"Our first meeting for Spring"

Our first meeting for Spring.  Our reader whose birthday moved her up the ladder into her 80’s received a book from her sister about cemeteries, in particular the Ivry Cemetery in Paris where many famous people are buried. In 2011 the Council decided to ban insecticides with a biodiversity plan.  This has had a transformative effect on the area.  Birds and wildlife, squirrels, foxes and fauna have returned.  It is now a place of beauty.   Two books by Mohsin Hamid, The Fundamentalist and The Last White Man, were very different reads, the first book was enjoyed but The Last White Man not so much.  On a different level and enjoyed, The Palace Women by Jennifer Ryan set in 1953 during preparations for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 11.  Soldiers Daughter by Fiona McIntosh, a well written book by Fiona McIntosh.  The Girl in The Red Coat by Roma Ligok - a memoir of a girl who wore a red coat in a Krakow ghetto during WW11 and went on to a career on the stage.  The Italian Girl by Anita Abriel - a story of courage and love set in Rome 1943 where a young girl protects some of the world’s greatest treasures from the Nazis.   Twist of Fate by Karly Lane, a rural romance rated only OK.   Almost French by Sarah Turnbull, the true story of a young Sydney girl who went tripping around Europe and meets a very French Frenchman.  What a surprise!! Another memoir was It Wasn’t Meant to be Easy: Tamie Fraser in Canberra by her sister Christina Hindhaugh, a look behind the wall in Canberra.  In the Dead of the Night by Arthur McBain, the mysterious murders of two lovers in the Wonnangatta Valley and the pursuit of Jetstar Pilot Greg Lynn.  Agent Rose by Bernard O’Connor, the true story of Eileen Nearne, Britain’s Forgotten War Time hero.  Brave lady. The Judge’s List by John Grisham didn’t disappoint.   The Spy and the Traitor by Ben McIntyre followed by The Defector by Richard Kerbaj the KGB Agent who exposed the CIA in the UK and USA - both books were rated ‘very good’.  The Royal Insider by Paul Burrell (book No. 3), he keeps at it.   Blackened Tanner: The Denis Tanner Story by Ron Irwin, nothing proved, nothing gained.  Henry Goes Bush by Wayne Marshall - a satirical novel that re-imagines Henry Lawson’s exile to Bourke.  The Signature of all Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, an historical fiction novel set in the late 18th/19th Century, follows the life of female botanist Alma Whittaker.  Elianne by Judy Nunn, our reader enjoyed this book feeling it was one of her better ones.    Thornwood House by Anna Romer, inheritance of an abandoned house in Queensland reveals secrets.  The Housemaid by Freida McFadden - a psychological thriller, kept the reader’s interest.  The Last Poem by Courtney Peppernell, a moving debut novel about a grieving woman who moves to a small town, our reader found this one interesting.  At Home With the Templetons by Monica McInerney, a popular author who writes well.  The same can be said for The Island Retreat by Cathy Kelly, set on the island of Corfu and well written.  Two books by Kathy Reichs, Grave Secrets and Bones of the Lost, with the usual suspects.  And Its Goodnight from Me and its Goodnight from him.  The story of the Two Ronnies.  We also had a discussion on a recently released book, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, which has been shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for fiction in 2026.  Written entirely in letters to her children, authors, her sister-in-law, doctor, suitors, and the infuriating garden club.  We talked about the increasing loss of the art of letter writing in the current era.  Thank you, Moira for beginning the conversation. 

See you all on Monday 5th October.

Happy reading!


Geraldine