Skip to main content

Helmdon Community Groups

Reading Group Books – Archive

This page covers the years 2006 to 2022.

 

Helmdon Reading Group – Books for 2022

Date Title & Author Venue
January 2022 The Guest List
Lucy Foley
Carol’s book
February 2022 The Salt Path
Raynor Winn
Audrey’s book
at Lynn Gartside’s
March 2022 The Vanishing Half
Brit Bennett
Eileen’s book
April 2022 Small Pleasures
Clare Chambers
Gill’s book
May 2022 The Garden of Evening Mists
Tan Twan Eng
Jean’s book
June 2022 Unsettled Ground
Clare Fuller
Jo’s book
July 2022 Magpie Lane
Lucy Atkins
Lynn Gartside’s
book
August 2022 Howard’s End
E.M.Forster
Lynn Walmsley’s
book
September 2022 A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian
Maria Lewycka
Sally’s book
October 2022 The Lincoln Lawyer
Amor Towles
Alex’s book
November 2022 The Four Winds
Kristin Hannah
Carol’s book
December 2022 1984
George Orwell
Eileen’s book

Helmdon Reading Group – Books for 2021

Books for 2021
Date Title & Author Venue
06 January Rules of Civility
Amor Towles
Lynn’s book
01 February Girl, Woman, Other
Bernadine Evaristo
Sally’s book
01 March A Single Thread
Tracey Chevalier
Alex’s book
05 April The Liffey Near & Far
Niki Phillips
Audrey’s book
03 May Force of Nature
Jane Harper
Carol’s book
07 June The Night Tiger
Yangtsze Choo
Eileen’s book
July Hamnet
Maggie O’Farrell
Gill’s book
August The Architect’s Apprentice
Elif Shafak
Jean’s book
September Bringing In The Sheaves
Richard Coles
Lynn Gartside’s
book
October American Dirt
Jeanine Cummins
Lynn Walmsley’s
book
November The Betrayal
Kate Furnivall
Sally’s Book
at Alex’s
December I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning
Laurie Lee
Alex’s
book

 

Books for 2020

Date Title & Author Venue
06 January The Corset
Laura Purcell
At Carol’s
03 February Once Upon A River
Diane Setterfield
At Gill’s
02 March The House Opposite
Barbara Noble
At Eileen’s
06 April The Burning Chambers
Kate Mosse
Jean’s book
by Zoom
04 May The Centre of the Bed
Joan Bakewell
Lynn’s book
by Zoom
01 June The Shepherd’s Hut
Tim Winton
Sally’s book
by Zoom
06 July The Dutch House
Ann Patchett
Alex’s book
by Zoom
03 August Blackberry Wine
Joanne Harris
Audrey’s book
by Zoom
07September Where The Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens
Carol’s book
by Zoom
05 October Life, Death & Vanilla Slices
Jenny Eclair
Eileen’s book
by Zoom
02 November West With The Night
Beryl Markham
Gill’s book
by Zoom
07 December Those Who Are Loved
Victoria Hislop
Jean’s book
by Zoom

 

Reading Group Books for 2019

Date Title and Author Venue
2018
03 December
The Other Hand
by Chris Cleeve
Sally’s book
at Alex’s
2019
07 January
The Ship
by CS Forester
at Alex’s
04 February No meeting
04 March The Snow Child
by Eowyn Ivey
at Audrey’s
01 April The Body In The Ice
AJ Mackenzie
at Carol’s
29 April Reasons To Stay Alive
Matt Haig
at Eileen’s
03 June After The Party
Cressida Connolly
at Gill’s
01 July The Music Shop
Rachel Joyce
at Jean’s
05 August The Penguin Lessons
Tom Michell
at Jenny’s
02 September Transcription
Kate Atkinson
at Lynn’s
07 October The Scavenger’s Daughter
Kay Bratt
Sally’s book
at Alex’s
05 November A Gentleman In Moscow
Amor Towles
at Alex’s
02 December The Warden
Anthony Trollope
at Audrey’s
06 January The Corset
Laura Purcell
at Carol’s

