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Favourites |
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Each year, at the Christmas party, we vote for the best book that we have read with the group during the year:
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| Year | 1st | 2nd |
| 1996-2000 | Birdsong | Captain Corelli's Mandolin |
| 2000 | Chocolat | Larry's party |
| 2001 | A Star called Henry | Driving over Lemons |
| 2002 | Year of Wonders | Miss Garnett's angel
Blue Poppies |
| 2003 | Atonement | Cold Comfort Farm |
| 2004 | Death of a Penguin | The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night
Star of the Sea |
| 2005 | Ice Road | Small Island |
| 2006 | The Kite Runner | Incendiary |
| 2007 | The Nightwatch | England's Mistress |
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In 2003, at the party, we also each read our favourite poem - one day if somebody feels like some typing practice we will add these to the website.
In 2004 we each talked about the book that had had the most impact on our lives. Here they are:
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| Title |
Author |
| Fear of Flying |
Erica Jong |
| North and South |
Elizabeth Gaskell |
| Seven years in Tibet |
Heinrich Harrer |
| Anna Karenina |
Leo Tolstoy |
| The Chrysalids |
John Wyndham |
| Birdsong |
Sebastian Faulkes |
| Lark rise to Candleford |
Flora Thomspon |
Economics made Simple
Three Men on the Bummel |
Geoffrey Whitehead
Jerome K. Jerome |
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Other impactful books were mentioned in the discussion:
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| Madame Bovary |
Gustave Flaubert |
| The Moonstone |
Wilkie Collins |
| My family and other Animals |
Gerald Durrell |
| The Snow Goose |
Paul Gallico |
| Heidi |
Johanna Spyri |
| A Fine Balance |
Rohinton Mistry |
| Goodbye to all That |
Robert Graves |
| All Quiet on the Western Front |
Erich Remarque |
| Precious Bane |
Mary Webb |
| The Little Princess |
Frances Hodgson Burnett |
| The Handmaid's Tale |
Margaret Attwood |
| Little Women |
Louisa M. Alcott |
| Little house on the Prairie |
Laura Ingalls Wilder |
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J's mother found Mansfield Park by Jane Austen very impactful!
In 2005 we discussed our "desert island list" comprising the book we would take to our desert island, the piece of music, our luxury item and our fantasy man. Here's a partial list - the in-house journalist apologises that she didn't take good notes at the party and can't remember too much either!
| Book |
Lord of the Rings, Canterbury Tales, Persuasion, Norton Anthology of English Literature, Ladies Maid, A botanical encyclopaedia, Anna Karenina, Pears cyclopaedia, Guide to Britain |
| Music |
Can't get you out of my head, Arethra Franklin, Led Zeppelin IV, Chicago Soundtrack, Mozart's requiem, My Funny Valentine, The Magic Flute (Mozart), Woman (John Lennon), Night and Day |
| Man |
Henry Tilney (from Persuasion), Bill Clinton, James Bond (all of them), Ken Stott, Aragorn, Hugh Grant/Richard ?? composite, Mr Darcy/Colin Firth, Ray Mears (of the Ulimate Survival Guide fame), Jonathon Ross |
| Luxury |
Saxophone, Seurat Painting, Piano, Dog, Hoover Building, Chanel No 5 Body Lotion |
The theme at the 2006 party was a quiz, with each member setting one round. We also celebrated our tenth birthday and voted for the best of the best over the 10 years. Having read 92 books in that time it was a tricky choice - but even when we allowed each person three votes there wasn't a very clear consensus. For the record though here are the votes.
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| Title |
Votes |
Birdsong
Year of Wonders
Angela's Ashes |
3 |
Angela's Ashes
Blue Poppies
Chocolat
Memoirs of a Geisha
Miss Garnet's Angel |
2 |
Artist of the Floating World
Death of a Penguin
English Passengers
Ice Road
Kite Runner
A Star called Henry
The Star of the Sea |
1 |
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The Book Group with No Name