HONITON BOOKWORMS READING RECORD

FROM 2002

Title Author & whose

choice Who’s Choice

Comments Av

1 Snow falling on Cedars David Gutterson V good

2 Far from the Madding

Crowd Thomas Hardy Enjoyed

3 Talking to the Dead Helen Dunmore Provoked lots of discussion

4 To Kill a Mocking Bird Harper Lee Marilyn Brilliant

5 Behind the Scenes at the

Museum Kate Atkinson (no comment – I did not read it)

6 Sea Change Robert Goddard Duncan Poor – v. predictable

7 The Fencing Master Perez Reverte John V Good – best of his books

8 Mrs Dalloway Virginia Woolf Helen? Some hated, a few liked

9 The Woman in White Wilkie Collins Should have read Fingersmith

afterwards

10 Cold Comfort Farm Stella Gibbons Great fun

11 Code of the Woosters P.G. Wodehouse Fun, and well written

12 Northern Lights Philip Pullman Provoking

13 Sophie’s World Jostein Gaarder Most did not manage this

14 Atonement Ian Macewan V. Good Interesting discussion

15 Rebecca Daphne Du

Maurier

Alan Titchmarsh’s favourite book

16 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte Provoking

17 The Star of the Sea O’Conner Anthea V. Good. Well written

18 The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold V Difficult 1st 100 pages but

worth it

19 Three Men in a Boat Jerome K Jerome Unfunny

20 The Curious Incident of the

Dog Mark Haddon Marilyn Good read

21 The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown Roland Most did not finish

22 Shadow of the Wind Carlos Zafon Good and provoking

23 Pickwick Papers Charles Dickens Tony? Most enjoyed but not all

finished

24 The Last Battle C.S. Lewis (Matt) Matt Definitely dated but interesting

ideas

25 Brick Lane Monica Ali Most did not finish

26 Year of Wonders Geraldine Brooks Helen Excellent & good discussion

27 The Princes in the Tower

etc – various books Sharon Penmann

+ others Duncan

Read various books & discussed if Richard III was guilty. I think

he was.

28 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini

(Anthea) Anthea

Excellent story about the need for forgiveness and redemption

29 I Capture the Castle Dodi Smith

(Helen) Helen Most enjoyed a lot

2006 Reads

30 Goodnight Mr Tom Michelle Magorian

Bev Not really for adults but most

enjoyed

31 The Warden Anthony Trollope Tony Some enjoyed, some were

bored

32 How Green Was My Valley Richard Llewelyn Jan V. Good. Lots of talking points

33 Papillion Henri Chariere Roland Interesting story – divided

opinion

34 Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden Marilyn V. enjoyable and opens the door on this secret world.

35 Cannery Row John Steinbeck John Everyone loved this book

36 The Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rys Marilyn Again some liked others not so

keen.

37 For Whom The Bell Tolls Ernest

Hemmingway Duncan

One of John’s favourite books but a bit of a lone voice

Christmas session – fun

time

2007 Reads

38 The Time Traveller’s Wife Audrey

Niffenegger Anthea Most really liked the book

39 The Righteous Men Sam Bourne Helen Didn’t live up to the opening

40 Jennings Goes to School Buckeridge Roland Trip down memory lane for

Roland and John

41 The King’s General Daphne Du

Maurier Bev Interesting historical read

42 Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Matt Excellent and moving book

43 The Constant Princess Phillippa Gregory Jan Story of Kathryn of Aragon – interesting but not riveting.

44 The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy Tony Hardy in his usual vein so great

descriptive writing but some weird plotting

45 White Teeth Zadie Smith Vernon Opinion divided on this one

46 True History of The Kelly

Gang Peter Carey Matt

Well told story of this famous Australian outlaw

Christmas – no book

2008 Reads

47 The Savage Garden Mark Mills Anthea Interesting background and

story but didn’t quite work for some

48 Under an English Heaven Robert Ratcliffe Tony A great story and well told 8.4

49 Suite Francaise Irene Nemirovsky Marilyn Poignant unfinished book of the

French population in WWII 8.2

50 The Seige Helen Dunmore John Made you feel cold to read it. Very well written story of the

siege of Leningrad 8.5

51 Winter in Madrid C JSansom Another take on the Spanish Civil war – better liked than

Hemmingway

52 Plain Truth Jodie Picolt Jan Set among the Amish people so

fascinating back-ground but story didn’t quite work for some

6.5

53 Burning Bright Tracey Chevaier John A last minute choice and a bit of

a dud, but some insights into the period.

3.7

54 Exit Music Ian Rankin Roland A full blown detective – our

first? 7.6

2009 Reads

55 North and South Elizabeth Gaskell Helen A bit of a plod at times but

interesting insights into 19th century England

56 The Boy in The Striped

Pyjamas John Boyne Roland

A heart-rending simple tale with a profound message.

