Discussion Books & Hosts for 2023
January 4*—at Susan’s: Discussion of our reading in 2022February 6—at Avril’s : A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
March 6*—lead by Karis, at Anthea’s The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
April 3—at Susie’s: The Gardener, by Sally Vickers
May 1 —at Susan’s: The Island of Missing Trees, by Elif Shafak
June 5 —at Deanna’s: The Smallest Man, by Frances Quinn
July date TBA —at Penny’s : English Pastoral, by James Rebanks
August — Holiday
September — Holiday
October 2 — at Susan’s: Discussion: Summer Reading Recap
November 6—at Celia’s: Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
Discussion Books & Hosts for 2022
January 4—at Susie’sThe Black Dress, by Deborah Moggach
February 1—at Deanna’s
All the Ugly Things, by Stacey Lynn
March 1—at Karis’s
The First Man, by Albert Camus
April 5—at Avril’s
Scoop, by Evelyn Waugh
May 2 —at Susan’s
The Gate of Angels, by Penelope Fitzgerald
June 6 —at Deanna’s
The Metal Heart By Caroline Lea
July 4 —at Celia’s
Educated by Tara Westover
August 2— Summer Holiday
September 6—at Anthea’s
English Passengers, by Matthew Kneale
October 4 —at Penny’s
I See You, by Clare Mackintosh
November 1—at Susan’s
The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Discussion Books & Hosts for 2021
January 4: No Meeting
February 1: Avril’s —The Rosie Project By Graeme Simsion
March 1: Susie’s—Where the Crawdads Sing By Delia Owens
April 12*: Karis’s —The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
May 3: Penny’s —Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Blythell
June 7: Susan’s—Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
July 5: Summer Break
August 2: Anthea’s — The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall
September 6: Pauline’s —A Life Worth Living by Lady Colin Campbell
October 4: Deanna’s— Lockdown by Peter May
November 1: Celia’s —Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen
December 2: Christmas Lunch?
Discussion Books & Hosts for 2020
Person listed as host will also lead discussion of that day's book, except as indicated
January 6: Pauline: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
February 3: Susan: Feel Free by Zaidie Smith
March 2: Karis: In Your Defence by Sarah Langford
April 6: Susie: The Carer by Deborah Moggach
May 4: Penny: The Past by Tessa Hadley
June 1: Nancy: Dear Mrs Bird by A. J. Pearce
July 6: Anthea: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Offenbaugh
August 3: Celia: The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
September: No meeting
October 5: Deanna: The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony & Graham Spence
November 2: Avril: 1984 by George Orwell
December 7: Christmas lunch?
Discussion Books & Hosts for 2019January 7: Susie: The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/03/the-aftermath-rhidian-brook-review
February 4: Penny: A House Unlocked by Penelope Lively
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/aug/26/biography.features1
March 4: Celia: Poetry by Mary Oliver. Your choice of any book by her (there are several in the library) or poems from the internet: Many of the best are linked here:
https://www.best-poems.net/mary_oliver/index.html Bring one poem to read to the group.
April 1: Karis: Gasthof Engel by Jill L.M. Birk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gasthof-Engel-Jill-L-Birk/dp/1788780973
*May 13: Anthea: Nutshell by Ian McEwan
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/27/nutshell-by-ian-mcewan-review
June 3: At Susan's for Nancy's book: Hothouse Flower by Lucinda Riley
http://www.richardandjudy.co.uk/books/Hothouse-Flower/52
July 1: Avril: The Road Home by Rose Tremain
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jun/10/fiction.features1
August: no meeting
*September 2: At Nancy's for Susan's book: A Wood of One’s Own by Ruth Pavey
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/15/a-wood-of-ones-own-ruth-pavey-review
October 7: Deanna: The Witch Finder’s Sister by Beth Underdown
https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/552720/the-witchfinders-sister/
November 4: Pauline: Murder at the Book Club by Betsy Reavley
https://crimefictionlover.com/2018/09/murder-at-the-book-club/
December 2: Christmas Lunch?
*Denotes change from the usual date, month, or book discussed on Monday.
Discussion Books and Leaders for 2018January 8: At Karis's
The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway
February 5: Penny’s
The Dry by Jane Harper (Avril leading)
March 5: Deanna’s
Diary Day*** —Your Choice of Diary (Penny leading)
April 9*: Susie’s
The Cast Iron Shore by Linda Grant
May 14* : Susan’s
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
June 4: Nancy’s
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
July 2: Pauline’s
The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle by Kirsty Wark
August 13*: Anthea’s
The Folded Earth by Aneradha Roy
September : No Meeting
October 1: Avril’s
Red Lotus by Pai Kit Fa
November 5: Celia’s
The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
December 3: Christmas Lunch?
