General Chat

Please as usual suggest two books to be read in January and February. vote to be held all being well on wednesday 13th January PM.

Alfie's suggestion


The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse
(from the Waterstones website)

The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. He stumbles through woods, emerging in a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa, a beautiful woman also mourning a lost generation. Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories. By the time dawn breaks, he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries. By turns thrilling, poignant and haunting, this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage.

From Alfie

Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy
Cathy Scarlet and Tom feather have decided to create the best catering company in Dublin. They have found the perfect premises, they’ve got heaps of talent, and they even have a few contacts. But not everyone seems as pleased by the idea of Scarlet feather as they are.
Tom’s parents are disappointed that he has turned his back on the family building business. Cathy’s Mother in law Hannah already disapproving of her son’s choice of wife, thinks that Scarlet Feather is just a hobby and that Cathy should stay at home to look after her husband. Neil himself, a high flying civil rights lawyer, becomes ever more distant, burying himself in his work. And Tom’s relationship with his beautiful, ambitious girlfriend Marcella becomes fraught as she struggles to realise her dream of becoming a model.
As Cathy and Tom strive to maintain their emotional ties amidst catering triumphs and disasters, they are supported - and undermined - by an enchanting cast of classic Binchy characters; the comically dreadful but endearing twins, Simon and Maud; Cathy’s homely parents, Muttie and Lizzie; glamorous rich aunt Geraldine; and accountant James Byrne, who harbours a lonely secret.

A magical tale of love, heartbreak and laughter set in the warm Irish atmosphere.


The Heart of The dales by Gervase Phinn
Awkward teachers, pompous school governors and fearsome lollypop ladies might make Gervase Phinn’s job as a Yorkshire school inspector difficult – but as always, the frankly spoken children prove his real challenge.
However the new school year doesn’t get off to the best start when a teacher suggests that Gervase has let him and his school down. Called up in front of his new boss, the formidable Miss de la Mare, Gervase fears he’s in hot water. To add to his woes, he is given a ‘little job’, which means liaising with the infuriating Mrs Savage – the bane of the inspectors’ lives.
Meanwhile, away from schools, Gervase’s family life is blissful – until some noises in the attic start to disturb his nights…….

I put it up early and still no takers.

Will put my choices up this afternoon

xx Jill

Suggestions for Jan/Feb

To The Hilt by Dick Francis

Alexander Kinloch, artist, ,is content with the pattern of his life. His home is a bothy on a remote fellside in Scotland; he paints on commission; he lives alone and likes it.
However, his peace is violently shattered when he returns home to find a bunch of thugs waiting for him. After a scuffle he is left for dead with only the wind and the words ‘Where is it?’ ringing in his ears. The days that follow contain more risks to life and limb than he could ever have imagined.

Daphne by Justine Picardie

It is 1957. As Daphne du Maurier wanders alone through her remote mansion on the Cornish coast, she is haunted by thoughts of her failing marriage and the legendary heroine of her most famous novel, Rebecca, who now seems close at hand. Seeking distraction she becomes fascinated by Bramwell, the reprobate brother of the Bronte sisters.
Meanwhile in present day London, a lonely young woman struggles with her thesis on du Maurier and the Brontes and finds herself retreating from her distant husband into a fifty-year-old literary mystery…..

Not able to get out as yet, still snowed in, so have had to dip into my reserve and suggest the following for January/February:-

Second Chances by Martina Reilly.

Lizzie Walsh has moved to Dublin to start again~
she has a great job as a fundraiser, a boy friend she is crazy about and friends she loves. Un til leav ing work late one evening she bumps into the one person she just can't forget.
Ten years ago Lizzie's teenage sister's body was found washed up on a beach. A local boyyy, Joe, was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder, despite always protesting his innocence. Now Joe is back, released from prison for good behaviour. But Lizzie cannot stop thinking about the pain he's caused her family - it doesn't seem fair that he should be able to carry on as if nothing has happened. Then, as Lizzie slowly inveigles her way into his life,she begins to realise that all is not what it seems.....

My second book is:-

At Risk by Patricia Cornwell.

A Massachusetts state investigator is called home from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney, an attrative but hard -charging worman is intending to run for govenor, and as a showcase she's planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk, it's motto "Any crime, any time", In particular, she's been looking for a way to employ some cutting -edge DNA technology, and she thinks she's found it in a twenty year old murder- in Tennessee. If her office solves the case, it ought to make them all look pretty good, right?
Her investigator is not so sure- not sure about anything to do with this woman, really- but before he can open his mouth, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes up not only both their lives but the lives of everyone around them .It is not a random event.. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very, very bad indeed, and they are about to get much worse.

Hello Ann in glos

Wondered can anyone join in? Is it a readers interest and discussion group? I would be keen if that were the case. I can see that members have already made good suggestions.

