Meet David Morgan, War Veteran, PTSD Survivor, Adventurer and Author

June 2016 Meeting Author Talk, RSVP for the meeting Here

Ice Journey

A story of Adventure, Escape and Salvation

"I was a 52-year-old man, married with two teenage children, trying to get down to Antarctica. "Everyone has an Antarctica", Thomas Pynchon once wrote. As a young bloke standing on the edge of a windy, wintery Melbourne beach… I just knew, staring towards the cold vastness of the Southern Ocean, that one day I’d go beyond the horizon." Dave Morgan

Ice Journey is the biography of Vietnam veteran Dave Morgan, a self confessed ordinary bloke who has lead anything but an ordinary life.

David was born in Melbourne in 1948. He, his twin Don, older brother Gerald and sister Sybil (Patsy) were raised single-handedly by their mother, Sybella, widowed when husband Gerald (Gus) died suddenly during her pregnancy with the twins. With a childhood filled with many moves due to Sybella’s ill heath and her need to find work, Dave found adventure and a taste for travelling. He joined the Citizens Military Force in his sub-senior year and took private flying lessons, eventually joining the Army at the end of the school year.

On 1 January 1969, he left his family in Brisbane for Vietnam as part of the 104 Signal Squadron. During his term, he served at several fire support bases and dealt with attacks by the Viet Cong. During one of those attacks, his pit hole engulfed him, and after he returned to an unsympathetic Australia, he started reliving that experience night after night.

He hid it well from all but his family – wife Deb and children David and Michelle. They moved around Queensland for Dave’s job as a Technical Officer (Weather Observer) for the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, but his desire for isolation led him to expeditions at Macquarie Island and Davis Station. A few hours after he arrived at Casey Station for his next expedition, he slipped on blue ice and his severe head and neck injury forced a medivac back to the mainland.

Now retired, Dave is seeking treatment for his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which Antarctica finally made him acknowledge.

You can secure your spot for First Thursday's June 2016 meeting NOW

An exciting start to 2014

a large handful of new and established members...

plus excellent reading....

leading to relaxed yet illuminating conversations...

2013 - A Very Good Year

2013 was the year First Thursday established itself as a mature forum for lovers of literature, for those who enjoy sharing in a relaxed yet vibrant milieu.

We’ve hosted three published authors this year and enjoyed some terrific reads leading to animated, enlightening, entertaining, and often hilarious discussions.

And we’re planning to enjoy plenty more in 2014.

But without members, there would be no First Thursday. So we, Joe and Hazel, would like to thank our dear Lit-Lovers for the wonderful contribution you make. And we invite you to join us again in 2014.

Our first meeting is on the first Thursday of February 2014, with the books ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck.

There is no January meet up.

Merry Christmas and a here's to a rich and fulfilling 2014.

Tiana Templeman

Exciting News!

Local travel author and journalist Tiana Templeman will be attending our meeting on 7th November to tell us about her work and the challenging process of becoming a published author.
 
Tiana Templeman is published with Random House. She is a freelance writer and experienced corporate trainer who tutors regularly for Queensland Writers Centre and other writer-based organisations. She has delivered ‘Working with the Media’ courses for Tourism Queensland and tutors journalism students at the Queensland University of Technology.
Tiana holds a Master of Creative Industries and is on the committee of the Australian Society of Travel Writers. She is currently completing a PhD on 'The Future of Freelance Journalism in Australia'.
 
Her first book, a travel narrative entitled Absolutely Faking It, has been reprinted numerous times and translated for overseas publication.
 
Tiana writes for a number of publications including The Australian, BRIDE Destination, The Sunday Mail, ninemsn, The Courier-Mail, Australian Traveller and The Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide
 
She appears regularly at industry events and as a guest presenter on ABC 612 Queensland and 4BC talking about where to go, what to do and travel industry trends.

More exciting news!
Published Sci-Fi Romance author Lynne Stringer will be speaking at our December 5th meeting about her journey to publication, the recently published first novel in her trilogy and  the secrets to writing a publishable manuscript. 
You can RSVP for the meeting here and you can find out more about Lynne here.

