Wine Books and More: August reads

 

The secret diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 years old - Hendrik Groen
Good book, celebrating life.

I am pilgrim - Terry Hayes
Found it unsettling. Power of America, world view, not comfortable.

Marc Dane Series - James Swallow
Closer to Bourne that Jack Reacher. 

The wife between us - Greer Hendricks
Didn't really like the twists or feel like they really contributed to the story.

The anarchy: The relentless rise of the East India Company - William Dalrymple
Very interesting and readable.

Black water - Louise Doughty
Set in Indonesia. Was interesting. 

An almost perfect holiday - Lucy Diamond
Nice and light read.

The lost future of Pepperharrow - Natasha Pulley
A little bit different. Japan 1880s with a steam punk style. Interesting.

Akin - Emma Donoghue
A travelogue of Nice. 

The dead will tell - Linda Castillo
Really enjoyed this one!

Liar - Lesley Pearse
Nice, easy book to read but a bit wishy washy.

Where the crawdads sing - Delia Owens

The history of loneliness - John Boyne
Found it quiet enlightening, make me look at loneliness differently.  

Pull no punches: Memoir of a political survivor - Judith Collins
Liked the book. A good insight into her life and how parliament works.

The operator - Gretchen Berg
1950's America. Similar to The Help.

The gilded cage - Camilla Lackberg
Good read with a surprising end. Recommend it.

The gap - Benjamin Gilmour
True but with names changed. Paramedics in Sydney. Blew me away because it's all true- terribly sad.

The absolute book - Elizabeth Knox
Norfolk, London and Auckland fiction. Librarian writing about things that threaten libraries. Fantasy rooted in temporary concerns. Really good read, couldn't put it down.

The underground railroad: A novel - Colson Whitehead
Sad. Based on true concept but took poetic licence. 

Becoming - Michelle Obama
Non-fiction and a bit hard to get in to. Interesting to see her life. 3 1/2 stars

The  dry - Jane Harper
Didn't finish how I expected it to. Good book.

Wine, Books & More May Roundup

Here is a quick look at what the Wine, Books & More book club were reading through the month of May:

Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Read it in high school and it made a huge impact on my life.  Now going to reread it and see what I get out of it as an adult.

Gone Missing – Linda Castillo

Really, really enjoyed it. You get a real sense that you are there. Each book keeps getting better.

An Elderly Lady is up to no Good – Helene Tursten

I thought it was really weird and quirky. Although it was a nice interlude.

It Started with Paris – Cathy Kelly
Good light read, can’t stop laughing.

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Re-reading it.  Liked it in the past and still really enjoyed it. 4 stars

Middlemarch – George Elliott
Supposedly the greatest novel ever written. 19^th century, small town life in Britain. Enjoyed it but can definitely tell it was written in the 19^th century.

Normal People – Sally Rooney
Watched the TV series but haven’t read the book. Supposedly very faithful to the book.  Based on an Irish couple and focuses on the class inequality between them and their developing relationship. Quite sad but really interesting.

Five Lose Dad in the Garden Centre – Bruno Vincent
Very middle class British humour. 2 stars

The Standing Chandelier – Lionel Shriver
Quick read. He’s great at observational stuff and reading into motivations. Based on man and women relationships. 4 stars. A novella from "Property: A collection"

Calling Major Tom – David M Barrett
Becomes an accidental astronaut. Very contrived British humour.

Clash of Kings – George R R Martin
Really enjoying. Very clever character presentation.

Passport to Hell – Robin Hyde

Set in WW1 and based on a true person. Hard to read and get a bit fed up with the characters.

What If – Randall Munroe
Random questions people ask and their scientific answers. Interesting read.

Elements of Eloquence
Well written book on the origins of words and phrases.

The Genius of Birds – Jennifer Ackerman
Non-fiction book looking at the cleverness of birds especially crows and ravens.

Heart Sick – Chelsea Cain
Written in 2007. Focuses on a female serial killer and the disturbing relationship she builds with a lead detective. Really great read. A bit graphic at times but fascinating psychological thriller.

The Warehouse – Rob Hart
Reminiscent of the Black Mirror tv series. It’s not too far from where we are now. Slightly terrifying view of the possible future.