Reading Group – Books for 2018

2018

29 January

The Silk Merchant’s Daughter

Dinah Jefferies            at Sally’s

05 March Cousins

by Sally Vickers          at Alex’s

02 April Moving

by Jenny Eclair          at Ann’s

04 June The Secret Rooms

by Catherine Bailey      at Audrey’s

02 July The Dry

by Jane Harper       at Carol’s

06 August Miss Boston & Miss Hargreaves

by Rachel Malik      at Gill’s

03 September Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

by Gail Honeyman      at Jean’s

01 October A Year of Marvellous Things

Sarah Winman           at Jenny’s

 

05 November 2018 The last Painting of Sara de Voig
by Dominic Smith
                              at Lynn’s

Reading Group Books for 2017

09 January The Light Between Oceans

M.L Stedman      at Jean’s

09 February

7.30 p.m. new time

The Sea Garden

Deborah Lawrenson      at Jenny’s

06 March The Muse

Jessie Burton          at Lynn’s

03 April The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

Natasha Pulley       at Alex’s

08 May The Husband’s Wife

Amanda Prowse     at Ann’s

05 June Wait For Me!

Memoirs of the Youngest Mitford Sister

Deborah Devonshire      at Audrey’s

03 July When Nights Were Cold

Susanna Jones                at Carol’s

August No meeting
04 September The Essex Serpent

Sarah Walters                at Gill’s

02 October The Power of One

Bryce Courtenay           at Jean’s

06 November The Children Act

Ian McEwan                 at Jenny’s

04 December Birdcage Walk

Helen Dunmore          at Lynn’s

Reading Group Books for 2016

04 January Poetry

at Alex’s

01 February The Enchanted April

by Eliabeth von Arnim     at Gill’s

08 February The Enchanted April

FILM                                   at Carol’s

07 March All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr           at Jean’s

04 April The Orchard of Lost Souls

by Nadifa Mohamed      at Jenny’s

02 May Me Before You

JoJo Moyes                     at Judy’s

06 June The Behaviour of Moths

Poppy Adams                 at Lynn’s

04 July Somebody Else’s Kids

Torey Hayden               at Val’s

01 August Off Shore

Penelope Fitzgerald     at Alex’s

05 September A Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District

James Rebanks            at Ann’s

03 October The Silk Factory

Judith Allnatt               at Audrey’s

07 November The Last Train To Brackley Central

Stephen Done             at Carol’s

28 November Exposure

Helen Dunmore         at Gill’s

09 Januaary The Light Between Oceans

M.L Stedman             at Jean’s

09 February The Sea Garden

Deborah Lawrenson     at Jenny’s

Reading Group Books for 2015

6 January Quartet – film at Carol’s
3 February The Baroness (Hannah Rothschild)                             at Alex’s
3 March The Last Dance & Other Stories (Victoria Hislop)   at Audrey’s
7 April To Kill A Mocking Bird (Harper Lee)                          at Carol’s
5 May White Truffles In Winter (N.M. Kelby)                       at Gillian’s
2 June A Genius In The Family: An Intimate Memoir Of Jacqueline Du Pre (Hilary du Pre)      at Liz’s
7 July Nothing To Envy (Barbara Demick)                           at Jean’s
4 August How It All Began (Penelope Lively)                           at Jenny’s
1 September Appletree Yard (Louise Doughty)                               at Judy’s
6 October A Walk In The Woods (Bill Bryson)                           at Alex’s
3 November We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (Karen Joy Fowler)
at Lyn’s
1 December Poems and Nibbles                                                        at Alex’s

Reading Group Books for 2014

6 January Quartet – film                                                               at Carol’s
3 February The Baroness (Hannah Rothschild)                        at Alex’s
3 March The Last Dance & Other Stories (Victoria Hislop) at Audrey’s
7 April To Kill A Mocking Bird (Harper Lee)                    at Carol’s
5 May White Truffles In Winter (N.M. Kelby)                 at Gillian’s
2 June A Genius In The Family: An Intimate Memoir Of Jacqueline Du Pre(Hilary du Pre)
at Liz’s
7 July Nothing To Envy (Barbara Demick)                     at Jean’s
4 August How It All Began (Penelope Lively)                      at Jenny’s
1 September Appletree Yard (Louise Doughty)                          at Judy’s
6 October A Walk In The Woods (Bill Bryson)                       at Alex’s
3 November We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (Karen Joy Fowler)     at Lyn’s
1 December Poems and Nibbles                                                    at Alex’s

