Purple Coo Book Club Summer Read 2012

Hi Everyone
please read the list below and make your 1st and 2nd choices in the comments box below. As soon as everyone has voted, I'll collate the votes and announce the most popular choice for the Purple Coo Spring Read on the Purple Coo main site.

Every Eye by Isobel English

A 1956 novel about a girl growing up to what could have been unhappiness but for her marriage to a carefree young(er) man. As she travels south by train to Ibiza she surveys her past life and unravels a mystery.

Apparently John Betjeman wrote about this novel - 'Sometimes, but not often, a novel comes along which makes the rest of what one has to review seem commonplace. Such a novel is Every Eye'.

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
An 11year old boy, living on an inner London housing estate, decides to turn detective when one of his older friends is killed - tragic, gritty and surprisingly funny.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

A girl lives in an out of the way town in America for 19 yrs, so poor she cannot afford a magazine, then she gets a scholarship to college and wins prize and suddenly the world opens up to her- but also leads to her downfall.

The Glass Painter's Daughter by Rachel Hore

An intriguing story stretching over 120 years through the medium to the present day and a Victorian Journal, with a touch of romance.

We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Muddie’s youngest recommends this. It’s about a mother trying to come to terms with the fact her son Kevin is a mass murderer

Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd

An exciting spy thriller by a writer that never disappoints (I know this was on our previous list, but Fennie is really keen to include it again - so how could I refuse?)

When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

A wonderful coming of age story for a brother & sister, about childhood and growing up, friendships, families, triumph and tragedy- love in many different forms.

(The painting is Still Life with Lacquer Screen by FCB Cadell)

Purple Coo Book Club Spring Read 2012

Hi Everyone
please read the list below and make your 1st and 2nd choices in the comments box below. As soon as everyone has voted, I'll collate the votes and announce the most popular choice for the Purple Coo Spring Read on the Purple Coo main site.

Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk

Classic New York City drama - passion, love and desire - written in the 1950s. An idealistic young woman, with dreams of becoming an actress, pursues this dream but finally is forced to give it up and become a suburban ‘good wife and mother.’

Pillion Riders by Elizabeth Russel

A battle between heart and head, passion and morality. A sensitive young woman, married to an older successful business man, lives an encapsulated life of luxury in London. But this all changes when she visits Paris and falls in love with a young French composer of scant means and morals.

Room by Emma Donoghue

It's Jack's 5th birthday and he's excited ... he lives with his ma in Room, which has a locked door and skylight and measures 11' by 11'. He loves watching TV and the cartoon characters are his friends, but he knows nothing on screen is truly real- only him, ma and things in Room. Until the day Ma tells him there is a world outside. Very moving account from child's point of view of a very harrowing existence. 

Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Man Booker prize winner 201. A middle aged man coming to terms with inconsistent memories about the past. A novel about secrets withheld or suppressed. An unexpected bequest that leads to a search through a past times, a place where things are unexpectedly murky. 

The Soldier’s Wife by Joanna Trollop

Does marrying a soldier mean marrying the Army? The usual Trollop knack of capturing the snags and frustrations of family life, the tensions and the dangerous pressure points of a relationship in difficulties.

Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd

His latest book. It begins in Vienna, 1913. A young English actor starts a passionate love affair with an unusual woman he meets in the waiting room of his psychiatrist.
He moves to a world of sex, scandal and spies, where truth and deception blur and Britain is in Danger ...  If you loved Any Human Heart (I did) then this is the book for you.

(The painting is by James Nairn)

Purple Coo Book Club Winter Read 2011

Hi Everyone

please read the list below and type your 1st and 2nd choices in the 'comments'.

As soon as everyone has voted, I'll collate the votes and announce the Purple Coo Winter Read 2011 on the Purple Coo main site.

Adrian Mole – The Cappuccino years by Sue Townsend

A very funny light read, but you have to like the Adrian Mole books to appreciate the humour.

BloodMining by Laura Wilkinson

Three women, one secret, a child with a deadly disease. This is Laura Wilkinson’s debut novel. Set in the near future it’s a family drama with a dark and unsettling twist. Heart warming, topical and disturbing. (I’ll come clean that Laura is known to me. We are both members of the same writing group – but this is a remarkable and very readable book that I highly recommend)

Larkrise to Candleford by Flora Thompson

This is the real story not the soap opera they put on the tele. A delightful  book about growing up, as well as the most amazing piece of turn of the century social history.

Restless by William Boyd

An intertwining story of a Russian émigré and erstwhile British spy, and her daughter Ruth. There’s a laconic Englishman as well, but it is less a love story, more a cracking adventure.

