My Labrador Friends Book Club - Fiction Choice

Granca

Granca

When I went to Devon I started reading ‘The Museum of Broken Promises’ by Elizabeth Buchan, as my friend‘s book club are discussing it soon. I brought a copy home to finish, but haven’t done so yet. Must also read ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ which I bought a while ago.
 
Lisa

Lisa

Moderator
Location
Alberta, Canada
Boogie said:
I have just finished The Dry by Jane Harper. Set in and around a farming township in rural Australia, this is the best-selling detective novel that opened a fashion for Australian “rural noir”. It centres on the recent death of a young farming family, under financial and other stress because of a long-running drought. It looks like a murder/suicide (which were all too common for those reasons at the time the book was published) but not everyone thinks so. And is it linked to the death of the daughter of a neighbouring farm 20 years earlier?

That drought had been going on for several years when the book was written in 2016, and was still there in 2019, when a film of The Dry was released. For those who may not have seen meadows (“paddocks” ) that are not green, the film accurately shows the dry dusty brown ‘wasteland’ that prevailed in places like this book’s locale. . .

It was good. Different, but good.

My current book is like a badly written Agatha Christie. I’m sticking with it ‘tho as it cost me 99p!

😜
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I really liked The Dry! I want to read more of her books but haven’t got to them yet.

I just finished The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin for my book club. It was written in 1915 and is kinda fluffy but it was all about four ladies going to stay in a castle in Italy in the springtime and it was a perfect escape read for me during our brutal cold spell.

Currently reading a non-fiction biography, “Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Mapping of the Canadian West” about one of my favourite figures from Canadian history and probably one of the world’s greatest map makers. Really enjoying it so far. Those voyageurs were incredible!

 
Atemas

Atemas

UK Tour Guide
Location
North Cambridgeshire
Whilst I was away, I read Old Sins by Penny Vincenzi. I used to love her monthly articles in the Good Housekeeping magazine many years ago. Sadly she died a few years ago. It was the perfect holiday read, I got totally hooked and couldn’t stop reading. I know it’s lightweight reading but I just love her writing
 
Jacqui-S

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
Atemas said:
Whilst I was away, I read Old Sins by Penny Vincenzi. I used to love her monthly articles in the Good Housekeeping magazine many years ago. Sadly she died a few years ago. It was the perfect holiday read, I got totally hooked and couldn’t stop reading. I know it’s lightweight reading but I just love her writing
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Lightweight often just hits the spot!
I often have something lightweight on audio and something a bit more meaty on kindle.
 
Mrs UB

Mrs UB

Moderator
Staff member
Along with The Man who Dies Twice (pre-ordered from Amazon that I’d forgotten I’d done!) - Read on holiday last September:

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
That Night by Gillian McAllister
 
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snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
I've been working my way through Marian Keyes' books on Audible recently, following the recent release of "Again, Rachel", which is the follow-up of "Rachel's Holiday", which was released 25 years ago. Those two were a special treat, since Marian Keyes herself reads them. At the end of "Rachel's Holiday", there is an interview between her and Graham Norton which is fab - she talks just like she writes!

They're kinda chick-flicky easy to read (or listen to), but the Rachel books in particular do have a bit of an edge to them with some difficult themes. I really enjoy the humour in Marian Keyes' writing, and I'm looking forward to listening to more of her stuff. I'm currently halfway through "Anybody out There", which is the story of Anna Walsh. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the series, each book focusses in turn on each of the five daughters in the Walsh family.
 
Lab_adore

Lab_adore

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Sydney, Australia
snowbunny said:
I've been working my way through Marian Keyes' books on Audible recently, following the recent release of "Again, Rachel", which is the follow-up of "Rachel's Holiday", which was released 25 years ago. Those two were a special treat, since Marian Keyes herself reads them. At the end of "Rachel's Holiday", there is an interview between her and Graham Norton which is fab - she talks just like she writes!

They're kinda chick-flicky easy to read (or listen to), but the Rachel books in particular do have a bit of an edge to them with some difficult themes. I really enjoy the humour in Marian Keyes' writing, and I'm looking forward to listening to more of her stuff. I'm currently halfway through "Anybody out There", which is the story of Anna Walsh. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the series, each book focusses in turn on each of the five daughters in the Walsh family.
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I love Marian Keyes and I must get her latest
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Jacqui-S said:
I am listening to this just now. She is fabulous narrating her books. I plan on listening to more.
Her humour and observation is spot on.
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I think the sequel is the stronger of the two books, but I did enjoy the first. Rachel isn’t particularly likeable for most of it, but she’s not supposed to be!
I really like Mammy Walsh, she makes me laugh 😁
 
MellowYellow

MellowYellow

Oh my - I have just finished Featherhood by Charlie Gilmour (stepson of Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame). What a wonderful book - about fatherhood, the search for identity, family, love, grief, youth... oh, and bringing up an orphaned magpie. I cannot recommend it strongly enough!
 
Candy

Candy

Biscuit Tin Guardian
Location
West Yorkshire, UK
Mags@Boogie very kindly gave me this book for Christmas. 20220515_223723.jpg It always takes me longer to read a non fiction book than a gripping story, and usually I do it by committing what we in our book club call 'readultery', which is the act of having more than one book on the go at once. Anyway, today I finished it and I really can't recommend it highly enough. I think that part of the reason it took me a while to read it was because I had to keep going back and re reading parts that were SO interesting and particularly towards the end, so beautiful and moving. So thankyou Mags, very much indeed for one of my best Christmas presents and it's very well worth a read if anyone's looking for something non fiction but fascinating and uplifting.
 
Jacqui-S

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
Lab_adore said:
What? Details!
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Ha ha!
He was giving a talk in Lower Largo last night along with Fife born singer/songwriter/"ex-punk" Richard Jobson who heads up The Skids that G tour-manages for.
G was delivering some books to Richard, and Ian came along and joined in the chat. He looked like he was itching to say hello to Lilly but not quite brave enough (she was just lying down listening to the chat).
I was just playing it cool, trying not to do the "I've read so many of your books, wow wow wow" thing :giggl:
All because Lilly's swimming had been cancelled - otherwise we would have missed him.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Absolutely NOT fiction, but I've just started listening to the podcast You, Me and the Big C. It's on Apple podcasts, Spotify, BBC Sounds etc. It is just FABULOUS. The three women presenting - all who have or have had cancer - are just brilliant, all so different but amazing. They have on special guests all the time. It might sound depressing, but it's really not. Since one in two people in the UK will be affected by cancer during their lifetime, I think it's relevant to absolutely all of us. The last episode I listened to, "the boys" took over (two husbands, a dad, and a brother) and discussed really honestly how it was affecting them and how they are coping with it. It's a few years old now, but I highly recommend it to anyone. It's heartwarming, though provoking, uplifting and very interesting. And, yes, you may tear up from time to time, but that's because you really care about these wonderful women.


15/10.
 
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