Inspiration from other book groups (part 2)

I can pompously announce that this is now an annual feature (well, at least, this time last year I reported on the reading habits of other book groups and it feels about the right time to do it again). My research leads me to believe that there are both clear similarities and wide differences in the styles of book groups in west and south west London.

So whilst, predictably, The Sense of an Ending, appears to have been prescribed reading for virtually every book group last year and many groups are reading or have recently read Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson, the differences in reading habits are stark and I suspect reflect the personalities of the book groups.

From a Chiswick group, a report on A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry which I am told is definitely a top 10 book. The reviews I have read confirm that this indeed the case and I've just downloaded it onto the Kindle.

I can't resist reporting on a Chiswick/Barnes group which I normally admire for their erudite choices, which has been reading One Moment, One Morning by Sarah Rayner. I am told it is embarrassingly bad and a front runner for a bad sex in literature award; the suggestion was that it had been chosen whilst blindfolded in Tesco!

A Sheen group generally follows a similar pattern to us, working through a cycle of different genres. However, having read Middlemarch (noted as a book to revisit in retirement!) and The Dubliners (apparently not a popular choice) in the last twelve months, they are now tackling Anna Karenina and so are obviously binging on classics. I admire their fortitude.

An edgy Chiswick group has been reading Annabel, a debut novel by Canadian author Kathleen Winter. It is, I am told, a story about an intersex baby and follows the decisions the parents make about deciding whether it should become a girl or a boy and the consequences of that choice. They have also recently read Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, a novel set on the day that Philippe Petit did his high wire walk between the Twin Towers. There is, of course, a proximity to 9/11 and McCann's family was touched by the events of that day although the novel is firmly planted in the drama of Petit's extraordinary walk in 1974. I am fascinated by the idea. Read the review here [Guardian review] if you are.

Pure by Andrew Miller won this year's Costa award and is the current choice of groups in both Ealing and Kew. The Kew group in question (and I know of at least 3) has great ambition as they choose two books at each meeting (something that is a rarity for us - we know our limitations!). They obviously have a theme going on around capital cities; Pure, a historical novel, is set in Paris and their second choice this month is very contemporary, Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. I have looked at a few reviews and they all refer to it as an "urban fantasy" for which I read "thriller" so perhaps not for me.

Finally, a report not on content but process. A friend told me that her Twickenham group had had their "AGM" recently. Upon questioning, it turns out that this is an excuse to drink champagne rather than wine and to plan their reading for the next 12 months. They choose, in advance, 6 books for a 12 month period (in alternate months they meet to discuss what else they have read). This year's reading will culminate with a Dickens novel and themed candlelit dinner (for which I'm assuming costumes will be required). Talk about setting the bar high for the rest of us.