Tempest Tost by Canadian author Robertson Davis

The first book of the Salterton Trilogy. A yarn about an amateur dramatic group performing The Tempest. Still waters run deep in quaint towns . Entertaining and amusing. I’m sure they’ll be a lot of takers for this book.

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

Two women, Rose and Lottie, leave 1920’s London to escape from their miserable empty marriages. They decide to rent an Italian castle. Serene and soothing, this book will restore our love and belief in the power of nature to heal the spirit and make us better people. 

The Lady of the Rivers by Phillipa Gregory

A historical novel about Jacquetta of Luxembourg. A real life, but haunting and mysterious heroine, with a reputation for making magic.

Winter Smith by Sir Terry Pratchet

Highly suitable as it has lots of snow in it (According to a certain witchy person, who’s a real Terry P fan)

(Painting is Two Cats and Flowers by Elizabeth Blackadder)

Purple Coo Book Club Autumn Read 2011

Hi Everyone

please read the list below and type your 1st and 2nd choices in the 'comments'.

As soon as everyone has voted, I'll collate the votes and announce the Purple Coo Autumn Read 2011 on the Purple Coo main site.

And the Land Lay Still by James Robertson

An epic novel that covers Scotland’s social and political changes from 1950 until the present day.

Death in Vienna by Frank Tallis (Book 1 of the Leiberman Papers series)

A psychological murder mystery set in 1902 Vienna. A whole host of strong characters, including a psychiatrist who is a disciple of Sigmund Freud

 

Excellent Woman by Barbara Pym

A romantic comedy set in 1950’s London. Mildred Lathbury leads a virtuous, if rather unexciting existence, until a series of new people and unsettling events destabilizes things.

One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson (Back by popular demand)

Ex-private eye Jackson Brodie is in Edinburgh at a loose end, while his girlfriend Julia acts in a dreadful fringe production, when a body washes up on Cramond Island -  A joy to read, full of wit, surprise and intrigue. A cut above the usual detective stuff...

Started Early, Took my Dog  by Kate Atkinson

The fourth of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie mysteries is littered with murdered women. Set in Leeds, it links crimes committed in the Seventies to questions being asked in the present day, and opens as big-boned, big-hearted WPC Waterhouse begins her career.

The Last Letter from Your Lover by JoJo Moyes

How about an old fashioned classy type of romance? Set in 1960 and 2003, concerning an enigmatic love letter signed simply, ‘B’ that has an unsettling effect on the lives of two women, forty years apart.



The picture is The Blue Fan by F C B Cadell

Purple Coo Book Club Summer Read 2011

Hi Everyone 

please read the list below and type your 1st and 2nd choices in the 'comments'.

As soon as everyone has voted, I'll collate the votes and announce the Purple Coo Summer Read 2011 on the Purple Coo main site.

One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

Ex-private eye Jackson Brodie is in Edinburgh at a loose end. While his girlfriend Julia acts in a dreadful fringe production, a body is washed up on Cramond Island -  A joy to read, full of wit, surprise and intrigue - a cut above the usual detective stuff...

Cuckoo by Julia Crouch

A psychological thriller, but don’t be hoodwinked by those apparent clues, the ending will come as a surprise I’m sure. Once you start this book you won’t be able to put it down, but it may put you off ever helping a friend in need.

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

An extraordinary story of a unique inheritance – quite truthfully one of the best books I have ever read, so brilliantly written that, even if we don’t pick it for our Summer 2011 Read, I suggest you get on and read it just the same.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

A bestseller, telling a tale about a man who wants to change the world by bringing peace through education. A remarkable true story from Pakistan.

The Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

The third title in the Tiffany Aching part of the Discworld series, with all Sir Terry’s usual zany wit and charm – a satire on teenage behaviour and a cheeky reworking of the Orpheus myth. (I know this was on our winter list, but it has been requested again, so here it is, to do with as you please)

The Post Birthday World by Lionel Shriver

Does she kiss him on the lips? I guess you'll never know unless you choose this book. Muddy recommends it, so give it a second chance - perhaps?

The Jester of Astapovo by Rose Tremain

 A story all about the death of Tolstoy. About 7,000 words. Amusing and poignant and as always in the works of Rose Tremain, full of side stories. You think it is going to be a country romance, picking mushrooms in the forest, the protagonists sneaking off on bicycles, and then you find it's about the death of Tolstoy and copyrights and railway cottages and so on. Fennie says he paid £10 for an (unsigned) edition at Hay recently and then found out you could download it for free as it was published in the Guardian and is available if you Google it.

(The painting is by one of The Glasgow Boys, and to my eternal shame I can't remember which one)

Purple Coo Book Club Spring Read 2011

Hi Everyone

check out the list and make your 1st and 2nd choices in the 'comments' box below. Once I've collated the votes I'll announce the Spring Read on the Purple Coo main site.

‘A Fine Balance’ by Rohinton Mistry's.

Recommended by both Clare balding and Hardeep Sing Kohl this is set in Mumbai between 1947 and 1977, during the turmoil of the emergency. It is about four very diverse characters who come together and develop a bond.

‘Life’ by Keith Richards

Forget the sex and drugs – only rock’n’roll can still get Keith Richards up in the morning apparently. Come on now. I guess a fair few of us have committed indiscretions to a soundtrack of The Stones. I know we’d enjoy reading this book about the old survivor.

‘Prodigal Summer’ by Barbara Kingsolver

With an overall theme of ecology and survival, this book s about folk living in the Appalachian Mountains and finding out there are no easy answers when it comes to events in their lives.

‘The Crock of Gold’ by James Stephens

Written in 1921 (Don’t worry I’ve checked and it is still in print) this is part novel part fairy tale, part comedy, part tragedy, profound and shallow in equal measure. If you like Irish writing and a story where policemen meet leprechauns and where a philosopher goes in search of the god Angus Og, then this is the book for you. (Apparently you don’t HAVE to believe in fairies but it helps)

‘The Fat of the Land’ by John Seymour

A classic by one of the most influential figures in the self sufficiency movement. A true and thoroughly inspirational explanation of how a completely penniless family managed to find a rich and satisfying life in the English countryside.

Don’t be put off by thinking it is just a technical manual, it’s a writer’s book as well.

‘The Post Birthday World’ by Lionel Shriver

Apparently this book will lead us down two paths. Does Irina lean into kiss a specific pair of lips in London or not? The answer determines whether she stays with her disciplined intellectual partner or runs off with a hard living snooker player – Sounds fascinating...

‘Tick Bite Fever’ by David Bennun

Witty and well written tales from a chaotic African Childhood. Part anecdote, part travelogue, part survival manual and wholly unlikely. But it’s all true, to the best of the author’s recollections.

‘Trespass’ by Rose Tremain

Menace in the air of rural France. A dark and cautionary tale. Recommended as a very good read, if a little melancholy.

 link

(The picture is Auchenhew, Isle of Arran by James Nairn - one of my favourites by The Glasgow Boys)

Purple Coo Book Club Winter Read 2010

Hi Everyone,

Please read the list below and type your 1st and 2nd choices in 'comments' . Once everyone has voted, I'll collate the votes and announce the Purple Coo Winter Read on the Purple Coo main site.

Antimacassar City by Guy McCrone

(The first book of the Wax Fruit Trilogy) The chronicle of the life and times of the Moorhouse family as they rise from the obscurity of a family farm in Kilmarnock, to prosperity in Victorian Glasgow.

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

(Currently to be seen on UK TV – Channel 4) The fictitious intimate journals of a writer, lover, art dealer and spy during the defining years of 20^th C ie 1906 -1999)

Dissolution by C J Sansom

Intricate murder mystery set in Tudor England. The year is 1537 and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to Henry VIII and the newly established Church of England. A real thriller of a book.

Napoleon’s Master by David Lawday

A biography of Talleyrand, and an excellent read (It might be interesting to go for nonfiction for a change)

Purge by Sofi Oksanen

The story of Estomia’s long occupation by the Russians underpins a tale of sex trafficking, abuse and betrayal.

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

Re-write of the Snow White and Rose Red fairy tale – very suitable seasonal reading

The Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

The third title in the Tiffany Aching part of the Discworld series, with all Sir Terry’s usual zany wit and charm – a satire on teenage behaviour and a cheeky reworking of the Orpheus myth.

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani

In a similar genre to ‘The Glass Room. Set in 1930’s this book captivates the mood and atmosphere of Italy as an aristocratic Jewish family move inevitably towards doom. The family invite a number of young people to join in with tennis at their home after city clubs ban them due to racial laws. There is a love theme also running through the story.

The Help by Catherine Sockett

(Okay I know it was on the list last time – but it’s back again by special request and as I’ve just read it myself, and loved it, so it comes thoroughly recommended.)

A story of three very different women who are prepared to take huge personal risks to change the way folks think in a southern American town. Considering the seriousness of the topic – racism at its apartheid worst – this is a very heart warming and at times very funny book.

The painting is 'Two Cats' by Elizabeth Blackadder