Book Corner

Our monthly book club from the comfort of your own armchair.

Novel Kicks Book Club: The Last by Hanna Jameson

Viking, 2019

Hello March and greetings to a brand new book to discuss. 

I personally am very excited by this month’s pick which, if you’ve not already guessed is The Last by Hanna Jameson.

When I read this one, I couldn’t put it down and I am looking forward to talking about it. I do at any opportunity.  As normal, I have added a question below to kick off the discussion.

Remember, anyone can take part in our book club and it can be from the comfort of your sofa, bed, whatever.

 

About The Last:

Historian Jon Keller is on a trip to Switzerland when the world ends. As the lights go out on civilisation, he wishes he had a way of knowing whether his wife, Nadia, and their two daughters are still alive. More than anything, Jon wishes he hadn’t ignored Nadia’s last message.

Twenty people remain in Jon’s hotel. Far from the nearest city and walled in by towering trees, they wait, they survive.

Then one day, the body of a young girl is found. It’s clear she has been murdered. Which means that someone in the hotel is a killer.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Novel Kicks Book Club: I Invited Her In by Adele Parks

HQ, Sept 2018

I am excited to be picking the first Novel Kicks book club for 2019 and it’s a great one (in my humble opinion.) 

I have chosen ‘I Invited Her In’ by Adele Parks. 

I am looking forward to discussing this book and I hope you join me in the comments below. You can take part from the comfort of your own armchair.

As usual, I have posted a question to kick things off.

 

About I Invited Her In: 

‘I invited her in… and she took everything.’

When Mel hears from a long-lost friend in need of help, she doesn’t hesitate to invite her to stay. Mel and Abi were best friends back in the day, sharing the highs and lows of student life, until Mel’s unplanned pregnancy made her drop out of her studies.

Now, seventeen years later, Mel and Abi’s lives couldn’t be more different. Mel is happily married, having raised her son on her own before meeting her husband, Ben. Now they share gorgeous girls and have a chaotic but happy family home, with three children.

Abi, meanwhile, followed her lover to LA for a glamorous life of parties, celebrity and indulgence. Everything was perfect, until she discovered her partner had been cheating on her. Seventeen years wasted, and nothing to show for it. So what Abi needs now is a true friend to lean on, to share her grief over a glass of wine, and to have some time to heal. And what better place than Mel’s house, with her lovely kids, and supportive husband…

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Novel Kicks Book Club: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

I can’t believe we’re on the last book club for 2018. 

If course, it has to be a Christmas themed book.

As it’s December, I’ve chosen Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

For people who know your Christmas movies, this is the book Christmas With The Kranks is based on.

This is one of my favourite films and I have been meaning to read this for a while.

Anyone can take part in our book club and from the comfort of your sofa.

As normal, I’ve posted a question below to get things going.

 

About Skipping Christmas…

Imagine a year without Christmas.

No crowded shops, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That’s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether.

Theirs will be the only house on the street without a rooftop Frosty the snowman; they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one, because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences – and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined.

 

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Novel Kicks Book Club: After You by Jojo Moyes

After you

Penguin, June 2016

Hello November. 

For this month’s book club, I’ve chosen After You by Jojo Moyes.

This is the sequel to the fantastic Me Before You. Anyone can take part in our book club at any point in the month and you can discuss books from the comfort of your armchair so you don’t even have to go out in the horrible weather.

As usual, I have posted a question below to kick off the discussion.

About After You: 

Lou Clark has lots of questions.

Like how it is she’s ended up working in an airport bar, spending every shift watching other people jet off to new places.

Or why the flat she’s owned for a year still doesn’t feel like home.

Whether her close-knit family can forgive her for what she did eighteen months ago.

And will she ever get over the love of her life.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Novel Kicks Book Club: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

a discovery of witchesOctober is here. Autumn is arriving, the clocks go back and of course, Halloween is approaching. 

It’s one of my favourite months (although I am a little biased with it being my birthday in October.) I am sad to be saying goodbye to summer but at the same time, I love the colder nights. It’s a great reason for the warm blankets, tea and books. Not that I’ve needed an excuse.

