocative and powerful prose Blain is known for, Between a Wolf and a Dog is a novel about dissatisfactions and anxieties in the face of relative privilege. Yet it is also a celebration of the best in all of us — our capacity to live in the face of ordinary sorrows, and to draw strength from the transformative power of art. Ultimately, it is a joyous recognition of the profound beauty of being alive.”

I had no idea this book even existed before a few nights ago so I can’t say I chose it for any other reason than someone said read it…so I am! I think it might be sad, but beautiful, so if you’d care to join in, let’s read!

NEXT STEPS

Buy the book (for real or on your e-reader device) and get reading! You can buy it from Booktopia here for just $25. There will be a post book wrap up virtual book club here on the blog on Wednesday 12th July. You can leave your comments on the post and we will aim to have a Facebook chat that night from 8pm (AEST) so pour your wine and get ready for a natter. Send me through any suggestions for books in the meantime and we can work out what the next one will be. I can’t promise Proust but I hope we can get through some good reads that will get us back into books instead of being lazy (like me) and spending all my time online at night.

Hope you can join in! Any questions, just let me know…oh and use the hashtag #babymacbookclub if you’re that way inclined. Let’s try and get our reading mojo’s back!

Happy Reading friends!

Comments

  1. I finished this last night!!! The last 100 pages just slayed me. Happy reading Beth x

  2. Sam Leader says

    I’m in! There’s a free shipping code for Booktopia too: EOFYS

  3. Love Georgia Blain so I might be in for this one! I have been struggling to read books for my ‘in real life’ bookclub so am I being CRAZY thinking I can read two?!

  4. Michelle says

    Awesome idea! I’m in ??

  5. Hi Beth, some future ideas for book club. The first three are big so maybe after a few shorter ones to get people back in the swing of things;
    The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
    A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
    Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
    We. Are. Family. by Paul Mitchell

    The first three novels have stayed with me long after I put them down. Each no doubt for different reasons. A Little Life is heart wrenching but i just couldn’t put it down. I read Shantaram many years ago and I was thinking I would like to read it again soon.
    We. Are. Family. I confess is written by my husband’s cousin and is getting rave reviews. Like you I am struggling to get back to reading so I am yet to finish Paul’s novel but everyone else in my family has so I had best get my act together!

    Cheers,
    Bec

  6. Ann Caldicott says

    Great idea, I have never joined a book club. So I am in.

  7. I’m now on hold at the library wahoo! Better hurry up and finish my current one ?

  8. Finished this last week! Beautifully written. Hope you enjoy it too.

  9. Sounds great I’m in . I’m going to feel so grown up and sophisticated being in a book club ?

  10. I couldn’t put this down (but had to because of little people). An absolute wonderful story about how complex family relationships, and relationships in general, can become. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I look forward to your next recommendation.

  11. I’m in serious book depression, as I just finished the book and now I need a new book recommendation! Popped by to double check when the wrap up was and can’t believe that it isn’t until the 12th of July… finished that book way sooner then I thought that I would.

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