October First Wednesday Reading Circle

[Melbourne Library Service]

Another diverse list from our October Reading Circle.
Comments from our group are included, let us know if you agree or not!

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara


This is a beautifully written book. Four guys meet up in college and form a friendship over many years. The book moves more towards Jude, one of the four who was abused as a child and is physically and emotionally scarred. Very well drawn characters but quite intense and graphic in places.


A Certain Justice by PD James


Read half-way. PD James is my favourite author. This was the first PD James book given to me. A certain justice is a compelling read.


Death Under a Tuscan Sun by Michele Giuttari


Awful book. Worst book I have ever read. Not well written. I don’t recommend. Basically a who dunnit but the story and characters never developed.


Father’s Day by Tony Birch


A series of short stories . Very well written. Realistic, attentive to human feeling, not devoid of humour. Well structured. Recognisably Carlton.


Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens


Predictable story that involves a murder, a person faking his position, however it exposes the values of that period. I love the way the spaces were described.


The Silo Trilogy by Hugh Howey – Books are Wool, Shift and Dust

Post-apocalyptic sci-fi world in which all that remains of humanity is living in an underground bunker. Very complex themes but too many unanswered questions.


The Strays by Emily Bitto


Artist ‘colony’ set in Melbourne – easy to read and enjoyable


Mr Wigg by Inga Simpson


Nest by Inga Simpson


Both gentle books that raise questions of ageing.


Places by Colette


A collection of articles – beautifully descriptive!


Shallows by Tim Winton




Happy Valley by Patrick White



Emotional Freedom Liberate yourself from negative emotions and transform your life by Judith Orloff


Inspirational!


Between the world and me by Ta-Nehisi Coates


Absolutely stunning, searingly beautiful writing.
Nearly every page wounds me with its honesty, clarity and truth.
I agree with Toni Morrison, this is required reading for every person on the planet, if only in that it causes you to think things you may never have thought before.
It’s heartbreaking and inspiring and I am going to buy a copy so that I can read it again and again and again, whenever I need to jumpstart my own thought process or when I just want to read something beautiful and meaningful.


Liar, temptress, soldier, spy: four women undercover in the civil war by Karen Abbott.


This is a history of the American Civil War, interwoven with the stories of four courageous women—a socialite, a farmgirl, an abolitionist, and a widow—who were spies.
So far it is proving very interesting, although I am learning way more about the American Civil War than I ever wanted to know!
I expected the four stories to be separate chapters, but instead Karen Abbott has interwoven them with the chronological story of the war itself.