Our book club is open to everyone. It’s online so no need to step out of the warm socks or comfy sofa. I’ve posted a question below to get the discussion going. I hope you can join me.

This month, the featured book we shall be reading is A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I have been really excited to read this book especially having watched some of the new tv series that is based upon it.

Diana and Matthew – the forbidden love at the heart of it.

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it’s an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she’s kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires.

Sensing the significance of Diana’s discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

August’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Whistle in the Dark by Emma Healey

Whistle in the dark

Viking, May 2018

Welcome to August everyone. 

For this month’s book club, I chose something that has definitely been on my TBR pile for weeks and that is Whistle in the Dark by Emma Healey.

As usual, our book club is open to anyone who fancies talking about it. I’ve posted a question to kick things off.

About Whistle in the Dark:

Jen’s fifteen-year-old daughter goes missing for four agonizing days.

When Lana is found, unharmed, in the middle of the desolate countryside, everyone thinks the worst is over.

But Lana refuses to tell anyone what happened, and the police think the case is closed.

The once-happy, loving family returns to London, where things start to fall apart.

Lana begins acting strangely: refusing to go to school, and sleeping with the light on.

With her daughter increasingly becoming a stranger, Jen is sure the answer lies in those four missing days. But will Lana ever reveal what happened?

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

July’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

eleanor oliphantIt’s July and summer is officially here.

I am loving this beautiful weather and the many chances to read in the sunshine.

This month, I’ve picked a book I’ve heard great things about and have been wanted to read for a while.

I’ve picked Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. 

As usual, I’ve added a question below to kick off the discussion. Anyone is welcome to join in and it can be from the comfort of your sofa, armchair, bed.

About the book: 

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.

Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.

One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

June’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Eligible Curtis sittenfeld

Borough Press, 2016

June is here. Was May a long month or was it just me? 

With June comes exceptional weather (so far) and the official longest day. I am loving the lighter evenings and more excuses to curl up in the sunshine with a book.

This month’s title is a modern reworking of Pride & Prejudice.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld. 

About the novel…

As usual, I have posted a question to get the discussion going and the great thing about our book club is that anyone can take part and being online, you can do so from the comfort of your own armchair/lounger/bed. 

For sisters Liz and Jane, coming home to suburban Cincinnati means being paraded at the Lucas family’s BBQ, where burgers are served alongside the eligible men.

But it’s difficult to focus on re-booting their love lives when the family’s mock-Tudor house starts to crumble around them.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

May’s Novel Kicks Book Club: You Me Everything by Catherine Isaac

Simon & Schuster, April 2018

Simon & Schuster, April 2018

Hello May. I hope you bring the nice weather with you. I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to be able to sit out in the garden in the sunshine.

As it’s a new month, that means a new featured book. For our book club this month, I have chosen You Me Everything by Catherine Isaac.

You Me Everything is a heartfelt and unforgettable story about the lengths we are prepared to go to for those we love. Guaranteed to make you laugh and cry, this is novel you will never forget.

You and me, we have history.
We have a child together.
We have kept secrets from each other for far too long.
This summer, in the beautiful hills of the Dordogne, it is time for everything to change.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

April’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Together by Julie Cohen

Together‘Drip, drip drop, little April shower, beating a tune as you fall all around.’

How can it be April already? The clocks have gone forward, the nights are longer, the promise of summer is in the air but the rain (and snow) is still falling.

A perfect excuse to be snuggled up inside with a book. Like we need an excuse though! One of my favourite things to do is to curl up with a book, a blanket and a cup of tea – the sound of the rain from outside.

This month, our book title is Together by the brilliant Julie Cohen. 

Robbie and Emily they have been together for decades. Now, their joints are creaking and their eyesight is failing – but their love for each other is as fresh and fierce as the day they first met. They have had children and grandchildren, lived full and happy and intimate lives.

But they have been keeping a secret since the day they met, when their lives changed forever. Over the years, the sacrifices and choices they made have sealed their fates together.

Did they do the right thing? Read their story, and you decide.