----------------------------------------------------------
*****Diary Day possibilities: A diary or letters collection of your choosing, for example, Diary of a Farmer’s Wife 1796-1797; Samuel Pepys; Monty Don; Parson Woodroffe; Kilvert; Alan Clark; Anne Frank; Adrian Mole; A Father’s Diary by Fraser Harrison; or other modern, family heirloom, wartime diary or collection of letters.
Discussion Books and Leaders for 2017
Jan 9— Pauline
The Sunrise
by Victoria Hislop
Feb 6—Karis
The Good Soldier Švejk
by Jaroslav Hašek
March 6—Susie
My Name is Lucy Barton
by Elizabeth Strout
April 3—Avril
The Dark Flood Rises
by Margaret Drabble
May 1—Susan
A Fort of Nine Towers
by Qais Akbar Omar
June 5—Penny
The Reader on the 6:27
by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent
July 3—Nancy
And the Mountains Echoed
by Khaled Hosseini
August 7—Anthea
The Illusionists
by Rosie Thomas
September—holiday
October 2—Deanna
Time to Say Goodbye
by S. D. Robertson
November 6—Celia
Lab Girl
by Hope Jahren
December 4—Christmas lunch?
Discussion Books and Leaders for 2016
January 4: At Pauline's
Rosebud
by David Thomson
February 1: Karis
My House in Damascus
by Diana Darke
March 7: Susie
A Spool of Blue Thread
by Anne Tylor
April 4 : Anthea
H is for Hawk
by Helen MacDonald
Tuesday May 3* : Susan *NOTE change in day due to Bank Holiday Monday
Maggie Smith: A Biography
by Michael Coveney
June 6: Nancy
Wake
by Anna Hope
July 4: Deanna
The Thornbirds
by Colleen McCullough
August: Summer Break
September 5: Celia
Reading Recap
by Everyone
October 3: Avril
The Book of Strange New Things
by Michael Faber
November 7: Penny
Diary of a Nobody
by George and Weedon Grossmith
December 5: Christmas Lunch
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2015
January 5: At Susie's
We are All Completely Beside Ourselves
by Karen Joy Fowler
February 2: Penny
The Night Rainbow
by Claire King
March 2: Celia
The Righteous Mind
by Jonathan Haidt
April 13 : Anthea
NOTE CHANGE IN DATE to SECOND Monday
The Plague
by Albert Camus
May 11 : Karis
NOTE CHANGE IN DATE to SECOND Monday
The Honoured Society
by Norman Lewis
June 1: Susan
The Children Act
by Ian McEwan
July 6: Nancy
Joseph Knight
by James Robertson
August: Summer Break
September 7: At Deanna's
Discussion of book chosen by Avril
The Ballad of Peckham Rye
by Murial Spark
October 5: At Avril's
Discussion led by Deanna
Empress Orchid
by Anchee Min
November 2: Pauline
A Cuppa Tea and an Aspirin
by Helen Forrester
December 1: Christmas Lunch
Kingston Inn at noon
-----------------------------
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2014
January 6: At Anthea’s.
Stoner: A Novel
by John Williams
February 3: At Susie’s.
Painter of Silence
by Georgina Harding
March 3: At Celia’s.
Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls
by David Sedaris
April 7: At Avril’s.
The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year
by Sue Townsend
May 6: (TUESDAY -- this month only) At Susan’s.
The House by the Sea
by Santa Montefiore
June 2: At Nancy’s.
Sycamore Row
by John Grisham
July 7: At Penny’s.
The Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
August: Summer Holiday
September 1: At Karis’s.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery
October 6: At Deanna’s.
The Secret Keeper
by Kate Morton
Nov 3: At Pauline’s.
