LITERATURE
There are two reading groups and all the members of a particular group read the same book. The books are usually chosen monthly from a list supplied by Monmouth Library that can lend a set of ten of the chosen books. Occasionally the members buy their own copies of a paperback. Members take it in turns to research the author's background and to lead the group.
A 'GOOD READ' BOOK GROUP
Convenor Penny Thomas thomaspennyida@gmail.com
This group meets 10.00am on the second Monday of the month at 4 Gibraltar Drive, Monmouth. As well as a wide ranging discussion on the set book we talk about other things we have read. We choose fiction and nonfiction and borrow our books from Herefordshire Libraries which has an excellent selection.
'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness', and could it be the month you join our book group, A Good Read?
We are very friendly and as well as a lively discussion on our latest book, we always have general chat as well. Email me or ring me on 01600715507 if you would like to come for a taster session,
Penny Thomas, convenor. There are two vacancies at the moment.
Convenor Penny Thomas thomaspennyida@gmail.com
This group meets 10.00am on the second Monday of the month at 4 Gibraltar Drive, Monmouth. As well as a wide ranging discussion on the set book we talk about other things we have read. We choose fiction and nonfiction and borrow our books from Herefordshire Libraries which has an excellent selection.
'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness', and could it be the month you join our book group, A Good Read?
We are very friendly and as well as a lively discussion on our latest book, we always have general chat as well. Email me or ring me on 01600715507 if you would like to come for a taster session,
Penny Thomas, convenor. There are two vacancies at the moment.
ROCKFIELD READING GROUP
Convenor Elizabeth Russell Coopey email : elizabethcoopey@gmail.com Tel : 01600 740120
Meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 2pm at member’s homes in Monmouth. Please let me know if anyone is interested in joining a very vibrant group full of interesting people and books, come along and try us out for a month!
Latest book reviews
The Storied Life of A J Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin,
A book with possibilities is a good read and the clue is in the title – A storied life of A.J. Fikry. Each chapter references a short story that is important to A.J so a notepad and pen is essential while reading so that you can revisit stories you may have read before and some you have not.
A.J. Fikry is a grumpy widower running a bookshop on an island in New England. The author, Gabrielle Gavin is a Harvard English major who made her name in the teenage novel market. The bookseller has a precious copy of Tambourlaine which he hopes will finance his retirement but it goes missing. Then a baby, called Maya is dumped in his shop. The baby is precocious and of course becomes an avid reader. The bookshop is doing badly because of his grumpy demeanour but over time the baby and later love, help him turn his life around.
It’s a small town book with small town characters but you can’t help wanting to find out what happens next. Yes, it is light and you can read it quickly but it is definitely a feel good book. It’s a suitable antidote to death, disaster, war and murder. Some readers have criticised it because ‘ it sucks up to librarians, book clubs and bookstores’ but that doesn’t seem to be an entirely bad thing! Our book group enjoyed it so it obviously did something right.
The book spans a decade or so in the life of the bookstore owner . The local police officer, Lambiase visits the shop and becomes hooked on books and even leads a reading group and from a business in crisis the bookshop rises from the ashes as do A.J’s spirits. Falling in love with a book rep helps him to establish a life that he had not thought possible and we see his relationship develop both with his girlfriend, his child and his customers.
He has very particular views on the type of books he wants to sell including I do not like anything over 400 pages long or under one hundred and fifty pages. I am repulsed by ghost written novels by reality television stars, celebrity picture books, sports memoirs, movie tie in editions, novelty items – and I guess this goes without saying-vampires.
If you like the above, you probably won’t like this book but if you would like a light, well written read – with possibilities, this could be the book for you.
A Long Walk Home by Judith Tebbutt.
This is a story of the kidnapping of the author by Somali Pirates while on holiday with her husband at a beach resort in Kenya.
Some members of the reading group had read the book previously but agreed it was worth a second read.
