Cramlington Book Club

Wild Cat Island, pirates, sail boats and camp fire teas were the order of the day in this  children's classic set in 1920's. Swallow being the name of the sail boat used by the Walker children aka Captain John, Mate Susan, Able-Seaman Titty, and Ship's Boy Roger. Brimming with adventure, the book was truly enchanting. I loved the way Ransome captured a child's imagination allowing Captain John and his crew to converse with friendly natives (their mother), drink grog (ginger beer) and sail off to buy molasses (toffee) from Rio (the nearest town). I have recently visited Loch Katrine in Scotland and immediately thought of the Sir Walter Scott cruising the Loch when the children watched the steamers head up and down the lake. The book itself is set in the Lake District but if you have been to any large lake/loch where boats are frequently traversing and an island or two are present you will have an idea of the sett...

Women in Power was an unusual choice for the book club, it came out of nowhere yet was eagerly accepted when put forward. I had read Beard before in the very detailed SPQR so it was a surprise when I realised how thin the hardback was. I must admit I was wary about reading it given the #TimesUp/#MeToo movements and the amount of publicity women's issues are getting at the moment, was this just a jump on the bandwagon hastily put together book? Well the cover certainly wasn't a rushed job as I found it quite a strong choice, not history like at all and am I the only one thinking it's almost James Bond esque in the tunnel like pattern? My surprise at how thin the book was was mirrored when I realised how little word content there was. The wide margins, large font and spacing, coupled with pictures and total page breaks really felt like there was no real substance to the book right from the off. This was disappointing as it gave the impression t...

The Favoured Child is book number two in the Wideacre Trilogy (Number one being the very controversial Wideacre ). Set 10 or so years later it charts the path of the two Lacey heirs, Richard and Julia who are struggling to put Wideacre, the Estate left in ruins by Beatrice Lacey, back on its feet in late eighteenth century England. I had read Wideacre over 8 years ago so at first was a little concerned whether I would be able to get into book number 2 with such a gap inbetween. I remembered the main details (will try not to spoil it if you haven't read it) but minor details were a bit hazy to say the least. I needn't have worried as I found I fell straight back into it. To compliment Gregory's writing, she certainly knows how to grip a reader. As with most of the Gregory books I have read, it's a "I'll just read one more page (another 30 pages later)" kind of book. Whilst previous characters are a plenty it did feel like you were reading an entirel...

This is the follow on to the very good, The Axeman's Jazz previously reviewed by the group. I was venturing alone this time having received it as a Christmas present (probably two years ago now - whoops!) The two year gap wasn't the only time lag, I was surprised to note the time gap in between the two books (and even more so on the proposed time gap between this one and the third in the series but more on that later). Set in Chicago in 1928 the books focuses on the attempted poisoning of Al Capone, a white gangster's brutal murder and  the vanishing of a famous heiress. As with Axeman the three strands are investigated by three different parties - Pinkerton detectives Michael Talbot and Ida Davis (with a little help from Ida's long time friend Louis Armstrong) are hired to find the missing heiress. Crime scene photographer, Jacob Russo, embarks on his own investigation of the gangster's murder and Dante San...

At over 700 pages of miniscule writing Bleak House  has to be one of the most longest #inbetweenys ever. I did read three books in between this inbetweeny (no idea what that makes them)  Beautiful Ruins , The Dry and His Bloody Project (all very good by the way check them out) but Bleak House still took SO long Described by Ian Rankin as one of the best murder mystery novels ever the actual murder doesn't take place until nearly two thirds of the way through. It featured the usual fabulous Dickens characters and surnames (Turveydrop and Jellyby just to name two). However Dickens was still introducing characters half way through the book which made it very had to keep track of everyone. I really liked Esther's narrative, even if she was slightly goody two shoes at times, and thought Lady Dedlock was a character that should have been utilised more (watching the BBC's Dickensian a couple of years back now inspired this book choice) but so many stories were ...