Our book club is completely online, anyone can take part and it can be done in the comfort of your armchair.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

February’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Dream a Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher

dream a little dream

Penguin, June 2015

Well hello to you February. It’s good to see you.

I don’t know about you but I found January seemed to go on forever!

February is finally here. I always feel that February is quite a romantic month because of Valentine’s Day.

This month, I have chosen a book that has romance galore and it’s Dream a Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher. Even the cover is romantic. Aww, I love it.

Sarah is doing just fine. Sure she’s been single for the last five years, and has to spend an uncomfortable amount of time around her ex-boyfriend, his perfect new girlfriend and all their mutual friends. And yes, her job as a PA to one of the most disgusting men in London is mind-numbingly tedious and her career is a constant disappointment to her mother. But it’s really okay. She’s happy (ish).

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

January’s Book Club: Blackbird by ND Gomes

HQ Young Adult, November 2017

HQ Young Adult, November 2017

Hello January. 

I can’t say that this is my favourite month of the year. Christmas is over, the decorations and music are gone and we’re left with the rain and wind and no money until the end of the month. Boo!

The silver lining to this time of year is that it is a chance to curl up when you can with a book and this month, I’ve chosen Blackbird by ND Gomes.

This YA novel is set at the beginning of 2016 around New Year and January so I thought it was appropriate for this month’s book club.

Come join me in discussing Blackbird and the great thing is, you don’t have to leave your sofa to join in.

Olivia disappeared the night the blackbird died.

It was New Years Eve the night that dead blackbirds descended, hours before fourteen year old Alex McCarthy’s sister Olivia went missing from a party.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

November’s Novel Kicks Book Club: The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Novel THE PRINCESS BRIDE Cover

Bloomsbury

For November’s book club, I’m focusing on one of my favourite stories, The Princess Bride. 

The film adaption of this book is probably one of the best films in my humble opinion. It so fabulous. However, I have only recently read the book which, instead of being a book I couldn’t read as I’d already seen the film, it gave me a deeper appreciation for the characters.

‘As You Wish,’ and ‘My name is Inigo Montoya, you kill my father, prepare to die,’ still hold as some of the best film quotes.

Beautiful, flaxen-haired Buttercup has fallen for Westley, the farm boy, and when he departs to make his fortune, she vows never to love another. So, when she hears that his ship has been captured by the Dread Pirate Roberts (no survivors) her heart is broken.

But her charms draw the attention of the relentless Prince Humperdinck who wants a wife and will go to any lengths to have Buttercup. So starts a fairy tale like no other, of fencing, poison, true love, hate, revenge, giants, bad men, good men, snakes, spiders, chases, escapes, lies, truths, passion and miracles, and a damn fine story.

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Who wants to join me to chat about true love, secret identities and betrayal?

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

October’s Novel Kicks Book Club: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S Lewis

lion witchHappy October. It’s officially autumn. Halloween is almost here, the days have already become shorter (boo,) and shockingly, Christmas has already started to appear in shops.

As a kid, I always loved this time of year (October is my birthday month so I am a little biased.) I used to love getting home from school and stepping into the warmth of our house. I would make a cup of tea and toast and would sit and either read or catch Fun House or Finder’s Keepers on telly.

This month I wanted to pick a book that reminded me of the autumns of my childhood. For October, I’ve picked The Chronicles of Narnia; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Hands up the people who remember the BBC adaptation. That theme tune that will now be worming its way into your head right?

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Who wants to join me to chat about Lions, Witches and magical secrets worlds?

I have posted a question to kick things off in the comments box below.  The good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

 

About the book:

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are sent to live with their reclusive Uncle in his mysterious country home. Lucy soon discovers a wardrobe that hides a doorway into the magical world of Narnia.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

September’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Ralph’s Party by Lisa Jewell

Penguin, 1999

Penguin, 1999

We are in September. How are we already in September? As we are moving closer to Autumn, this month I wanted to pick a book that I think is perfect to snuggle up with when it’s raining outside (or not.)

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. For September, the book I have chosen for us is one of my favourites, Ralph’s Party by Lisa Jewell. Who wants to join me?

