Unsheltered - 30th July

Our last book, A Brief History of Seven Killings, was a tough read. Those who finished it reported on it improving and enjoying it by the end, however the graphic violence and the lack of depth of the characters initially put many people off.

Our next book is Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver.

"Brilliantly executed and compulsively readable, Unsheltered is the story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum, as they navigate the challenges of surviving a world in the throes of major cultural shifts."

Other pitched books:

Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Incredible Journeys - David Barrie

Women and Power - Mary Beard

The Awakening - Kate Chopin

Our meeting is online this month, with the hope that we'll be able to return safely to the Rookery in August.

The Zoom meeting code will be posted on the Facebook event on the day of the meeting.

Pride Month - A Brief History of Seven Killings - 25th June

Our last book, My Sister the Serial Killer was enjoyed by most but some found it dull and in need of more action from the sister.

Our next book Is A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James.
"A Brief History of Seven Killings, tells the story of the attempted assassination of Bob Marley, who is referred to throughout as “the singer”, and its aftermath. But perhaps more importantly, it tells the story of Jamaica in the 1970s and early 80s, when the guns flooded in, CIA agents took up residence, and the island went through one of its most violently defining moments." - The Guardian

This month for Pride, all our pitches were LGBTQ authors and you are encouraged to rock the rainbow for our meeting, which will take place via Zoom. Details to be posted on the day of the event on Facebook.

Other pitches:
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
Go Tell it on the Mountain - James Baldwin
Permission - Saskia Vogel
The Year of Blue Water - Yanyi
Maurice - E.M. Forster

This month's book is a big one, please don't feel you can't attend if you have not finished it. At our next meeting, we'll be pitching our Summer Read, which is a larger than usual book (600+ pages) that we read over several months and have a themed meeting at the end of the summer, this is alongside our regular reads.

My Sister, The Serial Killer - 28th May 8.15pm

We discussed a range of books last meeting including The Night Circus. Some were blown away by the book however others weren't captured by it. It was a good meeting and nice to see people on Zoom. Its been decided that meetings will now take place at 8.15pm.

Our next book is My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

"Sibling loyalty comes under pressure in a Lagos-set debut that mixes crime, love story and family saga" - The Guardian

Other pitched books

The Swerve - Stephen Greenblatt

A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness

The Invisible Man - HG Wells

Unsheltered - Barbara Kingswood

The Overstory - Richard Powers

Extraordinary Insects - Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson

Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer

See our Facebook Event for the Zoom code, which will be released on the day of the meeting.

The Night Circus - Thursday 30th April - Zoom Meetup

We had our first digital meeting this week on Zoom, it was different but worked quite well. The general consensus about the last book, the Heart of the Sea, was that it was a bit dull to start with, but interesting although dark read.

For our next meeting, we're trying something a bit different. To avoid pressure on delivery services during the Corona virus, the pitches were for books our members are planning on reading next month. We asked members to then vote on books they've read/own/planning to read and so our next meeting will discuss a variety of books.

Books will be discussed in order of popularity, with the Night Circus being our main book. To join in with our next meeting, you don't need to have read a particular book and definitely not all of them! If you want to join in with one of the reads below that you don't already have at home, we recommend using Kindle, Audible or Waterstones (approved shop we're supporting as they have given their workers flexibility to not come in + not had their pay reduced).

Books to discuss:

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

An American Marriage - Tayari Jones

Becoming - Michelle Obama

Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evarosto

Unsheltered - Barbara Kingsolver

Heartburn - Nora Ephron

Other pitched books : (less than 5 votes)

Everything is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer

The Changeling - Matt Wesoloeski

Mrs Dalloway - Virgina Woolf

The Hobbit

Black Leopard, Red Wolf - Marlon James

The Invisible Man - H.G Wells

Women Who Fight Back - Stacey Dooley

Theodore Boone - John Grisham

In the Heart of the Sea - Tuesday 24th March

Our last book, When All Is Said, was loved by nearly everyone. People found it a moving and heart-warming book.

Our next book is In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

'In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex is a book by American writer Nathaniel Philbrick about the loss of the whaler Essex in the Pacific Ocean in 1820.' - Wikipedia

Other pitched books:

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

My Name is Leon - Kit De Waal

3 Women - Lisa Taddeo

The Glory of my Father and my Mother's Castle - Marcel Pagnol

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

My Cat Yugoslavia - Pajtim Statovci

Netherland - Joseph O'Neil

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Meetings take place in The Rookery in Clapham, in the upstairs room from 7pm.

When All is Said - 27th February

Our last book, Hitchhiker's Guide, was enjoyed by most. It was a fun, unpredictable read.

Our next book is When All is Said by Anne Griffin. 'Through one man’s twilight-hour toasts to five people who defined his life, Griffin weaves a powerful and tender depiction of ordinary existence in all its flawed and quiet glory. Warm, compassionate and wryly funny, When All Is Said is an understated literary gem.' - Waterstones

Other pitches:

Bookworm - Lucy Mangan

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John le Carré

The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter - Erika L. Sanchez

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

Middle England - Jonathan Coe

Uncommon Type - Tom Hanks

Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

Once Upon a River - Diane Setterfield

My Sister, the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - 23rd January

There was lots of varied opinion for our last book, Coal Black Morning. Everyone agreed it was well written, but many found the author's arrogance a bit much.

Our next book is Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
"To read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is to step into the garden shed of a maverick genius while he’s out, to discover what ideas he has left lying around." - Guardian

Other pitched books:
Putney - Sofka Zinovieff
Spacekid Ilk - Andrew Hammond
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace - Jeff Hobbs
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Let it Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
Kiss Kiss - Roald Dahl

For our meetings, new members are always welcome. We meet in the upstairs room of the Rookery from 7pm which gives people time to eat and get drinks. Book chat starts at 7.30pm and pitches for the next month's book are afterwards.

Please join our Facebook page for the most up to date information, including our socials https://www.facebook.com/groups/claphambookclub/