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Re: Book Club

Postby KeenCook2 » Fri Sep 17, 2021 5:01 pm

Just finished The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad for our book group - I found it absolutely fascinating, also sad, and of course, incredibly relevant at the moment. We won't be discussing it for a few weeks but I've got the impression from various emails in passing that we're all enjoying it.

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Re: Book Club

Postby OneMoreCheekyOne » Thu Oct 07, 2021 3:25 pm

I finally got round to reading Shuggie Bain recently. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would based on the face my sister pulled when she lent it to me. Moving straight on to another messed up family drama i've just started reading End Game by Malorie Blackman, the conclusion to the Noughts and Crosses series. I've loved these books since school so i'm quite excited for this final book.

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Re: Book Club

Postby liketocook » Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:02 pm

OneMoreCheekyOne wrote:I finally got round to reading Shuggie Bain recently. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would based on the face my sister pulled when she lent it to me. Moving straight on to another messed up family drama i've just started reading End Game by Malorie Blackman, the conclusion to the Noughts and Crosses series. I've loved these books since school so i'm quite excited for this final book.

I thought Shuggie Bain was one of the best books I've read in years. This area is full of ex-mining villages and the poverty that goes with it so it really struck a cord. I thought it was beautifully written and I think I ran through every emotion reading it, horribly sad in places but full of humour in others.

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Re: Book Club

Postby OneMoreCheekyOne » Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:42 pm

Ltc it was so well written! I googled the story afterwards to read more about the author and his relationship with his mum. My sister is an English teacher (and an avid reader) and found it extremely depressing but I thought it was so much more than that. I found myself sneaking in chapters whilst I should have been listening in to Teams work meetings.

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Re: Book Club

Postby liketocook » Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:25 am

I'd have said heart breaking rather than depressing, it's a hard read in places. Fabulous debut novel, Douglas Stuart has a lot to live up to with his second due next year.

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Re: Book Club

Postby herbidacious » Sat Oct 09, 2021 10:42 am

I am reading Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. Booker shortlisted.
It's ok but it's not gripping me. Well written, but not in a 'sentences stand out' kind of way. Not sure what criteria they have for Booker prize candidates.

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Re: Book Club

Postby Pepper Pig » Mon Oct 11, 2021 10:55 am


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Re: Book Club

Postby liketocook » Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:41 am

Snap PP I was just thinking the same! :)

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Re: Book Club

Postby OneMoreCheekyOne » Wed Oct 13, 2021 1:01 pm

I have that book on order :)

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Re: Book Club

Postby OneMoreCheekyOne » Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:07 pm

I've just read The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. I absolutely loved it...beautiful story and characters. I'm going to go back and read some of her other work, incl the one shortlisted for the booker prize last year.

I've also, happily, received my copy of Nigel Slaters new book through the post, having read so many complimentary reviews from Nigella, India Knight and Diana Henry etc recently. I haven't actually cooked anything from it yet but as with all of his books, its been great to curl up with and start reading it like a novel. I've earmarked quite a few things I want to make based on what i've read so far.

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Re: Book Club

Postby halfateabag » Sat Oct 23, 2021 8:14 am

I adore reading food books but they make me so hungry ! PP that guy was the one that made the monster Italian pie I posted about recently.

I bought Elif's book for Husband he loved it.

I have nearly finished The beauty salon of Kabul and yes, quite relevant at the moment. I don't tend to read books at home, only on holiday.

I bought Troy by Stephen Fry for Hub. he seems to be enjoying it. Very Greece oriented - which was the plan.
I bought some others but they are downstairs and I can't remember what they are..... :oops:

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Re: Book Club

Postby Wic » Tue Oct 26, 2021 3:45 pm

I’m in the middle of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It’s an interesting concept, but rather bitty and samey - in not sure I’ll stay the course, even though it’s a quick read. If it doesn’t grab me in the next couple of chapters I shall skip to the end.

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Re: Book Club

Postby OneMoreCheekyOne » Tue Oct 26, 2021 10:42 pm

I enjoyed the Midnight Library but I’m not convinced it lived up to the hype. I think I preferred his book How to stop time from a few years back.

I’m reading some Jasper FForde with my eldest. It’s been a while since I’ve read anything of his so I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find he has written books for children/YA.

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Re: Book Club

Postby Pepper Pig » Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:41 pm

I’m reading it too. Started well enough but I’ve got bored.

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Re: Book Club

Postby herbidacious » Wed Oct 27, 2021 11:58 pm

I don't think Matt Haig is a great writer, at all. Rather overrated, for some reason. He is ok as long as he doesn't try to do 'literary' i.e. describe things... :? He has good ideas though. I saw him do a 5x15 promoting his book on his former depression. It put me right off him, rather than making me like him more as I thought it might, as a fellow sufferer.

I really like Jasper Fforde.

I have up on Great Circle. Didn't like it. Pity I bought the hardback.

I am currently reading The Betrayals by Bridget Collins. I have somewhat guiltily been reading a lot of Tom Holt. Back to back.

I have bought a copy of Helen Macdonald's Vesper Flights for holiday reading/possible inspo. I also picked up Rose Tremain's latest (Islands of Mercy) but not sure about it... I do hate starting things and not finishing them. But I also hate not liking what I am not reading and ending up not reading at all. It's years since I read anything by Rose Tremain.

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Re: Book Club

Postby Wic » Thu Oct 28, 2021 9:42 am

Well, I’m glad it wasn’t just me. I did get to the end of The Midnight Library, skipping bits here and there, but it was underwhelming. The original idea for the story was good, it just didn’t quite live up to the hype for me.

My latest guilty pleasure is Jayne Anne Krentz. The library seems to have acquired a lot of hers. I picked one up in desperation and found it was fun. Though, having read a few, I now think that she writes away and then thinks, 'Oh. Page 105, I’d better put in the sex scene'.

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Re: Book Club

Postby Wic » Thu Oct 28, 2021 10:27 am

Well, I’m glad it wasn’t just me. I did get to the end of The Midnight Library, skipping bits here and there, but it was underwhelming. The original idea for the story was good, it just didn’t quite live up to the hype for me.

My latest guilty pleasure is Jayne Anne Krentz. The library seems to have acquired a lot of hers. I picked one up in desperation and found it was fun. Though, having read a few, I now think that she writes away and then thinks, 'Oh. Page 105, I’d better put in the sex scene'.

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Re: Book Club

Postby Wic » Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:32 pm

Sorry about the double post. My iPad is living a life of it’s own at the moment.

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Re: Book Club

Postby WolfGirl » Sun Oct 31, 2021 3:18 pm

Was thinking of getting The Midnight Library but maybe I won’t bother now.
I’ve just finished The Chalk Man, found it a bit disturbing!

I usually only read on holiday, or maybe in the garden in summer, so I haven’t done much for a while but I’m making a concerted effort to get back into it.

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Re: Book Club

Postby Wic » Sat Nov 06, 2021 7:48 pm

I’ve just finished A Cook‘s Book by Nigel Slater. I like his recipes, but find him difficult to watch on TV. His prose sounds just like him, you can almost hear his voice, but I’d have liked it better if he’d cut down on the adjectives. He never uses one where two or more could go, in the end it felt like a rather rich dessert! You can’t deal with a lot of it at once.

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