Reading Group Books for 2013

7 January Poems at Gill’s
4 February The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)         at Lynn’s
4 March The Complete Mapp & Lucia (E.F.Benson)            at Alex’s
8 April In Pale Battalions (Robert Goddard)                       at Ann’s
6 May An Act of Peace (Ann Widdecombe)                   at Audrey’s
3 June The White Woman On The Green Bicycle (Monique Roffey)
at Carol’s
1 July The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared (Jonas Jonosson)
at Gillian’s
5 August Pure (Andrew Miller)                                                at Jean’s
2 September The Cleaner of Chartres (Salley Vickers)           at Jenny’s
7 October When God was a Rabbit (Sarah Winman)          at Judy’s
4 November The Last Runaway (Tracy Chevalier)                  at Lynn’s
2 December The Distant Hours (Kate Moreton)                      at Ann’s

Reading Group Books for 2012

2 January Poems                                                                 at Alex’s
6 February The Masters (CP Snow)                                  at Liz’s
5 March East of the Sun (Julia Gregson)                    at Lynn’s
2 April Christ Stopped at Eboli (Carlo Levi)            at Alex’s
7 May The Liffey Flows By (Niki Phillips)              at Ann’s
4 June The Sense Of An Ending (Julian Barnes)   at Audrey’s
2 July The Sealed Letter (Emma Donaghue)         at Carol’s
6 August Summer in February (Jonathan Swift)      at Gill’s
3 September The Peppered Moth (Margaret Drabble)    at Jenny’s
1 October The Hare With The Amber Eyes (Edmund de Waal)
at Jean’s
5 November State of Wonder (Ann Patchett)                   at Judy’s
3 December English Eagles (Nigel Slater) and visit of the author
at Carol’s

Reading Group Books for 2011

3 January Poetry evening                                                         at Alex’s
7 February A Week in December (Sebastian Faulks)           at Judy’s
7 March The Guernsey & Potato Peel Society
(Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows)             at Lynn’s
4 April The Persian Boy (Mary Renault)                         at Alex’s
9 May Trespass (Rose Tremain)                                      at Alex’s
6 June England, Their England  (A.G MacDonnell)    at Ann’s
4 July The 19th Wife (David Ebershoff)                         at Carol’s
1 August The Long Song (Andrea Levy)                             at Carol’s
5 September Started Early, Took My Dog (Kate Atkinson) at Gill’s
3 October Before I Go To Sleep (SJ Watson)                      at Jean’s
7 November Isa And May (Margaret Forster)                       at Jenny’s
5 December Pigeon English ( Steven Kelman)                      at Judy’s

Reading Group Books for 2010

The Reading Group in 2010
(From left to right) Liz Woolley, Carol Brookhouse, Judy Porter,
Ann Smith, Audrey Forgham, Alex Corrin, Lynn Gartside and Jean Simmonds (not present: Jenny Overson and Gill Watson)

5 January The meeting is at Carol’s. Take a favourite poem.

8 FebruaryThe meeting is at Judy’s. Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)

11 March The meeting is at Ann’s The Great Gatsby (F.Scott Fitzgerald) and The Beacon (Susan Hill)

5 April The meeting is at Lyn’s Sacred Hearts (Sarah Dunant)

3 May The meeting is at Alex’s. Members’ recommended books

7 June The meeting is at Jean’s. Rogue Herries (HughWalpole)

5 July The meeting is at Ann’s. The Secret Scripture (Sebastian Barry)

2 August The meeting is at Carol’s The Remains of the Day (Kazuo Ishiguru)

6 September The meeting is at Carol’s The White Queen (Philippa Gregory)

4 October The meeting is at Gill’s The Help (Katherine Stockett)

1 November The meeting is at Jean’s The Five People You Meet In Heaven Mitch Alborn

6 December The meeting is at Ann’s The Outcast Sadie Jones

Reading Group Books for 2009

[Picture missing]

New Year 2009 – Plenty of eating and chatting, but did books get a look in?

