Another lively session at Wine, Books & More

At the March meet-up of Wine, Books & More, the group began with some highly-recommended non-fiction.

Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal is a personal exploration of neurodiversity by comedian, actor and writer Robin Ince. The book looks at what is considered normal vs abnormal in a way that is packed with personal insights, anecdotes and the thoughts of psychologists and neuroscientists, along with the neurodivergent people he meets on the way. A really good, 5 star read, was the verdict.

Lara Love Hardin’s biography, The Many Lives of Mama Love describes the author’s life, going from being a rich soccer mom to a heroin addict in jail. She then uses her life lessons to create a new life path. The book describing that journey made for a gripping read. 

There’s been much in the media about the Christian community Gloriavale, so it was interesting to hear about the memoir written by the daughter of the cult leader, Hopeful Christian. Daughter of Gloriavale: my life in a religious cult by Lilia Tarawa confirmed what one reader already knew about it, written by a woman who left Gloriavale and had to create a new life outside. The book also describes the fear she had about living in a world she knew nothing about. A really interesting read.

In The Seven Ages of Death by Richard Shepherd, a pathologist discusses death at every stage of life. He presents different case studies at different stages. For this book, they’re likened to mysteries and he writes about his role solving them. He also considers what death can teach us about life. There were some medical facts that did get a bit deep but overall it was a really interesting 5 star read.

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine is written by Israeli historian and political scientist Ilan Pappe This 2006 work describes the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight, in order for the establishment of Israel as a Jewish state. The author describes these events as ethnic cleansing. Our reader found this book simultaneously heart-breaking, revolting and infuriating but also 5 stars. 

Not non-fiction, but instead a novel based on real events: The Lies They Told by Ellen Wiseman was an excellent read that describes the beginning of the eugenics programme at Ellis Island in New York Harbour and how the Nazis adapted techniques learnt there. Lena is a young immigrant mother in the 1930s fighting for her dignity and those she loves against a regime that is determined to evict people from their land who are described as having “inferior genes”. This was a fascinating historical story revealing an era that was new to our reader.

Also based on a true story was Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T Sullivan, which follows a young man who helped Jews escape the Nazi regime by leading them over the Alps. Pino Lella is a normal Italian teenager, but when his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, he joins an underground railroad. This gripping read had some twists and turns our reader didn’t see coming.

More five-star reading included The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb – a story that made one reader cry. It follows a father’s prison journey, a character you fall in love with despite the horrific thing he did. The story shows the brutal aspects as well as small acts of kindness he experiences in prison, as he begins to hope for reconciliation with his loved ones. This was an easy, if emotional, read that makes you think about why people get put into prison.

Another reader couldn’t say enough about June in the Garden by Eleanor Wilde a book that was so good they read it too quickly. It follows a young autistic woman who moves from her home in Scotland when her mother dies, catching a train to London in search of her father. She’s an expert gardener, so when she’s not welcomed into to her father’s home, she takes up residence secretly in the family’s garden shed. Only her young half-brother and the dog know she’s there. This is a big-hearted, humorous and sometimes sad feel-good read.

Australian author Bryan Brown’s new mystery is The Drowning which begins when an Aboriginal boy who drowns under unusual circumstances. Three weeks before that, a young female backpacker didn’t turn up for her shift at a café, while a biker gang is gearing up for a consignment of drugs. These are just some of the strands capturing the underbelly of a coastal town. Our reader enjoyed the author’s original way of writing.

Another reader is recommending the fiction of local author Charity Norman. In Remember Me, Emily returns to New Zealand to care for her father who is suffering from dementia. But the local community is also reeling from revelations about the disappearance of a young woman twenty-five years ago. A gripping mystery wrapped up in a heart-felt family story.

Bernard Cornwell’s historical novel, The Last Kingdom is the first his Saxon Tales series set in an England recently occupied by Danish Vikings. The story is told from the point of view of Uhtred, an English nobleman whose family has lost everything, raised by Danes and so now he has divided loyalties. Our reader absolutely loved the book, which has been adapted for the screen, and is the first of thirteen titles.

Wine, Books & More gets together at 5:30 on the third Tuesday of the month at Hastings War Memorial Library. 

Posted by Mya

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