{"id":17269,"date":"2026-07-29T23:57:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T22:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=17269"},"modified":"2026-07-30T00:10:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:10:06","slug":"17269","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=17269","title":{"rendered":"Two Books This Month"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

OFF THE SHELF<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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“Full Tilt ” by Dervla Murphy <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>We all thoroughly enjoyed this account of the Author\u2019s cycle ride from Ireland to India. Braving hunger, heat exhaustion, unbearable terrain and cultures largely untouched by civilisation, hers is a highly individual account of her journey in 1963. She travelled across nine countries through snow and ice in the mountains and miles of barren land in the scorching desert. The book is based on the daily diary she kept whilst riding through Yugoslavia, Persia, Afghanistan, over the Himalayas to Pakistan and India. She worked with Tibetan refugee children before returning home to Ireland.<\/p>\n

Dervla Murphy died aged 90 in 2022 having written over 25 books. She well earned her reputation as Ireland\u2019s most intrepid, respected and fearless travel writer. We scored this book 9\/10.<\/p>\n

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“The Age of Innocence ” by Edith Wharton<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This was our book club classic choice for the year. Edith Wharton (1862 -1937) was an American writer who drew upon her insider\u2019s knowledge of upper-class New York Society to portray the lives and morals of the 1870s – \u2018A Gilded Age\u2019. It took a little while to get into the story and sort out the various families and their standing in Society. However, after that it became a bit of a page turner. It is a bitter-sweet account of desire and betrayal at a time when society dreaded scandal more than disease. It follows the life of Newland Archer as he prepares to marry the beautiful but conventional Mary Welland. His world is turned upside down when a woman with a past, Countess Olenska, returns to New York after a disastrous marriage. Archer falls deeply in love with her and is torn between duty and passion. No spoilers here, the story continues with the continuing tensions and consequences of his decision.<\/p>\n

Edith Wharton was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921 for The Age of Innocence. We scored this book 8\/10.<\/p>\n

Patricia Coulthard<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OFF THE SHELF “Full Tilt ” by Dervla Murphy We all thoroughly enjoyed this account of the Author\u2019s cycle ride from Ireland to India. Braving hunger, heat exhaustion, unbearable terrain and cultures largely untouched by civilisation, hers is a highly individual account of her journey in 1963. She travelled across nine countries through snow and ice in the mountains and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[432,347],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s6cWjO-17269","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16754,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16754","url_meta":{"origin":17269,"position":0},"title":"“The Colour Purple ” by Alice Walker","author":"Alan Williams","date":"26th March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"OFF THE SHELF \"The Colour Purple \" by Alice Walker \u00a0 \u00a0 This is a modern classic first published in 1982. It is a powerful story of severe trauma, domestic abuse, racism and violence that came with being a black woman in the Southern States of America in the early\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for April 2026"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for April 2026","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=432"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13563,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13563","url_meta":{"origin":17269,"position":1},"title":"THE PROSECUTOR by Nazir Afzal","author":"Alan Williams","date":"4th September 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"OFF THE SHELF \"The Prosecutor\" by Nazir Afzal \u00a0 Nazir Afzal knows a thing or two about justice. As a Chief Prosecutor, it was his job to make sure the most complex, violent, and harrowing crimes made it to court, and that their perpetrators were convicted. From the Rochdale sex\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Off The Shelf"","block_context":{"text":"Off The Shelf","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=347"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16099,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16099","url_meta":{"origin":17269,"position":2},"title":"“Managing Expectations” by Minnie Driver","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st October 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"OFF THE SHELF \"Managing Expectations\" by Minnie Driver We all really enjoyed this book. It is not an autobiography but rather accounts of episodes in Minnie Driver\u2019s extraordinary life. It is hilarious, happy, poignant and sad. She writes so well about trying to understand the relationships and events that have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for October 2025"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for October 2025","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=426"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15644,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15644","url_meta":{"origin":17269,"position":3},"title":"“Real Americans ” by Rachel Khong","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"OFF THE SHELF \"Real Americans \" by Rachel Khong We thoroughly enjoyed Real Americans. We were especially drawn to the novel's multi-generational structure and the thoughtful exploration of identity, heritage, and the American experience. The characters, particularly Lily and Nick, felt well-developed and relatable. May (also known as Mei) revealed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for June 2025"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for June 2025","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=422"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16239,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16239","url_meta":{"origin":17269,"position":4},"title":"“Into the Storm ” by Cecelia Ahearn","author":"Alan Williams","date":"23rd October 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"OFF THE SHELF \"Into the Storm \" by Cecelia Ahearn Cecelia Ahern is an Irish novelist, known for her works like PS, I Love You; Where Rainbows End; and If You Could See Me Now. It is a wild night in the middle of December, and GP Enya is crouched\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for November 2025"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for November 2025","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=427"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ShelfBookNov2025.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10254,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=10254","url_meta":{"origin":17269,"position":5},"title":"Sleepwalk on the Severn\/The House of Trelawney","author":"Alan Williams","date":"17th September 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"OFF THE SHELF Several members were away in July and so we discussed two books at our August Meeting. Sleepwalk on the Severn by Alice Oswald Oswald is a contemporary award-winning poet, and this was our first venture into poetry. The slim volume is one long poem set at night\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Off The Shelf"","block_context":{"text":"Off The Shelf","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=347"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17269"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17269"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17276,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17269\/revisions\/17276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}