I'm not too sure how to describe 2022 reading wise - lots of bestsellers released from some of my fav authors, but the excitement wasn't there! Maybe the malaise of the pandemic has impacted the publishing world like it has the rest of us. Nevertheless I still found it difficult to select my top 10… Continue reading Best Picks 2022
Tag: 7.30 Bookclub’s best books
Best Picks 2021
As Covid and its variants continue to rage 2021 has been a particularly challenging year to access books, with libraries in lockdown, titles rescheduled for publication, and delays in supply and delivery, choices have been somewhat limited. Nevertheless I have continued to be curious about place, ecocentrism and anthropocentrism, and indulge in Australian crime-noir. My… Continue reading Best Picks 2021
Best Picks 2020
Stories have been at the heart of my Covid year. Stories have kept me sane and cheerful in a world that has changed, maybe forever. When choosing my top reading picks for 2020 I have chosen memorable books that have challenged my thinking and put me in my happy reading place. Enjoy! Kassabova, Kapka (2020)… Continue reading Best Picks 2020
Best Picks 2019
When it comes to choosing my best books it always comes down to story - what gets me thinking, keeps resonating, encourages me to share continually, and sometimes gets my heart racing. 2019's top ten reads do just that. Enjoy! 1. Macfarlane, Robert (2019). Underland: A Deep Time Journey. A truly epic human journey into… Continue reading Best Picks 2019
Best Picks 2018
As a big reader of fiction I am always surprised that when I come to do this annual summary of the year's best reads that the most memorable titles are always non-fiction. I am pleased to present my best picks for 2018. Enjoy! 1. Kassabova, Kapka (2017) Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe. Breathtaking… Continue reading Best Picks 2018
Best Picks 2017
It's always hard to limit your best reads in a high reading year to only ten. Whilst I am still bingeing on psychological thrillers, it is non-fiction that has caught much of my attention this year. These are my top ten reads for 2017: Strout, Elizabeth (2017) Anything is possible. Viking. Although not strictly a sequel… Continue reading Best Picks 2017
June Picks
Halson, Penrose (2016) Marriages are made in Bond Street: True stories from a 1940s Marriage Bureau. Macmillan. Before Tinder, and sex-before-marriage, there was marriage and match-making. Mary Oliver and Heather Jenner set up the Marriage Bureau in the late 1930s on London's Bond Street and clients from all walks of life soon started queuing. They devised their own esoteric formula… Continue reading June Picks
Best Picks 2015
As an eclectic reader I read whatever takes my fancy. The following are my personal top 10 picks of 2015: 1. Wilder, Laura Ingalls (2014) Pioneer Girl: The annotated autobiography. South Dakota Historical Society Press. Pioneer Girl was the foundation for Wilder’s fictional world. This volume inclusive of primary sources provides new insights into Wilder’s life and times. Remarkable. March Picks 2015. 2. Tyler, Anne… Continue reading Best Picks 2015
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
7:30 Bookclub 