Our book club

Lello bookshop, Porto, Portugal
This is so stunning, it looks like it belongs in Hogwarts!!

As I know many of you are avid readers like myself,  I thought I'd tell you a bit about our book club & how we choose our books.

We're a group of friends roughly the same age & we all either live in the village or have children at the village school.  It was started up about 4 years ago I think but I've only been going for about 3 years after talking to a mum at nursery one day about reading & she mentioned about coming along to their next BC which was to be held the following evening.

There are about 10 of us who go regularly & other members who come along as & when they can.  We meet once a month at each other's houses, each taking turns & the host house provides the all important snacks, wine & cake!

In January when the meeting was at my house, we decided to change the way we chose our books as a lot of people felt that their choices were never being picked due to the more vociferous members of our group getting theirs chosen all the time.  So we decided that for each month, we would have a genre & we would all bring along a suggestion for that specific genre.  These are anonymous suggestions that are written on a piece of paper & put into a 'hat' & one is pulled at random - this is the book we then read.  By doing it this way, everyone gets an equal chance of having their book chosen & we get to read some brilliant books - books we'd otherwise never have chosen!

This is our genre list for this year & what we've read so far:

January - Pot Luck
  The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

February - Romance
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

March - Fantasy
Kingdom of shadows by Barbara Erskine

April - Pot luck
Room by Emma Donoghue

May - Auto/biography
Do No Harm by Dr Henry Marsh

June - Classic
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

July - Crime/thriller
Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

August - Pot luck
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

September - History/historical fiction
 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

October - Sci-fi
 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

November - Travel
 A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor

December - Pot luck
tbc but is usually a 'lighter' Christmassy read!

I really enjoy my BC nights & have discovered some fabulous reads that I'd never have chosen myself in a million years as I tend to stick to psychological/crime thrillers, so it pushes me waaayyy out of my comfort zone.  And let's face it, it's also a great excuse for a catch-up with my friends!!

Is anyone else in a book club?  What are your favourite books, I'm always looking for new suggestions?!

Book Club January 2015

I haven't posted my Book Club reviews for a few months so I must get back into it!  I'll start with the first one of 2015, The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.  This was chosen by myself & another friend as it was Waterstones' Book of the Year for 2014 & it really piqued my interest!

Set in 17th century Amsterdam, it tells the story of 18 year-old Nella Oortman as she starts her new marriage with the wealthy merchant trader Johannes Brandt.  She arrives at his grand house to be received by his less-than-welcoming sister Marin, as Johannes is away on business.  On his return, he seems very cold towards her but she is appeased when he gives her a magnificent cabinet-sized replica of their home as a wedding gift.  Nella then employs the services of a talented, yet elusive  miniaturist to furnish the house with eerily accurate creations.

As Nella discovers the secrets of the miniaturist's replicas, she begins to understand what fate awaits all who live within the house.  It's very hard to talk about the story without giving away spoilers so I won't go in to too much detail in case anybody wants to read it but I really enjoyed this book.  It engaged me from the start with great characters, especially Marin & it's fair to say that there were a few shockers along the way!

However, there were a couple of bits in the book that annoyed me slightly.  I found the ending rather disappointing as it finished so abruptly, I felt like someone had removed the last chapter of the book as, in my opinion, there was more to tell.  Also, I was expecting this book to centre around The Miniaturist when in actual fact, she is mentioned very little.  This I found really frustrating as I needed to know her story too!!

Having said that, this book is still enchanting & full of suspense & I would highly recommend reading it.

Library overhaul ~ the reveal!!

You might recall my blog post back in November about myself & two other mums from my son's primary school doing up our school library.  Well after months of hard work, completely redecorating & designing the two rooms we were given to use & sifting through & cataloging over 3000 books, we finally had our grand opening a week ago!!

We were really nervous as we wanted the kids to love it but we had nothing to worry about as they all think it's amazing!!  We're really proud of what we achieved with very little money - and a lot of imagination! - so I thought I'd share some before & after photos (taken from roughly the same viewpoint) with you all!

