Category: 2011

Jan's been reading: Forster,Margaret (2010) Isa & May.  Chatto & Windus.  Isamay, a would-be academic and mother-to-be, is writing her MA thesis about grandmothers in history - from Sarah Bernhardt and Queen Victoria, to other influential grandmothers - whilst constantly being ambushed by her own grandmothers and family history and secrets.  Engaging and unusual story… Continue reading May Picks →

Genova, Lisa (2009)  Still Alice. Penguin. Alice Howland is a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics, with grown children and a satisfying marriage. When she starts to experience fleeting forgetfulness and disorientation, she initially attributes these episodes to normal aging or menopause. But as her symptoms worsen, she decides to see a neurologist and is… Continue reading Recommendations from Wisconsin →

Jan's been reading: Watson, Richard (2010) Future Minds; how the digital age is changing our minds, why this matters and what we can do about it. Nicholas Brealey.  Drawing on the latest research futurist Richard Watson looks at the ways digital culture is shaping the future and changing the way we think. Thought provoking, with… Continue reading April Picks →

Roz's has been reading: Thomas, Rosie (2010) Lovers and Newcomers. Harper Collins. They were wild in the 60s; but now they face turning sixty themselves. Miranda decides a lonely widowhood is not for her. Reviving a university dream, she invites five old friends to live with her. To begin with the omens are good, but they… Continue reading March Picks →

Walls, Jeanette (2009 ) Half-broke horses. Simon & Schuster. A debut novel based on the extraordinary life of Jeannette Walls' maternal grandmother - a sassy, straight-talking heroine for whom saving lives, taming wild horses and beating ranch hands at poker are all in a day's work.  Glass Castle, a memoir of Jeanette's childhood, is also a… Continue reading Recommendations from Wisconsin Jan (her Bookclub’s favourites) →

Roz's been reading: Nicholls, David (2009) One Day. Hodder & Stoughton.  On the 15th July 1988 Emma and Dexter meet for the first time, on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every… Continue reading February Picks →

Nafisi, Azar (2004) Reading Lolita in Tehran; a Memoir in Books.  Hodder. For two years before she left Iran in 1997, Azar Nafisi gathered seven young women in her house every Thursday morning to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature. The stories of these women are intertwined with the books they are reading.… Continue reading Great Reads – Reminder →

Gruen, Sara (2010)  Ape House.  Allen & Unwin.  Dr. Isabel Duncan studies and cares for six bonobos, members of the ape family who have mastered sign language and can understand English. The bonobos are like family to her. The bonobos are sold to a porn producer who puts them on a television reality show.  Isabel… Continue reading Jan’s Summer Reads →