Books on a Boat?

In February Thorsten and Alpha hosted our meeting aboard Thorsten's catamaran....

Our relaxed yet dynamic group tends towards the adventurous...


Yet First Thursday enjoys the informative too - members can meet informed readers as well as published authors at our hosted events and thereby discover the story behind the story.

Annette Henderson to Speak at First Thursday Book Club's April Event

Launching the First Thursday Book Club in 2013...

… with a River Cruise !!!

Well, the first book club of the new year 2013 is nearly upon us and instead of the usual meeting venue, The Burrow in West End, we have something special planned:

On Thursday, 7^th February we will celebrate the new book year with a cruise down the Brisbane River on Thorsten’s sailing catamaran, HINA.

View of the meeting point

Start and finish of the book cruise is from a public jetty in West End, approximately 300 meters upstream of the Go Between bridge. The jetty can be reached from half way along Riverside Drive, West End. From Montague Road, turn right into Jane Street and continue straight down into Riverside Drive (the road bends to the right and runs alongside the river). You'll find it on Google Maps. There should be sufficient parking.

Important points:

• Due to the size of the boat, the number of participants is limited this time to 8 book club members, please book early with Hazel. First in, first served!
• Don’t wear your best clothes, I’m expecting a calm and easy cruise but the occasional wave (say from a city cat) might wet you.
• Please do be on time! 18h30 for an 18h45 launch.
• We’ll be aiming to be back by approximately 20h45, but do leave a bit of extra time in case of any unforeseen delays (pirates, sea monsters…)
• Bring your own food and drink. I have an esky on board and it will be filled with ice. I’ll also have some glasses, plates and basic cutlery on board. Simple finger food, nibbles etc. are probably best, maybe something we can share around. There’ll be a table in the centre of the cockpit to place everything.
• Unfortunately there is no bathroom on board or in the immediate vicinity of the landing jetty, so come prepared!
• Bring a light jacket or windcheater.
• Please give Hazel your mobile phone number just in case we need to cancel at the last moment due to bad weather. In that case of course the book club will still happen, just at the usual venue.

Also I Just have to say it at this point: This is not a commercial river cruise. I am of course licensed to operate my boat, have the required safety gear on board, including a life jacket for everyone. But you do come on board at your own risk and are expected to behave reasonably.

Even though I don’t think this is really an issue but I just had to get it out of the way!

Here are a couple of pictures of the boat, so you know what to look forward to.

And here is the anticipated river trip. How far we actually go depends a bit of course on actual conditions and I don’t want to go too fast (mainly so the motor doesn’t drown out the conversation).

View of the intended route

But we should get to see South Bank, Botanical Gardens and pass under the Story Bridge, possibly reaching as far as New Farm.

Thorsten Schulte
Ships Captain!

ps: Must acknowledge Thorsten's generosity in hosting this - a rare opportunity surely?
Hazel

A few of us recently took ourselves along to Brisbane Square Library in the city to here Peter Fitzsimons talk. It was excellent and all free (including generous amounts of food!).
On Fri 7th Dec there's another that might be of interest - Dr Carl, an amusing character who's expertise is science and health. Take a look at the link below, and see you there perhaps?
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on/venue/library-events/index.htm#/?i=8
Hope you're enjoying the months reading - Catcher In The Rye is a real wowser I reckon. Amazes me that this was written in 1945 or thereabouts.
Hope to catch you all on Thursday 6th at The Burrow. You can rsvp for it now right here
Hazel

Meet Josh Donellan at First Thursday Book Club...

J.M. DONELLAN is an author, musician, slam poet, teacher, traveller, voice actor and event manager.
He was almost devoured by a tiger in the jungles of Malaysia, nearly died of a lung collapse in the Nepalese Himalayas, fended off a pack of rabid dogs with a guitar in the mountains of India and was sexually harassed by a half-naked man whilst standing next to Oscar Wilde’s grave in Paris.

Josh will be appearing at our Book Club Meet on November 1st. Numbers limited so RSVP now!