I'm soooo happy with how my Gruffalo wall display turned out.  I said from the start that I wanted to do one as I just adore The Gruffalo book but I then worried that I wouldn't be able to do it as I'm really not an artistic person!  But I don't think I did too badly - and I even managed to get my real branch hanging into the room too although the photo doesn't show the twinkly fairy lights we hung from it!!

Hopefully we've given the kids a really inspiring & comfortable library & music room to use rather than 2 bookshelves in a corridor like they had before!  We now just have to train up the P6 & P7s to be Junior Librarians so they can run the library themselves (with the occasional supervision from us!)

So that's what's been taking up my time for the last 3 months as we've been in the school working pretty much every day since January!!  I feel a bit lost now though & need a new project to do as I've got the decorating & design bug again now.  Actually, there's a blank corridor in the school that's crying out for a huge mural........!

Library overhaul part 1

 

How bad have I been on the old blogging front lately?  I know, terrible but in my defence, I have a great excuse!!

 

About a month ago, myself & 2 other mums from my son's school were asked if we'd help to set up a new library in the school.  We were all really keen to do this as quite frankly, the existing 'library' was pretty shocking ie. a couple of bookcases in a hallway!

 

First of all, we took over what was the music room & special education needs room & realised they both needed blitzing as the décor was extremely bleurgh!  We along with the head teacher, spent a morning visiting some local school libraries to see what they'd done with them & came back bursting with ideas.  After much debating, we decided to keep the walls neutral & then add colour with posters, murals & displays.

 

So work began last week!  After 6 hours of de-stapling & filling the walls in the horrible school-toilet-blue SEN room, the first of many coats of magnolia went on the walls.  We just have to now paint the tiles & cupboard doors in here & we'll have a blank canvas to work from.  This will now become a reading area & the music room.

 

The room which used to be the music room will now become the library & again, the walls have been neutralised & are ready to go!  We've already sifted through a couple of thousand books & binned the old, ripped books & are selling the ones we no longer want/need.  Any left over will go to charity.

 

We've installed the Junior Librarian software on our pc & this'll get set up on our fab new reception desk that my lovely hubby is making for the school!

 

So after the painting is completed this week, we'll begin the huge task of updating the book catalogue & then making a list of the many, many new books we have to buy - this part I'm really looking forward to!

 

We organised a Pamper Night fundraiser which was held last Friday night & we raised over £700 to go towards books & resources for the library, which was fantastic!  So apologies for being MIA for a few weeks, but being at the school day long & then getting home & catching up on housework etc has left me short on time!

 

Here's what we've been doing so far......

 

 

 

 

 

I can't wait to put the final photos of the finished library up......watch this space!!

 

 

 

 

Bad blogger alert!

I've been seriously neglecting my blog for the last couple of weeks, my bad!! In my defence, I've had such a chock-full fortnight starting with a 5 day visit from the in-laws so we were out & about during the days. 

Then a couple of weeks back, myself & 2 other mums from my son's primary school were asked by the new headteacher if we would be up for the challenge of starting a new library for the school.  I have to admit, as a complete & utter bookworm, this really, really pleased me as I believe it's so important for ALL schools to encourage reading & provide a library of sorts, no matter what size.

So over the space of 4 days last week, we sifted through around 3000 old scabby books that the school had in storage & have got rid of three quarters of them.  We've now got to go on a Junior Librarian course to learn how to catalogue & arrange new books & to train up some of the Primary 7s to be Junior Librarians.  We've got a budget to decorate 2 new rooms for the new library & then buy a heap of new books & we've got to do some serious fundraising too!

We went on tours of some local schools to see what they've done with their libraries & have got some amazing ideas what to do now.  So it's going to be a really busy few months ahead of us but I'm so excited & I haven't been so riled up about a project for years!! 

But annoyingly yesterday, my phone completely died a death & guess who hadn't downloaded all my photos & blog drafts??? So I promise I'll get back on it soon but I need to re-take a LOT of blog photos & I'll be spending an awful lot of time at the school every day.........but I WILL get back on form soon!!

