Did we love it or loathe it?
All books are rated out of 10.
- Me Before You by JoJo Moyes (rated: 9.05)
- Misery by Stephen King (rated: 9.0)
- The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers (rated: 8.8)
- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (rated: 8.64)
- Room by Emma Donoghue (rated: 8.7)
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt (rated: 8.4)
- 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup (rated: 8.4)
- We Need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver (rated: 8.35)
- Pollard by Laura Beatty (rated: 8.18)
- The girl you left behind by JoJo Moyes (rated: 7.95)
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett (rated: 7.9)
- Timbucktu by Paul Auster (rated: 7.8)
- The Thread by Victoria Hislop (rated: 7.5)
- Before I go to sleep by S J Watson (rated: 7.0)
- One Day by David Nichols (rated: 7.3)
- The Killing Place by Tess Gerritsen (rated: 6.7)
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (rated: 6.6)
- When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman (rated: 6.6)
- A Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (rated: 6.75)
- The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (rated: 6.5)
- The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (rated: 6.5)
- The Brave by Nicholas Evans (rated: 6.5)
- The hundred year old man who climbed out of a window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (rated: 6.4)
- The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert (rated: 6.4)
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (rated: 6.4)
- The Lighthouse by Alison Moore (rated: 6.4)
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (rated: 6.1)
- A cat, a hat and a piece of string by Joanne Harris (rated: 6:0)
- The thoughts and happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones (rated: 5.95)
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (rated: 5.85)
- Wars of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden (rated: 5.8)
- The Chequer Board by Nevil Shute (rated: 5.7)
- The Slap by Christos Tsioklos (rated: 5.6)
- A Pleasure and A Calling by Phil Hogan (rated: 5.4)
- 61 Hours by Lee Childs (rated: 5.3)
- Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (rated: 5.3)
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (rated: 5.1)
- The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (rated: 5.1)
- Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez (rated: 4.8)
- Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (rated: 4.75)
- Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens (rated: 4.5)
- Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman (rated: 4.4)
- Elephant Moon by John Sweeney (rated: 4.4)
- The Mistletoe Bride by Kate Mosse (rated: 3.75)
- Tangled Lives by Hilary Boyd (rated: 3.1)
- The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal (rated: 2.7)
Also read:
The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne
Dissolution by C J Sansom
The Shack by William Paul Young
May We Be Forgiven by A M Holmes
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (chosen as Cityread London book in 2014)Some comments:
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
We were really divided about this novel which covers the themes of memory, history, identity and endings. If you like books with lots of plot then this is not one for you.
Rating = 6.5 out of 10
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Overall, we generally liked this story.
Rating = 7.9 out of 10
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
In a word we loved this book.
Rating = 9.05 out of 10
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
Is Dickens still England's best known and loved author? In our judgement - no, since this is collectively our least favourite book. A lot of us found it wordy and very few of us could face even finishing what is in fact Dickens' last unfinished novel.
Rating = 4.5 out of 10
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
We all agreed that the author deserved credit for bringing the story behind the origin of the HeLa strain of cancer cells which have been used extensively in tissue research to public attention. For this reason alone we were mostly glad to have read this story.
However, we were split in opinion about the focus and style of the writing (even though Skloot is a creative writer). Some people thought the author should have expanded the focus on Henrietta herself, the background life of researchers rather than becoming a voice for the family and featuring herself in the story. This is maybe more a failure of a strong book editor and the book marketers. Maybe it should have been called instead "Henrietta Lacks, HeLa cells, the Lacks family and me"?
Rating = 5.85 out of 10
Timbucktu by Paul Auster
This is a clever, inventive story of "Mr Bones", a dog who lives with his old, dying owner - Willy G Christmas. If you like Jack London's 'White Fang' or 'Call of the Wild' then you are sure to like this as well. The story is clearly told with great love and would appeal to dog and non-dog lovers alike.
Rating = 7.8 out of 10
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Given the storyline - of a troubled boy who has committed a school shooting - told from the perspective of the mother - this book is likely to always raise debate and will undoudtedly become a classic of our time.
Rating = 8.35 out of 10
61 Hours by Lee Child
Fast paced, memorable and powerful main character, a clear (chilly) sense of place makes this very readable. No wonder Child is one of the most popular authors with book sales of in the millions annually.
This isn't in the literary statosphere of the likes of 'The Secret History' and unsurprisingly some of our discussions focused on Jack Reacher's underwear issues! For that reason alone, I wouldn't dismiss reading another Lee Child novel including part 2 of this story - 'Worth Dying For'.
Rating = 5.3 out of 10
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Whoever said that people can't appreciate excellent descriptive literary writing and a lengthy novel (600+ pages) any more. This book was universally well received by the group who loved the pace, the setting, if not so much the 'evil' characters but above all the sheer beauty of the writing.
Rating = 8.4 out of 10
The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert
This novel actually consists of three distinct stories which explore a sense of German guilt in response to Nazism, the holocaust and World War Two. The writing is very sparse which suits the weight of history behind the novel and while the book was recognised as offering a fresh perspective not all of us enjoyed the author's writing style.
Rating = 6.4 out of 10
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Anne Burrows
Our group was divided on this first and only novel telling the story of Juliet Ashton and how she develops a friendship with a group of Guernsey islanders in the wake of World War Two, built on the shared connection of books. Some of us were charmed, others less so....maybe the letter format failed to serve the story to its best advantage?
Rating = 5.1 out of 10
Room by Emma Donoghue
Highly creative novel about the relationship between a mum and her son locked in a shed and their experience of adapting to life in the world at large. Our highest rated book.....
Rating = 8.7 out of 10
The Killing Place by Tess Gerritsen
Easy to read medical thriller that made a welcome non-controversial change to our previous discussion about The Slap.
Rating = 6.7 out of 10
The Slap by Christos TsiolkasControversial Aussie bestseller about an incident at a suburban barbeque where a man slaps a child that is not his own. This book provoked very varied reactions and is clearly one that will be discussed with interest by other book groups.
Rating = 5.6 out of 10
One Day by David Nicholls
Clever concept and character study of two friends which is true to life and a slow burner of a story
Rating = 7.3 out of 10
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Was this book really worth a £50,000 publishers advance? Generally disappointing but did have some supporters.
Rating = 5.3 out of 10