I have posted a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

About Ralph’s Party: 

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

August’s Novel Kicks Book Club: The Other Side of You by Amanda Craig

Abacus, February 2017

Abacus, February 2017

It’s August (although the weather doesn’t always want to catch up,) and it’s time for a new book club title. 

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. For August, the book I have chosen for us is The Other Side of You by Amanda Craig. Who wants to join me? This book is based on Beauty and The Beast (an updated version.)

I have posted a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

Will must run, or die. He’s seen a murder, and the gang on his estate are after him.

Hurt, hungry and afraid, he comes to an abandoned house in a different part of the city. Behind its high fences is a place of safety. Here, he can hide like a wounded beast. He can find food, and healing – and learn how to do more than survive.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

July’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Alias Grace

Vigaro, August 2001

July! Wow. Can you believe we’re halfway through 2017? It’s the beginning of the month which means a new title for our book club.

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. For July, I shall be reading Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood so who wants to join me? Based on a true story, this book is soon going to be a new Netflix series.

I have posted a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

 

About Alias Grace.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

June’s Novel Kicks Book Club: The Sea Sisters by Lucy Clarke

Harper, May 2013

Harper, May 2013

Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Every month, I pick a new book for discussion. I will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

This month, it is the fantastic, The Sea Sisters by Lucy Clarke. 

Two sisters, one life-changing journey…

There are some currents in the relationship between sisters that run so dark and so deep, it’s better for the people swimming on the surface never to know what’s beneath . . .

Katie’s carefully structured world is shattered by the news that her headstrong younger sister, Mia, has been found dead in Bali – and the police claim it was suicide.

With only the entries of Mia’s travel journal as her guide, Katie retraces the last few months of her sister’s life, and – page by page, country by country – begins to uncover the mystery surrounding her death.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Novel Kicks Book Club For May: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

gargoyle

Cannongate Books, Jan 2009

Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Every month, I pick a new book for discussion. I will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

This month, it is The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.

A young man is fighting for his life. Into his room walks a bewitching woman who believes she can save him. Their journey will have you believing in the impossible. The nameless and beautiful narrator of The Gargoyle is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and wakes up in a burns ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned.

His life is over – he is now a monster. But in fact it is only just beginning. One day, Marianne Engel, a wild and compelling sculptress of gargoyles, enters his life and tells him that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly burned mercenary and she was a nun and a scribe who nursed him back to health in the famed monastery of Engelthal.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

April’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

big little liesWelcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Every month, I pick a new book for discussion. I will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

This month, it is Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

It was always going to end in tears, but how did it end in murder?

Single mum Jane has just moved to town. She’s got her little boy in tow – plus the secret she’s been carrying for five years.

On the first day of the school run she meets Madeline – a force to be reckoned with, who remembers everything and forgives no one – and Celeste, the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare, but is inexplicably ill at ease. They both take Jane under their wing – while careful to keep their own secrets under wraps.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

March’s Novel Kicks Book Club: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Penguin, Jan 2015

Penguin, Jan 2015

Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Every month, I pick a new book for discussion. I will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

This month, it is All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the ‘natural wonders’ of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself – a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

February’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Emma by Jane Austen

Penguin Classics, 2009

Penguin Classics, 2009

Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Every month, I pick a new book for discussion. I will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

As it’s almost Valentine’s Day, this month’s book is Emma by Jane Austen. 

Beautiful, clever, rich – and single – Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others.

But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

January’s Novel Kicks Book Club: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

we-were-liarsWelcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

I love books and I love chatting about them even more. Every month, I pick a new book for discussion. I will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about this book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

It’s 2017 and I am kicking the year off with a great book. This month, it’s We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.

We are the Liars.
We are beautiful, privileged and live a life of carefree luxury.
We are cracked and broken.
A story of love and romance.
A tale of tragedy.
Which are lies?
Which is truth?

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

December’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle

let It Snow

Penguin, September 2013

Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

For December, we’re getting in the mood for Christmas with Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle.

This book is a collection of three holiday romances and has a beautiful cover.

An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train and sets off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives. Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with an adorable stranger, three friends set out to win a race to the Waffle House (and the hash brown spoils), and the fate of a teacup pig falls into the hands of a lovesick barista.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

November’s Novel Kicks Book Club: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

lovely-bones

Picador, June 2003

Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

For November, we’re reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighborhood. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about fertilizer.