His debut novel A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India was the winner of the 2009 IP Picks best fiction award and lots of magazines say it’s very good, so it must be true. His short stories have appeared in various anthologies throughout 2011 and 2012.

For some weird reason, he also scripted and voiced the internationally popular Pocket Hipster iphone application, even though he still uses a phone with actual buttons. He was a finalist in the 2008 Youth Week Writers’ competition but lost first place to a woman who wrote a poem about her ovaries.

His children’s fantasy novel Zeb and the Great Ruckus has been recently released and his next novel for adults, Adonis Comma Coma, has just been signed to Pantera Press. 

In praise of Dubliners

I enjoyed Dubliners.

Despite the beautifully descriptive narrative it took a while and some rare research before I could say that. And it made me realise that a little bit of background as well as an understanding of the state of mind of the author (James Joyce) at the time of writing really does grease the mind-wheels and get it all flowing in favour of the piece.

Sue, a member who’s new to our ‘terrestrial’ meetings (my god - terrestrial, we really have arrived in the future!) made me aware of this.  She described how she was overtaken by a desire to read JK Rowling’s new book, A Casual Vacancy, but only after she’d watched the authors’ recent interview and discovered the real-life story behind the narrative.

So, now that I appreciate that this was Joyce’s final work before he left Ireland in disgust and for good I understand better the negativity, the melancholy, the cynical parody, the dead-pan description that asks you to agree with him that Ireland was right on track on its hell-bound trajectory.

Clearly Joyce was wrong, as thank God are most melancholic doom-mongers.

Creatives are emotional people, it stands to reason; they’re one and the same it seems to me, so let’s make allowances and just listen, at least for a while. Well, that’s what I reckon.

And once again this month serendipity had her way; hidden in our second book; Girl Interrupted, we found similarities to Dubliners in voice and structure, and we were able enjoy the discovery of these.

So despite the fact that some of us we weren’t singing and dancing praises for these two books, the evening flowed with lively conversation and laughter and the warmth that radiates when friendships grow. 

This is what makes a book club; what makes it a joy to be a part of. The reading material may not suit our mood or our preferences but the people and the friendships that develop between those of similar interests make it very worthwhile.

Thanks to Sue (our newest attendee), Kylie, Gavin, Mandy, Janine, Erin and Joe for making it happen.

For those absent you missed a great evening but you’ve the opportunity to catch up on 1^st November when we meet again at a NEW venue; The Burrow in West End (very close to our usual hangout in fact). Be there at 6.30 (but RSVP first).

Reading for October for the November meeting:

Where I’m Calling From  Raymond Carver

The Secret History  Donna Tartt

Remember you can access the complete reading listby clicking on the menu tabs at the top of the page.

Hazel

Thorsten's Germany photos and link to free Lewis Carroll eBook...

Bookshop from the front

Bookshop from the rear

Library in a 400 year old castle which was at one time home to an Austrian Arch Duke

Through the Looking Glass free eBook Download

Batavia - Peter Fitzsimons

I did NOT enjoy reading this book. Still, it had me up til 2am like a slave one night trying to find out how, when and where Jeronimus get’s his come-uppance! And he does.

Well, what a sorry saga! Even allowing for the brutality that was so commonplace in the 17^th Century, and for the tendency events have for expanding in the imagination as they age, the evil described was difficult to grasp. I found myself visualising a trip to those islands and wondering whether there’d be evidence, in some form, of the bloodshed and depravity - surely you can’t wipe away such evil in the space of a few hundred years? I mused. Joe tells me, during his career with the Navy he visited the area.

Makes me shiver.

Yet the narrative was disappointing for me, its style inconsistent and jerky. When I was absorbed I found myself suddenly thrown with unsettling regularity by some inappropriate irony or sarcasm from the author. The bloodshed was certainly gruesome, but in the end repetitive. To document each and every murder (and there were many) seemed not only unnecessary but almost indulgent! So I skipped ahead, wanting to discover how J and the others get caught and are punished, although there was little satisfaction in that when it did finally happen I’m relieved for the sake of my own humanity, to say.

