MIRTHY

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  Be part of our Facebook group

  In this group we will be sharing insights and discussion points relating to the book of the month! We hope you will make this community your own, sharing reading recommendations and thoughts on the Book of the Month and reading more generally!

  Click To Join

• Join our Monthly Events

  At the end of every month, we will be inviting an author or expert to join us for a Question and Answer session about the Book of the Month. This will be hosted on Zoom so that you will be able to ask your own questions and hear other people's insights.

  
  

  Get a copy of the Book of the Month!

  If you want to buy a copy, scroll down to find links to bookshop.org or Amazon copies. Or try your local libraries and bookshops!

December's Book Of The Month

• Snowflakes Over Bay Tree Terrace by Fay Keenan

  

  When teacher Florence Ashton receives a surprise inheritance, she decides to make the life-changing decision to up sticks to the charming town of Willowbury in Somerset. With a new house and a new job, she’s too busy putting down roots to think about love.

  Air Ambulance pilot Sam Ellis is definitely not looking for romance either, especially not on his doorstep. When Florence, his new neighbour, complains about his noisy housemate, he feels more cross than star-crossed.

  Described by Victoria Connelly as 'A gorgeous rural romance full of warmth and charm,' this seems to be the perfect uplifting novel to close 2021 with Mirthy Book Club.

  Purchase from  Amazon  Purchase from  bookshop.org 
  

Book Club Coffee Mornings - December

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  Join the Mirthy Book Club for a coffee and chat morning on Friday 17th to discuss the December Book of the Month, 'Snowflakes Over Bay Tree Terrace' by Fay Keenan. Or join us on Monday 20th December for an afternoon of literary related games on Zoom!

  All you need is an electronic device, a mug and a table!

  
  Click Here To Register

Past Monthly Events with Book Club

November's Book Of The Month

• The Trail by James Ellson

  

  The Trail is a crime thriller. A missing person enquiry leads Manchester DCI Rick Castle to Nepal, where he finds a dead body. Then a second. Nothing in this world was ever straightforward. Nothing. Described by Paula Hawkins, author of 'Girl on a Train' as an: "Intelligent and pacy thriller . . . a taut, keenly-observed tale of revenge, perseverance and the struggle against injustice", this debut novel from James Ellson proves him to be an exciting addition to the world of crime fiction.

  Purchase from  Amazon  Purchase from  bookshop.org 
  

Book Club Coffee 'Morning' - November

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  Join the Mirthy Book Club for a coffee and chat morning (or afternoon) to discuss the October Book of the Month, 'Small Island' by Andrea Levy or just chat more generally about what you're currently reading. We will keep off the spoilers- this is just a chance to talk about books and authors, recommend our favourites, and meet other bookworms in the community.

  All you need is an electronic device, a mug and a table!

  
  Click Here To Register

October's Book Of The Month

• Small Island by Andrea Levy

  

  Andrea Levy’s novel tells the story of post-war Caribbean migration through four narrators – Hortense and Gilbert, who migrate from Jamaica to London in 1948, and an English couple, Queenie and Bernard, in whose house in London they find lodgings. Published in 2004, the novel has become strongly associated with the Windrush experience, in part because of Levy’s biological link to the ship – her father Winston Levy was a passenger on its 1948 voyage. This novel has also been adapted for television and stage, performed at the National Theatre.

  Purchase from  Amazon  Purchase from  bookshop.org 
  

Book Club Coffee 'Morning' - October

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• 
  

  Join the Mirthy Book Club for a coffee and chat morning (or afternoon) to discuss the October Book of the Month, 'Small Island' by Andrea Levy or just chat more generally about what you're currently reading. We will keep off the spoilers- this is just a chance to talk about books and authors, recommend our favourites, and meet other bookworms in the community.

  All you need is an electronic device, a mug and a table!

  
  Click Here To Register

September Book Club Coffee Morning- What next?

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  On Thursday 16th September, Book Club members met to discuss how the Book Club should continue. Attached are minutes from that meeting in which we discussed how often we should meet, how books can be chosen, and further ideas for building this reading community.

