Author: 730bookclub

Disclafani, Anton (2013) The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls. Riverhead Books. In the midst of the Great Depression, Thea Atwell, age fifteen, is exiled to a boarding school, high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is far removed from her free and easy childhood, and as she comes to grips… Continue reading August Picks →

Knox, Elizabeth (2013)  Mortal Fire.  Gecko Press.   Canny Mochrie is 16 years old, and a little different.  She has a strong mathematical mind, and has always been able to see something Extra. She begrudgingly joins her stepbrother on a mine disaster research trip, and wanders into an enchanted valley, full of children and magic.… Continue reading July Picks →

Moggach, Deborah (2013) Heartbreak Hotel.  Chatto & Windus. Reminiscent of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Deborah Moggach again takes on the challenge of running a dilapidated hotel, this time in rural Wales.  Irrepressible retired actor  Russell 'Buffy' Buffery, ups sticks to take-on a decrepit B&B that needs a boost in patronage.  Under his tutelage his… Continue reading May/June Picks →

De Courcy, Anne (2012) The Fishing Fleet: husband-hunting in the Raj. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. From the late nineteenth century when the Raj was at its height, many young women suffering from the lack of eligible young men back home, followed in the wake of Britain's 'best' to India.  These young women were known as the… Continue reading April Picks →

  Jonasson, Jonas (2012) The 100 year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared.  Hesperus. Allan escapes via the bedroom window of his rest home because he can't face the planned 100th birthday. Adventures begin with murders, stolen cash, unlikely companions acquired along the way (including an elephant!) plus revelations about Allan's life… Continue reading March Picks →

Livesey, Margot (2012)  The flight of Gemma Hardy.  Harper.  A retelling of Jane Eyre set in Scotland and Iceland in the 1950s.  When her widower father drowns at sea, ten-year-old Gemma Hardy goes to to live with her uncle's family. But the death of her doting guardian soon after leaves Gemma under the resentful eye… Continue reading Jan’s Holiday Reads – January 2013 →

BOOK OF THE YEAR Isaacson, Walter (2011) Steve Jobs. Little Brown. (reviewed February 2012). An extraordinary and inspiring read;  this masterly biography is filled with learnings about innovation, imagination, character, values and leadership.  Highly recommended. SHORT-LIST De Goldi, Kate (2012) The ACB with Honora Lee. Longacre (reviewed November 2012).  De Goldi creates wonderful links between young and old in this warm… Continue reading 7.30 Bookclub Books of the Year 2012 →

Jan's been reading: De Goldi, Kate (2012) The ACB with Honora Lee.  Longacre.  Nine-year old Perry's parents are busy people, and they seek to keep their only child Perry busy too.  But Perry has a plan; she is making an alphabet book for everyone at Santa Lucia.  At Santa Lucia lives her grandmother Honora Lee… Continue reading November Picks →

Carol's been reading: Patrick, Jenny (2012) Skylark. Black Swan.  A love story set amid real figures from nineteenth-century theatre.  Lily Alouette was singing and dancing almost as soon as she could walk. When she is left an orphan in an unfamiliar country after her parents have emigrated to the goldfields, it is performing in a… Continue reading October Picks →

Jan's been reading: McEwan, Ian (2012) Sweet Tooth. Cape. In Britain in 1972 Serena Frome, the beautiful daughter of a Bishop, has been groomed for the intelligence service.  This is a period of industrial unrest and terrorism, and she is sent on a  secret mission (codenamed 'Sweet Tooth') that brings her into the literary world of Tom… Continue reading September Picks →