Yet the events of the story are ‘true’ (if there is such a thing) and very real for me and I was certainly confronted by the darker side of the human condition. But the author Peter Fitzsimons is caught, in my view, in the narrow vacuum between report and story and wavers there, brushing against the edges of each and robbing the story of its potential to flow. Still, I don’t regret reading it, for its insight into how life was and how fragile is a society whose fabric is made of fear, desperation and greed.

I read something recently in a New Age journal about a ‘consciousness’ emerging in humanity which emanates from the ‘higher self’, and I began to feel that, yes, despite relentless war, starvation and tragedy, we have evolved, because beside it I see plenty of examples of compassion, generosity and pure love.

But maybe that’s just the naivety of someone insulated from reality by the limited bounds of daily life?

Anyone?

Hazel

What Makes a Successful Book Club Meet-up?

Well, I'm not sure about the full answer to that, but I do know it doesn't require hoards of people, cos I had a spiffing time last night with Naomi, Deborah and Joe.

The Life of Pi gained the tick of approval, and made me wish I'd been able to get hold of the book in time to read it (to my shame I was the only one who hadn't!). My punishment was of course an inability to understand what the hell they were talking about, since the allegorical message of the story is somewhat buried, it seems.

I was left instead with 'My Sister Sif', which the others had read too, I might add. A great read for teenage girls I'm sure, but sadly I'm rather past that stage of life. I'll definitely pass it on to my 14 year-old though.

Discussion was not limited to the books of the month either - Naomi made several suggesions for future reading that got our reading-buds tingling:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lax - an non-fiction about a woman who, unknown to her, donated cells to science resulting in the heLa cells (correct me if I'm wrong Naomi) that have formed the basis for the mapping of DNA and other bewilderingly complex scientific stuff. We've all benefited apparently, but her family went without. And then her relative (niece I think?) wrote the book. Footnote: she was a black American.

Delta of Venus - of the erotica genre, written on the 1940's by Anais Nin. I'll admit to having steered us in this direction by mentioning DH Lawrence because I'm reading Sons and Lovers. Neither of these writers are guilty or writing anything close to pornography. Quote 'Nin puts such great detail into the psychology behind sexuality, such as jealousy and pride, it paints a picture of human's sexual nature. Her feminine sensibilities allow her to explore risque sex in a way that feels almost clean enough to discuss over dinner...'. you can download the eBook for free. I have.

Read more at http://ebookee.org/Delta-of-Venus-by-Anais-Nin_1760404.html#51WGtfZtQsIqb2H1.99

We also discussed past reading as well as the current reading list which David helped me formulate, and which you can find here.

So I'm off to the library site to get my books (i plan to be a well-behaved organiser this month). Hope to catch up with you all next month - Thurday 3rd May, 6.30, Three Monkey's.

Hazel

Something Weird, and Bad...

Something weird (and bad) has been happening recently - somehow my time doesn't appear to behave the way it usually does (I pray this is temporary). I feel as if I'm rushing about trying to stop up the holes of a sieve as my time pours away. Anyone recognise this feeling?

That's how I missed the last meeting - a clash of things that I needed to do.

Still, I'd like to share my thoughts on the books for the month:
The Man Who Loved Children - I could not read this! I hated that mother and cringed at every cruel remark and evil deed against her children. She really touched a nerve for me. Consequently I only got through about 30 pages.
I Capture the Castle - Sorry, but I have to give a double negative this month - I really had no idea where this story was heading and so just could not sustain it.
At least this month's reading looks  more promising!

I think David was right we need take a look at our reading list and discuss some changes at the next meeting. I've already got some ideas I'd like to put forward and I think we should compile a re-vitalised list. Anyone got any thoughts on that? David?

Want to know what I, (like a good, dis-obedient Book Club Organiser) read this month?
Anna Karenina.
And I'm still reading it. It's long, but so what? I've an idea where it's going, and I want to go with it.
Anyone else read it and got any comments to make? (don't tell me the ending please).

Ok, so get your name down for next month and let's make it a cracking, fun and informative evening for all. See you there!