61 Hours
by Lee Child
Dec 8: Christmas Lunch at The Market House, Somerton
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2013
January 7th (at Susie’s)
Book: Call the Midwife
Author: Jennifer Worth
Discussion Leader: Susie
February 4th, (at Pauline’s)
Book: The Guilty One
Author: Lisa Ballentyne
Discussion Leader: Pauline
March 4th, (at Susan’s)
Book: The Casual Vacancy
Author: J.K. Rowling
Discussion Leader: Susan
April 9th <NOTE: change in Date! >, (at Avril’s)
Book: The Man who Forgot his Wife
Author: John O’Farrell
Discussion Leader: Avril
May 7th<NOTE: change in Date! >, (at Karis’s)
Book: The Shape of Water
Author: Andrea Camilleri
Discussion Leader: Karis
June 3rd, (at Nancy’s)
Book: The Kashmir Shawl
Author: Rosie Thomas
Discussion Leader: Nancy
July 1st, (at Anthea’s)
Book: Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Author: George Orwell
Discussion Leader: Anthea
August -- No Meeting
September 2nd, (at Deanna’s)
Book: The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton
Discussion Leader: Deanna
October 7th (at Celia’s)
Book: The End of Your Life Book Club
Author: Will Schwalbe
Discussion Leader: Celia
November 4th, (at Pauline’s)
Book: The Paris Wife
Author: Paula McLain
Discussion Leader: Susie
December 2 -- Christmas Lunch At The Retreat, Ashcott, on A39. 12:30 p.m.
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2012
Meeting Date--NOTE CHANGE THIS MONTH ONLY-- January 9th [2nd Monday], (at Susie’s)
Book: Left for Dead
Author: Nick Ward
Discussion Leader: Pauline
Meeting Date: February 6th, (at Pauline’s)
Book: Life of Pi,
Author: Yann Martel
Discussion Leader: Deanna
Meeting Date: March 5th, (at Karis’s)
Book: The Little Stranger
Author: Sarah Waters
Discussion Leader: Karis
Meeting Date: April 2nd, (at Susan’s)
Book: The Brave
Author: Nicholas Evans
Discussion Leader: Susan
Meeting Date: May 14th, (NOTE CHANGE THIS MONTH ONLY -- second Monday -- at Deanna’s)
Book: The Help
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Discussion Leader: Susie
Meeting Date: June 11h (NOTE CHANGE THIS MONTH ONLY--second Monday), (at Nancy’s)
Book: Sacred Hearts
Author: Sarah Dunant
Discussion Leader: Nancy
Meeting Date: July 2nd, (at Avril’s )
Book: The Sense of an Ending
Author: Julian Barnes
Discussion Leader: Anthea
August -- No Meeting
Meeting Date: September 3rd, (at Anthea’s)
Book: House of Silk
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Discussion Leader: Celia
Meeting Date: October 1st (at Celia’s)
Book: Old FILTH
Author: Jane Gardam
Discussion Leader: Avril
Meeting Date: November 5th, (at Pauline’s)
Book:Lark Rise to Candleford
Author: Flora Thompson
Discussion Leader: Pauline
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2011
Meeting Date: January 3rd, (at Celia’s)
Book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Author: Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Discussion Leader: all
Meeting Date: February 7th, (at Susie’s)
Book: The Pursuit of Love
Author: Nancy Mitford
Discussion Leader: Susie or Susan
Meeting Date: March 7th, (at Susan’s)
Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larsson
Discussion Leader: Pauline
Meeting Date: April 4th, (at Karis’s)
Book: Cutting for Stone
Author: Abraham Verghese
Discussion Leader: Nancy and/or Avril
Meeting Date: WEDNESDAY May 4th, (at Deanna’s)
Book: Gold Boy, Emerald Girl
Author: Yiyun Li
Discussion Leader: Susan
Meeting Date: June 6th, (at Nancy’s)
Book: Like Water for Chocolate
Author: Laura Esquivel
Discussion Leader: Celia
Meeting Date: July 4th, (at Celia’s)
Book: Fateful Love
Author: Penelope K. Charles
Discussion Leader: Deanna
August -- No Meeting
Meeting Date: September 5th, (possibly at Susan’s)
Book: Careless Talk
Author:Stuart Hylton
Discussion Leader: Karis
Meeting Date: October 3rd (at Avril’s)
Book: Inside the Gate or My Dream of Heaven
Author: Rebecca Ruter Springer
Discussion Leader: Nancy
Meeting Date: TUESDAY November 8th, (at Susan’s)
Book:Lady in White
Author: Wilke Collins
Discussion Leader: Susan
(Susan will review Celia’s copy of The Lacuna and see if it would be a worthy read for 2012.)
