Bibliomaniac's Book Club: Books for 2017

Welcome to Bibliomaniac's Book Club! Here you can find titles and questions to help support your book group. There are two options, either the PaperLight option or the PaperWeight option depending on the preference of your book group.

Questions and any other links to authors, giveaways or competitions will be posted on the 1st of each month so you can use them for your discussion of that book.  So for example, check back on 1st February for questions on "Swimming Lessons" by Claire Fuller and "Sofia Khan" by Ayisha Malik

If you want to make sure you don't miss any posts then you can sign up to receive them for free via email from the blogsite or follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) or Facebook katherine.sunderland.14

MONTH	PaperLight	PaperWeight	Extra Bibliomaniac Events
January	“Good Me, Bad Me” by Ali Land	“Everything Love Is” “The Night Rainbow” Both by Claire King **Giveaway**	Criminally Good Books – live event in Harpenden. Blog posts, q&a and interviews with all 4 authors will be posted on Bibliomaniac’s blogsite throughout January
Feb	“Sofia Khan is Not Obliged” by Ayisha Malik	“Swimming Lessons” by Claire Fuller
March	“A Boy Made of Blocks” by Keith Stuart	Dazzling Debuts: “Tall Oaks” by Chris Whittaker “Lie in Wait” G J Minett “Cut to the Bone” Alex Cann “Without Trace” Simon Booker	Dazzling Debuts live event in Harpenden featuring 4 writers who published their debuts in 2016
April	A book from the Richard and Judy Spring 2017 Book Club titles  - details to follow	“The Home Maker” by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
May	“A Dangerous Crossing” by Rachel Rhys	“Reservoir 13” Jon McGregor
June	“What Alice Knew” TA Cotterell	“The Wonder” Emma Donoghue
July	“The Dry” by Jane Harper	“Instructions for a Heatwave” by Maggie O’Farrell “The Trouble with Goats and Sheep” by Joanna Cannon
August	“Into the Water” by Paula Hawkins	“See What I Have Done” by Sarah Schmidt or choose a collection of short stories or choose a classic
Sept	“The Art Teacher” by Paul Read or “The Exclusives” by Rebecca Thornton	TBC
Oct	“My Sister” by Michelle Adams “Little Sister” by Isabel Ashdown “The Sister” by Louise Jensen	“They Were Sisters” by Dorothy Whipple
Nov	TBC-  the latest must read in Nordic Noir or something similarly wintery!	“To the Bright Edge of the World” by Eowyn Ivey
Dec	Christmas Reads: choose from a selection which will be released at the end of October	Christmas Reads: choose from a selection which will be released at the end of October	An evening event to prepare and share for our reading for over Christmas with festive treats and lots more

Hope that you find something to suit your group and don't forget to look out for questions, games, ideas and conversations starters on that book which will be released on the 1st of each month.

Here are some prompts to help you as you read your Book Group choice:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/prompts-for-reading-for-book-group.html

Here's the link to January's PaperWeight questions and prompts:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/bibliomaniacs-book-club-januarys-read.html











Happy Reading!
@katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

Welcome to Bibliomaniac's Book Club 2017

As many of you know, I devour books for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I will make you late for a appointment by talking about books, I will recommend twelve books when you only asked for one, my To Be Read pile rivals the height of the neighbour's roof and I cannot resist buying the latest, most talked about book - or the forgotten, overlooked paperback for that matter!

My name is Katherine and I am a Bibliomaniac!

So where better to start if you want to talk about books and keep up with what everyone is reading than a Book Club!

Bibliomaniac's Book Club
The aim of my Book Club is to give everyone who might already be in a book group, or who might like to start up a book group, or might like some suggestions and direction with their own reading, some support. Each month I have suggested a novel to read and on the 1st of each month I will post some suggestions for snacks & drinks to accompany your book group evening as well as some questions or discussion ideas to chat about. I am hoping to also add in some video links with author interviews and a few little treats, competitions and giveaways along the way......

There are two options for each month: a paperlight suggestion with matching questions and a paperweight suggestion also with questions, so there should be things to to suit the mood of any group or the kind of reading your group likes to do.



Here is my 12 month plan for the Bibliomaniac's Book Club.
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/bibliomaniacs-book-club-books-for-2017.html

Here are some prompts to help you when you are reading your Book Club read:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/prompts-for-reading-for-book-group.html

Here is the link to January's PaperWeight post if you fancy having a look at the sort of thing you can expect:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/bibliomaniacs-book-club-januarys-read.html

Here's a link to January's PaperLight post if you fancy having a look at the sort of thing you can expect:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/bibliomaniacs-book-club-januarys-read_5.html



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Bibliomaniac's Book Club is about sharing my passion for books - hope you'll join me and develop your own maniacal love for books and reading!