8.5

57 The Book Thief Marcus Zusak Marilyn A slow start but then we were

hooked. A great book. 8.9

58 Spies Michael Frayn Matt Unusual and well told but the

story didn’t grab some

59 The Book of Lost Things John Connolly John Bizarre mix of reality and

fantasy 5.4

60 Cider with Rosie Laurie Lee Lisa Classic beautifully told memoir 8.6

61 Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte Tony One of the top novels but some didn’t think so. Over-written by

modern standards 7.8

62 The Angels Game Carlos Luis Zafon John Very disappointing sequel to

Shadow of the Wind 5.5

63 Precious Bane Mary Webb Jan Some loved but others not very

keen 8

2010 Reads

64 The Prisoner of Birth Jeffrey Archer Roland Interesting plot – literature v.

Story telling debate 7.4

65 The Company of Liars Karen Maitland Anthea Provoking book – what was it

about? “What is truth?” 7

66 The Other Boleyn Girl Phillippa Gregory Helen Some historical insights but sex side over-done and not enough

meat. 7

67 These is My Words Nancy Turner Ceri Unusual book with universal themes and very well-liked

8.3

68 The Importance of Being

Kennedy Laurie Graham Jackie

Interesting take on the Kennedy family with a lot to enjoy

7.8

69 The Uncommon Reader Alan Bennet John V. short but engaging portrait of

the Queen. A light read. 6.9

70 Alias Grace Margaret Attwood

Angela Interesting and complex book

that left us wondering “was she guilty?”

7.6

71 The Quiet American Graham Greene Matt Mixed feelings about the book.

Writing good but some lost 5.9

interest

72 The Colour Purple Alice Walker Lisa

Many enjoyed this a lot and found it moving. Use of dialect-

type language added to the experience.

8.9

2011 Reads

73 Persuasion Jane Austen Tony A classic by an iconic novelist but didn’t cut the mustard for

some 21st century readers 6.1

74 World Without End Ken Follett Roland

Book without end. Unrelenting saga where one thing led to

another and another and another, BUT good historical

background

5.9

75 The Tenderness of Wolves Stef Penny Marylin

Mystery story set in Canda fur-trapping times. Lots of different

characters with their inter-locking stories. Good writing.

6.8

76 Small Island Andrea Levy Ceri

V. well written book exposing the racisim in UK at the end of

the war. Lots of tender and humorous passages.

8.1

77 We need to talk about

Kevin Lionel Shriver Jackie

Grim story but very good book for discussion and very well

written. 7.3

79 The Spy Who Came in from

the Cold John Le Carre John

John & Vernon liked it! For me a good spy yarn but set in the

cold war so not familiar background to most.

5.8

80 She Came to Stay Simone de Beauvoir

Anglea Surprisingly popular despite

being a book about feelings and conversation

6.1

81 Cutting For Stone Abraham Verghese

Anthea Wide divergence of opinion –

some really liked but for others too much surgery

7.1

82 Life of Pi Yan Martel Matt

All enjoyed (only 5 of us). Is the story that involves the

unbelievable (God) a better story? We disagreed on that

8.8

2012 Reads

83 Night Eli Weisel Lisa

A short holocaust memoir told in grim but detail. Morbidly fascinating but not all the

incidents described rang true

8.3

84 Snow Falling on Cedars David Gutterson Tony A 10th anniversary A re-read of the first book ever read by the

book group 7.8

85 Seabiscuit Laura Hillenbrand Nick

Divided opinion. Lots of interesting detail about the era and horse racing and well told. Some thought there was too

much extraneous information.

6.2

86 The Alchemist Paulo Coehlo Marilyn

A book designed to appeal to our spiritual side and to leave

us contemplating eternal truths. Hogwash to some.

5.1

87 Falling Leaves Adeline Yen Mah Ceri

A memoir of a young woman growing up in China. Interesting

background but some did not find the central character very

sympathetic.

6

88 A Week in December Sebastian Faulks Jackie V. disappointing from this

author for those who know and love “Birdsong”

3.8

89 The Island Victoria Hislop Sarah

The historical and geographical background helped to make this book. Not all the story threads

worked well together.

7.5

90 The Guernsey Literary and

Potato Peel Pie Society Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

John

First half (pre-Guernsey) worked better than the 2nd

half. But an interesting way to tell a story.

7.5

91 The Bell Iris Murdoch Angela Q Interesting, philosophical and

very well written 7.2

92 First Love Ivan Turgenev Matt Short and disappointing.

Turgenev has written much better stories.