Toodles!

 

 

Recent reads #3

 

 

 

 

It's a sure sign that the nights are drawing in when I suddenly up my reading game again - cosy nights in front of the fire in my pjs with a great book & a glass of wine....perfect!  Here's a few of my most recent reads....

 

 

 

 

 

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

 

There's a fabulous teashop I go to nearby that always has books to borrow or take for free & last time I was there, this particular one caught my eye as I'd seen it on the bestseller lists since its release in April 2013. 

 

This is a really, really great book & the best way to describe it without giving the story away too much is that it's a time-travelling murder mystery set in Depression-era Chicago.  If follows the story of serial killer Harper Curtis who has to kill the Shining Girls, 'bright young women who burn with potential'.  It's so clever & it gripped my attention right from the off, I think I finished this one in 2 nights - cue bleary eyes the following morning on the school run after staying up until 2am!!

 

I absolutely loved this & if you like thriller/crime/murder/grisly stories, you'll love it too I'm sure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passion by Louise Bagshawe

 

When I'm after a bit of girlie escapism from a book, Louise Bagshawe just doesn't disappoint & I've been reading her books for years.  Yes, they kind of follow the same story in that you can pretty much guess who will end up together within the first couple of chapters but it doesn't make them any less enjoyable.  However, this one took a slightly new direction in that it's part chick-lit, part thriller!

 

The story follows Melissa Elmet, an Oxford academic & Will Hyde, billionaire banker.  This couple fell madly in love in their teens & swiftly married but Melissa's parents guilt-tripped her into having the marriage immediately annulled.  Heartbroken Will fled Oxford & their paths never crossed again until many years later when he becomes the only one who can save her from an assassin out to get her....kind of James Bond for girls if you like!!

 

Again, you know pretty early on what the outcome will be but I still loved it, as I have all of her books that I've read.  Definitely worth a read if you're after something a bit lighter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'Kathleen Turner' series by Tiffany Snow

 

I actually downloaded these books after receiving a daily Kindle offer email from Amazon as I thought they were crime thrillers.  Well, they are I suppose but in a racy, girlie, dare I say it, Fifty Shades kind of way!  They were definitely not was I was expecting.......but I loved them!!

 

The protagonist is Kathleen Turner, a runner for a top law firm in Indianapolis & follows her story of getting closer to her boss, the inevitably gorgeous, rich & clever Blane Kirk.  She accidentally becomes involved when her friend & neighbour is brutally murdered & finds herself fearing for her life.  Predictably, Blane vows to protect her & at one point, someone who she initially fears is trying to kill her, turns out to also be gorgeous, rich & clever........& Blane's younger brother Kade.

 

The three stories all centre around these three main characters & how the brothers battle over who will protect.......& love......Kathleen the most, mixed in with some crime-fighting & sex scenes of course!  From that point of view, it's hard not to compare them to the Fifty Shades books but whereas I couldn't stand the main female character in those books, this one I do like!  I read all three books in four days & then went straight onto Amazon to download the fourth in the series only to find out it doesn't come out until December, wahhhhh!!!

 

So yes, these are such typical girlie storylines but I really got sucked into the story of the Blane v. Kade.....ooooh, it's just like Team Edward v. Team Jacob all over again, heh heh!!!  But enough with the chick-lits (jeez, I still despise that term!!) I'm just about to start The Grapes of Wrath for my October Book Club read!!  That should bring me back to earth with a bump.....

 

Toodles!!

 

 

 



September book club review

 

 

 

 

Our book club choice for September was The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.

 

This book follows the story of village boy Balram Halwai & his attempts to free himself of India's class struggles.  It details his journey to Delhi to become a chauffeur for a rich landlord & then onto Bangalore when his life takes a drastic turn.

 

The story is told in a darkly humorous way & it examines issues such as poverty, caste, loyalty, religion & corruption in India & I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The novel made the New York Times bestseller list as well as winning the Man Booker Prize & according to the author, he wanted to capture the unspoken voice of the people from The Darkness - the impoverished areas of rural India.

