Each month we will put forward 4-5 books for the club to vote on but we need to get a wriggle on to get a read in for September so this time we have chosen them to get us started! We have picked five books to fit in with the following genres; Autobiography, non-fiction, fiction, Memberâs Choice and a classic must read. A vote has now gone up on the book club page for you to choose.
The books to vote on are . . .
First Man in – Ant Middleton
OK, so maybe not an obvious choice but after hearing Ant Middleton talking about his life and this book, it has us intrigued and it’s a Sunday Time Bestseller . . . No one is born a leader. But through sheer determination and by confronting lifeâs challenges, Ant Middleton has come to know the meaning of true leadership. In First Man In, he shares the core lessons heâs learned over the course of his fascinating, exhilarating life.
Special forces training is no walk in the park. The rules are strict and they make sure you learn the hard way, pushing you beyond the limits of what is physically possible. There is no mercy. Even when you are bleeding and broken, to admit defeat is failure.
To survive the grueling selection process to become a member of the elite you need toughness, aggression, meticulous attention to detail and unrelenting self-discipline, all traits that make for the best leaders.
In this fascinating, exhilarating and revealing book, Ant speaks about the highs and gut-wrenching lows of his life â from the thrill of passing Special Forces Selection to dealing with the early death of his father and ending up in prison on leaving the military â and draws valuable lessons that we can all use in our daily lives.
Sara Payne, A Mother’s Story – Sara Payne
‘Thank God we have found her.’ Sara Payne’s words as she announced that the body of her daughter – snatched and murdered by paedophile, Roy Whiting – had finally been found.
In this memoir, Sara tells her personal story. She describes the numbness as she waited for seventeen days, desperate to hear news of her missing daughter, and the terrible moment when her worst fears became reality. She explains how her family tried to cope with their grief and the stress placed upon them by the media campaign for Sarah’s Law. As the family tried to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of tragedy, they found that each reminded the other of the child they had lost. Guilt and anger pushed Sarah’s marriage into a spiral of alcohol abuse and violence.
This is the ultimate story of a family’s journey through hell, but Sara’s strength is an inspiration as, despite everything, she and her family slowly found a way to go on.
Once Upon a River – Diane Setterfield
On a dark midwinterâs night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed.
Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? But answers proliferate nonetheless.
Three families are keen to claim her. A wealthy young mother knows the girl is her kidnapped daughter, missing for two years. A farming family reeling from the discovery of their sonâs secret liaison, stand ready to welcome their granddaughter. The parsonâs housekeeper, humble and isolated, sees in the child the image of her younger sister. But the return of a lost child is not without complications and no matter how heartbreaking the past losses, no matter how precious the child herself, this girl cannot be everyoneâs. Each family has mysteries of its own, and many secrets must be revealed before the girlâs identity can be known.
Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, the beginning of this novel will sweep you away on a powerful current of storytelling, transporting you through worlds both real and imagined, to the triumphant conclusion whose depths will continue to give up their treasures long after the last page is turned.
Rebecca – Daphne De Maurier 
Such a classic book, we just had to include this one. Having seen the book brought to life in the classic Hitchcock film, getting lost in the pages of this book would be a real treat. On a trip to the South of France, the shy heroine of Rebecca falls in love with Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower. Although his proposal comes as a surprise, she happily agrees to marry him. But as they arrive at her husband’s home, Manderley, a change comes over Maxim, and the young bride is filled with dread. Friendless in the isolated mansion, she realises that she barely knows him. In every corner of every room is the phantom of his beautiful first wife, Rebecca, and the new Mrs de Winter walks in her shadow.
Daisy Jones and the Six – Taylor Jenkins Reid
So this book was suggested bu quite a few Book Club members over the past few weeks and it has rave reviews from the likes of Fearne Cotton so that had us intrigued . . .
Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.
Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but itâs the rock and roll she loves most. By the time sheâs twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.
Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out sheâs pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.
Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.
The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.
To vote on this monthâs choice head on over to the Facebook page and cast your photo. Voting closes 12 midnight Wednesday 31st October and we will announce the choice the next day!
See you there! Much love Amanda xx
