Hello all,
I can very honestly say that attending the Virtual Book Group is one of the highlights of my month, and last night [5th May] was no exception. It was so lovely to see you all! As befits a book like ‘I am Malala’, our discussion ranged across topics like the importance of education, politics, and feminism. We found out a lot about Malala that we didn’t know, such as the fact that her and her father were already relatively well-known in Pakistan for their educational activism. It can be easy to feel like you know a story well from what you see on the news or in the paper, but there’s always so much more going on underneath. We also learnt a lot about the history and geography of Pakistan and about how beautiful it is. Malala’s home, the Swat Valley, is sometimes called the ‘Switzerland of the East’ and I would absolutely recommending Googling it to see its natural beauty!
We also decided that it would be nice to mix up our reading, so we will be alternating between Quick Reads and full-length books. This month we have chosen another Quick Read, and then in June we will have another full-length work. If you have a suggestion for the next full-length book, please email me and let me know! Some of the suggestions we’ve had so far are: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, and Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. At the June meeting I will put all the suggestions into a hat and pull out the next choice.
The next meeting of the Reading for Wellbeing Virtual Book Group is taking place on Wednesday 2nd June at 7-8pm via WebEx.
This month we will be discussing ‘A Cool Head’ by Ian Rankin. We have 4 copies available in the library – 2 at York and 2 at Scarborough. As always, if you’d like a library copy, please email library@york.nhs.uk and we’ll put one to the side for you to come and collect. If you’d prefer to buy a copy for yourself, it can be purchased as an e-book from Amazon or the Kobo store or as a paperback from Waterstones, WHSmith, Blackwell’s, Hive or Bookshop.org.
Furthermore, please find below our brand new feature – Book Bingo! This was an idea that my colleague Jan had. It’s a very informal way to challenge yourself to read outside your comfort zone. You can go for just a line or two, or try and achieve the complete full house! There’s no strict rules or deadline for completion (or prize, sadly), but I hope that the bingo cards will inspire you to try some new things – and hopefully discover a new author or series that you really love!
If you have any further questions about either the Virtual Book Group or about the Book Bingo, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Best wishes,
Kathryn Aylward (Assistant Librarian, York Hospital)
If you’d like to receive a Word document version of the Book Bingo, please get in touch with Kathryn. kathryn.aylward@york.nhs.uk
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