Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

1. A book with an orange or yellow cover

2. A book set in a place with changing seasons

3. A book with a school-age character

4. A nonfiction book

5. A book that "haunts" you - however you define that

6 A book containing a mystery element

7. A book containing humour

8. A book under 200 pages

9. A book published in the last 12 months

10. A book set in a country other than your own

11. A book set before you were born

12. A book with more than one point of view

13. A book by an author who has published more than 5 books

14. A book with a title of more than 4 words

15. A book with a nature scene on the cover

A book that 'haunts' you.

I know this author, but even if I didn't, these are beautiful, deceptively simple poems, which ring very true. One in particular will stay with me for a long time.

A book set in a country other than your own.

Having seen so much praise for this book online, I was delighted to finally find a copy. It did take me a little while to settle into, but then I was absorbed by the setting and story. I also liked the fact that the story was based on a real woman.

A book set before you were born.

A reissue by Pandora of a book written in 1930 and set in the late 1920s. It was a good examination of the class structure and raised the interesting question of whether two people from entirely different backgrounds can live together successfully. The other issue raised by the author, that people should be able to live together before embarking on marriage, to make sure it is not just physical attraction that is holding them together, is of course no longer an issue, at least generally in the UK where the book is set.

The book was on the whole well-written, with good characters, although there was quite a bit of tell not show regarding one of the minor characters.

An interesting read.

A book published in the last 12 months.

Beautifully written but strange. There are two story threads, and I didn't feel that they were successfully united. I really wanted them as two separate novellas or short stories. If it's possible to like a book but to be a bit disappointed in it, this fits the bill.

A book with a school-age character.

The life of a young teenager in 1970s rural England. Spot on (no pun intended) portrayal of the teenage life of the decade, and the atmosphere rang true. Rather depressing, but hopeful towards the end.

A non-fiction book.

I glad Rose Tremain is a successful novelist and seems now to have a happy private life, because much of this was a rather sad read, particularly the effect of her mother's childhood on her subsequent life and her relationship with her daughters. The past is not always gilded.

A book with an orange or yellow cover

In terms of school dinners, this was more tapioca pudding than chocolate sponge. I liked the idea behind the series, cosy crime solved by a married couple of dinner ladies (surely lunch time supervisors?), but I found this difficult to get into.

Obviously it would have helped not to have started reading a good way into a series, but I found the whole set up a bit odd. Are there still state schools where meals are cooked on the premises rather than being brought in? Perhaps there are in Wales. And I found the whole school rather unbelievable.

I liked the team of cooks and servers who helped the MCs, they were fun. However, the mystery itself was over complicated and I felt the resolution didn't really fit in the cosy crime genre.

A book by an author who has published over five books.

An Australian western, with two lost souls in a desert. A wonderful description both of character and landscape. Sometimes a hard read, but always absorbing. I will read more of Tim Winton's books.

This made me laugh a few times. I like the author's early books rather more than her later sci-fi (The Handmaid's Tale excepted).

A book with a title of more than four words.

I bought this because the title was so intriguing and I liked the cover.

A fascinating look at contemporary China, with what seems to be the complete disappearance of communism.

A book with more than one point of view



Mainly centred on the MC, but contains the PoVs of four other characters. Elegant and thought-provoking.

A book with under 200 pages

(192 pages in the version I read)

A strange, erotic, rather creepy look at an unsolved historic event - absorbing but also not quite satisfactory.

A book with an element of mystery.

Did a medieval knight travel in Europe and through Asia to China? Did he circumnavigate the world? The author travels to try to find out the truth. Enjoyable, but written in 1996, which made me wonder what has happened in some of the places he visited.

A book with a nature scene on the cover




The author writes about two ponds, in England and France, over the four seasons. Evocative, with a real feel for the countryside and its animal life.

A book set in a place with changing seasons.



Just a beautiful book.

A book with an orange or yellow cover



Well - to start with, over 600 pages. Even when I was enjoying the book, it did seem a marathon to get to the end. Much of it was very enjoyable despite the rather grim dysfunctional family story; the character of the boy PJ was very well done. But the ending - I said something quite rude!