H & M Book Club Report, 13 May 2026
Hougham & Marston Book Club meets on the first Thursday of every month @ 2.30pm location The Thorold Main Street, Marston, new members are welcome.
2025 books were a mixed bag of literature some more enjoyable than others, but all agree the experience of being part of the book club introduces you to new perspectives and to reading topics that ordinarily you would not choose thus encouraging critical thinking.
We ended the year with a book called ‘The White Masai’ by Corinne Hofmann who left Switzerland to marry a Masai warrior in Kenya in the 1980s. General opinion was that the author displayed naivety particularly about cultural differences.
Hougham and Marston Book Club was founded in 2012 by Bernadette Chalklin, we said goodbye to Berni in December when she and Bob moved to be nearer family. We started 2026 with Berni’s final choice ‘The Four Winds’ by Kristin Hannah a story about the social and economic effects of 1930’s Depression in rural America. A very informative and well researched and written book. It was scored 8/10 despite the dark subject matter.
February’s book choice is ‘A Vicious Circle’ by Amanda Craig - Not a memorable read, backstabbing& vitriolic, shallow characters of it's time links 1980's media
March – Marriage Act – John Marrs – Dystopian - Compulsive reading, highlighting potential dark side to AI. Disturbing, encouraged discussion about government control on society using technology
Janice Whelan Hougham and Marston Book Club
blondiejaja@gmail.com