Hello there. I’m Janet and I recently set up a Book Club in my home town of Neath, South Wales. I’m really glad I did as we have a great evening every month. The group is made up of your typical ‘I don’t have time to read’ book lovers, but we always manage to read our club book (well almost all of us, but even then, book read or not read, Andrea always takes part in the discussion and contributes in the most creative way! ) We also have ‘virtual’ members and I thoroughly enjoy hearing form Wynne with recommendations on books he has read.
Our club is now a mixed group with the arrival of Adam and more recently, Lewis. Adam and Lewis are not only male, avid readers and first class contributors but they are also young! A lot younger than the ‘girls’ but rest assured we are ALL young at heart!! We also have had Jill join us recently so we are a growing group. We have lots of fun at club meetings with plenty to eat and drink! We have animated discussions and often agree to disagree on many issues. Here are the books we have read to date. By clicking on some of them you will be taken to the Blog page where we would really welcome your comments. Thank you very much. Be well and enjoy your reading.
We would like to invite you to please contribute to our Blog. Do you have a Book club? Let’s share ideas and get in touch.
Neath Book Club Blogger 
Oh wow; I’ve just finished Big Little Lies and absolutely loved it on so many different levels. At first I thought it was a light hearted romp through school life, hilariously funny and a brilliant take on kindy kids and mums; the dialogue at the end of each chapter highlighting such differences in people’s perceptions of the same events is clever and funny; Liane just seems to get people. However beneath the light hearted humour and school yard gossip lie sinister undertones which keep you guessing throughout and she touches on much darker themes to include domestic violence, bullying, infidelity, sexual cruelty and childhood traumas as she explores the impact these bigger evils have upon her characters which ultimately leads to the violent and disastrous outcome of Trivia night. I thought it was a terrific read and completely relevant to our current schooling system, as I’m sure all the characters are instantly recognizable within the schools our children inhabit; the poor young teacher struggling to cope not just with the children but the pushy, educated parents whose expectations and demands are sky high especially those who are convinced that their offspring are gifted. I feel I have learnt a lot about domestic violence now thanks to this book and I Let you go; in both books beautiful, intelligent, sensitive women are completely captivated and beguiled by their seemingly charismatic, charming partners and once trapped into motherhood and marriage find it almost impossible to plan an escape route from the escalating abuse and violence they endure. In Big Little Lies you know from the start that a death is inevitable and as I got to know the characters better I virtually read the book in three sittings as I wanted to know which of the main protagonists would be the victim and tried to guess in advance the outcome of Trivia night. I can’t wait to read another book of hers now; I think she did a terrific job.
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Janet I live in neath and am looking to start attending a book club. Could I get some more info and is your group open?
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Hi Clare. I set this group up last year as I had always wanted to belong to a book club but couldn’t find one. You are more than welcome to join us. We are meeting tomorrow night after a summer’s break to discuss the books ‘The Truth and Other Lies’ and ‘Fishbowl’. We will be a depleted group as many can’t make it but those who can attend will be there. It’s very relaxed and low key. Most of us read the books but some don’t get round to it and some of us don’t always finish them!! If you are on FB you can message me by looking for Janet Francis-Jones. I can give you directions and more information that way. If tomorrow is too short notice then I can let you know when we will meet next month and which book to read but you are welcome to come and meet us tomorrow even though you have not read the books!
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I liked Sleepers’ Castle and found it a pleasant, absorbing read which linked the lives of two women five centuries apart through their ghostly entanglement. I love a good ghost story so this entertained me and it was also interesting to learn about Welsh history in the fourteenth/ fifteenth centuries; this is a period of history of which I know very little so reading about the daily lives of Catrin, Dafydd and Joan has helped educate me to a point in that department. The author herself admits that she is not sure if all her facts are historically correct regarding Owen Glyndwr’s escapades but in writing a novel she is entitled to some poetic imagination and it is certainly true that he laid waste to many of his own castles in this early fight for independence; once again the bleakness and horror of war are laid bare and its destructiveness deftly described.
Coming to the modern day, Andy is a slightly annoying character as she tends to take on the role of a victim and does not have any inclination to fight for her rights or stand up to the evil Rhona and in that she is a polar opposite of Catrin who was a much feistier character. She tends to stand back helplessly from unpleasant situations, run away instead of standing to fight but luckily for her she has a knight in shining armour to battle for her in the form of the handsome gardener stroke psychologist together with the local Welsh wizard who interprets her increasingly menacing dreams and gives her helpful Rosemary remedies. I have to say that her friend Sian supported her to a point but come every terrifying moment had to back away and left Andy in the lurch and to the potential clutches of the evil Dafydd in order to feed or walk her wretched dogs. How many dinners did those dogs have? Didn’t she realise the ghost was on his way?(intent on imprisoning Andy in the past? )
Overall this was a well written narrative account of the lives and dreams of these women; it lacked the creative imagery, style and depths of characterization of some of the other books we have read but as an absorbing, light bedtime/ holiday read it was able to keep the pages turning. She has a passion for the beauty of Wales and brought it to life the Wye valley area; you can almost smell and taste the herbs in her garden, hear the continuous music of the turbulent stream and picture the castle and ruggedly bleak landscape of the Black mountains in contrast to the gentleness of Hay.
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Why has my comment printed itself twice? I think I need a crash course in the mysterious world of blogging!
