{"id":69329,"date":"2020-06-21T04:55:27","date_gmt":"2020-06-20T18:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/?p=69329"},"modified":"2020-06-15T11:39:03","modified_gmt":"2020-06-15T01:39:03","slug":"eclectic-texts-prompt-tough-discussions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/eclectic-texts-prompt-tough-discussions\/","title":{"rendered":"Eclectic texts prompt Tough discussions"},"content":{"rendered":"

THREE years ago, Andrew Manton was struggling to find a really good book club.<\/p>\n

Discovering the volunteer-run Tough Guys Book Club movement, launched in Collingwood, he gathered some men with similar interests, looking for the same opportunity, and started a Ballarat North chapter at the North Britain Hotel.<\/p>\n

The aim of Tough Guys is to give men a safe space where they can just show up, respectfully connect to others and have meaningful discussions in a non-threatening environment, whether they read the eclectic books or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe motto is \u2018men who read and talk about books,\u2019 and that\u2019s as formal as it is,\u201d Mr Manton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe read all genres, and some are light-hearted, but the kind of books that we read can throw up issues, and generate discussions, that guys wouldn\u2019t traditionally have.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are topics the members have unpacked that they would not normally talk about, or necessarily explore, if not prompted in this way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe books can be confronting. We have crossed into topics like depression and domestic violence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Now with 50 members in Ballarat, and 25 active, the book club has two local chapters, inclusive of men of all ages and experiences.<\/p>\n

The first rule of the club is simple in theory; members don\u2019t talk about their work lives. Ballarat South chapter leader, Daniel Fielke said this is to encourage other valuable conversations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knows what anyone else does, so you can\u2019t develop an idea of how someone is going to speak, or what perspective they\u2019ll bring. You\u2019re not pigeonholing anyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For member, Paul Roughead, this establishes some unpredictability when discussing the month\u2019s text.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really don\u2019t know a lot about members\u2019 personal backgrounds and the experiences they\u2019ve had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI joined the club to find my own space away from people I work with, and the people I\u2019ve met have been different because of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been some robust discussion. Some books do tick boxes for people and they\u2019ll have a strong opinion, but their opinion is respected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow member, Fernando Elizondo said he values book club meetings as his outlet where he can take time for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could invite your friends, but this space is for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tough Guys Book Club meetings are on the first Wednesday of each month at 7pm. Visit toughguybookclub.com<\/strong><\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THREE years ago, Andrew Manton was struggling to find a really good book club. Discovering the volunteer-run Tough Guys Book Club movement, launched in Collingwood, he gathered some men with similar interests, looking for the same opportunity, and started a Ballarat North chapter at the North Britain Hotel. The aim of Tough Guys is to […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":69330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-69329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEclectic texts prompt Tough discussions - Golden Plains Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/eclectic-texts-prompt-tough-discussions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eclectic texts prompt Tough discussions - Golden Plains Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THREE years ago, Andrew Manton was struggling to find a really good book club. 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