There was so much to talk about this month! Chat covered both books read and books newly discovered, leading to truly fascinating and stimulating conversation between our eager readers.
Yeovil Waterstones Month of Crime!
Liz mentioned that Yeovil Waterstones had hosted three brilliant authors that week and that she had also met a new local author.
The first author (interviewed by our favourite, Chris Ewan) was Mark Billingham. Mark has an avid following, but Liz confessed that she had never read any of his books. She has been persuaded to now, especially this new series, which started with ‘The Last Dance‘ and continues with the newly published ‘The Wrong Hands‘. The detective character, Declan Miller, is brilliant, and a clever, quick-witted person would be needed to portray him on screen.
Chris Ewan has launched his latest novel, ‘One Wrong Turn‘. Now we can all confess to having taken a wrong turn at some time in our lives, but not with these consequences! Chris writes under the name C.M. Ewans and also runs the Criminal Minds Book Group in Waterstones. Visit Chris’ website for more information about his wonderful work.
Then we met again A.J. West. He had been at the Yeovil Literary Festival last year and Liz was delighted to be able to interview him on his latest historical novel, ‘The Betrayal of Thomas True‘. This is an amazing book to look at on a bookshelf but once the covers are opened its like reading an ‘old, historical’ novel with narrow margins and charcoal illustrations. Revealing the molly houses of London with wonderful characters plus what feels like total immersion into the early 1700s London, leads to a fascinating read. Find out more on the author’s website.
Then a new local author, Rebecca Thorne, introduced herself and Liz is now reading her thriller, ‘The Grief House’. Her book is hardback at the moment but comes out in paperback on 18th July. This is recommended for our summer reading.
This Month’s Book: ‘The Escape Artist’ by Jonathan Freedland
Sandra recommended this read and she loved it. The escape was dangerous and ingenious. Why the top people in government failed to see the urgency of his revelations is questionable. He did though save the lives of about 200,000 Jews. It could have been more if they had listened to him.
This book generated a brisk discussion about anger at being told the truth and deciding not to listen. Faye was really impressed with the whole book.
We feel it’s important to remember the horror of Auschwitz, especially so close to the 80th anniversary of its liberation by the Allies in January 1945.
Other Books Read and Recommended
Carol has been busy reading ‘The Cloisters‘ by Katy Hays but said it did not deliver a satisfactory ending for her. She also decided not to continue reading ‘Middlemarch’ as her classic for this year, so read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen once again. Everyone agreed that it was the perfect classic to read.
Carol’s third book was ‘The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet‘ by David Mitchell. There were many characters with exotic names and it was set in Nagasaki, Japan.
Sandra also read and enjoyed ‘The Cloisters’ by Katy Hays. She also read ‘Someone Else’s Shoes‘ by Jojo Moyes, which she found to be an excellent read.
Sandra had read and reviewed ‘The Book of Fire‘, written by Christi Lefteri and set in Greece. She recommended this read with its message of the damage caused by Climate Chance. Another book she enjoyed was ‘Take my Hand’ by Dolan Perkins-Valdez. Set in 1973 Alabama with controversial contraception discovered by a caring nurse revealed. An excellent read.
Mark enjoyed the Felice Hardy book about her relative escaping Nazi Germany to eventually play doubles at Wimbledon with her daughter. The one and only time this has happened. ‘The Tennis Champion Who Escaped the Nazis‘ is recommended reading.
He also read ‘The Last passenger‘ by Will Dean. The novel is full of twists and turns and is a brilliant thriller.
Mark also read ‘Educated‘ by Tara Weston – his Secret Santa last year – and he loved it. It’s a true story and an absolute page turner. Liz has borrowed this one on Mark’s recommendation. Theresa thoroughly recommended this as it was based on true life.
Faye was pleased she enjoyed ‘The Escape Artist‘. Eddie told us about BookBub, saying it is worth ‘googling’ as there are opportunities to get access to free books. Eddie also recommended ‘Red War‘ by Kyle Mills which shows an FBI agent versus the Russian President. Could be an interesting read.
Liz read an enjoyed ‘The Betrayal of Thomas True’ by A.J. West and Carol could say that it reached the Sunday Observer top list. It deserves it.
Next Month and Next Meeting
We always leave August for our own choice of reading, but ‘The Grief House’ by Rebecca Thorne may be enjoyed.
Enjoy your summer reading and we next meet on Tuesday 10th September 2024 in the Lounge at Westlands Entertainment Venue from 12 noon until 2pm. We look forward to seeing any new readers.