Hello Old Bean, yes anyone can join, What we do is:

Today/tomorrow we each suggest 2 books we would like to read. When all have suggested, usually with me chivvying them on, we vote for the two books we want (Not voting for our own books). We then have six weeks to read the books and we then review them. I have tried the discussion bit but that rarely happens, however it is a way of reading books we would not normally choose and it is interestin to see the differing opinions of books.

If you want to join in please find two books to suggest and gice us a brief synopsis (from the cover if you want), preferable books you ahve not read yourself.

Ann

Glossy Ann,

I'll be back later. (I promise)

Thank you Ann, I shall look forward to that, although I shall not have time now to suggest two books. I usually peruse local book stores and make a mental note but need to be a little more proactive and write them down for next time! However, will join in and read those that have been voted for, will be fun.

The Thirty-Nine Steps - John Buchan

From Amazon: Adventurer Richard Hannay has just returned from South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his London life; until a murder is committed in his flat, just days after the victim had warned him of an assassination plot that could bring Britain to the brink of war. An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the killers, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland, where he must use all his wits to stay one step ahead of the game; and warn the government before it is too late. One of the most popular adventure stories ever written, The Thirty-Nine Steps established John Buchan as the original thriller writer and inspired many other novelists and filmmakers including Alfred Hitchcock.

P S I Love You - Cecelia Ahern

From Amazon: Holly and Gerry had the perfect life. Happily married, living in Dublin close to their friends and family, and with a brilliant social life, they had the world at their feet. Or so they thought. When Gerry dies, Holly is devastated. On the eve of her 30th birthday, the man who was her lover, her best friend, her rock, has left her. But Gerry promised he'd always be there for Holly. And he is: his last bequest to her is The List, a bundle of notes which form a monthly mission for Holly to get her life back on track. As the notes are gradually opened, and as the year unfolds, Holly is both cheered up and challenged. The man who knows Holly better than anyone sets out to teach her that life goes on. With some help from her friends, and her noisy and loving family, Holly finds herself laughing, crying, singing, dancing - and being braver than ever before. Life is for living, she realises - but it always helps if there's an angel watching over you. Charming, heartfelt and funny, this debut novel celebrates life, love and friendship and proves that true love never dies.

Travels with my aunt by Graham Greene
Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, meets his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta for the first time in over fifty years at his mother's funeral. Soon after, she persuades Henry to abandon Southwood, his dahlias and the Major next door to travel her way, through Brighton, Paris, Istanbul, Paraguay...Accompanying his aunt, Henry joins a shiftless, twilight society: mixing with hippies, war criminals, CIA men; smoking pot, breaking all the currency regulations and eventually coming alive after a dull suburban lifetime.

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

A new edition of one of the bestselling and best-loved books of recent years, with a new introduction by the author. The publication of 'Wild Swans' in 1991 was a worldwide phenomenon. Not only did it become the bestselling non-fiction book in British publishing history, with sales of well over two million, it was received with unanimous critical acclaim, and was named the winner of the 1992 NCR Book Award and the 1993 British Book of the Year Award. Few books have ever had such an impact on their readers. Through the story of three generations of women -- grandmother, mother and daughter -- 'Wild Swans' tells nothing less than the whole tumultuous history of China's tragic 20th-century, from sword-bearing warlords to Chairman Mao, from the Manchu Empire to the Cultural Revolution. At times terrifying, at times astonishing, always deeply moving, 'Wild Swans' is a book in a million, a true story with all the passion and grandeur of a great novel. For this new edition, Jung Chang has written a new introduction, bringing her own story up to date, and describing the effect the success of 'Wild Swans' has had on her life.
x jill

My suggestions are:-


Tree of Angels by Penny Sumner

A house carved fine as a jewellery box, a painted garden, an angel in a palm tree. These are some of the marvels where Nina grows up, surrounded by her beautiful mother, her eccentric father and her elder sister. But a tragedy causes Nina to leave her homeland behind and when she arrives in England on the brink of the First World War she must adjust to a society very different to her own.

Over the next eighty years, the family scatters across the globe in the wake of the Russian revolution and two world wars. It is only when Nina's granddaughter begins a search for her roots that her family's tragic history can be pieced together.....

My second suggestion is ;-

Mr Timothy by Louis Bayard

'Not so little any more, that's a fact"
So begins Louis Bayard's enthralling tale of mischief and murder.

The Tiny Tim of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" has now grown up. Having cast aside his crutches, he spends his nights dredging the Thames for dead bodies and the treasures in their pockets.
Then he meets Philomela, a girl who clearly needs his protection. And Tim suddenly finds himself embroiled in a disturbbing mystery.

Through teeming markets, shadowy passages and thick brown fog, this brilliant story dazzles at every turn

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A good morning nudge
x Jill