Despite being held in horrendous conditions and on a starvation diet, Tebbutt's training as a mental health social worker proved vital in interacting with her captors. When she learnt of her husband's death a short while into her captivity she showed amazing fortitude and was determined to make the "Long Walk Home" which she did after seven months of captivity.
Catrin Williams
Summer 2017 Book reviews for our latest summer reads
‘The Birthday Boys’ by Beryl Bainbridge
It is a story of Scott’s hardships and the problems on his file voyage to Antarctica in 1910. It is written in the first person narrative of the five men who were on the expedition.
Scott and his five companions were beaten to the pole by Roald Amundsen and his Norwegian team by 34 days.
The majority of our group thought it was an interesting perspective of the journey. Scott not only used dogs but horses that were already rather worn out before they reached the start of the expedition and the group found their suffering quite difficult to read, apart from the deaths of Scott and his fellow companions. Janice Delaney
‘God’s Needle’ by John Butterworth and Lily Gaynor
Lily Gaynor had just qualified as a nurse in 1957 when she set sail for Guinea-Bissau – on the North African coastline. With the help of WEC, Lily went to live among the Papel tribe, an area desperate need of medical care.
The book documents Lily’s incredible achievements as she brought hope and restoration to the people of Guinea-Bissau.
Elizabeth Coopey
Spring 2017
‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ by Michele Magorian
Britain is on the brink of WW2 when young William Beech is sent to live with Tom Oakley in the village of Little Weirwold. Tom Oakley is a sad, reclusive widower who slowly accepts the idea of having the boy live with him. Tom soon discovers William has been a victim of child abuse and greatly needs his love and care.
Tom takes William under his wing and provides him with warm clothes and plenty of food. William begins to thrive and he soon begins school. There he meets caring teachers and develops a close-knit group of friends. Although William is happy with his new life, William receives word his mother is ill and he must return to London, his heart sinks.
Worried, Tom Oakley goes to London as he had not heard from William and finds that he had been badly abused by an absent mother. After a brief stay in a London hospital, Tom and William return to Little Weirwold, where William begins a slow recovery. William realizes he has much to live for even though his mother died, he is thankful for his life with Tom, who is going to adopt him. Elizabeth Coopey
‘The Savage Garden’ by Mark Mills a successful historical crime writer.
1958 a Cambridge art historian student has been sent to write about a Tuscany garden laid out for a dead wife in the 17th century. Following clues set in the positioning of classical mythology statues within the garden he interprets the message given of the dead wife and helps to unmask the murderer of a family member that occurred towards the end of WW2. Some of us enjoyed the book though were bogged down by the details of mythology making for slow reading. Anne Davies
Reading reviews for Summer 2016
‘The Forger’ by Paul Watkins
Paris, 1939. Europe is on the brink of a Second World War and David Halifax, a young American art student, becomes involved in forging great paintings, so that the originals don’t fall into the hands of the Nazi invaders. Halifax is painfully aware that this unwanted commission could cost him his life
"Brooklyn " by Colm Toibin,
A young shy Irish girl Eilis unable to find a job in Ireland is sponsored by a visiting priest from America to emigrate to New York. Eilis is homesick a feeling of alienation but through crushing hard work begins to settle down with new friends until bad news send her back home. The book was generally enjoyed and caused a lively discussion of our remembrances of the restrictiveness of life for women in the 1950's in the Catholic country. Anne Davies
‘The Cleaner of Chartres’ by Salley Vickers
A lovely book, magical and at times sinister story about love, loss, secrets and forgiveness, wise at heart and filled with colourful characters.
‘We are completely Beside Ourselves’ by Karen Joy Fowler
A thought provoking book!
