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I haven't had much time to write this week as I've been busy reading. In what seemed like a good plan at the time, I thought it would be a nice idea to have a joint meeting between the two English speaking reading groups on the peninsula and rather than read one book, choose a selection of extracts about Bodrum. So I've been grazing my book shelves and raking through the internet picking out snippets that ranged from the first millennium BC to 2011 AD and bombarding the inboxes of fellow readers on an almost daily basis. It turned out to be a good plan despite the amount of time it ate up. Memoirs always make interesting reading but when the authors are walking the same paths we tread today, the words are all the more vibrant and exciting. So many things change that we forget that others stay the same. The overwhelming impression that flows through the chapters set from the 1960s to the present day is the sense of welcome a stranger feels when settling in Bodrum. This hasn't changed, a fact attested to by one of our members who has recently moved here.
As well as good readers, we are all pretty good cooks too, the plate above is just a starter, we had chicken and tomato curry and pilav plus chocolate truffle tart, quince dessert and pear frangipane pie to finish. Everyone left with a sense that we should repeat the performance sooner rather than later. I hadn't anticipated quite how much has been written about Bodrum and with a few more weeks of intensive reading, I'm sure we can find another angle to discuss which will be a welcome excuse to meet up again.
. . can't say the same for Okçular, and there aren't enough readers to form a triangle let alone a reading circle!
ReplyDeleteIt gets us out of the house!
DeleteB to B, My, my. You are quite a trooper to work so hard to do the search for the various multifarious writings about Bodrum. But it seems as though this reading project could also ruin one's figure! I know mine would go right down the tubes - I mean chocolate truffle tart and pear frangipane! oof! Sounds like a lot of fun. Afiyet olsun.
ReplyDeleteI cycled to and from the event so felt able to indulge.
DeleteYou've hit the nail on the proverbial there, Annie. We certainly felt welcomed by most people we stumbled over into during our time in Bodrum. It's the kind of place where those who chart a different course have always been made to feel welcome. Long may it continue. And I see my inconsequential contribution to the Bodrum literary scene is up there in good company. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI realised I didn't have a hard copy of Perking the Pansies. I will remedy that.
DeleteI want to be a part of your reading group!! I love all these and want to move in now : ) Lots of good read on Bodrum I can see here, I'll look out for them. And what feast, indeed afiyet olsun : ) Selamlar, Ozlem
ReplyDeleteHope to welcome you as a guest reader soon.
DeleteYummy , thnx :)
ReplyDeleteGood writing, good food and good talk - a perfect combination.
ReplyDelete