If you read books, this is the group for you.

The Book Discussion Group (Formerly Banned Book Group) meets on the third Thursday of the month from 10:00am to 11:30am at Chatteris Library (Vermuyden Room).

Come and tell us about a book you have read and whether you enjoyed it or not, why you think other people should read it, or not. Come and hear about books other people have read and possibly enjoyed, and perhaps discover a new author, genre or book that you would not have picked up spontaneously, but does sound interesting.

We had a good turnout for our August meeting. It was also nice to see that some of the books we discussed are appearing on the book table at the u3a, making them more accessible to others. It seems (to me) that we are having more books covered every time...

The Correspondent, an epistolary novel by Virginia Evans, got a very positive review. It includes a series of letters written, sent, and received by a woman. One set of letters is never sent, and the reason unfolds throughout the story.

The Sleeping Children by Anthony Passeron is a French story about a historical medical mystery, alternating chapters on the personal trauma of one family and the international struggle to combat a disease that had been believed to be eradicated.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides is an "Agatha Christie" style story of 7 friends isolated on a Greek island and being murdered, one by one. A good suspense story.

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey is a modern take on a historical novel, as an injured detective decides to take his hospital time to solve mysteries surrounding Richard III and the princes in the tower with some help from scholars and the British Museum. Perhaps a little old-fashioned in its writing (it was written in the 1950s).

Black Dogs by Ian McEwan is a strange book in which the narrator tries to understand the history of his parents-in-law, a communist and a Christian, and what happened to them when they met some black dogs while on holiday in France

Holly by Stephen King is a detective story and does not contain the supernatural aspects that characterise so many King novels. It is a good thriller.

Another Nice Mess by Raymond Valinoti Jr covers the two characters that made one of the most successful and loved comedy duos of all time: the lives and times of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

James and John by Chris Bryant describes in frightening detail life in the 1830s when you were not in Downton Abbey but trying to survive. It explains a harsh justice system in which a wealthy man could get away with raping a child, while poor people could be hanged for stealing five shillings. Very well researched!

The Children's Nurse by Susan MacQueen covers the life of a nurse at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in the 1960s to 1980s. A moving story about the progress of healthcare and more.

Agatha Christie by Lucy Worsley describes a thoroughly modern woman doing things that were not usual for women, her struggles, her talent and her modesty.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is a comfortable thriller, well written, and an easy read.

For our July 2025 meeting, another large crop of books to discuss and recommend...

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett appears more complex and intricate than the other novels we have already discussed (The Appeal, The Examiner...). This can become an obstacle, particularly in an epistolary novel.

The Crooked Cross by Sally Carson and The Nazi Mind by Laurence Rees both cover the rise of the Third Reich from different perspectives. While the former discusses how it affects a particular family living through the experience, the latter applies modern psychological theories and techniques to explain how it was possible and what steps were taken to make the nightmare a reality. Rees's book is subtitled "12 warnings from history" and leads us to make comparisons with current political trends and statements.

Those who are Loved by Victoria Hislop covers the history of Greece from the 1930s to the present day through the eyes of a family.

Solito by Javier Zamora is the autobiographical account of a nine-year-old who had to flee life in San Salvador and walk through South and Central America to rejoin his parents, who are undocumented migrants in the USA - "should be required reading", says one reader

The Names by Florence Knapp examines the impact a person's name can have by telling three versions of one child's story, depending on which of three names his mother chooses when registering the birth.

Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and John Glenn, a memoir, provide first-hand narratives of two men who decided to risk everything to become astronauts and how they became global heroes by surviving and succeeding in what seemed like impossible situations.

In June, we had some repeats from previous months as different people read books suggested by others and spoke of what they liked or didn't like about them. Janice Hallett's style continues to create discussions as the idea of an epistolary novel constructed from a series of emails and text exchanges with no narrative to link them together is daunting for most, but thoroughly enjoyable to those who took the plunge.

David Duker, who spoke at the Chatteris open meeting recently, appears to have been appreciated by those who purchased his book.

Conclave by Robert Harris was also appreciated and recommended. Of course, this book came to prominence recently when the film based on it was widely watched during the recent papal conclave. It offers a fascinating insight into the procedures of the Catholic Church and the diverse psychological make-up that forms the College of Cardinals. It is also a good, suspenseful who-done-it.

Hugh Laurie's "The Gun Seller" and John le Carré's "The Night Manager" both cover similar topics of spies and weapons, but are very different. Personally, I did not enjoy le Carré's book as much as Laurie's version.

Arthur C Clarke's "2010" is the sequel to the very well-known novel and film "2001: A Space Odyssey" which fans of science fiction still consider to be one of the best in the genre.

We also had a discussion about the fact that we appreciate and desire different types of books depending on the time of day and our mood. Sometimes, we want something serious, something we want something trashy that can be read and thrown away. Not always highbrow, not always lowbrow!

Perhaps it is the curse of this approach, maybe it is the proof that it is working. As we do not ask you to read a book for the meeting, but encourage participants to talk about things they have been reading and recommend (or not), most of the books this month appear to have been books that we discussed last month: "you said it was good, I read it"...

The books that were mentioned with positive comments and reviews included:

• The Meaning of Life by James Bailey and others: a collection of letters written by artists, politicians, activists and other celebrities about what they considered to be the meaning and value of life in general and their life in particular;
• Nuclear War - a Scenario by Annie Jacobsen: a scientific description of what would happen from the moment a nuclear missile is launched at the United States;
• The Appeal and The Examiner by Janice Hallett: epistolary novels structured like a succession of emails and messages between the main characters, leading to a very special structure in which you understand more about the motivations and needs of each individual involved;
• Human Traces by Sebastian Faulks: the story of two men at the turn of the XX century working in understanding the science of psychology;
• Turbulence by David Szalay: a short book telling the stories of a number of people who happen to be flying on the same plane and how their stories link together;
• A History of the World in 47 Borders by John Elledge: key international borders and frontiers that shaped the world as we know it, and how or why they are shaped the way they are.

On a less positive note, Fourteen Days is a collection of stories by well-known authors around the isolation of Covid, Those who had read it found it disappointing.

Other books were mentioned as things that some of us wanted to read, and perhaps will be discussed more in our next meeting...

Alan, Margot, Pauline, Peter and Phil brought a wide selection of books to discuss on April 17th. These included murder thrillers like the books of Janice Hallett, historical stories like the story of Operation Mincemeat (written by one of the people responsible for this WW2 success story), Boris Johnson's memoir, and the history of the world as told by borders and frontiers. Turbulence and the Blessed Child represented "light" fiction, while "A Month in the Country" retold the story of religious intolerance and redemption,

An eclectic mix, in which we all noted books to read.

Our first meeting, a little later than planned due to the refurbishment of Nana's Tea Room, finally took place on the 20th of March. Six members attended, and several apologised for not being able to make it. Alan, Gabi, Grant, Lynne (not pictured), Peter, and Phil discussed books that they had recently been reading or that were close to their hearts.

These included:

• Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
• Careless People (Sarah Wynn-Williams)
• Cult (Camilla Lackberg & Henrik Fexeus)
• Great Britain? (Torsten Bell)
• The Various Haunts of Men (Susan Hill)
• Turbulence (David Szalay)
• Trapped (Camilla Lackberg & Henrik Fexeus)