Category: Literary fiction
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Olga is an older woman who has taken on the role of carer to her friend Lara, Lara’s grieving daughter Sophie and Sophie’s child Michael. The family are extremely grateful for – what appears to be – her selfless… Continue Reading “A Good Winter – Gigi Fenster”
Category: Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, PsychologicalTags: book-recommendations, book-recs, book-reviews, bookclub-blog, bookclub-recommendations, Books, fiction, must-read-books, nz-fiction, stone-yard-devotional, what-to-read
As an environment where reading is championed and valued, bookclubs provide an encouraging culture of shared learning; of the ability to understand a reality other than our own. Establishing culture is not only an important basis of book clubs but books too, for stories… Continue Reading “2022 – Reading Culture”
Posted on December 1, 2021
by thefreerangebookclub
1 Comment
Twelve months ago we agreed we were glad to see the end of 2020 but, unfortunately we are just as pleased to say goodbye to 2021. Lockdowns, frustrations and uncertainty have prevailed, but at least books were still being written and published and read.… Continue Reading “2021 – End Of Year Thoughts”
READ FOR BOOKERTHON A woman with new online prominence grapples with the reality of the cyber world and real life ⫸ “The internet, referred to as ‘the portal’, is given a life of itself in this novel, a place where the unnamed protagonist is… Continue Reading “No One Is Talking About This – Patricia Lockwood”
Category: Booker Prize, Humour, Literary fiction, US fiction, Women's PrizeTags: Best Books, Bookclub, Bookclub Blog, Booker Prize, Books, Literature, Must Read Books, Patricia Lockwood, Women's Prize
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jo Set in a dystopian future, all women, on the first day of their menstruation, are allocated a future at random: a white ticket grants marriage and children; a blue ticket grants a career and freedom. Women are told this… Continue Reading “Blue Ticket – Sophie MackIntosh”
Category: Domestic Fiction, Dystopian, Feminism, Literary fiction, Science Fiction, UK authorTags: Best Books, Blue Ticket, Bookclub, Bookclub Blog, Books, Books To Read, Dystopian, Handmaid's Tale, Literature, Must Read Books
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo Apt for a loch setting, there is dark and mysterious element at work in Summerwater. Its title is a reference to “The Ballad of Semerwater” by the poet William Watson. This was based on a legend in which… Continue Reading “Summerwater – Sarah Moss”
Category: Contemporary fiction, Literary fiction, UK authorTags: Best Books, Bookclub, Bookclub Blog, Books, Books To Read, Literature, Must Read Books, Sarah Moss, Summerwater
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jodie. Esther Greenwood’s story is remarkably similar to Sylvia Plath’s own life and struggles and is considered autobiographical fiction, despite being written under a pseudonym. Esther is an editor with mental illness who soon succumbs to being institutionally committed, fighting… Continue Reading “The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath”
Category: Coming of Age, Female Experience, Feminism, Literary fiction, US fictionTags: Best Books, Bookclub, Bookclub Blog, Books, Books To Read, Classics, Literature, Must Read Books, Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
Suzy: “All four books seemed completely deserving of their place on the shortlist. While I would have thought the judges may have leaned more towards Nothing to See I am not mad at all about Bug Week winning. There are flashes from the various Bug Week stories that still sit… Continue Reading “2021 NZ Book Awards”
Category: Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, NZ Book Awards, Short StoriesTags: Best Books, Bookclub, Bookclub Blog, Books, Books To Read, Kiwi lit, Literature, Must Read Books, NZ Book Awards, NZ Fiction
Read for NZ Book Awards An inmate at Buchenwald concentration camp aids the commandant who is trying to save his wife’s life ⫸ “Remote Sympathy tells the stories of several people and families who all have one thing in common: the Buchenwald concentration camp… Continue Reading “Remote Sympathy – Catherine Chidgey”
Category: Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, War storyTags: Best Books, Bookclub, Bookclub Blog, Books, Books To Read, Kiwi lit, Literature, Must Read Books, NZ Book Awards, NZ Fiction, Ockhams
Read for NZ Book Awards A brutal story of rugby, rape and toxic masculinity. ⫸ “After a Wellington School’s revered rugby final, a 15-year-old year is gang raped at the after party. We are then made privvy to the thoughts, actions and emotions of… Continue Reading “Sprigs – Brannavan Gnanalingam”
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