UK Book Club discussion

Hi all,
So for June we will be reading non fiction. This a massive collection of genres really, so the choice is wide open. I have just started The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World, which I think I will tear through as it's a very easy read. As I'm in Italy this month (lucky me!) I will also try to read The Italians by John Hooper.
What will you be reading?

Liz wrote: "Hi all,
So for June we will be reading non fiction. This a massive collection of genres really, so the choice is wide open. I have just started The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the..."</i>

I'm always a month behind or ahead.. lol.. Last month I focused on Non-Fiction and read 4 books. If you're looking for recommendations, these were all very good

1. [book:The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War by Catherine Grace Katz
2. Ursula K. Le Guin: The Last Interview and Other Conversations by Ursula K. Le Guin
3. Hannah Arendt: The Last Interview and Other Conversations by Hannah Arendt

I hope I manage to squeeze in one at least in June.

Not quite decided yet. Thinking of maybe or

I failed last months genre challenge however I have a book that will fit this months genre that I have already started; it is Narratives of COVID: loss, dying, death and grief during COVID-19 which is a collection of people’s stories of the above topics throughout the pandemic. About a third of the way through and so far it has been insightful

I have just finished The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World and enjoyed it - interesting perspectives.

I will try to fit in Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage by Ann Lamott.

Just finished Narratives of Covid and it was really good, I enjoyed reading other people’s perspectives on how Covid affected them in different ways other than the loss of a loved one.

I am now reading the No Spend Year by Michelle McGagh which I have read before but wanted to read again because I can’t remember half of what I read

Dear UK Book Club, I'm author Don Davis and I need some help please. I wish to open an Author Page, but my book, The Children of Santiago, is already listed as/on another author's page with the same name, Don Davis. Therefore, I could not create an author page. Thank you.

Hi Don,

I would recommend you post a message in the Goodreads Librarians Group and one of them should be able to straighten it out for you:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Thank you Kate.

Well, I’m a fail for this month. I tried to read Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage, which was billed to me as essays on grief and resilience, but I got only 50 pages in. Too much self-help-guru potted wisdom for me. I’ll see if I have time for something nonfiction later in the month but have my doubts.

In May (so not sure it counts) I read the Wild Silence by Raynor Winn, it’s her second book and the sequel to The Salt Path. Both books are non fiction and tackle the experiences of homelessness, walking the South West Coastal Path and the author dealing with her husband’s new degenerative disease diagnosis.

Both books are a great read and adds a new dimension to the homelessness debate as well as making you want to put on your walking boots!

Those two books sound wonderful! Thanks for telling us about them.

Just finished the no spend year by Michelle McGagh and it was just as good as the first time I read it and with the cost of living rising it has opened my eyes to a few things I could incorporate

I'm going to read Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion. She passed away in December 2021 and I keep seeing her name of late, even during the Tony Awards last night. This is a collection of her essays.

I heard about this book from someone else on this forum - it is called "Wedlock" about one of the richest women in late 18th century England who is tricked into a disastrous marriage and becomes one of the very few women in England to get a divorce which was very difficult and expensive and rare for a man and almost unheard of for a woman. The woman was a great-great-great (great?) ancestor of the current Queen Elizabeth and apparently her story was the basis for "Barry Lyndon".
https://www.amazon.com/Wedlock-Disast...

I've found a really quick read for this one. 64 pages long: The Little Book of Hugs which was about right for this month since my Dad is currently in hospital and I've not been concentrating on reading much.

So glad the right book found you at the right time! Hoping he has a full recovery.

My second non-fiction book is The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way by Bill Bryson

That reminds me of a non fiction book I picked up years ago at a library book sale - it was called "A Civil Tongue" by a news anchor named Edwin Newman. It was about the amusing misuses of the English language mostly from people who should know better.

I finished The Italians last night, which was a very useful accompaniment to my travels around Italy.

Starting one more book for this challenge; They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei 5.0 stars

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

George Takei is brilliant!

Abigail wrote: "George Takei is brilliant!"

It was excellent.

One book I read some time ago, just reviewed, was called "The Five" by Hallie Rubenhold. Detailed biographies of the five women who were the main victims of Jack the Ripper. Astonishing and sad how women who were sometimes from respectable backgrounds wound up in Whitechapel and why and how they became prey for the Ripper.