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Sorted!!
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I am living in Bryncoch Neath. I would like to join your book club, are you accepting new members?
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I will e-mail you with information. You are more than welcome to join us.
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Hi Janet. I live in Neath and would love to join a book club. Are you open for new members. Jill
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Hi Jill. You are welcome any time. We meet on a Tuesday once a month. Our next meeting is this coming Tuesday where we will be discussing our latest choice ‘If We Were Villains’ by M.L Rio. If you are able to make that one I will e-mail you directions etc etc
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Thank you, Janet. I’d love to come on Tuesday but I won’t have finished the book!
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Great. I have sent you an e-mail.
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Hi, would I be able to join? Where and when do you meet? Thanks
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Hi! We are in Neath in South Wales.
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Hi Janet,
I would be interested in finding out more about your bookclub, would it be possible for you to email me some details about when you meet and your upcoming book list.
Thanks very much.
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Hi Stephanie. We meet around the middle Tuesday of every month at 7pm at my home in Neath. We don’t have a book list but you can see the ones we have read in the past on this blog. One person is chosen each week to choose the next month’s book so plenty of time to think about it before choosing. We are open to all choices. This month’s book is The Heart’s Invisible Furies.
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Hi Janet,
I am new to Neath and have left behind a book club in Bristol which I loved going to. I would really like to join your group, the books you have chosen are ones I would enjoy,
Lynne
Now living in Cimla
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The Heart’s invisible furies
Wow! I’ve just finished the Heart’s invisible Furies and feel that I have to write my thoughts down before my Alzheimerish brain forgets the plot completely. I can thoroughly recommend this book as a poignant, heart rending read, a story which spans decades and is told through the eyes of Cyril who was born into 1940s Ireland, a Catholic country repressed by the punishing social and religious mores of the time. The book follows Cyril’s story as he travels the from Ireland to Amsterdam, to the US and finally back to Ireland again, exploring some of the issues which beleaguere his life, and the prejudices he faced living as a gay man in 1940s Ireland when bigotry was rife and led to unspeakable cruelties on the part of society, the Catholic church and the establishment. However John Boyne is a brilliant story teller, who keeps us entertained with a pacy, fast moving, story line which is packed full of laugh out loud humour and includes some of the most unique, entertaining and eccentric characters you will hope to find in literature such as the writer Maude Avery and her banker husband Charles who adopt Cyril as a baby when his teenage single parent mother was unable to bring up her son due to her socially deprived circumstances. The story begins with the teenage Catherine’s fall from grace when she is literally thrown out of her church and Catholic community by a violent, hypocritical priest and cowed, impoverished family due to her out of wedlock pregnancy; she flees to Dublin where she gives birth to Cyril and his epic story continues from there. Many issues are explored which include society’s views and treatment of gays, the role and expectations of women in 1940s Ireland and the world through to the present day, racism, religious bigotry, marriage, etc etc but all told in a pacy, humorous and compassionate way which holds the reader’s attention from start to finish. Despite the many additional challenges and heartbreaks Cyril faces due to his sexuality, his enduring spirit wins through leading us to rejoice in the restorative essence of the human condition.
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Hi , I live in Neath and interested in joining your book club . Thank you 😊
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So sorry for the delay, Eleri. If you are still interested, the Book Club takes place in the Cimla on one Tuesday evening a month. We have been meeting regularly but, for obvious reasons, we are now on stop for a while but we have a WhatsApp page that we will use for then meanwhile to discuss and chat about our books. The one we are reading at the moment is The Industry of Souls so I am going to try and arrange some kind of chat thing for us to share our comments on the book this coming Tuesday evening. You are welcome to join in. On the other hand I can keep you posted on when we will next meet and send the book choice to you. Hope this helps. Janet
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I live in cadoxton and would love to join your book club . Lynne sales. Grateful for more info.
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So sorry for the delay, Lynne. If you are still interested, the Book Club takes place in the Cimla on one Tuesday evening a month. We have been meeting regularly but, for obvious reasons, we are now on stop for a while but we have a WhatsApp page that we will use for then meanwhile to discuss and chat about our books. The one we are reading at the moment is The Industry of Souls so I am going to try and arrange some kind of chat thing for us to share our comments on the book this coming Tuesday evening. You are welcome to join in. On the other hand I can keep you posted on when we will next meet and send the book choice to you. Hope this helps. Janet
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Hello Janet
I’m just about to come to live in Neath. I would love to join your book club if at all possible, although it’s getting to look like you’re close to maximum! If there’s any chance though it would be fantastic for me as I’m completely new to the area; but I am a literary person, for what it’s worth. Hope to hear from you,
Tim
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Hi there Tim, Thank you very much for getting in touch. You would be more than welcome to join our Book Club. We are around 12 members altogether but usually 8-9 active members each month. We are reading ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ this month but will be meeting via Zoom tomorrow night where after discussion we will choose our new book. I will let you know what choice was made and then you can hopefully come to the next meeting either in person on via Zoom, depending what restrictions are in place by then. I will be in touch again tomorrow. Stay safe! Janet
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Hi Janet, I’m packing the van ready for the journey west but still have time to get a book for the next meeting. Did you decide on what’s being read for the next meeting? If so, do let me know and I’ll put it on the van with everything else!
Tim
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