Cockney in the Countryside

Approximately 3 months ago I  passed an initiation into a top-secret, highly intellectual book club. This exclusive club has 3 members; me, my cousin and her best friend. In a nut shell we all read the same book and then discuss it on a whatsapp group chat. Nonetheless I make a point of using phrases at the school gate such as “Oh yes my latest book club read…” and “I’m reading an interesting book for my book club” it makes me feel a lot more sophisticated than the 30 + year old that dances to the Spice Girls in her kitchen with her dog.

The first book we read was “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” by Gail Honeyman. There has been many mixed reviews about this book. I personally enjoyed it, I found Eleanor a quirky, endearing character. The general conclusion we came to was that the ending was rushed and left with a lot of unanswered questions. I do however recommend it!

We then read Matt Haig “How to Stop Time” which we all agreed was amazing! I love that I would never have usually picked this book, yet because it was the book club read, I had to read it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is written across different time periods and the Tudor references especially were my favourite. I don’t want to spoil this read for anyone so I strongly advise that you go get this book and read it. You will not regret it!

The last book we have read is a book by Dawn O’Porter called “The Cows” and this book is the reason I began my blog. What a weird read this was, chosen by my cousin, the synopsis gave nothing away about what this book was actually about. The story is told from 3 different perspectives by 3 very different women; Tara, Cam and Stella. Basically Tara masturbates on a train and is filmed doing so which then goes viral, Stella pretends she has cancer and then attempts to become pregnant on a one night stand and Cam is a highly successful blogger who is committed to staying childless. Told you it was random! Not one of these 3 women were in any way likeable. There actually wasn’t one character in the whole book I liked yet I was compelled to keep reading.

I didn’t particular agree with character’s actions and morals but there was something about the characters that resonated with me and did make me question some of their decisions and reasons behind them. Cam is completely different to me in personality. She did not want love or a family and was happy to be alone and use her writing to express her feelings. I, on the other hand, have always believed and wanted that “Rom-com” love story, which I believe I got, and have a large family and never be on my own. I can’t actually figure out why this fictional woman influenced me so much to begin a blog. I had never even thought about creating a blog before reading that book. This book’s themes have lingered with me, it raises many questions about women in the modern world and our relationships and perceptions of other females.

The book club has definitely pulled me out of my brain-dead rut, I am enjoying reading again and the different reading experiences I am having from reading a book somebody else has chosen. I love reading and seeing other people read. My daughter asked me what I was doing when I was reading, I replied “reading my book of course”. Her answer was “but you’re not saying anything mummy.” I was confused at first but then realised that every time she is experiencing a book, she is being read to or she is reading out loud to someone. I had never thought about this before and what age you are that you understand how to read in your head.

I am interested to hear other people’s book club experiences. Do you have a book to recommend? Have you read any of the books above and have any thoughts on them? I welcome all comments about books and reading!