Tag: Must Read Books

Oooooo…!!! – Hone Tuwhare

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel A collection of poetry from Hone Tuwhare (Nga Puhi iwi, hapu Ngati Korokoro, Ngati Tautahi, Te Popoto and Te Uri-O-Hau). ❚ “This book has been collated from a large collection of Māori poet Hone Tuwhare’s writing, discovered sprawled over… Continue Reading “Oooooo…!!! – Hone Tuwhare”

2009 – Bookerthon

What a substantial stack of books on the Man Booker longlist this year! And we don’t just mean in size, but in scope, in ambition and punch. The ideas and importance as well as the number of pages seemed huge and overwhelming to us… Continue Reading “2009 – Bookerthon”

Summertime – J M Coetzee

READ FOR BOOKERTHON A fictionalised memoir detailing the life of John Coetzee written from the point of view of the biographer. Told from the perspective of five people who have known him including a married woman with whom he had an affair, his cousin… Continue Reading “Summertime – J M Coetzee”

The Little Stranger – Sarah Waters

READ FOR BOOKERTHON The Little Stranger is a mixed genre story set in a dilapidated mansion in Warwickshire, England in the 1940s. It features a country doctor who calls on an old family of declining fortunes who own the old estate that is crumbling… Continue Reading “The Little Stranger – Sarah Waters”

The Glass Room – Simon Mawer

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Based on a real villa in Czechoslovakia, the house in this book is a minimalist masterpiece with a transparent glass room as its centre. Built for Liesel and Viktor Landauer in the 1920s, the house becomes the central character and the… Continue Reading “The Glass Room – Simon Mawer”

The Quickening Maze – Adam Foulds

READ FOR BOOKERTHON The true story of poet John Clare’s incarceration in London’s Epping Forest, a mental asylum run on the reformist principles of occupational therapy. Lord Alfred Tennyson had his brother treated there and the book bases its storyline on the speculation of… Continue Reading “The Quickening Maze – Adam Foulds”

The Children’s Book – A S Byatt

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Loosely based on the life of E Nesbit, The Children’s Book follows the lives of several inter-related families from 1895 through WWI. ❚ “The Wellwood family consists of Olive, Humphrey, Olive’s sister Violet, and many children. They are Fabians, living in… Continue Reading “The Children’s Book – A S Byatt”

Back Booker 2006

Before we get onto this year’s Bookerthon we’ll sneak in another Back Booker. This time we are looking at 2006 which had a huge variety of narratives and settings, yet each tale delivered the authenticity of a lived experience. Being lost in the story… Continue Reading “Back Booker 2006”

The Potato Factory – Bryce Courtenay

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo Set in the early 19th century, The Potato Factory explores the lives of London’s thieves, con men, prostitutes, street urchins and lowlife many of whom, suffering from England’s social and political inequalities, are sent to the penal colony of… Continue Reading “The Potato Factory – Bryce Courtenay”

Twilight – Stephanie Meyer

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Nadine Seventeen-year-old Isabella Swan moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen, whom she comes to consider her immortal soulmate. About three things I… Continue Reading “Twilight – Stephanie Meyer”