Monday 3rd February 2020 at 7.30pm

Now in its sixth year, there are times when it might be just as appropriate to describe our group as a Cake Club with Books rather than a Book Club with Cake! This month’s meeting certainly ended with a carefully chosen substantial, multi-layered confection of red, pink, green and blue sponges to complement our consideration of “All the Colours of the Dark” by Chris Whittaker. 

This contemporary blockbuster thriller from the US was equally substantial in scale and some readers found themselves full before reaching the final slice. However others were happy to devour this “hyper-real” saga mapping the lives of two engaging characters struggling to recover from childhood trauma and poverty. It was comforting (and quite unusual for our choices) that for once they did manage to achieve a largely happy ending!

A score of 7.1/10 showed that this confection was not to everyone’s tastes but excellent, suspenseful writing was certainly recognised by all.

A Happy New Year to all our readers

We started our year with an absolute winner :-” Mr. Wilder & Me” by Jonothan Coe

(score 7.5 out of 10 !)

The story line of Calista,the heroine,a young half Greek student caught up in an improbable way with the making of the film “Fedora” directed by Billy Wilder was,for us,sidelined by Billy Wilder and the discussion moved away from the book itself to wide ranging chat about the merits of Wilders’ work – However the book is a good read.

Interestingly there had been a month long “Wilder Fest on B B C 4 culminating with  “Some Like it Hot” and a  wonderful interview with B W at the age of 90 – well worth ” Catch up”.

Greek pastries being beyond my capability the cake was Black Forest Gateau  (from Morrisons) being a sort of connection with B W’s Viennese background.

Next months book is  “Olive Kitteridge”  by Elizabeth Strout

“An extraordinarily rich and detailed portrait of both a marriage and a community”

Mike Andrews

October’s choice was “The Beekeeper of Aleppo” by Christy Lefteri and the members foregathered  at the Three kings on November 7th to discuss it’s merits – or otherwise –

 that the score was 8 out of 10 will tell you that the book was well received.

We were really moved by the story of Nuri – the beekeeper  – struggling to cope with being a refugee in the midst of tragedy and in the end finding hope.

So the story line was very apposite to todays world situation and that there can be light at the end of the tunnel.

yes – a really “Good read”

The cake was an outstanding toasted honey offering .

Next month we will be discussing Ernest Hemmingway’s  “The Old Man and the Sea”

Book Club Meeting – 4th September 2023

This was a difficult book…

We were all agreed on that. The Promise by Damon Galgut was a challenging read but one which scored higher (at an average of 8.9/10) than most of the other titles we have reead.

It wasn’t difficult because it was badly or awkwardly written – quite the opposite. We nearly all found the writer’s unusual ability to write from multiple perspectives almost simultaneously was impressive. It was difficult to read because of the story it told. Galgut leads us through nearly half a century of the new South Africa’s emergence from apartheid into an uncertain future. A future which has not yet lived up to the ‘promise’ of its foundation. Told from the perspective of different, deeply flawed members of a white South African family the story is laced with moments of stark violence but also dark humour giving an overall impression of a society struggling to find and retain a new identity.

A difficult read… yes. But one which we appreciated and would heartily recommend. Our recommendations would also include the cake provided to sweeten our discussions this month which was a memorably sweet concoction from a traditional recipe from Mozambique!

Next month’s title is The Song of the Partisans by Kathryn Gauci.

30 or 40 years ago there were often newspaper articles of high drama regarding lighthouse keepers marooned by wild weather – ” The Lamplighters” by Emma Stonex brought their unique existence to life.

Tho’ a novel the story was based on an actual happening in 1900  when three keepers disappeared from a rock lighthouse situated in an island of the outer Hebrides.

What we have is a mystery,love and ghost story rolled into one – of the thirteen members present all bar one gave the book the thumbs up.

The dissenter found the dialogue a bit tedious and felt the characterisation of  one of the “heroes” a bit thin – and to intrigue you  Would Trinity house have employed a felon ?