 

I'm afraid there's no review for August book club because I never got around to reading it with going away & then having family here.  I will read it at some point (it was A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens) but I'm still working my way through a ginormous stack of books at the minute!

 

 

 



Summer randoms!

 

Me & my boy!!

 

My very first g&t....shocking eh?!

 

Much excitement when this was delivered.  Just need the flue pipe connecting & some chillier weather & it'll be roaring away!!

 

 

Hair cut at last!

 

First day at school *sniff*!!

 

A new stack from the library book sale.

 

 

 



July Book Club review

I'm a bit late in posting this one due to being away but our Book Club choice for July was The Shipping News by E Annie Proulx.

 

 

 

 

After his cruel wife's death, Quoyle & his 2 young daughters Sunshine & Bunny, up sticks & move from New York to Newfoundland to live in the ancient family home with his aunt.  It tells the tale of living through the bleak winters & settling into his new job reporting for the local paper, the Gammy Bird.

 

Hmmm, it's quite a strange book in that I neither liked nor disliked it....I found it quite meh.  I didn't feel that the story really went anywhere & found myself thinking "is that it?" at the end.  I just didn't 'bond' with any of the characters apart from the aunt & found them all a bit strange!  Also, it took me ages to work out what year the book was set in due to language spoken.  It's set in much more modern times than I initially thought. 

 

 

 

 

The blurb states "The Shipping News is an irresistible comedy of human life & possibility".  I'm afraid the comedy aspect of this book must've passed me by...maybe that's because it just wasn't my cup of tea!!

 

Our read for August is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, this one I am looking forward to!

 

 



Recent reads #2

 

 

I've read quite a few books in the last 4 or 5 weeks & here's a little peek at some of them.  First up, The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri.

 

 

This is the 13th novel in the Inspector Montalbano series that I've previously talked about on another book review & after a shaky start with the first book, I've really grown to love this grumpy Italian character.  In this story,  he is called to a field of clay (hence The Potter's Field!) where the grisly remains of a dismembered body have been found.

 

On first inspection, it would seem that this has been an execution, the work of the local mafia but putting all the clues together just doesn't add up to Montalbano.  He also has to contend with his friend & colleague Mimi's odd behaviour....is he somehow mixed up in this latest gruesome discovery?

 

The book features the same characters as in the other novels & the author uses his favourite descriptions of mouth-watering Italian cuisine!  I really enjoyed this book & whenever I see others in the series in the library, I always get them out.  I'm looking forward to working my way through them, albeit out of order!

 

 

My next book is (deep breath!) Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson.  I must admit, this was a last minute grab in the library as I liked the look of the cover but it's actually quite a harrowing story.

 

It's the story of Janie Ryan, told in the first person & starting from the moment she was born.  It's details her childhood living with her family & how she is expected to become the next in a long line of brash Aberdeen fishwives but rebels against this to do her own thing.

 

It follows her throughout her life, sometimes happy but mostly a living hell after escaping one abusive relationship after another.  I have to admit, I found this a quite distressing read, not at all what I was expecting - that'll teach me not to read the blurb before I borrow a book again!!  You really can't judge a book by it's cover!!

 

My final book this time is the acclaimed psychological thriller Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

 

 

I've had this book on my Kindle for months but was holding out on reading it because I was hoping the book club would cover it but they chose others instead.

 

This tells the tale of Nick & Amy Dunne's difficult marriage & her sudden disappearance on their 5th wedding anniversary.  Nick becomes prime suspect, not helped by the fact the police discover that he recently increased Amy's life insurance, borrowed the remains of her trust fund to buy a business & seems devoid of any emotions about his wife's disappearance.

 

It's hard to tell any more about this story without giving away what happens but all I'll say is that I was really looking forward to this book & although I did think it was great, I don't actually think it's lived up to it's hype.  But maybe if I'd read it before all the rave reviews everywhere, I'd have enjoyed it more!  I'll still be going to see the film when it's released though!

 

So that's all for today.  I need to clear more space on my bookshelves as I went a bit mad in the library book sale the other day......

