Purple Book Club Summer Read 2010

2010 Summer Reading for the Purple Coo Book Club

Here is the list of books that have been suggested by the Purple Coo Book Club members. Please make your 1^st and 2^nd choices in the comment box below. I’ll collate the votes and announce the most popular book on the Purple Coo Book Club Forum. Happy Reading and my apologies if yours didn’t make the final list. We had so many suggestions that some will have to be held over for the next time.

A Year in the Woods by Colin Elford

Colin Elford shoots deer for a living, but that description doesn’t do him justice. This is the most marvellous account of how a forest ranger spends his days, alone but for the deer, the squirrels, the rabbits, the birds and mystery that makes up woodland at all times of the year. A wonderful look at nature through the eyes of a true countryman. Even if it isn’t your first choice, I suggest you beg, buy or borrow a copy. It’s only short. It won’t take long to read.

Solar by Ian McKewen

A prize winning, much married, world renowned, philandering, womanising physicist finds out his wife, whom he still loves, is having an affair. His professional and personal lives collide due to a freak accident, providing a chance to save himself from his marital mess, reinvigorate his caree and save the world from environmental disaster. A darkly satirical, humorous novel.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

A Gone With Wind story seen from the other side. “Where black maids raise white children, but aren’t trusted not to steal the silver.”

The Nation by Terry Pratchett

Not a witch or a wizard in sight. Mau is the last surviving member of his nation, until he finds out otherwise … Witty and wise from a master story teller. A funny tale about death and nationhood. Classic Pratchett.

The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

We’ve voted on this book before but Blossom thinks it’s such a brilliant read she’d like us to give it another chance. The blurb on this book asks readers not to reveal what happens, so my lips are sealed, except to say it is compelling reading. (A tiny hint – a shocking encounter that reverberates from a Nigerian beach to middle England)

The Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson

Fennie recommends this fascinating novel, based on the voyages of The Beagle to Terra del Fuego. Did you know some Fuegan Indians actually travelled to England, learned English and had tea with the king? I wonder what ‘The Thing of Darkness’ can be?

The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison

It’s England in 1931 and Hitler prepares to invade Poland. Anna is evacuated to a large Yorkshire estate owned by an enigmatic, childless couple. She becomes part witness, part accomplice to a love affair with unforeseen consequences. A debut novel that is both a love story and a story about the nature of love.

(The picture is Nasturtium by Eugene Grasset)