The score of 7.4 out of 10 was certainly a great improvement on last months 5.1

No cake but some luscious coconut rum truffles were supplied of which there were enough for two each !

Next months offering is a play – “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell

So, the end of the third year of the 3 “K’s” book club. – What a jolly crew we were,snug in the 3″K’s” regaling ourselves on cheese straws,mince pies and chocolate cake washed down with fine ale supplied by our hostess Sue. Sparkling conversation,witty repartee – a wonderfully convivial atmosphere – Oh yes .the book !

December’s choice was “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.

Considering it’s age – it was first published in 1843 – it went down a storm scoring five 9’s and a 10 with the total score coming out at 8.7

Yes the writing was old fashioned ,but the images of winter and Christmas in the late 19th century were beautifully portrayed  and it wasn’t too long.

How lucky we are to live in the 20th century.

The final cherry on the cake was a quiz based on the 36 titles read over the last 3 years and the gift of a wonderfully decorated bookmark made by our leader Ross.

January’s book is “Lily ” by Rose Tremain

Hope you all had a good Christmas and we have a better 2023!

The first meeting of 2023 saw 10 members chewing over “Lily” by Rose Tremain – although enthusiasm was mixed it scored an impressive 7.3 out of 10.

If you intend to read the book do not expect many laughs – it is a tale of revenge set in Victorian London and based on life as an orphan in the Coram Hospital.

This institute sounded horrific yet one of our members who visited some years ago found the atmosphere both calm and kindly.

Generally it was felt though Ms Tremain writes beautifully this book had certain drawbacks in terms of being uneven but to have produced such a tale while undergoing medication to counteract pancreatic cancer was a major achievement 

The cake was an outstanding sponge which contained a whole jar of honey ! – A fruit cake was also on offer – what bliss.

Our next treat is a nonfiction volume  :- “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” by Yuval Noah Harari

Mike Andrews

Due to dilatoriness and holidays (A week in Gateshead followed by a further week in the perlieus of Margate ) your literary correspondent missed a number of deadlines –

HOWEVER — – – – –

Augusts’ choice was “All Things Cease to Appear” by Elizabeth Brundage.

A rich and complex study of a psychopath,a marriage and unhappiness in the tradition of noir/gothic novels – outstanding writing and a riveting page turner – the score was 8.2 out of 10 – sad;y I have forgotten what the cake was.

For the September meeting I was away (see above) – The book in question was “The Long Shadow by Loretta Proctor a family saga set in Greece and combining with the horrors of the of the Salonika campaign.This did not have the same impact as Augusts’ choice as indicated by the score of 4.1

October produced a stunner – ” The Fat Lady Sings” by Jacqueline Roy.We believe it is somewhat autobiographical.

Set in a psychiatric hospital in the 1990’s it is a tender moving depiction of mental health and of two women finding strength and support together.Two of our members were in Cornwall but sent in their scores which totaled a grand 7.1

The cake was an outstanding victoria sponge produced by our chairman – but are we surprised since he cleared the decks of silver in the cookery section of the village show?

Our next choice is “Saturday ” by Ian McEwan.

We are now busy preparing our lists for 2023.

Don’t forget if anybody would like any of the books we read just contact me:-Mike Andrews – 

01684310352

What a winner Junes book of choice proved to be.

Everybody enjoyed it as proved by the score  – 8.2 out of 10.

Just to remind you the volume in question was “Diary of a Bookseller” by Shaun Bythell

Who would have thought that there could be a thriving bookshop containing over 80,000 assorted volumes in Dumfries and Galloway !

Despite being a misanthrope Mr.Bythell seems to get a certain amount of enjoyment in his dealings with the general public and the interaction between himself and his staff.

( I did not realise that one could dine so interestingly from a Morrisons skip but would draw the line at out of date samosas)

The content is set out in the style of a daily diary – this makes for easy and enjoyable reading and is an ideal volume for the bathroom, being favourably compared with a screwfix catalogue

The cake was a rhubarb and cinnamon sponge of outstanding quality ,as was the ale.

Next months book is “All Things Cease to Appear” by Elizabeth Brundage.