  
  Click Here To Download Minutes

August's Book Of The Month

• The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves

  

  The Silent Treatment tells the story of a couple called Frank and Maggie. By all appearances, Frank and Maggie share a happy, loving marriage. But for the past six months, they have not spoken. Not a sentence, not a single word. Maggie isn’t sure what, exactly, provoked Frank’s silence, though she has a few ideas. Abbie was inspired to write the novel after reading a newspaper article on her commute, about a boy in Japan who had never seen his parents speak to one another before.

  Purchase paperback or Kindle editions from  Amazon 
  

Book Club Coffee Morning Thursday 19th August 11am-12pm

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  Join the Mirthy Book Club for a coffee and chat morning to discuss the August Book of the Month, 'The Silent Treatment' by Abbie Greaves. We will keep off the spoilers- this is just a chance to talk about books and authors, recommend our favourites, and have a chat with other bookworms in the community. This is a more informal meeting and a free event.

  All you need is an electronic device, a mug and a table!

  
  Click Here To Register

July's Book Of The Month

• First to Go by Pam Skelton

  

  Following a very busy life in business, first in London as a Company Director and then in Bristol as Director of the family firm, Pam took up hobbies such as Bridge, Golf, and Genealogy in her retirement. However, unable to pursue these interests during the pandemic, she decided to write a book about her grandmother, and 'First To Go' was born. Written to preserve family details, this book has expanded into a novel about the life and times of Bridget, who was born in rural Ireland towards the end of the 19th Century. Written episodically, this book follows many different adventures, locations, travels and personalities through the first person narrative of Bridget. This is a rigorously researched and beautifully presented depiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from Ireland to America and Europe.

  Purchase paperback or Kindle editions from  Amazon 
  

Book Club Coffee Morning Wednesday 21st July 11am-12pm

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  Join the Mirthy Book Club for a coffee and chat morning to discuss the July Book of the Month, 'First To Go' by Pam Skelton. We will keep off the spoilers- this is just a chance to talk about books and authors, recommend our favourites, and have a chat with other bookworms in the community. This is a more informal meeting and a free event.

  All you need is an electronic device, a mug and a table!

  
  Click Here To Register

June's Book Of The Month

• The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

  

  After twenty years in the heady world of advertising, working hard, playing hard and drinking even harder, Clare started a blog – Mummy was a Secret Drinker- which later became the memoir ‘The Sober Diaries’. Her experience of telling the truth about her own shady life went on to inspire her first novel - The Authenticity Project, an international bestseller and winner of the RNA debut novel award. In the book, Julian Jessop is tired of hiding the deep loneliness he feels. So he begins The Authenticity Project - a small green notebook containing the truth about his life. Leaving the notebook on a table in his friendly neighbourhood café, Julian never expects Monica, the owner, to track him down after finding it. Or that she'll be inspired to write down her own story. Little do they realize that such small acts of honesty hold the power to impact all those who discover the notebook and change their lives completely.

  Purchase from  Bookshop.org  Purchase from  Amazon 
  

Book Club Coffee Morning Wednesday 16th 11am -12pm

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  Join the Mirthy Book Club for a coffee and chat morning to discuss the June Book of the Month, 'The Authenticity Project' by Clare Pooley. We will keep off the spoilers- this is just a chance to talk about books and authors, recommend our favourites, and have a chat with other bookworms in the community. This event is part of our Festival of Belonging so please do consider making a donation to Marmalade Trust via this Justgiving page.

  All you need is an electronic device, a mug and a table!

  
  Click Here To Join Zoom Meeting

May's Book Of The Month

• Song of the Skylark- by Liz Shakespeare

  

  For more than thirty years Liz Shakespeare has been writing books inspired by the history, the people and the landscapes of Devon. The Song of the Skylark is based on the actual experiences of a young parish apprentice sent to work on a remote Devon farm in the 1840’s. Nine-year-old Mary is fearful of her master’s volatile temper and, despite the comforting presence of her older brother Thomas, she finds the physical labour hard to bear. As the years pass, and a series of failed harvests makes life on the farm intolerable, the brother and sister take daring action in an effort to change the course of their lives.

  £9.99 from  Liz Shakespeare's website  (signed copies for Mirthy audience)