The group meets in the library and staff select and provide the books. A variety of genres are read and discussed - some are enjoyed and others are not. It provides an opportunity to read authors and genres we might not select ourselves.

Our book for May was A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton published in 2015. It is a work of fiction but, as the author states, the historical and cultural context was drawn from several sources. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter give an insight into Japanese culture. The narrator is Amaterasu and we learn her back story as we read through the book. We hear eventually about her life as a young girl, her relationships and living though the devastation caused by the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. The group found the book interesting and thought provoking. It tells us a lot about human nature. We scored the book out of 10 as follows :- 10/10 (1 member) 8/10 (4 members) 7/10 (3 members)

Our book for June was All The Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry published in 2013. It is a book for young adults. Judith is the central character, a girl from a religious community who is kidnapped when she is 14 years old and returns after 2 years with her tongue partially cut out. We are not told where or when the novel is set. The story is not chronological, but as it unfolds, we find out who kidnapped Judith and why. We also discover why her tongue was cut out and eventually who murdered her friend Lottie. The characters are strong and believable. Most of the group enjoyed the book. We scored the book as follows:- 8/10 (2 members) 7/10 (3 members) 4/10 (1 member)

The group met on 3rd September for the new session. They discussed books that individual members had read over the summer months. Here are some examples:~

• The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
• Songbirds by Christy Lefteri
• The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
• The Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks
• The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas
• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
• The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes
• How To Change Society by Ingerid Straume
• The Medical Detectives by Sandra Hempel
• Tyrant by Conn Iggulden

The group will not meet during July and August.