At each meeting we discuss a book which we have been reading during the previous month. Books are provided by our very helpful library service. We read mostly modern fiction, with the odd classic and non-fiction thrown in. The books are delivered to Central Library where they can be signed out by members. The group meets in the cafe of the World of Glass.

Our next book is "Blast from the Past" by Cathy Hopkins. We will discuss this on 10th September.

The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

The Midnight Library- Matt Haig

Nora, a young woman, has come to the end of what she can bear. She looks back at the decisions she has made and the unfulfilled events in her life and despairs. She has walked away from her fiancé and marriage, she has left a pop group which included her brother and had the possibility of fame and fortune and she left a future in competitive swimmer where the Olympics were in her sight. But she finds herself in the Midnight Library where the books of all her life decisions are stored. Here she meets Mrs Elms, the librarian from her old school, who guides her back through her life and gives her the chance to revisit parts of it. This shows her the results of what would have happened if she had taken different paths in life.

This makes the book sound rather heavy but the short chapters and the humour lighten it and, spoiler, it has a satisfactory ending. Some of the Reading Group found the fantasy of the library itself too difficult and the character of Nora divided opinion. Not a book to everyone’s taste but an interesting read.