                 

"My Sweet Revenge" Jane Fallon

I want to make my husband fall back in love with me.

Let me explain. This isn't an exercise in 1950s wifeydom. I haven't been reading articles in old women's magazines. 'Twenty ways to keep your man'. That couldn't be further from the truth.

I want him to fall back in love with me so that when I tell him to get the hell out of my life he'll care.

I want it to hurt.

Paula has had Robert's back since they got together as drama students. She gave up her dreams so he could make it. Now he's one of the nation's most popular actors. And Paula's just discovered he's having an affair.

She's going to remind Robert just what he's sacrificing. And then she's going to break his heart like he broke hers. It will be her greatest acting role ever.

Revenge is sweet. Isn't it?

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I was in need of a feel good, humorous read that I could curl up with and this definitely did the trick. It's witty and funny with enough extra twists and last minute revelations to make it a very satisfying read. Fallon's characters are engaging, well developed and even those with an extra bit of colour remain believable rather than becoming too comical or too caricatured.

I wasn't really quite sure what to expect when I started the book but I was instantly made to feel very at home with Paula's honest and open narrative that had me grinning from the outset. The book begins by very effortlessly painting a picture of a family (their daughter Georgia is 18) who are very comfortable with each other and very at ease. This is a couple who have been together a long time and Paula has never considered needing to hide anything from Robert because there is nothing to hide, nor would there ever be. Then she realises that he is having an affair. From the outset, she tries to mask her upset and carry on as normal, not wanting him to know she knows so she can carry out a master plan of revenge.

"Thank God for my drama-school training. Although we never actually did a class called 'How to convince your husband everything's fine when in actual fact you want to stab him with a fork.' Remind me. If I ever become a drama tutor, that'll be my first assignment."

The reader and Paula get to know each other well as Paula fills us in with the last 20 years of marriage, the fact she gave up her career for him to have his, how they have drifted, how she works in a bakery and how she is not like the glamorous young women Robert is surrounded by at work. Not that she's a victim or a someone needing our pity - she's too strong for that and it's not that kind of story. She's grounded and realistic. Paula is hurt, but more focussed on revenge so she begins to search out some answers about Saskia, the 'other' woman with the help of her boss; the blunt, straight talking Myra.

"Hypothetically, if you were going to hide something in your home that you didn't want anyone else to find, where would you hide it?"
"Are you talking about Robert?"
"Hypothetically."

Throughout the novel there are lots of references to acting as obviously most of the main characters are actors, but this also works really well with the whole concept of the story as everyone is putting on an act to everyone else and, as an onlooker, it is really entertaining to sit back and watch as people try to keep their masks held tightly against their faces and try to remember who they are pretending to be to who and why. Paula is by far the one most worthy of a BAFTA! Outstanding!

Although Paula is a woman who has spent the last twenty years in the shadows and on the sidelines, she is perceptive, intelligent and full of surprises. She is focused and ironically seizes life in a way she hasn't before as she carries out her cunning and clever plan to entrap Robert and Saskia. Her resolve is fascinating and her attempts to lose weight that begin as comical, full of self loathing and hopelessness soon develop into something that shows how much commitment and determination Paula has. She sets off on a path that is purely built on a destination of revenge but actually there are a few detours along the way which show not just how Paula is changing as a result of her master plan, but how many hidden talents she has. I really really liked her and I really really enjoyed the first person narrative. Fallon strikes a perfect balance between shrewd, candid comments and more vulnerable, sensitive observations. I felt like I really connected with Paula and I smiled a lot as she told me her story.

I could share lots of passages that made me laugh, that were very visual and entertaining, that made me cringe for a character or that made me tense or worried but I don't want to spoil them for you. And just when you think the story might be in danger of becoming a little pedestrian, Fallon shakes it up by introducing a new point of view which then stirs up a few delicious twists ready for the final act - those essential plot twists that also keep us hooked by soap operas and mini series.

The tone of the novel is light and Fallon has clearly had a lot of fun with characters like Josh, Saskia's husband -the TV show's scriptwriter. I mean, he couldn't be in a better position than this when trying to seek revenge as he is the man who controls the looks, popularity and future of Robert and Saskia's screen characters and acting careers. A role where he can enjoy misusing his power to help carry out a very cold dish of revenge!

Saskia is also well conceived. Outwardly shallow, predictably vain and hilariously contemporary with her hot yoga and quinoa salads, she has a few surprises up her White Company sleeves for us which make the final denouement even more full of suspense and tension.

I'm not going to write any more - not because it isn't possible to write a longer, more detailed review and not because the book isn't worthy of one, but because actually I just really enjoyed "My Sweet Revenge". I think that the best way to for me to praise this book is simply to tell you buy it, get a big slice of cake, a cup of tea, a moment of peace and a comfy spot and then read it! Just be mindful of those crumbs and spillages when you spit out cake and knock your drink over from laughing too much!

Here's to 2017; here's to Paula, here's to being bold, making changes, being the person you want to be and not just acting out a role anymore. Here's to "My Sweet Revenge" storming up the charts as a great feel good read which will bring a splash of sunshine to those cold, grey January days.

"My Sweet Revenge" by Jane Fallon publishes on 12th January with Penguin.

I see Fallon has written many more novels so I'm looking forward to storing a few of those up for a rainy day!

JANE FALLON


Novels:

• Getting Rid of Matthew
• Got You Back
• Foursome
• The Ugly Sister
• Skeletons
• Strictly Between Us

TV:

• This Life
• Teachers
• 20 things to do before you're 30

www.janefallon.co.uk
@JaneFallon
@penguinrandomhouse
@SarahHarwood_

And you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

My TBR pile for 2017

So it's the New Year and I am really excited about my TBR pile!  Some are older titles that have been very patiently waiting to be read and some are brand new books that will be published this year. Here's a little look at what I'm hoping to read in 2017!

"Behind Her Eyes" by Sarah Pinborough publishes on 31st January 

Why is everyone talking about the ending to this book?! I am so curious as to know - everyone is going mad for this novel and I am really looking forward to finding out what is so captivating and shocking about the story! Luckily I have an ARC so fingers crossed I haven't got too long to wait! It looks like this will be one of the top psychological thrillers of 2017!

"Before the Rains" by Dinah Jefferies publishes on 23rd February.

This was a book I actively sought out on NetGalley. It is Jefferies fourth novel; I only recently discovered her but went on to read her previous titles. Set in India in the 1930s this promises to have the same intrigue, suspense, romance and secrets that always make her books so enjoyable, with a great historical context and setting which again, always make her books great escapism. Jefferies always tells a good story with great characters and this will be something to enjoy as a bit of a holiday read.

"Lies" by T M Logan is published on 4th May
This is TM Logan's debut novel and is published by Twenty 7 who so far have released some of the best titles from new authors that I have read over the last 12 months. I have come to expect great things from Twenty 7 and I am sure this will not disappoint. The cover is stunning and the blurb is really intriguing. Another psychological thriller full of secrets and lies.....can't wait!


"He Said She Said" by Erin Kelly will be published on 20th April.
I saw Erin Kelly speak at the Killer Women Crime Festival in October and she was full of energy and really interesting. I have read "The Poison Tree" a long time ago but hearing Kelly speak really made me want to read more of her books so I was stalking this on NetGalley until I was lucky enough to secure an ARC! I am really looking forward to reading it having heard Kelly speak so much about her writing, her inspirations and seeing her at the festival.


"The Muse" by Jesse Burton was published in 2016 and has now made it on to the Richard and Judy Spring Book Club. I have bought a copy - possibly seduced as much by the cover as much as the reviews - and will be hoping to read this soon as a bit of a change from the psychological thrillers!


"The Bookshop" by Penelope Fitzgerald was first published in 1978. You don't really need to ask why this book appeals to me! A village, a bookshop, a literary classic. Three good reasons!! It's a very slim novel so I'm hoping to sneak it in between my review requests!


"Cockfosters" by Helen Simpson was published in 2015 and is a collection of short stories. I fell in love with Helen Simpson earlier this year when I accidentally stumbled across "Hey Yeah Right Get A Life" which seemed to speak volumes to me from it's short stories full of sharp, witty, insightful observations about people and relationships. I have been desperate to read more ever since. This was a perfect Christmas present!

And then here are a few more that I'm also very keen to read as they are published over the next few months......



What do you have waiting on your TBR pile? Old favourites? Books you've been meaning to read for ages? New books that you'll be banging down the booksellers' doors for as they are released into the wild? Any recommendations that I should add?!! Let me know........

For more recommendations, reviews and bookish chat you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)