This month’s meeting was an introduction to the SWFT Wellbeing Reading Group and an opportunity for members to discuss books they’ve been reading recently, or particular authors they enjoy. While we all admitted to being busy, it was agreed that we were all guilty of adding to the ‘to be read pile’ – and with that in mind, these are the books and authors that our group recommended:
One of our readers admitted to laughing out loud while sitting in her garden at this irreverent memoir by the instantly recognisable Salford Punk poet John Cooper Clarke.
The autobiography is filled with descriptions of extraordinary people and stories of his rock and roll career, as well as Cooper Clarke’s views on popular culture. It was described as entertaining, although it runs out of steam near the end.
The Library by Bella Osborne was a Book Group choice by the George Eliot Wellbeing Reading Group, and the author recently visited to Rugby Library to celebrate Libraries Week.
The reader had not had high expectations, thinking it might be a dull read, however it turned out to be a cosy, nice read. It also had the added bonus of being set in the local area so some familiar places were described in the story.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon is the first in The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. This Gothic novel is set in Barcelona and follows the young bookworm Daniel Sempere as he is taken to the mysterious Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There he is allowed to choose a book and has to ensure its survival, while one man is determined to destroy it.
A compelling story, with vivid descriptions, and very well translated.
This coming of age murder mystery set in 1950/60s America was recommended by one of our readers who had recently finished it.
The consensus was that the novel was far better than the film version which has just come out.
The Code Breakers by Walter Isaacson is a non fiction title describing the origins of CRISPR, invented by Nobel prize winning scientist Jennifer Doudna. CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a tool that can be used to edit DNA, and it has created an ethical minefield, as well as providing hope.
The book was a big hit with the reader who highly recommended it.
Life, The Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams was a highlight for one reader, who recently revisited it after a number of years. It’s a light-hearted but insightful read, full of larger-than-life characters with improbable names
The reader also recommended the Terry Pratchett series which address real world problems in a fictional world.
One of the group members had just finished reading Girl A by Abigail Dean, but said that the book had sounded good but had a rather disappointing end.
Still Life by Sarah Winman was thoroughly enjoyed by one reading group member who had only just finished it. The book starts in 1944, and moves from the Tuscan Hills to London to Florence. It’s a love story of places, art and family.
Our new book is All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle, which is our Black History Month choice:
“Hubert Bird’s daughter has heard all about his perfect, fun-filled retirement from his regular phone calls. But Hubert Bird is lying. He’s turned his back on the world, living an isolated existence. When his daughter announces she’s coming to stay, he faces a race against time: can he make his real life resemble his fake life before he’s found out? Or has he left it too late?”
You can pick up a copy from the Education Centre Library at Warwick Hospital ready for our next meeting. It’s first come, first served, so don’t leave it too late!
We’ll meet again on Teams on Friday 18th November, at the slightly later time of 1 pm, to share our thoughts on All The Lonely People – hope to see you there! For more information please contact the team at SWFT at Library@swft.nhs.uk