‘This Thing of Darkness’ by Harry Thompson,
A brilliant historical novel closely based upon real events that took place between 1828 and 1865. An interesting point on the BBC Radio Shipping Forecast, Finisterre is now called Fitzroy
‘This Thing of Darkness’ was enjoyed by the group. A big book with a big story. The adventures of Darwin and FitzRoy as they mapped the South Atlantic and Pacific. Storms at sea, an earthquake, discoveries of tribes, and new species of wildlife. Interwoven was the story of the men's discussions and thoughts, Darwin portrayed as focussed only on what he found and FitzRoy as trying to do what he believed to be right, at whatever cost to himself. Maureen Goff
Convenor Elizabeth Russell Coopey email : elizabethcoopey@gmail.com Tel : 01600 740120
Meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 2pm at member’s homes in Monmouth. Please let me know if anyone is interested in joining a very vibrant group full of interesting people and books, come along and try us out for a month!
Latest book reviews
The Storied Life of A J Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin,
A book with possibilities is a good read and the clue is in the title – A storied life of A.J. Fikry. Each chapter references a short story that is important to A.J so a notepad and pen is essential while reading so that you can revisit stories you may have read before and some you have not.
A.J. Fikry is a grumpy widower running a bookshop on an island in New England. The author, Gabrielle Gavin is a Harvard English major who made her name in the teenage novel market. The bookseller has a precious copy of Tambourlaine which he hopes will finance his retirement but it goes missing. Then a baby, called Maya is dumped in his shop. The baby is precocious and of course becomes an avid reader. The bookshop is doing badly because of his grumpy demeanour but over time the baby and later love, help him turn his life around.
It’s a small town book with small town characters but you can’t help wanting to find out what happens next. Yes, it is light and you can read it quickly but it is definitely a feel good book. It’s a suitable antidote to death, disaster, war and murder. Some readers have criticised it because ‘ it sucks up to librarians, book clubs and bookstores’ but that doesn’t seem to be an entirely bad thing! Our book group enjoyed it so it obviously did something right.
The book spans a decade or so in the life of the bookstore owner . The local police officer, Lambiase visits the shop and becomes hooked on books and even leads a reading group and from a business in crisis the bookshop rises from the ashes as do A.J’s spirits. Falling in love with a book rep helps him to establish a life that he had not thought possible and we see his relationship develop both with his girlfriend, his child and his customers.
He has very particular views on the type of books he wants to sell including I do not like anything over 400 pages long or under one hundred and fifty pages. I am repulsed by ghost written novels by reality television stars, celebrity picture books, sports memoirs, movie tie in editions, novelty items – and I guess this goes without saying-vampires.
If you like the above, you probably won’t like this book but if you would like a light, well written read – with possibilities, this could be the book for you.
A Long Walk Home by Judith Tebbutt.
This is a story of the kidnapping of the author by Somali Pirates while on holiday with her husband at a beach resort in Kenya.
Some members of the reading group had read the book previously but agreed it was worth a second read.
Despite being held in horrendous conditions and on a starvation diet, Tebbutt's training as a mental health social worker proved vital in interacting with her captors. When she learnt of her husband's death a short while into her captivity she showed amazing fortitude and was determined to make the "Long Walk Home" which she did after seven months of captivity.
Catrin Williams
Summer 2017 Book reviews for our latest summer reads
‘The Birthday Boys’ by Beryl Bainbridge
It is a story of Scott’s hardships and the problems on his file voyage to Antarctica in 1910. It is written in the first person narrative of the five men who were on the expedition.
Scott and his five companions were beaten to the pole by Roald Amundsen and his Norwegian team by 34 days.
The majority of our group thought it was an interesting perspective of the journey. Scott not only used dogs but horses that were already rather worn out before they reached the start of the expedition and the group found their suffering quite difficult to read, apart from the deaths of Scott and his fellow companions. Janice Delaney
‘God’s Needle’ by John Butterworth and Lily Gaynor
Lily Gaynor had just qualified as a nurse in 1957 when she set sail for Guinea-Bissau – on the North African coastline. With the help of WEC, Lily went to live among the Papel tribe, an area desperate need of medical care.
The book documents Lily’s incredible achievements as she brought hope and restoration to the people of Guinea-Bissau.