February 5: Penny’s
The Dry by Jane Harper (Avril leading)
March 5: Deanna’s
Diary Day*** —Your Choice of Diary (Penny leading)
April 9*: Susie’s
The Cast Iron Shore by Linda Grant
May 14* : Susan’s
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
June 4: Nancy’s
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
July 2: Pauline’s
The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle by Kirsty Wark
August 13*: Anthea’s
The Folded Earth by Aneradha Roy
September : No Meeting
October 1: Avril’s
Red Lotus by Pai Kit Fa
November 5: Celia’s The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
December 3: Christmas Lunch?
----------------------------------------------------------
*****Diary Day possibilities: A diary or letters collection of your choosing, for example, Diary of a Farmer’s Wife 1796-1797; Samuel Pepys; Monty Don; Parson Woodroffe; Kilvert; Alan Clark; Anne Frank; Adrian Mole; A Father’s Diary by Fraser Harrison; or other modern, family heirloom, wartime diary or collection of letters.
Discussion Books and Leaders for 2017
Jan 9— Pauline
The Sunrise
by Victoria Hislop
Feb 6—Karis
The Good Soldier Švejk
by Jaroslav Hašek
March 6—Susie
My Name is Lucy Barton
by Elizabeth Strout
April 3—Avril
The Dark Flood Rises
by Margaret Drabble
May 1—Susan
A Fort of Nine Towers
by Qais Akbar Omar
June 5—Penny
The Reader on the 6:27
by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent
July 3—Nancy
And the Mountains Echoed
by Khaled Hosseini
August 7—Anthea
The Illusionists
by Rosie Thomas
September—holiday
October 2—Deanna
Time to Say Goodbye
by S. D. Robertson
November 6—Celia
Lab Girl
by Hope Jahren
December 4—Christmas lunch?
Discussion Books and Leaders for 2016
January 4: At Pauline'sRosebud
by David Thomson
February 1: Karis
My House in Damascus
by Diana Darke
March 7: Susie
A Spool of Blue Thread
by Anne Tylor
April 4 : Anthea
H is for Hawk
by Helen MacDonald
Tuesday May 3* : Susan *NOTE change in day due to Bank Holiday Monday
Maggie Smith: A Biography
by Michael Coveney
June 6: Nancy
Wake
by Anna Hope
July 4: Deanna
The Thornbirds
by Colleen McCullough
August: Summer Break
September 5: Celia
Reading Recap
by Everyone
October 3: Avril
The Book of Strange New Things
by Michael Faber
November 7: Penny
Diary of a Nobody
by George and Weedon Grossmith
December 5: Christmas Lunch
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2015
January 5: At Susie'sWe are All Completely Beside Ourselves
by Karen Joy Fowler
February 2: Penny
The Night Rainbow
by Claire King
March 2: Celia
The Righteous Mind
by Jonathan Haidt
April 13 : Anthea
NOTE CHANGE IN DATE to SECOND Monday
The Plague
by Albert Camus
May 11 : Karis
NOTE CHANGE IN DATE to SECOND Monday
The Honoured Society
by Norman Lewis
June 1: Susan
The Children Act
by Ian McEwan
July 6: Nancy
Joseph Knight
by James Robertson
August: Summer Break
September 7: At Deanna's
Discussion of book chosen by Avril
The Ballad of Peckham Rye
by Murial Spark
October 5: At Avril's
Discussion led by Deanna
Empress Orchid
by Anchee Min
November 2: Pauline
A Cuppa Tea and an Aspirin
by Helen Forrester
December 1: Christmas Lunch
Kingston Inn at noon
-----------------------------
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2014
January 6: At Anthea’s.
Stoner: A Novel
by John Williams
February 3: At Susie’s.
Painter of Silence
by Georgina Harding
March 3: At Celia’s.
Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls
by David Sedaris
April 7: At Avril’s.
The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year
by Sue Townsend
May 6: (TUESDAY -- this month only) At Susan’s.
The House by the Sea
by Santa Montefiore
June 2: At Nancy’s.
Sycamore Row
by John Grisham
July 7: At Penny’s.
The Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
August: Summer Holiday
September 1: At Karis’s.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery
October 6: At Deanna’s.
The Secret Keeper
by Kate Morton
Nov 3: At Pauline’s.
