Category: Rosewood Reads

Our book club resumed in April and we covered three books. It was quite a session and since May is busy for several of our members we will resume in June. 

Here goes:

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

This novel gave us a peek at life in South Africa during apartheid. We saw the hardships Trevor Noah and his mother endured during and after apartheid. Laws were changing but many of the people’s attitudes towards non-white did not.

Trevor’s mother had strong religious faith and on Sundays their day was spent attending three churches. Many times they did not have a vehicle so they would have to take public transportation. In these situations they encountered unsavoury characters in which his mother would have to think quick on her feet to keep them safe. Her faith gave her the strength to deal with all the obstacles that arose, including coming close to her death.

Born a Crime was an eye-opening novel. We know Trevor Noah, the successful celebrity of today. It gave us renewed respect for him and what he had to endure through childhood to where he is today.

Why the title Born a Crime? Who is his father? What happened during his childhood? What happened to his mom? Read the novel to find the answers to these questions and many more you might have.

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Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke

From the title we thought this would be an interesting read. We enjoy a good mystery and triple chocolate cheesecake! But to our surprise the book was written more like a play for lack of better description. There are constant conversations between the characters and recipes throughout the novel. We almost lost sight that there was a murder we were trying to solve. Yes, there was a murder…read the novel if you want to know who was murdered or enjoy baking and would like to add to your recipe collection. 

Just in case after reading the title you are feeling like baking a chocolate cheesecake, here is a link to a recipe I tried and it did not crack in the middle. Enjoy

The BEST Chocolate Cheesecakebakewithzoha.com

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The Maid by Nita Prose (Canadian Author)

In this novel, we are welcomed to a fine boutique hotel with an interesting staff. The assumption has been made that it takes place in Toronto but never indicated in the novel. Molly the maid, at first appears quite plain and takes things literally. But not everything is as it appears, especially Molly. Everyone underestimates her, especially when she is accused of murdering a hotel guest. 

Would you like to meet the staff and find out what they are hiding? Who was the murdered guest? Did Molly, the maid do it? Read the novel and find out the answers to these and many more questions you probably have.

Several of us enjoyed this novel that it inspired us to read her next book, The Mystery Guest.  You learn more about Molly and several of the other staff members while solving another murder.

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Our next read will be in June and it is The Serviceberry by Robin Kimmerer.

Happy Reading!

After a brief break we resumed in January. Our novel of choice was Proof, written by Beverley McLachlin (lawyer and judge). Our story takes us to Shaughnessy, British Columbia where we meet Jilly Truit, lawyer. She has a law firm, beautiful daughter and home. But everything is not idyllic.

Jilly had a rough start in life. Edith, her social worker since a child has been always there for her. Her life was finally coming together until her partner was shot and killed. A year later she was still trying to put the pieces together.

A case comes up that forces Jilly into action. A child has disappeared and the mother has been charged with her disappearance and murder.

Can Jilly unravel the mystery of the disappearance? Can she help the mother? Can she finally put her life together? Time for you to read the book and get the answers to these and many more questions.

Our next read for February will be Trevor Noah: Born a Crime.

We gathered in November to talk about “How to Age Dis-Gracefully” written by Clare Pooley. The novel was  a positive read to aging. Appreciating the characters’ resiliency to difficult circumstances and how the group came together to save the community centre. They did not let their age refrain them from a sense of adventure or facing situations head on, be it politicians or the police. We realize, no matter our age you are able to learn new things and still have a few tricks up your sleeve.

What difficult circumstances? What tricks up their sleeve? Time for you to read the book for yourself or listen to the audio version.

Our next read in January will be Proof written by Beverley McLachlin.

On October 17th Rosewood Reads got together to talk about Crosshairs written by James Patterson and James O. Born. Michael Bennett is a police detective with NYPD who has a very large family and a dad that is a “father”. This particular case forces him to collaborate with the FBI, which brings along more intrigue. The author deftly demonstrates the dark side of humanity and is able to bring in humour at appropriate times to alleviate the seriousness of the situation. A great mystery for your reading pleasure.

What do I mean about a very large family? Why father in quotes? Read for yourself or listen to the audio to discover the answer to these questions and much more.

Since our two first novels have been dark, we have decided to lighten the mood and read “How to Age Disgracefully” by Clare Pooley. A very humourous novel.

We held our first book club meeting on September 12th. The ladies gathered to discuss the novel “How to Bury Your Husband” by Alexia Casale. The novel takes place in the UK, so we gathered around the dining room table with our fascinators and enjoyed refreshments while discussing the novel.

It was the first time any of us have read a novel by Alexia Casale but it will not be the last. The topic was compelling and the author quickly drew us in. The women in the novel came from varying backgrounds and developed a close bond through each of their tragedies. It demonstrated their strength and a will to move forward in their lives. We found ourselves feeling compassion for the four women in each of their difficult situations, and an unlikely ally surprised us all.

What was the difficult situation? Who is the unlikely ally? You will have to read for yourself to find the answers to these and many more questions.

Our next read will be “Crosshairs” by James Patterson. We’re looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts on this one!

Our book club, Rosewood Reads, was launched the first week of August. The book club is headed by our very own Lisa B.
The group will read one book a month, and meet once a month on a Friday evening to discuss the book. The first book we will be reading has an interesting title and an equally interesting plot:
The Best Way to Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale

Readers can choose any format to enjoy the book(e-copy, print or audio).
This is a fun way to read books, get to know more people in the community, take a break from our regular routines, dive into great discussions, open up our worlds, discover new authors and stories, and have a laugh too! This is a safe, non- judgmental environment in which to enjoy good discussions, you don’t have to be a bookworm to join, and language is not a barrier.