27 May 2012

Book Review - The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble

A bestseller in the UK, THE READING GROUP is about a group of women who meet regularly to read and discuss books, and how their lives become intertwined, both with the books they read and with each other's lives.

What starts out as a good idea born from a glass of wine and the need to socialize, turns into much more. Over the span of a year, Clare, Harriet, Nicole, Polly and Susan -- five women of different ages, backgrounds and contrasting dilemmas -- transform themselves through the shared community of a book group.
Their reading group becomes a forum for each of the women's views, expressed initially by the book they're reading and increasingly openly as the bonds of friendship cement. As the months pass, these women's lives become more and more intertwined.
In the THE READING GROUP, Nobel reveals the many complicated paths in life we all face as well as the power and importance of friendship.

Chck out the Goodreads page here

My Review
(video review at the bottom of the post)

If you were looking for a book to sit by the beach and read, something relaxing and not too complicated, this is the perfect read for you.  I absolutely loved this story.  Despite the fact that there were quite a few characters to keep on top of, it was not too demanding on concentration.  I have to admit that I read this periodically throughout the period of a month so it did take me a few minutes to catch up with what the characters were doing.

Instead of chapters for this book, it is split up into months, January to December, and list what book they are reading each month (for more details on what book and what month, please see the video below).  I would have to say that there were a couple of books in that reading list that was on my wish list to read but the conversations in the story did spoil what was going to happen so I will put those to the back burner for a little bit until I forget!  I would recommend that if there were any books in the list of books they read in the Reading Group that you are going to read soon or want to read, you read those first and then read this one so as the plots are not spoiled.  

Even though this story is headed The Reading Group, I would have to say that this story is more about the characters who attend the Reading Group and their lives outside the group and it is when they all come together that they kind of take stock of what is happening in their lives.  Following each of the characters stories is really like a roller coaster of emotion including not being able to have children, affairs, children, pregnancy, Alzheimers etc... 

I loved this story and would recommend it to all those of you who like a bit of dramatic chick lit to read.



10 out of 10

Best wishes

Debs :-)

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