Happy New Year!
We welcomed a longstanding member of our book group a local writer from Exmoor, Chip Tolson’s newly published book, ‘The Register of Joe’s Trees‘. We have chosen to read this (Amazon £8.99) and chat about it in February. It’s highly recommended.
Secret Santa’s Surprises!
In line with tradition, it was time to reveal what our Secret Santa parcels delivered at our January catch up.
Liz received ‘They Thought I Was Dead‘ by Peter James. An excellent and revealing read.
Alan unwrapped ‘Playground‘ by Richard Powers.
Jenn received ‘The Lazarus Project‘ by Aleksandar Hemon – a translation – and very interesting read.
Sharon opened ‘The Silence Factory‘ by Bridget Collins and is yet to read it.
Faye listened to Jojo Moyes on Radio 4 saying a favourite book is ‘The Truth about Melody Browne‘ by Lisa Jewell.
Carol missed the Secret Santa exchange but read three books; ‘The Bone Clocks‘ by David Mitchell; ‘The Lyme Regis Ladies Swimming Club‘ and Pat Barker’s ‘The Voyage Home‘.
Liz enjoyed Chip’s book, ‘The Register of Joe’s Trees‘, and also local writer Sophie Irwin’s latest Regency novel ‘How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days‘, which was also brilliant!
Bob read a selection, starting with LJ Ross (yes, several in our group are avid readers of her novels) and his Secret Santa ‘The Co-op’s got Bananas‘ and ‘The Edge of the Orchard‘ by Tracy Chevalier.
Chip read ‘Raising Hare‘ by Chloe Dalton – a remarkable read – and ‘The Land of Winter‘ by Andrew Miller.
Alan read several books, some already mentioned but added ‘Eurotrash‘ by Christian Kracht and also ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold‘ by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Then added ‘Piranesi‘ by Susannah Clark and ‘The Colour Purple‘ by Alice Walker. These are classic reads.
Jenn enjoyed ‘The Escape Artist‘ by Jonathan Freedland; also, she is reading C. M. Ewan’s ‘Strangers in the Car‘.
Siobhan read and enjoyed ‘Things Don’t Break on Their Own‘ by Sarah Easter Collins.
Ruth has recently read books by William Maxwell; ‘Where my Heart Used to Beat‘ by Sebastian Faulks; ‘Mayflies‘ by Andrew O’Hagan and ‘Flesh‘ by David Szalay, which she described as compelling reading and it was also winner of The Booker Prize 2025. Her final read was ‘The Wager‘ by David Grann.
Sharon is hooked on the LJ Ross books – as are several other of our readers. She also read ‘The Land in Winter‘ and ‘Here One Moment‘ by Liane Moriaty.
Eddie is now reading a second Anne Applebaum book, ‘Autocracy Inc‘.
Theresa has read ‘New York‘ by Edward Rutherford. Also, the fascinating history of the St Kildans referenced by the Finlay J. McDonald’s Omnibus – now out of print.
Next Month’s Reads
What an interesting and varied number of good reads. Our readers like to read the chosen books of the month but also there are so many other books to read, covering a cornucopia of subjects. Open a book and who knows where it will take you!
Our books to read for February
- ‘The Register of Joe’s Trees‘ by Chip Tolson (available through Amazon)
- ‘The Truth About Melody Browne‘ by Lisa Jewell.
Join our Next Meeting
Our Next Meeting will be held in the Lounge of the Westlands Entertainment on Tuesday 10th February from 12 noon until 2pm.
You will be very welcome!