This is Susie Salmon. Watching from heaven, Susie sees her happy, suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as they each try to cope with their terrible loss alone.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

October’s Novel Kicks Book Club: The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett

51xvmauzoalWelcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

For October, we’re reading The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett. 

For fans of One Day, Life after Life and Sliding Doors. 

Eva and Jim are nineteen, and students at Cambridge, when their paths first cross in 1958. Jim is walking along a lane when a woman approaching him on a bicycle swerves to avoid a dog. What happens next will determine the rest of their lives. We follow three different versions of their future – together, and apart – as their love story takes on different incarnations and twists and turns to the conclusion in the present day.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

September’s Novel Kicks Book Club: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Quirk Books, August 2013.

Quirk Books, August 2013.

Welcome to the Novel Kicks Online Book Club.

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

For September, we’re reading Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

A mysterious island. 
 
An abandoned orphanage. 
 
A strange collection of very curious photographs. 
 
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.

As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine s Home for Peculiar Children.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

August’s Novel Kicks Book Club: The Drowning of Arthur Braxton by Caroline Smailes

drowningofarthurbraxtonWelcome to the Novel Kicks online book club.

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

For August, we’re reading The Drowning of Arthur Braxton by Caroline Smailes. 

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

July’s Book Club: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Other BoleynWelcome to the Novel Kicks online book club.

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

For July, we’re reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

When Henry VIII tires of pretty young Mary Boleyn, her powerful family instructs her to promote her sister, Anne, as a replacement. But Anne Boleyn, newly returned from the French court, intelligent and spirited, doesn’t agree to be Henry’s mistress – only his wife. Pitting the king’s desperation for an heir against his powerful advisors – Wolsey, Cromwell and Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk – what Anne brings about will change the course of a country’s history.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

June’s Book Club: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Collins Classics, April 2016.

Welcome to the Novel Kicks online book club.

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

For June, we’re reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 

This is one classic I’ve actually never got around to reading so I am looking forward to visiting Alice in Wonderland.

‘Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?”’

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

April’s Book Club: Room by Emma Donoghue

81jS3nJ3ucLWelcome to the Novel Kicks online book club.

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. A good thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

The best part… it’s all from the comfort of your armchair/sofa/bed/comfy place.

For April, we’re reading Room by Emma Donoghue.

Jack is five. He lives with his Ma. They live in a single, locked room. They don’t have the key.

Jack and Ma are prisoners.

Room by Emma Donoghue is an extraordinarily powerful story of a mother and child kept in isolation, and the desire for, and price of freedom.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

March’s Book Club: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides

Fourth Estate, 2013

Fourth Estate, 2013

Welcome to the Novel Kicks online book club.

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

For March, it’s The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides.

This is the story of the five Lisbon sisters – beautiful, eccentric, and obsessively watched by the entire neighbourhood.

The boys that once loved them from afar are now grown men, determined to understand a tragedy that has always defied explanation. For still, the question remains – why did all five of the Lisbon girls take their own lives?

This hypnotic and unforgettable novel treats adolescent love and death with haunting sensitivity and dark humour, and creates a coming-of-age story unlike any of our time.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

February’s Book Club: The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Black Swan, January 2012 edition.

Black Swan, January 2012 edition.

Welcome to the Novel Kicks online book club.

How it works…

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that everyone is welcome to take part. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

For February, we are getting into the mood for Valentine’s Day. This month’s book is one of my favourite books, The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.

About the book:

Meet Rebecca Bloomwood.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

January 2016 Book Club: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

51VkS9gRHALAnyone is welcome to join in our monthly online book club.

How it works…

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that EVERYONE CAN TAKE PART. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

With it being December, this month’s book  is: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler.

