What to put up for book group

 It's an annual struggle - what books to put up for my book group. 

I have a few weeks to think about what should go to the meeting and what should stay in my shelves. 

The rules are pretty simple. The book should be: 

• Fiction of literary or good popular fiction standard. Preferably not genre fiction or airport novels. 
• Under 500 pages
• Easily accessible in bookshops, online or second hand. 
• Definitely not memoir, autobiography or non-fiction. 
• And Salman Rushdie, Russian Lit or anything too wanky will probably be frowned upon (but I'm a bit sad about Rushdie. I love Rushdie.)

Anyway, here's a few of my thoughts for my book group books at the moment and why. 

1) Tilda is Visible by Jane Tara

334 pages. Published 2024. Goodreads.com score: 4.00. Australian author. 

I heard about this at Silent Book Group in Darwin and I'm currently listening to it on Audible. It's wonderful. 

It's about a middle-aged woman who finds herself increasingly invisible. It's fun, funny, relatable and wise and there would be a lot to talk about with this one. It's also a fairly easy read, which is never a bad thing. 

2) The Hummingbird Effect by Kate Mildenhall

320 pages.  Published 2023. Goodreads.com score: 3.58. Australian Author. 

This book defies genre and time. Spanning the period from 1933 to 2181, this book reminded me a lot of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. 

You meet the characters in their parts, and they all come together in the end - in what was, and is Footscray. Along with the AI component, which is terrifying and hilarious in equal measure. I loved this book. It made me laugh and think. Kate Mildenhall is a bit of a national treasure in the making. 

3) A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle

277 pages. Published 2024. Goodreads.com score 4.45. Australian Author. Queer Author. 

This is a book of first love and awakenings. I've read their Below Deck (2020) and was very impressed by it. Hardcastle now identifies as trans-masc, not that has anything to do with the price of eggs. Their writing is amazing. And something with queer themes might stir up book group a bit. It's something different. 

4) Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

352 pages. Published 2024. Goodreads.com score: 4.06. American Author. New York story. 

I loved reading this. The story of four close knit sisters, one of whom has passed, and how the rest of the family are coping on the anniversary of one of their passing. 

It's a novel about sisters, addiction, family trauma and grieving. It's also fun, funny and relatable in a lot of places. It's a good, but easy read too. There'd be lots to talk about. 

5) The Thinning by Inga Simpson

235 pages. Published 2024, Goodreads.com score: 4.07. Australian Author. Literary Thriller. 

I picked this up on spec after reading the back and seeing that a favourite author of mine (Sarah Winman) raved about it. The book has an environmental bent too, which will please a few of the book group. It has me intrigued. 

I'll do another five books that make up the long list in the next few days. 

This is such a hard choice. 

Today's song: