First Books

First Book

 
The First SWI Book Group Book

The Shadforth WI Book Group started on 2nd October 2006 and the first book was I Choose to Live by Sabine Dardenne, with Marie-Therese Cuny and translated into English by Penelope Dening (ISBN: 1844082687).

Review of I Choose to Live  (By LT)

[Warning - contains spoilers]

Sabine Dardenne is a Belgian woman who, in May 1996, aged 12, was kidnapped on her way to school and held prisoner for over two months. Sabine's account of her abduction and its aftermath are documented in this book, originally entitled "J'avais douze ans, j'ai pris mon velo et je suis partie a l'ecole" ("I was twelve years old, I took my bike and I left for school"), but published in English as "I Choose to Live" (the change in language perhaps not helping the slightly stilted writing style). It was published following the trial, and became a number one bestseller Europe-wide. Sabine was rescued when, on the abduction of a second girl, they where found by the police who subsequently discovered the bodies of four previously kidnapped girls.

Sabine's account describes the mind-washing techniques and delusions of the captor and how she survived. The second half of the book interestingly reveals the aftermath of the kidnappers'; arrests, the difficulty of family members in dealing with what had happened, the importance of victims being allowed to cope with their experience in their own ways and the way society deals with such terrible crimes and the victims after the event. The time lapse between the abduction and the court case, which was not held until 2004, meant that Sabine was an adult when she had to relive her experience in court, with extensive media interest. The court case raises questions of the way in which victims of abuse should by treated when giving evidence in court, for example the suggestion by the prosecution that the other victim, on being raped could have enjoyed it and therefore her kidnapping could be excused, was particularly shocking.

Sabine states she wrote the book to stop people's questions and to highlight the danger of allowing paedophiles to strike again (this abuser was released early from prison, due to "good behaviour", just before he attacked Sabine). This is an interesting book, at times difficult to believe to be real, which raises the question "what if this happened to you, or to someone you knew?".



Small Island by Andrea Levy (ISBN: 075530750X). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 16th April 2007.




Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (ISBN: 0141182857). Written in 1966, this is a prequel to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë in 1847. Wide Sargasso Sea tells the tale of Antoinette Cosway, a Creole heiress living in Jamaica, who meets and marries a certain young Englishman, Mr Rochester. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 16th July 2007.




 

The Other Side of the Dale

by Gervase Phinn (ISBN: 0140275428). This is the first in a series of books and tells of Gervase Phinn's first year as County Inspector of Schools in North Yorkshire. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 24th September 2007. (There were two books this month due to the summer break.)


The Island by Victoria Hislop (ISBN: 0755309510). A tale of three generations of one family. Alexis travels to Crete to discover her mother’s past and in doing so learns also of her grandmother and great-grandmother, of surviving war and the deserted island of Spinalonga, a former leper colony. The first book for Shadforth WI Book Group on 26th November 2007.




Katherine by Anya Seton (ISBN: 0340839880). A romance and historical novel. This tells the story of Katherine Sywnford and her romance with John of Gaunt, son of Edward III, from whose union sprung the Beaufort line. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 14th January 2008.


Then ...

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson (ISBN: 978-0552996006). Also Birdman of Alcatraz: The Story of Robert Stroud by Thomas E. Gaddis (ISBN: 978-0891740551). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 3rd March 2008.

Just a Boy by Richard McCann (ISBN: 978-0091898229). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 23rd June 2008.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (ISBN: 978-1844080380). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 22nd July 2008.

Shame by Jasvinder Sanghera (ISBN: 978-0340924624). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 26th August 2008.

Lark Rise to Candleford: A Trilogy: "Lark Rise"; "Over to Candleford"; "Candleford Green" by Flora Thompson (ISBN: 978-0141037196). For Shadforth WI Book Group in September 2008.

The Green Mile by Stephen King (ISBN: 978-0752864334). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 17th November 2008.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (ISBN: 978-0099511243). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 12th January 2009.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (ISBN: 978-0141439570). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 12th February 2009.

The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, translated by Lucia Graves (ISBN: 978-0753820254). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 16th March 2009.

Quentins by Maeve Binchy (ISBN: 978-0752876849). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 20th April 2009.

Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris (ISBN: 978-0552998833). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 4th June 2009.

The Forgotten Garden byKate Morton (ISBN: 978-0330449601). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 20th July 2009.

A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer (ISBN: 978-0330464062). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 28th August 2009.

When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith (ISBN: 978-0330505765). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 28th September 2009.

Success to the Brave by Alexander Kent (ISBN: 978-0099497660). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 2nd November 2009.

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (ISBN: 978-0099464464). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 10th December 2009.

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (ISBN: 978-0571215294). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 1st February 2010.

Whispers in the Sand by Barbara Erskine (ISBN: 978-0007288649). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 8th March 2010.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (ISBN: 978-0552773898). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 9th June 2010.

The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall (ISBN: 978-0330397858). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 28th June 2010.

Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor (ISBN: 978-0099469629). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 27th September 2010.

Guernica by Dave Boling (ISBN: 978-0330460668) and
The Shack by William P. Young (ISBN: 978-0340979495). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 15th November 2010.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and

Atonement by Ian McEwan. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 11th January 2011.

Sashenka by Simon Montefiore. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 8th March 2011.

Toast by Nigel Slater. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 23rd May 2011.

The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien. For Shadforth WI Book Group on June 2011.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett and

Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 23rd September 2011.

 
 
... and many more! 
 
For other past and current SWI Book Group Books see the SWI virtual Book Group Shelves (see menu to the left).



Group Books

Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy (ISBN: 0141004916), for the second Shadforth WI Book Group on 30th October 2006.
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (ISBN: 0140424385 - Original text is in Middle English, but the suggested version is the Penguin Classics version with a modern English translation by Nevill Coghill, which retains the metre of the original poetic sections).  For Shadforth WI Book
                                                                          Group on 4th                                                                                      December 2006.
 

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (ISBN: 034911675X etc.). For Shadforth WI Book Group on 8th January 2007.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned by Alan Alda (ISBN: 0099493764). A memoir by the well know American actor, best known for starring in the long running television series MASH. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 19th February 2007.
 
 
 
 
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (ISBN: 0747532745). Harry Potter Book 1. Little-known tale of a boy-wizard. N.B. If you get hooked there are 6 more books in the series - or try the Latin version... Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis.  F                                                                        For Shadforth WI                                                                           Book Group on                                                                               14th May 2007.
 

The Complete Book of Aunts by Rupert Christiansen (ISBN: 0571226558). An anthology of aunts: loveable aunts, exotic aunts, seductive aunts, historical aunts, sad, mad and bad aunts, aunts in novels, verse and song, etc! For Shadforth WI
Book Group on                                                                              24th September                                                                           2007. (There                                                                                  were two books                                                                              this month.)
 
 
 

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans (ISBN: 0552143774). The book that inspired the 1998 film. Following tragedy, Annie, her 13 year old daughter Grace, and their horse, meet a Montana cowboy with special skills. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 22nd October 2007.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein (ISBN: 0099504286). (Paperback version available from 1st November 2007.) Harry Bernstein was born in 1910 and his book tells of his childhood in the industrial north of England in the shadow of the First World War, the daily struggle to make ends meet, of young Harry's growing awareness of social and religious divides, and his fears for his adored elder sister Lily, who is risking all by pursuing a                                                            forbidden love. A second                                                            book for Shadforth WI Book                                                        Group on 26th November                                                         2007.

 
 
 
To My Daughter in France... by Barbara and Stephanie Keating (ISBN: 978-0099449935).
Set in the 1970s, when Richard Kirwan dies his wife and three grown up children are shocked to discover that he has another daughter living in France. The book tells the story of their correspondence with this other daughter, Solange (who is also shocked to discover that he was her father), and the 1930/40s tale of Richard Kirwan and Solange’s mother in war torn France … until eventually the past meets the present day. For Shadforth WI Book Group on 3rd March 2008.
 
 
 

For other past and current SWI Book Group Books see the SWI virtual Book Group Shelves (see menu to the left).

 



































































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