The End of Your Life Book Club

I enjoyed this beautiful book The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe which is the author's story of a "book club" he has with his mother Mary Anne who is dying from pancreatic cancer.  The story begins with Mary Anne's diagnosis and as they attend her treatments, she and Will meet to discuss and swap books they've enjoyed.  Mary Anne had a remarkably full life and always put others first.  She was passionate about the plight of refugees and as she was dying, her project was to establish a library in Afghanistan.  Mary Anne is blessed with a large loving family and Will tells the reader some of the stories of her life and their lives together.  Each chapter introduces a different book and their discussion is shared with the reader.  Mary Anne's life is extended with the help of chemotherapy and other treatments beyond what was originally expected and for that she is grateful.  Even for the reader it is difficult to say goodbye to her as we learn how her "beautiful smile" would light up a room.  I was pleased that I had read a number of the books in their "club" and for the convenience of readers, a list is at the end of the book.  A joy to read. 5/5

The Drop

I very much enjoyed The DROP by Michael Connelly which has Harry Bosch working past retirement under the Deferred Retirement Option Plan in the cold case unit.  DNA belonging to a serial sex offender is found when an old case of murder is reopened.  However, the offender would have been a child at the time so an explanation needs to be found.  Bosch is sidetracked by the death of the son of an old adversary, Irvin Irving, a local politician, who insists that Bosch investigate the death which he thinks is suspicious.  Bosch is then investigating two cases and there are tensions with his offsider David Chu as newspapers are getting inside information.  Bosch meets with the sex offender who tells him about his childhood and the person he blames for making him the way he is.  Finally Bosch is able to resolve both crimes, one with shocking results.  It is a good suspenseful ride. 4/5

May Book Club

We had a very enjoyable evening on Monday evening with our generous hostess providing a delicious supper of home-baked goodies on her beautiful china.  She had bought a great selection of books to pick from and we'll enjoy getting in to those and the others books available.  We had a few absences

with a couple of ladies not well, one visiting her daughter interstate, and one working unexpectedly.  One lady who used to be a member before moving overseas
for a while visited.  She is looking forward to being a grandmother soon. Two ladies had celebrated their 60th birthday on the same day during April and very much enjoyed the day.  Next month it is my turn to host and that means I've got ALL the "leftover" books, so it's like being a kid in a candy store with some wonderful books to choose from. 

Lovers & Newcomers

I quite enjoyed Lovers & Newcomers by Rosie Thomas which was set in the English countryside.  A middle-aged widow, Miranda, invites her friends from her university days to live out their retirement on her property to keep each other company.  There are two couples who have been together for 30 years and a single male friend.  One couple has bought part of Miranda's property to build a modern home but during the initial excavation a discovery is made which will affect all their lives.  There are many other characters introduced to the story but it is mainly about friends in their sixties trying to deal with the fact they are getting older.  31/2/5

Brookfield Stories

I enjoyed reading Brookfield Stories edited by Joy Stacey which is a collection of oral histories of people who lived in the Brookfield area. Brookfield Stories was an oral history project begun by Brendan Ryan (the first president of the historical society) 10 years ago and has continued since then by other society members.  Joy Stacey took on the task of editing the transcripts of the recordings to form them in to this book for the Society’s 10^th anniversary.  These recordings of “ordinary” people of Brookfield tell the story of its growth and a way of life now long past.  It is a wonderful example of how oral history can be used to tell the story of a community.  The book is on sale in the Brookfield General Store, the hairdressers and the Brookfield Produce Store as well as the Museum on market mornings.  You may also order it by emailing Joy Stacey joy.stacey@bigpond.com ($25.00 plus postage). 4/5

The Racketeer

I enjoyed The Racketeer by John Grisham, a story about Malcolm Bannister who has already served five years in an American Federal prison for a crime he didn't commit.  Malcolm is a lawyer (or was before he was imprisoned) and carefully constructs an intricate plan to win his freedom.    On the "outside" the FBI is trying to find the murderer of a Federal Court judge and they're having little success.  While in prison Malcolm has helped out many prisoners with their appeals and has sometimes been successful, therefore gaining a good reputation within the prison.  He has had plenty of time to plot his revenge and it gradually all comes together, but the reader is constantly wondering if he will "get away with it." The story is highly incredible and the reader will need to suspend belief and "go along for the ride".  It has many twists and turns and the reader won't be sure how it ends till the end. 4/5

Instructions for a Heatwave

I quite liked Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell which was set in 1976 England when the country was enduring a heatwave.  A middle-aged couple, originally from Ireland, are living in London with their three children grown up and left home.One morning Robert leaves the house as he routinely does to buy his newspaper but this time doesn't return.  His wife Gretta cannot understand what has happened and calls her three children, Michael Francis, Monica and Aoife home to help her deal with the situation.  Michael Francis is having marital problems with his wife Claire and they have two young children.  Monica is on her second marriage which is also looking rocky, with two step-children.  Aoife has "escaped" to New York and is working as a photographer's assistant.  This is one big dysfunctional family and this new crisis eventually resolves some of the issues plaguing the family.  Set against the backdrop of a major heatwave leaves all the characters a bit tense. 31/2/5