Goldster Conversations: Book Of The Month with Humphrey

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach is a story about an ordinary seagull who teaches himself to be extraordinary. It is about dreams, potential, passion and understanding the meaning of life. This is a book for anyone who feels they do not fit into the pack and, let’s face it, that feeling has enveloped most of us at some time. Jonathan begins flying with a flock that cares only about food and following fishing boats to pick up scraps. He has an urge to break the mould and practice his flying skills. After all, seagulls are not known for being graceful flyers. For Jonathan speed, agility and beauty of flight make up the purest of joy. But the flock does not like it and Jonathan finds himself exiled. At its core, Jonathan Livingstone Seagull is about how someone who might see themselves as being run-of-the-mill can make themselves exceptional by identifying and following a passion. ‘Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight,’ explained Richard Bach. ‘It is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight.’ Flight is the metaphor that makes this story so uplifting. Join Humphrey Hawksley for this Goldster Conversation Book Club to talk about Jonathan Livingston Seagull and hear, too, how this classic best seller was rejected numerous times and took two years to reach the best-sellers’ list -- 12.00 Friday November 24th 2023.