UK Book Club discussion

New year new challenge. I have called this challenge A - Z plus because as well as an author A -Z, I am going to read 10 indie poets and 10 classics.

Author A - Z

Progress - 26/26 Completed 18.10.16

A - For Both Are Infinite - Stephanie Alba - 20.4.16 - 1 star

B - The Finishing Touches - Hester Browne - 22.1.16 - 4 stars

C - The Selection - Kiera Cass - 26.2.16 - 5 stars

D - Where the Stars Still Shine - Trish Dollar - 29.3.16 - 5 stars

E - One for the Money - Janet Evanovich - 10.6.16 - 5 stars

F - Just One Night - Gayle Forman - 1.3.16 - 5 stars

G - On the Island - Tracey Garvis-Graves - 13.5.16 - 4 stars

H - The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins - 11.1.16 - 5 stars

I - A Sudden Crush - Camilla Isley - 25.7.16 -5 stars

J - Out of the Blue - Belinda Jones -1.6.16 - 5 stars

K - Can You Keep a Secret? - Sophie Kinsella - 29.6.16 - 5 stars

L - Starflight - Melissa Landers - 21.3.16 - 5 stars

M - Me Before You - Jojo Moyes - 22.2.16 - 5 stars

N - Love Rules - Freya North - 15.8.16 - 4 stars

O - Radio Silence - Alice Oseman - 18.10.16 - 5 stars

P - Love from Paris - Alexandra Potter - 1.2.16 - 4 stars

Q - The Duke and I - Julia Quinn - 27.1.16 - 2 stars

R - Divergent - Veronica Roth - 15.4.16 - 5 stars

S - The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion - 18.10.16 - 5 stars

T - Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn - Tilly Tennant - 27.4.16 - 4 stars

U - Cocoa and Chanel - Donna Joy Usher - 6.1.16 - 3 stars

V - The French for Love - Fiona Valpy - 9.9.16 - 4 stars

W - The Secret Life of Book Club - Heather Woodhaven - 7.7.16 - 3 stars

X - Rogue Faction Part 1 - Xander Weaver - 13.9.16 - 3 stars

Y - The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey - 11.5.16 - 5 stars

Z - Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac - Gabrielle Zevin - 14.9.16 - 4 stars


***EXTRAS***

The Life You Want - Emily Barr - 12.2.16 - 4 stars

The Little Shop of Happy Ever After - Jenny Colgan - 23.916 - 3 stars

A Vintage Wedding - Katie Fforde - 6.4.16 - 3 stars

Four: A Divergent Collection Veronica Roth - 25.4.16 - 5 stars

Insurgent Veronica Roth - 2.5.16 - 5 stars

Allegiant Veronica Roth - 23.5.16 - 5 stars

Landline Rainbow Rowell - 30.6.16 - 3 stars

Cocktails For Three Madeleine Wickham - 19.9.16 - 4 stars

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat Chris Riddell - 1.11.16 -5 stars

Wedding Night - Sophie Kinsella - 2.11.16 - 5 stars

Alienated - Melissa Landers - 21.11.16 - 4 stars

The Infinite Sea - Rick Yancey - 5.12.16 - 5 stars

We Were On a Break - Lindsey Kelk - 19.12.16 - 5 stars

The Last Star - Rick Yancey - 5 stars

Ten Indie poets

Progress - 10/10 Completed 22.9.16

1 - The Queen of Metaphors: The Tongue of My Muse - Anahit Arustamyan - 22.9.16 - 5 stars

2 - Fantastic Illusions of Life, Love, the Birds, and the Bees - Jenna Cornell - 14.1.16 - 5 stars

3 - Night Poems - Ben Ditmars - 1.4.16 - 4 stars

4 - Still the Dawn: Poems and Ballads - Philip Dodd - 27.6.16 - 5 stars

5 - Space to Dream: Poems - Stacie Eirich - 12.5.16 - 5 stars

6 - Six Rivers - Jenna Le - 8.4.16 - 4 stars

7 - Love in a Bookstore or Your Money Back - Sarah Quigley - 5.1.16 - 3 stars

8 - The Poems Choose Me - Kristy Rulebraker - 22.9.16 - 4 stars

9 - Observations - Greg Schroeder - 4.2.16 - 4 stars

10 - Purely Poetic - Brenda Stephens - 29.1.16 - 4 stars



Ten Classics

Progress - 10/10 Completed 27.12.16

1 - Martin Chuzzlewit - Charles Dickens - 31.8.16 - 4 stars

2 - The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas - 10.10.16 - 4 stars

3 - A Gentle Creature and Other Stories - Fyodor Dostoevsky - 23.8.16 - 3 stars

4 - Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym - 1.11.16 - 4 stars

5 - The School for Scandal and Other Plays: The Rivals/The Duenna/A Trip to Scarborough/The School for Scandal/The Critic - Richard Brinsley Sheridan - 5.12.16 - 5 stars

6 - Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson - 30.11.16 - 5 stars

7 - High Rising - Angela Thirkell - 18.3.16 - 3 stars

8 - Nina Balatka - Anthony Trollope - 3.6.16 - 4 stars

9 - Christmas at Thompson Hall and Other Christmas Stories - Anthony Trollope - 27.12.16 - 4 stars

10 - The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton - 17.3.16 - 3 stars

First book read I found this thoughtful and a bit melancholic - right up my street.