The Problem of Pain – CS Lewis
The purpose of the book is to address the issue of pain and suffering in the world and why God lets it happen.  Interesting so far. CS Lewis was very clever and a man of his time.

The Light Brigade – Kameron Hurley
Fantastic read. Mix of Starship Troopers and the Edge of Tomorrow. Soldier in a future not far from ours starts experiencing time very differently to everyone else. 5 stars

Zero: the biography of a dangerous idea – Charles Seife

History of the number 0. Good book. Reminded me that high school math was a long time ago!

Infamy: the crimes of Ancient Rome – Jerry Toner
Brings Rome to trial both by today’s standards and also ancient Roman standards.

Wine, Books and More via Zoom

The Wine Books and More group didn't let a little thing like a worldwide pandemic get in the way of their monthly catch up in April. We all gathered around our screens and over Zoom shared what we had been reading. Two hours later we all had a much larger TBR (to be read) pile! Here are a few of the books we shared:

David Eddings
I had forgotten how readable and funny he is!

Chilbury Ladies’ Choir – Jennifer Ryan
Very readable book and a window into WWII. The story skips between 4 or 5 people which come together as a story as a whole. All belong to the choir.

Linda Costillo
She has such a lovely way of explaining things.

Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson
Very great writer but there are lot of story lines going on

Permafrost - Alastair Reynolds
Told between two time periods to try and change the future.

Call of the wild - Jack London
Saw the movie had come out so reread it. It is a great story of heroism and finding your place in the world. It doesn’t have the fluffing out that modern texts do.

Blue Moon – Lee Child

Really enjoying it- old Jack Reacher is great!

When the Floods Came – Clare Morral
Dystopian novel, following a family and their children. Interesting to read during a global pandemic.

Kin – Snorri Kristjansson
A Viking murder mystery set in AD times. An interesting story from a time period I enjoy/am interested in

The Whole Day Through – Patrick Gale
 Lots of character building

The Last Town - Blake Crouch
The best of the Wayward Pines books. Really enjoyed it

Disgrace- J M Coetzee
Disturbing in many ways but thought it was brilliant 5 stars. Sat there for some time afterwards in thought.

Nazi Officers Wife – Edith Hahn-Beer

True story about women who is sent to work for the German. She is Jewish. A very interesting story

This is How You Loose the Time War- Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Two authors telling the story of two aliens writing letters to each other in the middle of a time war. Different and unusual and I really enjoyed it

The Testaments – Margaret Atwood
Set 30 years after events of Handmaid’s Tale. Really good, brings together everything. Interesting that it doesn’t contradict the TV series. 

The Girl who Lived Twice – David Lagercrantz
The first two he wrote weren’t that good but now he has got it and found his way. Really good.

Trauma Cleaner – Sarah Krasnostein
Crime, murder and biographies.

Freakonomics- Steven D Levitt
A great deep dive into topics you would never even consider that they might be linked

Wine, Books & More: February Reads

Here is this month's collection of reads discussed at Wine, Books & More:

Two Brothers - Ben Elton 
I really, really loved it. Based in Nazi Berlin it jumps between 1920-1950s. I got really emotional reading it. The book is based on Ben Elton’s family and I liked it from many different angles.

Pray for Silence –Linda Castillo 
Was a good read.

Pines – Blake Crouch

Didn’t like it. Thought it was weird.

The Hanged Man – K.D.Edwards
I LOVED IT!!!!

The Midnight Queen –Sylva Hunter

Fantasy thriller. 4 stars. Read it really fast, so absorbing.

Ducks, Newburyport –Lucy Ellmann

Told as a stream of consciousness. The story of the narrator’s life is interwoven with stream of consciousness. Pleased I read it. 4 stars.

Rewind – Catherine Ryan Howard

Really well written. Really enjoyed it.

Good Omens – Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
Felt a bit dated, didn’t really get the humour. Overly English.

The Art of Dying –Ambrose Parry
Set in Victorian Edinburgh. Historical crime novel with a Sherlock Holmes twist. Very good read.

If You Lived Here You’d Be Home By Now – Christopher Ingraham
Non-fiction. Dataset journalist Christopher lives in Baltimore and travels to Washington every day. Currently compiling a dataset on the best places to live in USA. A town he mocked challenges him to come and visit their town before he can really judge their town.  Good read, slice of life.