 

 

.........this doesn't include the 18 books I have lined up on my Kindle either, whoops!!!

 

What books have you really enjoyed lately?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



June Book Club review

 

So this month's Book Club read was The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, a story roughly based on an old Russian fairytale character named Snegurochka, or The Snow Maiden.

 

 

 

 

It tells the story of Mabel & Jack who, following a tragic event in their lives, decide to leave their comfortable lives to run a homestead in Alaska.  Facing the long, dark winters with only each other for company & living a frugal existance, can they survive......& will they even want to?

 

One winter as the first snowfall arrives thick & fast, in a moment of brief happiness they build a child out of the snow.  The following morning, it would seem that the snowchild had been destroyed by a wild animal but then the sudden appearance of a girl close to their home makes Mabel start to remember the stories of her childhood, the stories of Snegurochka.

 

After contacting her sister back home to send the old book to her, she starts to believe that the child they made of snow is actually the child who now visits their home & lives in the woods.  Could this be the case or is it just a child who lives rough in amongst the trees, with only a red fox for company?

 

I was totally gripped by this beautiful tale right from the beginning & although it is essentially a sad tale, I found parts of it strangely uplifting.  I'm so glad this was chosen as our June Book Club read as it's not a book I'd have chosen for myself in a million years but I really loved it.  It's beautifully written & you feel so much empathy for all of the characters, I urge you to read it even if it doesn't seem like your usual style of book!

 

Now to make a start on my stack of library books I have out at the minute....& then the 18 books I have waiting on my Kindle.......!

 

What have you been reading lately that you can recommend?

 

 

 

 



Recent reads #1

After reading some 'heavier' books lately I decided I wanted something fun & frivolous to read, whilst sitting in the garden....in the sunshine (yes folks, that yellow thing in the sky has finally made an appearance!)

 

 

 

I picked up 8 books from the library although I'm not quite sure why I chose that many at once as I'll never find the time to read them as I also have 2 Book Club reads too in June!

 

Now, it's very rare that I dislike a book that much or just can't get in to the story that I decide to not finish it, but the first book I chose was unfortunately one of those few. 

 

 

 

 

The Diary of a Social Butterfly by Moni Mohsin tells the tale of a socialite/party-goer/It-girl sort of character but I just couldn't get into the style of writing & the character's use of broken English, it drove me mad!  I got about 3 chapters in thought, "nope, this isn't for me" so just gave up & started on the next one!

 

 

 

 

I love Jane Green & her latest book, The Accidental Husband (released as Family Pictures in the US) didn't disappoint.  It follows the stories of Maggie & Sylvie, strangers who believe they both have pretty perfect lives, each living on opposite sides of America.  Their lives are changed drastically when a secret both devastates them & throws them together.  The book follows their stories both before & after the fall-out of the secret being uncovered. 

 

I love her style of writing & they way she describes lives, homes & places in so much detail that I have such a clear image of them all in my head!  I've read most of her books but my favourite by far is The Beach House, I could read that time & time again!

 

My final book here is Fame by Tilly Bagshawe.  This is the first time I've read any of her books but I've been a fan of her sister's (Louise Bagshawe) books for many years.  This was a brilliant read with great characters & settings, a real holiday-lazing-by-the-pool-with-a-cocktail-in-hand book.....or in my case, sitting-in-the-back-garden-on-an-ever-so-slightly-broken-sun-lounger-and-a-can-of-Irn-Bru!!

 

 

 

 

This follows the story of Dorian Rasmirez, a former hot-shot Hollywood movie director who is falling out of favour with the big-wigs & needs to make his newest project, a remake of Wuthering Heights, a huge success to re-establish himself in his field.

 

Factor in the hottest actress Sabrina, freshly out of rehab & the gorgeous leading actor Viorel, hoping that this movie will finally propel him into the A-list stardom he so wants & you get a cracking, light-hearted read.  The story is somewhat predictable but reassuringly so, I think I'd have been disappointed had the book ended differently!  I'll now be hunting out more of her books, they're just the sort of escapist reads I enjoy!