Hazel

February Meet Up

Richard Dawkins and his non-fiction book 'The God Delusion' so grabbed our attention on Thursday evening, that our second read, The Men Who Stare at Goats, barely got a look in (ironically).

Proof in itself of the power of religion. In fact it was clear to me that my attempt at an analysis of the text, in written form no less, was superfluous to requirements and probably inadequate (and I'm not complaining here). So, my attempt at introducing more structure to our meetings was a flop! Hey ho, that's the way it goes.

But we had a great evening, with three new members - Mark, Glenys and Katalin making a substantial contribution alongside Joe, David and Janine (Janine's appearance was a lovely surprise since we thought she was in the NT!). What a pooling of knowledge and insight there was.

David, who, relative to me at least, is a walking encyclopaedia, had me fascinated whilst he patiently explained the details of History, Biology, and Geography that gave background to the book. Details I missed when I was apparently too busy daydreaming in the classroom 35 years ago.

It seems that we're a relatively small informal group, who enjoy the unpredictable flow of conversation that emerges in the cosy environment of The Three Monkey's and that this is what sets us apart from other book clubs. I like it that way. I just hope that our members do too. Am I right, or am I wrong?

Anyway, this month, for our meeting on 1st March the reading is:

The Man Who Loved Children - Christina Stead

I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith

Sorry David - I know you're not impressed. David recommended the following (click the links):

The Existential Jesus
Reflections of Consciousness in The Bicameral Mind!

and, not a book but interesting:
Hammurabi

I found both of these were available at the library.

November meeting

Erin, Ben, Joe, Lynn (a new member), Elaine, Hazel F, Julie and myself met at the 3 Monkeys last night, and, amid the lasagne, muffins, salad and coffee, discussed the merits and responses to The Handmaid's Tale, which were variously, disturbing, thought-provoking, enjoyable and unenjoyable.

Joe read the wrong book - Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen, which he was glad of, because he adored it (Joe - it was, in fact, a recommendation by Sue from last month. I think he would like to thank you Sue.) It so grabbed him that he turned into a hermit and ate into it's not insubstantial body with gusto - apparently. The suggestion was made that it could be a good read for the summer break.

I managed to bring the conversation around to A Prayer for Owen Meany, last month's read.

Room was our 2nd book for the month. With some interesting insight from Ben and Hazel Funch, we were led into a discussion about what 'reality' is and how that differs depending on life experience and perspective.

Erin, as always, was well-informed and spoke eloquently about all the books and re-told a short story from DH Lawrence, one of our authors for next month. I was particularly impressed by Erin and Ben's attendance since they also had a birthday party to go to. Thank you Erin and Ben for your valuable input.

Now for next month we have:

So Much for That, Lionel Shriver
Lady Chatterley's Lover, DH Lawrence

current reading

Current reading for the 4th April 2012 meeting:

The Life of Pi   Yann Martel
My Sister Sif  Ruth Park 

Future Reading

May

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet  David Mitchell
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close  Jonathan Safran Foer

June

We Need To Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver
Our Sunshine  Robert Drewe

July

The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Batavia  Peter FitzSimons

August
Cider with Rosie  Laurie Lee
Get Shorty  Leonard Elmore

September
Through the Looking Glass  Lewis Carroll
Dubliners  James Joyce

October
Girl Interrupted  Susanna Kaysen
Cloud Atlas  David Mitchell

November
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man  James Joyce
Where I’m Calling From  Raymond Carver

December

The Catcher in the Rye  JD Salinger
Catch 22  Joseph Heller

Reserve reading list, for later...
A Thousand Splendid Suns  Khaled Hosseini
The Secret History  Donna Tartt
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A Town Like Alice  Nevil Shute
Far from the Madding Crowd  Thomas Hardy
Freedom Jonathan Franzen

First Birthday!

Thanks to everyone for last night; David, Erin, Sue, Mary, Pomi, Julie, Elaine and new member Rhonda.
Lively it was, just as a first birthday should be, and looking forward to many more perhaps? I hope so.