McTiernan, Dervla (2024) What Happened to Nina? HarperCollins. When Simon returns home without Nina, his longterm girlfriend, after a weekend stay at his family's rural property in Vermont, Nina's parents become anxious and call in the police. Simon's explanation doesn't make any sense. What has happened to Nina? Simon's affluent parents rush to protect him,… Continue reading April Picks
Tag: Good reads
March Picks
Dench, Judi (2023) Shakespeare: The Man who Pays the Rent. M. Joseph. In a series of conversations Judi Dench reminisces about her Shakespearean roles over the past seven-decades. She takes us through the plays and her roles, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Portia, sharing vignettes, revelations, triumphs and disasters. A love letter… Continue reading March Picks
February Picks
Klein, Naomi (2023) Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World. Allen Lane. Celebrated activist Naomi Klein takes us into the doppelganger world of conspiracy culture. Her own doppelganger, Naomi Wolf, with whom she has been chronically confused, was once a liberal feminist darling, but after being publicly shamed she entered the mirror world of conspiracy… Continue reading February Picks
January Picks
Isaacson, Walter (2023) Elon Musk. Simon & Schuster. Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk delves into the life of a complex, neurodivergent and brilliant man, from a dysfunctional background, whose ruthless and eccentric behaviour has challenged many. His relentless drive towards envisioning humankind's future has led to remarkable achievements and incredible feats. A capricious, creative, fanatical and… Continue reading January Picks
December Picks
Harrow, Alix E (2023) Starling House. Tor. Although fantasy is not my thing this modern gothic tale with its haunted house and night horrors caught my attention. Not an easy read though. Opal is determined to find a better life for herself and her brother away from the dying coal town of Eden, Kentucky. Opal… Continue reading December Picks
November Picks
Hammer, Chris (2023) The Seven. Allen & Unwin. The Seven are Yuwonderie's most powerful founding families who became steeped in riches and power following the development of the town's irrigation scheme over 100 years ago. The machinations of the Seven are at the heart of this narrative with its three strands – a present-day murder… Continue reading November Picks
October Picks
Mawer, Simon (2022) Ancestry. Little, Brown. Simon Mawer brings his own family tree to life in a novelisation of his nineteenth century forebears. It is a tale of his two great-great-grandfathers, their wives and families - on his maternal side, seaman Abraham Block, and his seamstress wife, Naomi, and from the paternal, foot soldier George… Continue reading October Picks
September Picks
Patchett, Ann (2023) Tom Lake. Bloomsbury. During lockdown Lara's three adult daughters return to the family's Michigan fruit orchard. To lighten the weary work as they help with the cherry harvest Lara shares daily reminiscences of her youthful romance with Peter Duke. Duke later went on to become a mega-movie star (think Brad Pitt). This… Continue reading September Picks
August Picks
Atwood, Margaret (2023) Old Babes in the Wood: Stories. Doubleday. This is a rather sad book of stories about the inevitability of old age (and death). These miscellaneous tales are told in three parts, bookended by Tig & Nell then Nell & Tig. The Tig and Nell stories are tales of a long marriage, during… Continue reading August Picks
July Picks
Kassabova, Kapka (2023) Elixir: In the Valley at the End of Time. J.Cape. Kassabova's spellbinding pilgrimage to the lush valleys of the upper Mesta river, and its tributaries, in her ancestral Bulgaria is rich with connections between people, plants and place. The syncretic and wretched communities she visits have been traumatised by invasion, persecution, and… Continue reading July Picks
7:30 Bookclub 