November Meetup

Many thanks to everyone who joined the October meetup. As ever some excellent discussion about two very different books but with several similarities. The group also scored the books quite closely; The Raw Shark Texts scoring 61 and Metamorphosis 57.

The numbers were a little bit down on our usual levels though as there were quite a few late call offs and no shows. We know that things can happen that mean rsvps need to change, but can I ask folks to make every effort to attend when you've signed up. Thanks.

For November we have two more great books to enjoy; one takes us into the terrible events unfolding in Yorkshire in 1979 while the other is an epistolary novel that won teh 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Please note, with thanks, we appreciate attendees making a contribution of £1.50 at the meeting to help cover meetup charges.

Happy Reading.

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (nominated by Jenn)

Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South.

Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn't an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv's mum stopped talking.

Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?

So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don't.
But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (nominated by Louise)

Sybil Van Antwerp is seventy-three, slowly losing her sight and always writing letters . . .

To her children. Her favourite authors. Her ex-sister-in-law. The journalist poking into her past.

Her doctor. Suitors. Kindly neighbours. The infuriating gardening club.
All receive Sybil’s witty, wise correspondence, rich with everyday concerns.

But there is one letter that she has never sent. It concerns the darkest period of her life. To post it, Sybil must find forgiveness within herself.

The hardest letter to write is the one you’d never dare to send.

Other books nominated were:

The Apple in the Dark by Clarice Lispector
The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler
The Fisherman by John Langan
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian