The book for November is ‘Happenstance’ by Carol Shields. This is…[Read more]

That’s the book for September. It;s the first book written by Patience Griffin, in the ‘Kilts and Quilts’ series.

Now, I do have to confess that I had never heard of this series until I met Susan Briscoe, of whom some of may have heard – and she was very enthusiastic about it.

The plot is pretty straightforward -…[Read more]

This is a big contrast to ‘The Quilter’s Apprentice’, and is quite a weighty read. It’s widely available, and if you just cannot face reading it in this unending heat, there’s also a TV version on Netflix.

Be warned that it does have some quite grim scenes in it though.

I look forward to seeing what you…[Read more]

Do you think that extended series of books work? Or is it better to have novels as a ‘one-off’?

And is the Elm Creek group one that you yourself would like to join?

Some interesting ideas about whether or not to read other books in the series. I did find that if I read several in quick succession I got quite bored, but one every now and then worked fine! I found the Christmas one to be the most disappointing – I hadn’t quite registered that it was really a cook book with some small snippets of…[Read more]

July is a manic month for me – it’s almost summer holidays, but not quite. Daily life carries on as usual, although this year the heat seems to be making every task take twice as long!

So the book for this month is a relatively straight forward read, and many of you may well already have read…[Read more]

I also found it much easier once I’d seen a photo of ‘the quilt’. I’ve got as far as buying some fabric for the centre panel – and that’s it….

Arlene

I would agree – modern mental health issues seem to be becoming ever more acute, and while there’s a lack of money, I also wonder whether we know how to fix them?

Arlene

Maria was locked away because she threatened the rules of a rigid society.
Have we become more tolerant today, or are there still certain social improprieties that attract similar punishment? Do…[Read more]

So hopefully by now you’ve read ‘The Forgotten Seamstress’ and have come up with your own ideas…..

What did you think of the ending?

Was it predictable?

Would you have preferred it to be more ambiguous?

I hadn’t read this book before, so had no preconceived ideas about it.

One of the first things that struck me was the author’s use of different narrative voices to tell the story – so we learnt about events from different points of view.

What did you think of this?

Does it work well?

How would the story have been…[Read more]

I know that we’re only halfway through May, but I thought I’d give you a chance to get hold of a copy of June’s book in plenty of time.

It’s available in printed format as well as a Kindle version. As far as I’m aware, there’s also an audiobook version.

I know that buying books can be expensive, so why…[Read more]

As we start a long weekend, with the prospect of glorious sunny weather, it’s an idea time to get on with this month’s book.

So how are you getting on with it? How far have you got? What do you like and what do you not like?

Hope you have a lovely relaxing day with plenty of time for yourself and to read!

Arlene

There are a couple of reasons for this – one, because Nina set up this fabulous group, and had already chosen this book It seems only fair to those of you who went out and sources to stick with Nna’s choice, as she undoubtedly has great taste.

And…[Read more]