Stoke book chat August
Eleven fellow book lovers met on 21st August to discuss all things bookish – from murders, exciting adventures and fantasy to social commentaries and history. It was lovely to welcome our newcomers – great to have you with us.
There is no set book or need to register, just come along to Stoke Library on the 3rd Wednesday of every month from 5:30pm and chat to others about what you've been reading lately.
Awaroa Legacy : The Story of the Hadfield Family by Carol Dawber & Lynette Wilson
The Hadfield family arrived in Nelson in the 1830s, before many other European settlers, and farmed in the Awaroa Valley. This fascinating book describes their challenging and remarkable life.
The Team That Hit the Rocks : The Inside Story of the Wahine Diaster by Peter Jerram
The Wahine Disaster, was New Zealand’s worst modern maritime disaster, and has a place in the Nation’s history; this book is a first-hand account of the Lincoln College cricket team who were onboard the Wahine for the interisland crossing that day in 1968. Our reader was in Wellington on the day of the storm that sank the Wahine, and shared her memories of that extraordinary time.
The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys : A Novel by Jack Jewers
This is a fictional ‘whodunit’ based on historical character Samuel Pepys. Samuel Pepys in an interesting person because he kept a diary for many years, and he lived through the Great Fire of London and the Plague. The novel is set in 1669 – England is in dire straits; the treasury’s coffers are bare and there are tensions with the Dutch Republic. When the investigator the King sent to sort out the corruption in the Royal Navy is murdered, Samuel Pepys is sent to find out the truth.
Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer
Juliet Young has always written letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. After her mother’s death Juliet leaves her letters on her mother’s grave. Declan Murphy discovers the letters while carrying out his community service at the local cemetery, and he can’t resist writing back! Thus starts an ongoing correspondence.
The Barefoot Investor : the Only Money Guide You’ll Ever Need by Scott Pape
This popular book presents a step-by-step formula, to create a financial plan that is simple and easy to manage.
Bill Edgar makes sure his soon-to-be-deceased clients’ wishes are carried out - The outlaw biker who is afraid of nothing, except telling the world he is in love with another man. The dad who desperately needs to track down his estranged daughter so he can find a way to say he's sorry, with one final gift.
Billy and the Epic Escape by Jamie Oliver (Series: Billy, 2)
When Waterfall Woods come under attack by the Red Lady Billy and his friends rush to the rescue! Exciting adventure.
Set in a small Irish village in 1994, the year before divorce became legal in Ireland, this novel is about the limits place on women’s lives. The action centres on two women: Izzy Keaveny, a housewife, and Colette Crowley, a poet. The language is beautiful and really ‘takes you there’.
The Moonlight School : a Novel by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Inspired by true events. Lucy, who is haunted by the disappearance of her sister, arrives in Rowan County, Kentucky in the spring of 1911 to work for Cora Wilson Stewart, superintendent of education. There is much poverty and illiteracy, and Cora hatches a plan to open the schoolhouses to adults on moonlight nights. With her work at the moonlight school, Lucy finds a renewed purpose in life.
Wonderful photographs!
The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C. L. Miller
Freya Lockwood has avoided the English village in which she grew up for the last 20 years, but news that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and Freyer’s estranged mentor has died in suspicious circumstances, lures her back. Joining forces with her eccentric aunt, they set out to solve this mystery.
On a night in January 1937 the body of Pamela Werner, daughter of the city’s former British consul is found under the haunted watchtower in old Peking. Pamela’s killer was never found, and 75 years later historian Paul French accidentally comes across the lost case file. This book is the result of seven years of research, and it exposes the truth behind Pamela’s murder. Really interesting!
Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
Val McDermid’s work is a modern take on the classic and it’s very good.
Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland has led a sheltered existence until her neighbours invite her to accompany them to the Edinburgh Festival. Cat becomes acquainted with Henry Tilney, whose family home is Northanger Abbey, located in rural Scotland. Although an invitation to stay at the Abby initially sounds perfectly romantic and wonderful, cat soon finds she has more to deal with than she bargained for.
The Royal Librarian by Daisy Wood
This book is set in two places and times: Windsor, England in 1940, and present-day Philadelphia. Austrian Sophie Klein is sent to keep an eye on things at Windsor Castle in 1940, due to concerns about a plot. When Sophie learns of a plan to abduct the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, she takes action to save them, but this action is misunderstood, and Sophie ends up imprisoned. In present day Philadelphia Lacey Jones finds a letter stamped with ’Windsor Castle’ in her grandmother’s papers, and this launches her on a quest to uncover the story behind the letter.
This delightful book talks about the sort of meals each of the sisters might have cooked and provides modern adaptations so you can create them yourself. Beautifully presented with photographs and line drawings.
