Whitehouse, David (2015) Mobile Library. Picador. Twelve-year-old Bobby Nusku ekes out a brutal existence with his father, as he archives the life of his long-gone mother. When he befriends Rosa and her mother Val, he finds solace. They escape town in a redundant mobile library and begin an adventure equal to the books that surround them. This dark and original tragicomic road trip is a touching… Continue reading April Picks
Category: 7.30
March Picks
Wilder, Laura Ingalls (2014) Pioneer Girl: The annotated autobiography, edited by Pamela Smith Hill. South Dakota Historical Society Press. Laura Ingalls Wilder's never before published autobiography reveals true stories behind her pioneering life. Pioneer Girl served as the historical foundation for Wilder's fictional world. Out of the period, places and people in the manuscript sprang the characters and settings… Continue reading March Picks
February Picks
Norton, Graham (2014) The life and loves of a He Devil. Hodder & Stoughton. Graham Norton's memoir is inspired by love, premised by "it is really the things you love that inspire and drive you". Although his approach is largely eclectic he shares his love of his career, dogs, the divas he has met, booze and boys, and his homeland… Continue reading February Picks
Jan’s Holiday Reads – January 2015
Koch, Herman (2012) The Dinner, translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett. Atlantic. Brothers Paul and Serge Lohman, and their wives Claire and Babette, meet at a fashionable Amsterdam restaurant to discuss their 15 year-old sons. Initially the conversation is banal and trivial, but slowly as the dinner reaches its culinary climax the horror of… Continue reading Jan’s Holiday Reads – January 2015
December Picks
Koch, Herman (2014) Summer House with Swimming Pool (Translated from the Dutch). Hogarth. GP, Dr Marc Sclosser has a healthy disregard for this high-profile patients, that is until famous actor Ralph Meier demands his attention and winds up dead. It all started the previous summer when Marc and his family were invited to spend a week at… Continue reading December Picks
Best Picks 2014
Although I read many great books in 2014 the following are my personal top 10 picks of the year: 1. Chang, Jung (2013) Empress Dowager Cixi; the concubine who launched modern China. Cape. Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) brought China into the modern age. Fascinating in its detail. Jan's Holiday Reads - January 2014. 2. Koch, Herman (2014) Summer House with Swimming Pool (Translated from the… Continue reading Best Picks 2014
November Picks
Johnson, Stephanie (2013) The Writing Class. Vintage. Merle is an author who also teachers a Creative Writing class. Merle mentors the aspirations of her students in their final semester, as they prepare to submit their manuscripts. Amidst this tension and drama Merle observes the romantic entanglement of her colleague, worries about her husband's downward spiral, and is drawn to… Continue reading November Picks
October Picks
Gregory, Philippa (2014) The King's Curse. Simon & Schuster. This final instalment in the Cousins' War is the story of Margaret Pole, a Plantagenet heir and a rival to the English throne. Margaret's destiny is to live much of her life in fear of the Tutor monarchs, firstly of Henry VII and latterly her nemesis Henry VIII. Much… Continue reading October Picks
September Picks
Wizenberg, Molly (2014) Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage. Simon & Schuster. In this new memoir food writer Molly shares her experiences of setting up a pizza restaurant in Seattle. When she married Brandon he had a number of eclectic offbeat interests, from violin-building to ice-cream making, so when he decided to open… Continue reading September Picks
August Picks
Clinton, Hillary Rodham (2014) Hard Choices. Simon & Schuster. In the aftermath of her presidential run Hillary Clinton was appointed Secretary of State. As Secretary she had to make many hard choices. This memoir is an inside account of the choices, challenges and crises she faced during her four years in the role as the world's most… Continue reading August Picks
7:30 Bookclub 