Book Groups
Group 2:
“Where The Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens. We don't usually read current trendy books but everyone was saying how good it is and in this case I think they were right. I cribbed this as I think it says it all " …is at once a beautiful ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming of age story and a surprising tale of possible murder.
Group 4:
Our new U3A Book Club 4 began with just four members in July 2019. This first meeting was a “get to know each other” event. We also decided to meet together monthly, in each others homes for discussion and light refreshments. At each meeting we would make the choice of next book to read and review as well as the next host to visit.
As the months went by our group expanded to six and then eight members, a number that the host of the day could just fit in. It became clear that some members had favourite authors that they recommended to the group. In January this year we read and discussed Dominion by C. J. Sansom. Set in the 1050’s with England ruled by Nazi Germany, the novel envisaged the harrowing lives of resistance fighters and friends who supported them. This led us on to other books by the same author and the Shardlake series by Sansom which we are still reading and enjoying.
Our hosted group meetings were ended by Covid-19 in February. Zoom was offered and discussed but not taken up. We decided to send a group email on the pre-allotted date each month, where we would each send a review of our chosen book. This way we kept in touch with each other, and also saw reviews of many more books. We will continue along these lines until the happy day when restrictions end and we meet together again.
We are mostly continuing by Zoom and email and enjoying exchanging often diverse views about the books we have chosen.But there are some books that are enjoyed by nearly everyone, so we thought we would pass on a few recommendations for other members to enjoy.
In April we read “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles in April.
This about a Russian Count sentenced to live out the rest of his life on "house arrest" in the Metropol hotel, following his "conviction" by a Bolshevik tribunal. He was convicted of being an unrepentant aristocrat and is stripped of his wealth by the new Bolshevik regime. It tells about his life in the hotel and the many escapades that befall him. It is extremely interesting and has you hooked from the beginning.
In July we read “Curtain Call” by Anthony Quinn
On a sultry afternoon in the summer of 1936 a woman accidentally interrupts an attempted murder in a London hotel room. Nina Land, a West End actress, faces a dilemma- she's not supposed to be at the hotel in the first place, and certainly not with a married man. ...
Murder, intrigue, actors, artists. Everything is thrown into this book. The mayhem in the 1930s. A bit risqué!
Julia Batty
Group 2:
“Where The Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens. We don't usually read current trendy books but everyone was saying how good it is and in this case I think they were right. I cribbed this as I think it says it all " …is at once a beautiful ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming of age story and a surprising tale of possible murder.
Group 4:
Our new U3A Book Club 4 began with just four members in July 2019. This first meeting was a “get to know each other” event. We also decided to meet together monthly, in each others homes for discussion and light refreshments. At each meeting we would make the choice of next book to read and review as well as the next host to visit.
As the months went by our group expanded to six and then eight members, a number that the host of the day could just fit in. It became clear that some members had favourite authors that they recommended to the group. In January this year we read and discussed Dominion by C. J. Sansom. Set in the 1050’s with England ruled by Nazi Germany, the novel envisaged the harrowing lives of resistance fighters and friends who supported them. This led us on to other books by the same author and the Shardlake series by Sansom which we are still reading and enjoying.
Our hosted group meetings were ended by Covid-19 in February. Zoom was offered and discussed but not taken up. We decided to send a group email on the pre-allotted date each month, where we would each send a review of our chosen book. This way we kept in touch with each other, and also saw reviews of many more books. We will continue along these lines until the happy day when restrictions end and we meet together again.
We are mostly continuing by Zoom and email and enjoying exchanging often diverse views about the books we have chosen.But there are some books that are enjoyed by nearly everyone, so we thought we would pass on a few recommendations for other members to enjoy.
In April we read “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles in April.
This about a Russian Count sentenced to live out the rest of his life on "house arrest" in the Metropol hotel, following his "conviction" by a Bolshevik tribunal. He was convicted of being an unrepentant aristocrat and is stripped of his wealth by the new Bolshevik regime. It tells about his life in the hotel and the many escapades that befall him. It is extremely interesting and has you hooked from the beginning.
In July we read “Curtain Call” by Anthony Quinn
On a sultry afternoon in the summer of 1936 a woman accidentally interrupts an attempted murder in a London hotel room. Nina Land, a West End actress, faces a dilemma- she's not supposed to be at the hotel in the first place, and certainly not with a married man. ...
Murder, intrigue, actors, artists. Everything is thrown into this book. The mayhem in the 1930s. A bit risqué!
Julia Batty