Elizabeth Coopey
Spring 2017
‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ by Michele Magorian
Britain is on the brink of WW2 when young William Beech is sent to live with Tom Oakley in the village of Little Weirwold. Tom Oakley is a sad, reclusive widower who slowly accepts the idea of having the boy live with him. Tom soon discovers William has been a victim of child abuse and greatly needs his love and care.
Tom takes William under his wing and provides him with warm clothes and plenty of food. William begins to thrive and he soon begins school. There he meets caring teachers and develops a close-knit group of friends. Although William is happy with his new life, William receives word his mother is ill and he must return to London, his heart sinks.
Worried, Tom Oakley goes to London as he had not heard from William and finds that he had been badly abused by an absent mother. After a brief stay in a London hospital, Tom and William return to Little Weirwold, where William begins a slow recovery. William realizes he has much to live for even though his mother died, he is thankful for his life with Tom, who is going to adopt him. Elizabeth Coopey
‘The Savage Garden’ by Mark Mills a successful historical crime writer.
1958 a Cambridge art historian student has been sent to write about a Tuscany garden laid out for a dead wife in the 17th century. Following clues set in the positioning of classical mythology statues within the garden he interprets the message given of the dead wife and helps to unmask the murderer of a family member that occurred towards the end of WW2. Some of us enjoyed the book though were bogged down by the details of mythology making for slow reading. Anne Davies
Reading reviews for Summer 2016
‘The Forger’ by Paul Watkins
Paris, 1939. Europe is on the brink of a Second World War and David Halifax, a young American art student, becomes involved in forging great paintings, so that the originals don’t fall into the hands of the Nazi invaders. Halifax is painfully aware that this unwanted commission could cost him his life
"Brooklyn " by Colm Toibin,
A young shy Irish girl Eilis unable to find a job in Ireland is sponsored by a visiting priest from America to emigrate to New York. Eilis is homesick a feeling of alienation but through crushing hard work begins to settle down with new friends until bad news send her back home. The book was generally enjoyed and caused a lively discussion of our remembrances of the restrictiveness of life for women in the 1950's in the Catholic country. Anne Davies
‘The Cleaner of Chartres’ by Salley Vickers
A lovely book, magical and at times sinister story about love, loss, secrets and forgiveness, wise at heart and filled with colourful characters.
‘We are completely Beside Ourselves’ by Karen Joy Fowler
A thought provoking book!
‘This Thing of Darkness’ by Harry Thompson,
A brilliant historical novel closely based upon real events that took place between 1828 and 1865. An interesting point on the BBC Radio Shipping Forecast, Finisterre is now called Fitzroy
‘This Thing of Darkness’ was enjoyed by the group. A big book with a big story. The adventures of Darwin and FitzRoy as they mapped the South Atlantic and Pacific. Storms at sea, an earthquake, discoveries of tribes, and new species of wildlife. Interwoven was the story of the men's discussions and thoughts, Darwin portrayed as focussed only on what he found and FitzRoy as trying to do what he believed to be right, at whatever cost to himself. Maureen Goff
|
PLAY READING
Convenor Margaret Pearce email brianpearce777@btinternet.com The play reading group meets monthly on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 2pm, except in December. The group read plays chosen from the Gloucester Drama and Music library catalogue. The play is chosen when the number of people who are available is known, and is cast, and prepared for sight-reading. |
READING FOR PLEASURE
Convenor Margaret Rodger magsrodger@talktalk.net We meet at 2pm on the first Tuesday of the month at the home of the convenor or another member, usually in Osbaston. We aim to have 10 members and we read one book per month, and we all make every effort to complete the month's choice in order to have an interesting and lively discussion. We are a friendly group and would welcome two new members. Please feel free to come along and see if you would like to join us. |
The text and photographs on this website must not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the copyright holder Monmouth U3A. The information provided on this website is for general information purposes only, and whilst every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and suitability of this information, neither Monmouth U3A nor the website hosts can accept liability for errors or misinterpretation resulting from its use, and any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever including without limitation and indirect or consequential loss or damage arising from use of this website. January 2014 ©