Programmes for Each Group

Group A (Janet Powell) 📘

4th January - Jose Saramago - Blindness

A dystopian novel about humanity’s will to survive during an epidemic of blindness. Nominated by Martin.

1st February- Madeleine Bunting - The Plot

The author explores her father’s lifelong attachment to a small plot of land he owned in North Yorkshire, revealing it’s rich local and national history. Nominated by Jenny.

7th March - David Guterson - Snow Falling on Cedars

A courtroom drama depicting post WW2 prejudices against the Japanese Americans living in an island fishing community. Nominated by Sarah.

4th April - Stella Rimington - Secret Asset

Written by the former Director of MI5, this is the 2nd in the series featuring MI5 Intelligence Officer, Liz Carlyle. Nominated by Alison.

2nd May - Claire Keegan - Small Things Like These

Set in Ireland in 1985, this short novel tells of an ordinary man’s act of defiance and compassion. Nominated by Jean.

6th June - Val McDermid - 1979

Set in Glasgow, this crime thriller features Allie Burn, keen to make her mark as an Investigative Reporter. Nominated by David.

4th July - Sara Gruen - Water for Elephants

Set in America during the Great Depression, recently orphaned Jacob jumps onto a passing train to find himself joining a travelling circus. Nominated by Barbara.

1st August - Anthony Doerr - All the Light We Cannot See

Starting in Paris, then escaping to St Malo, this is the story of a blind girl, her father and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France. Nominated by Yolande.

5th September - Samuel Butler - The Way of All Flesh

Published posthumously in 1903, this semi-autobiographical novel is a critique of Victorian social hypocrisy. Nominated by Shena.

3rd October - Raynor Winn - The Salt Path

Having lost their home, Raynor and her husband make an impulsive decision to walk the Southwest Coast Path and to live wild with just essentials for survival. Nominated by Margaret.

7th November - Jesse Burton - The House of Fortune

Taking place in early 18th century Amsterdam, this sequel to The Miniaturist is a story fate, love, and two women determined to make their own way. Nominated by Sheila.

5th December - E J Swift - The Coral Bones

Centred on the Great Barrier Reef, this novel about climate change is seen from the perspective of three women from the past, present, and future. Nominated by Sue.

Group B (Anne Smith) 📗 :

Pending

Group C (Sue Buchan) 📕 :

28th November - Sarah Winman - Still Life - 2021

In 1944 Italy two Brits meet; a young soldier and an older art historian. A story of families and friendships. (Sue V)

2025

23rd January - Laura Shepherd-Robinson - The Square Of Sevens - 2023

A fortune-teller in Georgian England, who uses an ancient Cornish method, is searching for her parents' history. (Amanda)

27th February - Barbara Kingsolver - The Lacuna - 2009

Boy grows up between Mexico and the US, works for the Riveras (Diego and Frida Kahlo), and for Trotsky, becomes a writer. (Sarah)

27th March - Jeanine Cummins - American Dirt - 2020

Mexican bookseller flees with son to the US, after journalist husband is murdered by drug cartel. (Carol)

24th April - Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa - The Leopard - 1958

There are changes in Sicily as Garibaldi's Redshirts invade and the old aristocracy has to embrace the new bourgeoisie. (Sue B)

22nd May - Italo Calvino - If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller - 1979

Postmodernist "frame" story, partly in the second person, about the reading experience, partly the stories that "you" are reading. (Hazel)

26th June - Kate Atkinson - Behind The Scenes At The Museum - 1995

A tale of four generations of women, up to Ruby Lennox, who is born in York in 1951. (Linda)

24th July - Rosamond Lehmann - The Echoing Grove - 1953

Lehmann's heartbreak at the end of her affair with Cecil Day-Lewis inspired this novel about two sisters who loved the same man until his death. (Alison)

28th August - Katy Hays - The Cloisters - 2023

In New York, the gothic Cloisters museum hosts a small cliqué of researchers: a mystery Tarot set is discovered. (Anne)

25th September - David Grann - The Wager - 2023

A story of shipwreck, mutiny and murder, culminating in a dramatic court martial. (Sally)

Group D (Sue Buchan) 📙:

19th August - Rohinton Mistry - A Fine Balance - 1995

An epic of modern India: a Dickensian tale of corruption, violence, heroism - from Independence to the 1975 State Of Emergency. (Jenny)

16th September - Joanne Harris - Jigs And Reels - 2004

First short story collection from the author of Chocolat: an eclectic mix of tales. (Peggy)

21st October - Anna Funder - Stasiland - 2021

A study of East Germans; about both the oppressed people, and the ex-Stasi, still nostalgic for the past. (Anne)

18th November - Douglas Stuart - Shuggie Bain - 2020

A novel with biographical elements, the story of growing up in a rough part of Glasgow in the '80s with an alcoholic mother. (Lee)

16th December - Kamila Shamsie - Burnt Shadows - 2009

Story of Hiroko, who survives Nagasaki to find a new life in India, and of her husband and son, and his conflicted loyalties in a complicated world. (Savi)

2025

20th January - Kate Atkinson - Normal Rules Don’t Apply - 2023

Short story collection: interconnected tales in a constantly changing multiverse. (Sian)

17th February - Peter Hoeg - The Quiet Girl - 2007

A clown wanted for tax evasion helps nuns safeguarding children with mystical abilities. When one girl runs away, he goes after her. (Margaret)

17th March - George Eliot - Middlemarch - 1872

One of the great English novels: set in a Midlands town, it follows intersecting stories with multiple characters. (Marion)

21st April - Samantha Downing - My Lovely Wife - 2019

Psychological thriller about a family that initially seems ordinary, set in Florida. (Geoff)

19th May - Emma Smith - Portable Magic - 2022

A book about books, their history, their readers, their impacts, in a series of essays. (Sue).

16th June - Khalid Hosseini - And The Mountains Echoed - 2013

Themes of loyalty, betrayal, guilt and gratitude among Afghan survivors and aid workers: told from nine different perspectives. (Jenny)

21st July - Nick Hayes - The Book Of Trespass - 2020

About our country, and the lack of access we have to most of it: in England we are excluded from 92% of the land and 97% of the waterways. (Peggy)