Do book group members get nervous when they take their seats and prepare to share their thoughts on that month’s book? After having a cherished book ‘all to themselves’ is there a moment of trepidation as it’s released to the wider world of the book group for critique?
We’re hoping to pose these questions – and many more – as we interview book group members. And if the answer to both questions is ‘Yes’, then we may know something of how they feel. This week we’ve had a sense of Memories of Fiction going from the speculative to the suddenly very real as we’ve got up in front of various audiences to share our aims and hopes for the project. After keeping the project ‘all to ourselves’ in the first month as we plan and organise, we’ve now had the opportunity to gather some feedback from others, and, very excitingly, meet our first book group.
On 4th-5th September we attended the Story of Memory conference at the University of Roehampton, organised by the Memory Network. Shelley and Amy introduced the project on a panel entitled ‘Memory and Reading: A View from the Sidelines’, alongside papers from Dr Alison Waller (University of Roehampton) and Dr Sara Whiteley (University of Sheffield). All three papers worked really well together, drawing fascinating threads about both memory and reading and how people discuss reading in groups.
On the evening of 4th September we were delighted to host Professor Martyn Lyons (University of New South Wales) as the guest speaker for this month’s IHR Oral History Seminar. Professor Lyons spoke on his and colleague Professor Lucy Taksa’s groundbreaking work, Australian Readers Remember, now celebrating its 22nd anniversary since publication. A podcast of the talk is now available here.
Oxford University Press, 1992
Professor Lyons, currently on an extended visit to the UK, was then able to join us on Monday for the first meeting of the Memories of Fiction Advisory Group. The group, which aims to meet once a year throughout the project, brings together some of the foremost scholars working in reading and memory. The conversation was lively and engaging, and a huge boost to us as we continue to formulate and refine our research and prepare to begin in earnest.
Speaking of which, perhaps the highlight of the last week was our visit to our first reading group. Last Friday we visited Battersea Library (worth a visit to see the beautiful arts and crafts style reading room) and sat in on the Alvering book group. This month they were discussing Dancing to the Flute by Manisha Amin. We were thrilled to get a really positive and warm response to the project and delighted that over half the group signed up to take part as interviewees. The group, now in its fourteenth year, meets once a month, at 12pm on a Friday. Many thanks to Ferelith and the group for welcoming us.
Memories of Fiction: An Oral History 