5.0

2013 Reads

93 Knots and Crosses: Ian Rankin Angela L The first Rebus novel. A good

read. 7.2

94 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: Anne Bronte Lisa Not an easy book for 21st C.

readers, but worth persevering. 7.4

95 The Commodore: C S Forester Tony Even Hornblower fanatics

would not rate this high in the canon. Some interesting history.

5.0

96 Pompeii: Robert Harris Nick Good read Immerses you in the Roman world with fascinating

historical background. 8.0

97 The Help: Kathryn Stockett

Marilyn

An interesting take on the Civil Rights movement. A good read

8.0+

98 The Piano Tuner: Daniel Mason Ceri 2nd read for me and found it

good in parts but disappointing in the main.

99 A Fine Balance: Rohinton Mistry Jackie Good story telling about an

interesting part of modern India’s history.

8.1

100 Ghostwritten: David Mitchell

Yvonne

Fascinating book in terms of structure which some found

annoying. 6.1

101 The Night Circus: Erin Morgenstern John Fantasy novel with intriguing

ideas. A good read but lightweight.

7.9

2014 Reads

102 The Bone People , Kerri Hulme Angela Q

Set in NZ with a strong thread of Maori culture. Interesting

relationships between the three main characters. Some brutal

passages but well-written

8.1

103 Jamaica Inn Daphne

duMaurier Matt

Belongs to the rollicking yarn/gothic novel genre.

6.6

104 Moby Dick Herman Melville Angela L Most did not finish. Rambles

too much but some good passages

105 Dracula Bram Stoker Lisa

Classic gothic horror. A chilling read but the treatment of

women (up on a pedestal of goodness and virtue) does not

sit well with the 21st C

7.2

106 The Soldier's Return Melvin Bragg Tony

A good story about a solidier returning to civilian life and coping with the changes in

society post WWII

107 The Refuge, Jenny Smith Nick

A book about the setting up of the first refuge for battered

women in England. V interesting social history.

108 The French Lieutenant's

Woman John Fowles Ceri

A good read with some strong characters. The ending not liked

by some. 8.9

109 A Prayer for Owen Meaney John Irving Jackie

V unusual central character whose story is told through the

words of his friend. Mostly interesting and often very

funny. But the looking back from later life in Canada did not

work well for me.

9

110 Angels & Men Catherine Fox John

A book that scratches where I itch. Very much identify with the central character and the

themes the book develops. Not true for some though.

7.3

2015 Reads

111 The Plague Albert Camus Yvonne Grim read but it threw up some

interesting questions 5

112 Us David Nicholls Angela Q

Enjoyable read about family relationships. Interesting situations and some good

quotes.

7.4

113 Great Expectations Charles Dickens Matt Classic favourite. 9.5

114 Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Angela L A world in which books are

burnt. A polemic against totalitarianism

6.3

115 The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins Lisa A dystopian future where

children are forced to fight to the death.

8.2

116 Fair Stood The Wind for

France H E Bates Nick

WW!! love story set in occupied France. Well liked

8.3

117 The Resurrectionist James Bradley Tony Grim telling of the world of the

body snatchers. 5.2

118 Purple Hibiscus C N Adichie Ceri Set at time of Nigerian civil war.

Rebellion against abusive parent

7.8

119 I Am Pilgrim Terry Hughes Jackie A thriller roller-coaster. Long

but compelling read telling story of pursuit of a terrorist

8.2

120 The Box of Delights John Masefield John Classic children’s story with

elements of fantasy and magic. 3 loved and 3 disliked

6.7

2016 Reads

121 The Go-between L.P. Hartley Yvonne Classic story of English middle

class and the breaking of taboos 5

122 Candyman’s War Michael Crump Angela Q A gruelling portrayal of the

Columbian civil war 5

123 A Whole Life

Robert Seetholer Matt The record of a simple life of an

ordinary man. 7.1

124 The Cuckoo's Calling Robert Galbraith Lisa JK Rowling does crime fiction 6.5

125 The Girl Who Fell From The

Sky Simon Mawer Nick

Girl parachuted into France in WWII. Good in parts 7.5

126 Silas Marner George Elliot Tony Well-loved classic 8.1

127 Hotel Du Lac

Anita Brookner Ceri Booker Prize winner, not

everyone’s cup of tea but good writing 7.7

128 Etta & Otto & Russell & James

Emma Hooper Pippa Old lady from the middle of Canada heads for the ocean.

Unusual and interesting 7.1

129 Still Alice Lisa Genova Jackie Very well told story of the

nightmare descent into Altzeimer’s 8.9

130 The Betrayal Helen Dunmore John Follow on from The Seige. Well

told but story does not lend itself to the same level of drama 7-8

2017 Reads