Staff book group programme for 2024
The staff book group is always open to new members and we’ve just picked our books for the rest of the year. If you’d like to join our read along and discussions of any of these books email the Healthy Working Lives team: hwl@eastlothian.gov.uk for details. The group meets at lunchtimes over Teams.
Staff book group picks and meeting dates for 2024
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson - Thurs 4 April 1pm to 2pm
In a country still recovering from the Great War, London is the focus for a delirious nightlife. In Soho clubs, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time. There, Nellie Coker is a ruthless ruler, ambitious for her six children. But success breeds enemies. Nellie faces threats from without and within.
The Fire next Time by James Baldwin - Weds 29 May 12:30pm to 1:30pm
A bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation and gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement. At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin’s early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document.
Verity by Colleen Hoover – Tues 27 Aug 1pm to 2pm
Lowen Ashleigh is a writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines. What she doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt – Weds 12:30 pm to 1:30pm
Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin – Thurs 28 November 12noon to 1pm
Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name—and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.
Book recommendations
If you are a book lover the group is also a friendly place to get lots of excellent book recommendations for your “must read” list.
Reading can help improve mental health.
Research carried out in 2009 found that 30 minutes of reading can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of psychological distress just as effectively as yoga and humour do. Reading as part of a night-time routine can also help with sleep.