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Book a day weekend

So Saturday and Sundays topics were ‘An Old Favourite’ and ‘Favourite Fictional Father’

One did jump out immediately as an old favourite but I’m saving it for one of the ones later in the month. I have therefore decided to go for The Last Juror by John Grisham.

Grisham was a real change in direction of my reading. Up until then my back catalogue would have fit very comfortably in a retirement home given that they were all gentile Binchy type choices. My mum at the time was a member of one of those book clubs where they send you a catalogue every month you order say 6 books over 12 months then get a free one. The free one in this case was John Grisham – The Brethren. It was about law, something that I was developing an interest in at the time so I thought I would give it a go.

BAM I have never looked back.

I loved the fast paced world of the American legal system and quickly devoured everything he had ever written. Like Binchy, he too became quiet formulaic after a time (young rookie lawyer with no money takes on big firm) but I didn’t mind, Grisham still took me along for the ride. To be honest it’s over 15 years since I read most of them and they do tend to have blurred into one another but the one that stands out still to this day is The Last Juror. It was a slightly different take to his previous ones (only ever so slightly) and had me virtually in tears by the end something that no other Grisham book has done.

I tend to not read so many Grisham books now, I think I overindulged and made myself sick of them for a while. We did read Skipping Christmas for Book Club though which was good and a big departure from his previous work. I think it’s been long enough for me now to go and read one of his newer ones and really enjoy it as I do still love crime thrillers, something which I owe massively to Grisham. Do read his early ones if you haven’t they are really good just not all at once back to back

I confessed I hit Google for Favourite Fiction Father. I just couldn’t think of any. Sure enough up came a list of 100 possibles for me to choose from. Don’t you just love Google! One jumped from the page immediately, more so because we have recently read Death comes to Pemberley. Can you guess who? Mr Bennett. I love how he handles living in a house with so many women including the infamous Mrs Bennett. He seems to dearly love Lizzie and really in a society where it’s all about money and security allows his daughters freehand to love whom they choose (good job they turned out to be Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy huh?)

This category is one though where really memory is the biggest test. I am sure there are loads of father figures out there that I love but just can’t remember at the time of writing. Please jog my memory!

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