This is a light fun read but I found it a bit implausible.

My first 5 stars for the year I absolutely LOVED this. Great twisting story with multiple, unreliable narrators. Would never have guessed who-dun-it.

I loved this exciting collection of poetry. It is powerful, emotional and romantic.

I loved this. The story is original and there is a bit of a mystery - what's not to love!

This was ok. I would have liked it more if there had been more 'romance' and less sex. I am not saying that a Regency buck would not have let his gaze wander south of a lady's 'fine eyes', or a lady notice the tightness of a gentleman's breeches, but no Regency writer would have written such things.

I enjoyed this collection; they are an easy read.

Really lovely, if you want romance, look no further.

This is a lovely collection of poetry, I really enjoyed it.

This is a very special book, emotional, heartwarming but heartbreaking. I recommend it.

I loved this - such a great story to lose yourself in. I can't wait to read The Elite :)

Forget Romeo and Juliet, for me it is all about Allyson and Willem. As always the intense writing gets me, this is one of my favourite books of the year.

This is a very interesting book.

This is really funny and is an easy read, I enjoyed it.

Wow, action packed, fast-paced, exciting - I didn't like this...I LOVED IT! One of my favourite reads this year.

I loved this coming of age. Heart warming story, well written.

This is a quick read - only 30 poems. I found the poems elusive but enjoyable.

This is a powerful collection and I enjoyed it immensely.

This is one of my favourites this year it is a cracking story :)

didn't enjoy this.

So enjoyed this story. It is a fun, quick read :)

Another 5 star book. Totally gripping, totally recommend it.

I really enjoyed this, it is a bit different what with the stuck-on-a-desert-island thing. But it was interesting reading how they coped and survived.

and These are not part of my challenge, but after reading Divergent, I could NOT not read them. I loved the whole series and at the end of Allegient I cried.

Superior chick-lit. I loved it and if you are a fan of arm-chair travel you will too :)

A truly beautiful collection of poetry. One of my favourite books this year.

I had forgotten how much I loved Trollope :)

Crime fiction. Did not think I would like crime fiction, but I totally loved this - really funny.

I loved this collection but as I am a fan of Philip's, I knew I would :)

Easy read, total love, wonderful chick-lit.

Not my favourite Rainbow Rowell.

It was alright, nothing special.

Linda was looking at your Ten Classics and then went through my TR list and am going to join you in this but will do 26 once I find them, Will add them to my other A-Z lists

Hi Tania, I am happy I have inspired you to read classics :) I have just looked through your list and you have inspired me to have a go at Dostoyevsky - I have just added White Nights to my basket at Amazon, the shortness of it has tempted me :) The only one on your list I have read is Frankenstein (1818 edition) which I loved, I must re-read it some day.

Have to admit I didn't reliese how many I had standing to read

Is there such a thing as current classics, things written in the last 50 years?

There are modern classics, I am not sure what the cut-off is. There is a classics club here on GR and some of the challenges include modern classics.

Yes, Modern or '20thCentury Classics'. Things like 'Slaughter House 5', 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' '1984', 'Lolita' etc.

I keep meaning to read '1984' Liz but... :) Some that I love are 'Rebecca' 'My Cousin Rachael' and 'Frenchman's Creek' by Daphne du Maurier and E.F. Benson's Mapp and Lucia series.
If I finish my 10 I will try and add 1984 as an extra along with 'White Nights' - never thought I would want to try Dostoyevsky!

'1984' is definitely worth reading. I thought 'Rebecca' was a rollicking good read and have meant to read more Daphne du Maurier....

Was looking at reading A Month in the Country but was not sure if that counted as one.

Liz wrote: "'1984' is definitely worth reading. I thought 'Rebecca' was a rollicking good read and have meant to read more Daphne du Maurier...."

Frenchman's Creek is definitely a rollicking read. There was a itv adaptation a few years ago which was, well, pants.

Tania wrote: "Was looking at reading A Month in the Country but was not sure if that counted as one."

I hadn't heard of 'A Month in the Country' so I looked it up, looks interesting. I don't know if it considered a classic.

Tania wrote: "Was looking at reading A Month in the Country but was not sure if that counted as one."

A Month in the Country has been on my to-read list for a long time. It might count as a modern classic (perhaps a forgotten classic?!) As it deals with the aftermath of the 1st WW it might just fit into the genre challenge this month too... I saw the film years ago (early 90's?), I remember enjoying it.

Think I may take it off my mum then as my book on the Falklands is getting a little long winded for me and I still I'm the lead up to the war, there only so much political stuff I can take

This is a fun fab quick read and I loved every page. Totally recommend it.

This was not what I was expecting, and at first I wasn't too keen but it was pretty good in the end. I can't say I am too keen on Ms. North's writing style.