Left to right: Alex Corrin, Liz Woolley, Ann Smith, Audrey Forgham, Carol Brookhouse, Gill Watson, Lynn Gartside and, in front, Jean Simmonds

5th January The meeting is at Carol’s. Take a favourite poem, with copies for the group and a plate of “nibbles”.

9th February The meetingisat Alex’s. Diary of an Ordinary Woman (Margaret Forster)

2nd March The meeting is at Ann’s. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie)

NB King’s Sutton Literary Festival is the weekend 7th and 8th March

6th April The meeting is at Jean’s. The Reader (Bernhard Schlink)

4th May The meeting is at Judy’s. The Return (Victoria Hislop)

1st June The meeting is at Carol’s. The Bolter (Frances Osbourne)

6th July The meeting is at Alex’s. The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga)

3rd August The meeting is at Lyn’s. Coram Boy (Jamila Gavin)

7th September The meeting is at Ann’s. Azincourt (Bernard Cornwell)

5th October The meeting is at Jean’s. The Piano Teacher (Janice Y.K Lee)

2nd November The meeting is at Gill’s. Under The Greenwood Tree (Thomas Hardy)

7th December The meeting is at Alex’s. The Music Room (William Fiennes)

Reading Group Books for 2008

[Picture missing]

Some members of the Helmdon Reading Group 2008
From left to right: Jenny Overson, Alex Corrin, Liz Woolley,
Audrey Forgham, Carol Brookhouse and, in front, Jean Simmonds.

7th January Meeting at Alex’s. Take a favourite poem, with copies for the group and a plate of “nibbles”.

14th January Film trip to see The Kite Runner

4th February Meeting at Carol’s. North and South (Mrs Gaskell).

3rd MarchMeeting at Lynn’s. Star of the Sea (Joseph O’Connor)

8th March Kings Sutton Literary Festival – visit (contact Ann or Carol)

10th March Film trip to see The Other Boleyn Girl Cancelled

7th April Meeting at Ann’s. Fair Stood The Wind For France (H E Bates)

12th May Meeting at Gill’s. Purple Hibiscus (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

9th June Meeting at Alex’s. Notes From An Exhibition (Patrick Gale)

7th July Meeting at Carol’s. Rough Music (Patrick Gale)

No August meeting

8th September Meeting at Judy’s. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist (Robert Tressell)

10th October Meeting at Ann’s. The Forgotten Garden (Kate Moreton)

3rd November Meeting at Lyn’s. The Road Home (Rose Tremaine)

1st December Meeting at Gillian’s. Fallen Skies (Phillipa Gregory)

[Picture missing]

Jean Spendlove (centre) showing a document to
Carol Brookhouse (left) and Lynn Gartside (right)

2006 “For Freedom to be Equal”

In November 2006 we discussed a book written by a resident of Helmdon, Jean Spendlove. The book is called For Freedom to be Equal, and is set in Rennes in the time of the French Revolution. Jean attended the meeting so we were able to ask questions and discuss her work. Most of the book club ended up purchasing the book that Jean so kindly lent us to read. We are now hoping she will complete the follow-on book.

 

The Reading Circle

[Picture missing] Some members of the original Reading Circle

The Helmdon Reading Circle was established in July 1999 to enable us to share the joy of reading. Ten of us meet on the first Monday of every month, with the meeting being held in the home of the person who has selected the book for that month. The meetings are usually about two and a half hours long. As a group we agreed that we did not want to read any science fiction or horror stories and that all books were subject to a limit of 500 pages. So far, we have read, amongst others, Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud, Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, Sold by Zana Muhsen, and Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. The Helmdon Reading Circle has proved to be extremely successful and enjoyable and I hope it will continue to flourish.

 

Is this page useful?