61 Hours
by Lee Child
Dec 8: Christmas Lunch at The Market House, Somerton
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2013
January 7th (at Susie’s)
Book: Call the Midwife
Author: Jennifer Worth
Discussion Leader: Susie
February 4th, (at Pauline’s)
Book: The Guilty One
Author: Lisa Ballentyne
Discussion Leader: Pauline
March 4th, (at Susan’s)
Book: The Casual Vacancy
Author: J.K. Rowling
Discussion Leader: Susan
April 9th <NOTE: change in Date! >, (at Avril’s)
Book: The Man who Forgot his Wife
Author: John O’Farrell
Discussion Leader: Avril
May 7th<NOTE: change in Date! >, (at Karis’s)
Book: The Shape of Water
Author: Andrea Camilleri
Discussion Leader: Karis
June 3rd, (at Nancy’s)
Book: The Kashmir Shawl
Author: Rosie Thomas
Discussion Leader: Nancy
July 1st, (at Anthea’s)
Book: Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Author: George Orwell
Discussion Leader: Anthea
August -- No Meeting
September 2nd, (at Deanna’s)
Book: The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton
Discussion Leader: Deanna
October 7th (at Celia’s)
Book: The End of Your Life Book Club
Author: Will Schwalbe
Discussion Leader: Celia
November 4th, (at Pauline’s)
Book: The Paris Wife
Author: Paula McLain
Discussion Leader: Susie
December 2 -- Christmas Lunch At The Retreat, Ashcott, on A39. 12:30 p.m.
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2012
Meeting Date--NOTE CHANGE THIS MONTH ONLY-- January 9th [2nd Monday], (at Susie’s)
Book: Left for Dead
Author: Nick Ward
Discussion Leader: Pauline
Meeting Date: February 6th, (at Pauline’s)
Book: Life of Pi,
Author: Yann Martel
Discussion Leader: Deanna
Meeting Date: March 5th, (at Karis’s)
Book: The Little Stranger
Author: Sarah Waters
Discussion Leader: Karis
Meeting Date: April 2nd, (at Susan’s)
Book: The Brave
Author: Nicholas Evans
Discussion Leader: Susan
Meeting Date: May 14th, (NOTE CHANGE THIS MONTH ONLY -- second Monday -- at Deanna’s)
Book: The Help
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Discussion Leader: Susie
Meeting Date: June 11h (NOTE CHANGE THIS MONTH ONLY--second Monday), (at Nancy’s)
Book: Sacred Hearts
Author: Sarah Dunant
Discussion Leader: Nancy
Meeting Date: July 2nd, (at Avril’s )
Book: The Sense of an Ending
Author: Julian Barnes
Discussion Leader: Anthea
August -- No Meeting
Meeting Date: September 3rd, (at Anthea’s)
Book: House of Silk
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Discussion Leader: Celia
Meeting Date: October 1st (at Celia’s)
Book: Old FILTH
Author: Jane Gardam
Discussion Leader: Avril
Meeting Date: November 5th, (at Pauline’s)
Book:Lark Rise to Candleford
Author: Flora Thompson
Discussion Leader: Pauline
Discussion Books and Leaders -- 2011
Meeting Date: January 3rd, (at Celia’s)
Book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Author: Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Discussion Leader: all
Meeting Date: February 7th, (at Susie’s)
Book: The Pursuit of Love
Author: Nancy Mitford
Discussion Leader: Susie or Susan
Meeting Date: March 7th, (at Susan’s)
Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larsson
Discussion Leader: Pauline
Meeting Date: April 4th, (at Karis’s)
Book: Cutting for Stone
Author: Abraham Verghese
Discussion Leader: Nancy and/or Avril
Meeting Date: WEDNESDAY May 4th, (at Deanna’s)
Book: Gold Boy, Emerald Girl
Author: Yiyun Li
Discussion Leader: Susan
Meeting Date: June 6th, (at Nancy’s)
Book: Like Water for Chocolate
Author: Laura Esquivel
Discussion Leader: Celia
Meeting Date: July 4th, (at Celia’s)
Book: Fateful Love
Author: Penelope K. Charles
Discussion Leader: Deanna
August -- No Meeting
Meeting Date: September 5th, (possibly at Susan’s)
Book: Careless Talk
Author:Stuart Hylton
Discussion Leader: Karis
Meeting Date: October 3rd (at Avril’s)
Book: Inside the Gate or My Dream of Heaven
Author: Rebecca Ruter Springer
Discussion Leader: Nancy
Meeting Date: TUESDAY November 8th, (at Susan’s)
Book:Lady in White
Author: Wilke Collins
Discussion Leader: Susan
(Susan will review Celia’s copy of The Lacuna and see if it would be a worthy read for 2012.)
