Book Club Reading List

Book Group Review

Book Groups has continued to meet monthly, although we have moved to Riverside Cafe. Books are provided by the library and members choose titles or authors. Membership is capped at 12 and although we are currently full, if interested let me know.

 In the last few months, we have read an autobiography by Gyles Brandith, A fantasy by Zen Cho a historical book by Steph Perry, a mental health fiction book by Matt Haig and our latest read a historical novel set in the aftermath of WW1.

What did we think?

Gyles Brandreth’ s book “Odd Boy Out” scored 5.8. Most of us like him and therefore felt we would really like his own story. Overview was that he is incredible odd, enjoys cross dressing but can definitely write. Personally, I felt that the book was just an opportunity for him to indulge himself in how amazing he is and name drop.

Our attempt with Fantasy what a disaster - “The True Queen” by Zen Cho turned out to be the second book of a series. It seemed to be set in Regency London but none of us were certain if it was a parallel universe. It had malevolent fairies, dragons, witches, and humans. How much did it score 2?

We usually enjoy historical drama but again Steph Perry’s book The Essex Serpent wasn’t that popular. It is set in 1890’s London and Essex. Martha Becomes widowed and left to care for her “odd” son. She stays in a village in Essex where she meets a vicar and explores the villagers’ fears of a serpent who is believed to be terrorising the area. It has actually been made into a TV drama which I don’t think any of us will bother to watch. Score 4

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This book is about a young woman Nora Seed who feels her life is monotonous, that she is unloved and unaccomplished. In desperation she attempts suicide and finds herself in the midnight library, the library is between life and death with millions of books filled with stories of the life she would have had if she made different decisions. Certainly showed how life isn’t always greener for others and how showing kindness to others helps you as well.  Very mixed review for this book, scoring between 3 & 8 so average Score 6

Our latest book- The photographer of the Lost by Caroline Scott, is set in WW1 and a few years later. The main character joined the army with his 2 brothers and is the only survivor of the trio. It has an element that is a love story and an element that shows the impact of war on those involved and their families. Scored 8.5