Religion for Atheists, Alain de Botton

Read in hardback after seeing Alain speak at Cambridge WordFest 2012.

Subtitled "A non-believer's guide to the uses of religion", this book is Alain's attempt to gather from some of the world's major religions those elements which could be useful to secular society.

Covers a wide range of topics, including Community, Education, Art and Architecture.

Well written and researched, also very well-meaning, Alain seems determined to bring depth of feeling and thinking to the secular world.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Maggie O'Farrell

Book Club choice for Oct 2012, chosen by Clare and read in paperback.

I devoured this book when it first came out, and read it again with relish.

Iris, an Edinburgh shop-owner, is surprised to be contacted by a nursing home about a Great-Aunt that she never knew existed.  This book describes how Esme came to be written out of family history.

The story is revealed gradually, in different voices: Esme's own, Esme's memories, and the ramblings of Esme's sister Kitty, now suffering from dementia.

Not the jolliest of reads, but gripping.

Sweet Tooth, Ian McEwan

Read on the Kindle, following Amazon recommendation.

A new Ian McEwan book? Well, what are you going to do? You have to download and read it, right? After all it will probably end up on the Booker list, no?

Well, actually, no.  This book didn't make the even the long list for the Booker, and I think the reason may be that this book is McEwan by numbers.

Serena Frome is recruited into MI5 out of Cambridge University, where she has gone to study Maths at her mother's insistence.  She works on some low level projects before getting involved in Sweet Tooth, a project to secretly recruit and financially support writers who are hostile to Communism.  Serena starts an affair with, and eventually falls in love with the author she has been sent to recruit.  Of course, such a massive deceit is not going to end well for them.

Perhaps I am just too young to recall the 70s; the political wrangling and the 3 day week.  Perhaps I didn't take enough notice of the Cold War at the time, but this book failed to grab me.

A Visit From the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan

Read in paperback, recommended and lent by Sam.

This book reminded me very much of Cloud Atlas: the changing narrators, styles and time periods, including a chapter set in the future.

You have to keep your wits about you, as the points of view and time frame changes from chapter to chapter with no preamble.  However, the same characters come back time and again in different configurations.

It also reminded me of Black Swan Green, another David Mitchell book, because each chapter can be read on its own, like a collection of short stories.

Set in America, the story broadly follows the lives of Bennie, a music entrepreneur, and his assistant Sasha, their brushes with celebrities and their successes and failures.

I enjoyed the style of this book, but was not particularly moved by it.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce

Read on the Kindle, as recommended by Granny, also on the Booker Prize Long List 2012.

A very gentle book, with a deceptively simple premise.  Harold receives a letter from a friend to let him know that she is dying.  Harold writes a reply, and sets out to post it, but walks past the postbox and keeps on going. Eventually walking from South Devon to Berwick upon Tweed.

On the way we learn about Harold's history, and his relationships with his wife, his son, and the friend he is trying to keep alive.

Contains some very poetic passages about the English Countryside, and also meditations on materialism and celebrity.

At times sad and poignant, ultimately uplifting and definitely a page turner.