Daughters of Gloriavale – Lilia Tarawa
Waited forever to read. NZ’s version of a fundamentalist society.  The book is a great read.

The Hideaway – Lauren Denton
Really nice book about a girl living in New Orleans. She inherits a villa and falls in love. So many unexpected plot twists. Would highly recommend.

The Coroner’s Lunch –Colin Cotteril
More enjoyable if you read it all at once rather than a bit at a time. Part of a series, wouldn’t rush out to read more of them.

Wine Books and More: Summer Reads

Wayward Pines Trilogy- Blake Crouch

This trilogy is spreading like wildfire through the bookclub!

Jack Caffrey series- Mo Hayder
The last book started with a BANG and just kept on going.

The peppermint tea chronicles – Alexander McCall Smith
A nice slowdown of pace

Sythe – Neal Shusterman
The first 5 star review of the year! Can easily see them making a movie of this.

Gotta get Theroux this: My life and strange times intelevision – Louis Theroux

Quite entertaining.

Cilka’s journey – Heather Morris
A bit disappointing. Based on a true person and an easy read.

The political years – Marilyn Waring
Marilyn is a woman of principle. This is a really good book, my best of 2019.

Damascus – Christos Tsiolkas
Fictional story of St Paul. Really interesting and time appropriate and a bit violent.

Middle England – Jonathan Coe

Set 2000s-2017 and explores the impact of Brexit on families. An interesting look at British politics.

Baxter’s requiem – Matthew Crow
Set in an English resthome and involves adventuring across Europe. Conveyed lovely sentiments.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine – Gail Honeymoon
Quite a lovely read. Eleanor seems to be on the spectrum, her life begins to fall apart but there is someone to help.

Of all that ends – Gunter Grass
English translation of German poetry. Been enjoying.

Hogfather – Terry Pratchett
Still awesome- I love it!

Night Angel Series – Brent Weeks
I love it- such a good fantasy because it has a bit of everything! I’m absorbed into everyone’s lives.

One of us is lying – Karen McManus
I liked the plot but found it hard to distinguish the characters.

Those is peril – Wilbur Smith
Really, really good! I ran late to work late a couple of times reading this.

Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Galbraith writes well but not as good as JK Rowling. There is no similarity in writing styles and I found it hard to read. Overall, long and boring with some isolated passages that were well written.

To be taught if fortunate – Becky Chambers
Interesting concept. Boring until something happened but that something was SOMETHING.

We were liars - E. Lockhart
Thought it was really good and absolutely devastating. Best YA I’ve ever read.

You’ll never see me again – Lesley Pearse
Normally like her but not this time. I felt that it wasn't phrased for the correct time. An easy read.

Two brothers – Ben Elton
So so good! Not what I expected but can hardly put it down.

Wine, Books and More Book Club - December Reads

A Tapestry of Treason – Anne O’Brien

Historical fiction. Richard ll vs Henry lV. Good read, really enjoyed it. Like the way she writes.

Sworn to Silence – Linda Castillo
Loved it, couldn’t put it down and I’m only a 3rd of the way through. I never would’ve picked
up if I hadn’t come to book club, recommended to me.

Words of Radiance – Brandon Sanderson

It’s been a really great series and good read so far. Slow world build but finally getting an
idea of what’s going on.

The Wife Between Us – Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Quite a clever book, didn’t see the end coming.

Wayward (Wayward Pines Book 2) – Blake Crouch
I didn’t see how it could be better than book one but it was! The end made you want to read
book three straight away.

The Last Town (Wayward Pines Book 3) – Blake Crouch
Not as complex as book two but more intense.Cold Granite – Stuart MacBride
Quite good. Tartan noir, set in Aberdeen. So well written.

Pig Island – Mo Hayder
Cult book. Nice twist at the end. Set as a standalone.

Confession – Martin O’Brien
French mystery. Series of books but really enjoy them. Have to be read in sequence.

The Hills Have Spies – Mercedes Lackey
Latest book in the Heralds of Valdemar series. Really enjoyed it.

Severance – Ling Ma
Set in New York then moves across America. Dystopian. 4 stars.