Monday Group
When we realised that we were not going to be able to meet up in person for ages, we started monthly Zoom meetings, and these have been very successful. My husband already had a Zoom account in place, so we were able to use that, and have continued to do so.

We had a good year, reading books on diverse subjects and genres. We started the New Year in Scotland with "The Hunting Party” from where we travelled to Russia for “A Gentleman in Moscow”. From Moscow we went to the scorching heat of Australia with "The Dry.” After a month in London, we were off to The White House with “Becoming Michelle" Obama. She moaned quite a lot about politics. Strange really, being the wife of the President, we thought. (The book could have been a lot better—written than it was). Nice lady, though, and it was interesting to read of her childhood and early years. We were soon on our travels again and found ourselves back in time in “Munich” in 1938 and 1939 - a very interesting read. The remaining months were British-based again, and we ended the year in war-torn London during the Blitz reading “Dear Mrs. Bird”, which was quite a poignant story.
Olga Hampson

Wednesday Group
Our new small group of 4-6 were only able to meet twice before lockdown last year. We have however managed to zoom meet, with a few technical difficulties, or in my garden or front drive, as allowed, to exchange books. We started challenging our reading habits in September by doing a group read Kate Morton - The Clockmakers Daughter. Followed by Simon Mawer -The Glass Room; Allie Cresswell -Tall Chimneys; Kate Mosse - Burning Chambers; Hannah Kent -Burial Rites A couple of members fell by the wayside for various reasons, but two new ladies joined. So it’s looking fairly positive for the future, when we can meet again.
Sharon Turner

Tuesday Afternoon
This group was started two years ago in response in to demand for a second group and meets once a month in a local café, who were keen to host a book group. The café serves excellent cake and is relatively quiet at the beginning of the week so we have chosen Tuesday afternoon for our meetings. Members have each chosen a book , and we are working through the list with one book discussed each month . So far we have all discovered some new authors and our discussion often leads on to a wider discussion of the topic. We also share our thoughts on other books we are reading or have read. This group is now full but further groups are started as required.

Monday Group
We gained one new member this month, and so we start the year with 8 members. We meet on the first Monday of the Month, 10.30am at Plumcake Cafe in Bramhall and we started the New Year with our post-Christmas buffet lunch of sandwiches, savoury tart, scones and tea or coffee, which was enjoyed by all. The book we discussed was very seasonal - The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley - a crime novel set in the Scottish Highlands over the Christmas / New Year period. We all enjoyed reading the book during Christmas, and it received a score of 8/10.

Other books read during 2019 have been chosen and enjoyed by most of us; real-life spy stories, crime novels and biographies for example, and our discussions have been very lively, delightful and varied in opinion.

We have already chosen our books per month for this year, and a very good mix they are, one of which is Michelle Obama’s autobiography.

We are looking forward to settling down to have a good read again this year.
Olga Hampson