I know I say this all the time, but I do enjoy reading books in group situations. I always get something more out of a story when I discuss it with other readers and am able to hear their opinions and perspectives on it. It's amazing how I might change my own opinion (or perhaps have it reinforced) in these discussions. I've even been reading a book that a coworker is also reading, and every day we check in with each other and chat about how the story is going and where the author is taking the characters. It's just nice being able to 'talk books' with others who are equally enthusiastic about reading.
I've just received my latest 'postal reading group' book in the mail. I love this idea and was so happy to be able to participate this time around. The postal group is an offshoot of an online reading group I belong to. There are a dozen or so of us and each chose a book that the others will read. Every two months we mail off the book we have in our possession to the next person on the list--as one book goes out the door, another will be arriving shortly. The book is always a surprise, and I look forward to each new book eagerly. I'll be reading this book next (sorry to be so vague, but I don't want to give any surprises away to someone in the group who may happen by). I think this one is definitely outside my reading comfort zone, but that can be a good thing (especially in light of how badly I did answering the questions to this meme).
The Slaves of Golconda will be reading Patrick Hamilton's The Slaves of Solitude later this month. This is set during WWII in a suburban boarding house. "Recounting an epic battle of wills in the claustrophobic confines of the boarding house, Patrick Hamilton's The Slaves of Solitude, with a delightfully improbable heroine, is one of the finest and funniest books ever written about the trials of a lonely heart." There's even a quote from Sarah Waters noting that Hamilton captures the "gloom, grubbiness and paranoia of Forties London". It sounds like the perfect read to me at the moment and I can't wait to start this one.
I've already mentioned Georgina Harding's The Solitude of Thomas Cave which is next up for Cornflower's Book Group. I really love stories set on ships, and this one caught my interest. On a bet Thomas Cave elects to stay behind in the Arctic islands alone, as his shipmates return home for the winter. The year is 1616 and the ship is a whaling ship. It sounds as though it's more than just a story of survival, but also a meditation on man's relationship with God and the wilderness.
All very interesting and varied choices, don't you think? I had the Hamilton on my pile already to read, but the other two authors are new to me. I'm looking forward to reading all of them.