About the book: 

Six people – five women and a man – meet once a month in California’s Central Valley to discuss Jane Austen’s novels. They are ordinary people, neither happy nor unhappy, but each of them is wounded in different ways, they are all mixed up about their lives and relationships. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable – under the guiding eye of Jane Austen a couple of them even fall in love…

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

December’s Book Club: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Vintage Children's Classics, Reprint Ed. August 2012

Vintage Children’s Classics, Reprint Ed. August 2012

Book Corner is our monthly online book club. Anyone can join.

How it works…

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that EVERYONE CAN TAKE PART. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

With it being December, this month’s book  is: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

About the book:

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

November’s Book Club: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

61czWGfS9PLBook Corner is our monthly online book club. Anyone can join.

How it works…

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that EVERYONE CAN TAKE PART. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

This month, our pick is: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. 

About the book…

Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. ‘He never says please’, she sighed, but she gathered up her things. 

When Brimstone called, she always came. 

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

October’s Book Club: Booktober Challenge

41ppPPYUSeL 2Book Corner is our monthly online book club. Anyone can join.

How it works…

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that EVERYONE CAN TAKE PART.

This month, I am doing things a little differently. As it’s October, and also the launch month for Books are My Bag 2015, I am going to be doing the Booktober challenge. Four weeks, four books. I’ve picked four books that I will be reading over the next four weeks. You can either read along with me or pick four of your own. Please do let me know in the comments if you’d decided to read along and which books you’ve picked.

Also, to celebrate Booktober, anyone who takes part and comments on any of the books they are reading in the comments below will go into the draw to win a £10 Books Are My Bag gift card which is accepted in bookshops nationwide. 

(Competition open to UK only. Draw will close on 31st October 2015 at midday and the winner will be drawn at random soon after and announced on the Novel Kicks blog.) 

 

So, to the four books I’ve picked….. The Day we Disappeared by Lucy Robinson, The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, Us by David Nicholls and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

September’s Book Club: The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon

Word ExchangeBook Corner is our monthly online book club. Anyone can join.

How it works…

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that EVERYONE CAN TAKE PART. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

This month, our pick is: The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon.

About the book…

Imagine a world without words. A world in which books, libraries and newspapers are things of the past. A world where personal devices provide all you could want or need.

Anana Johnson and her father, Doug, are hard at work on the final edition that will ever be printed of the English Dictionary. But one evening, Doug disappears and Anana unearths a single written clue: ALICE.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

August’s Book Club: Paper Towns by John Green

Bloomsbury Childrens Tie in edition, May 2015

Bloomsbury Childrens Tie in edition, May 2015

Book Corner is our monthly online book club. Anyone can join.

How it works…

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that EVERYONE CAN TAKE PART. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

This month, our pick is: Paper Towns by John Green.

About the book…

Quentin Jacobson has always loved Margo from afar. So when she climbs through his window to summon him on an all-night road trip of revenge, he cannot help but follow. But the next morning, Q turns up at school and Margo doesn’t. She’s left clues to her disappearance, like a trail of breadcrumbs for Q to follow. And everything leads to one unavoidable question: who is the real Margo? 

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

July’s Book Club: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Orion, February 2012

Orion, February 2012

Book Corner is our monthly online book club. Anyone can join. 

How it works…

We love books and we love chatting about them even more. Every month, we pick a new book for discussion. We will post a question to kick things off and then you can talk about any of your thoughts about the book in the comments box below. The best thing about our book club is that EVERYONE CAN TAKE PART. It’s open to all. You can read the book at any point in the month or if you’ve already read it, tell us what you think.

This month, our pick is: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell.

About the book…

It’s 1999 and for the staff of one newspaper office, the internet is still a novelty. By day, two young women, Beth and Jennifer, spend their hours emailing each other, discussing in hilarious detail every aspect of their lives, from love troubles to family dramas. And by night, Lincoln, a shy, lonely IT guy spends his hours reading every exchange.

At first their emails offer a welcome diversion, but as Lincoln unwittingly becomes drawn into their lives, the more he reads, the more he finds himself falling for one of them. By the time Lincoln realizes just how head-over-heels he really is, it’s way too late to introduce himself. What would he say to her? ‘Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mails – and also, I think I love you’.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Novel Kicks is a blog for story tellers and book lovers.

Book Club
Novel Kicks Book Club
Archives
Categories