Why not join other like-minded literature lovers for our world cruise book club. Openly discuss your thoughts and views on some of the bestselling books. We've chosen the books in advance, giving you the opportunity to purchase before boarding.
8th Jan – 29th Jan – (21 reading days): London Tilbury/Rotterdam – Crossing the Equator
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy.
These are the names of her children. The five who survived, only to be sold to other plantations. The faces Rachel cannot forget. It's 1834, and the law says her people are now free. But for Rachel freedom means finding her children, even if the truth is more than she can bear.
With fear snapping at her heels, Rachel keeps moving. From sunrise to sunset, through the cane fields of Barbados to the forests of British Guiana and on to Trinidad, to the dangerous river and the open sea. Only once she knows their stories can she rest. Only then can she finally find home.
This book is based in and around the Caribbean, so it would fit aesthetically with the destinations we would be visiting.
29th Jan – 18th Feb – (20 reading days): Crossing the Equator – Auckland
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
A plane crashes on a desert island. The only survivors are a group of schoolboys. By day, they discover fantastic wildlife and dazzling beaches, learning to survive; at night, they are haunted by nightmares of a primitive beast.
Orphaned by society, it isn't long before their innocent childhood games devolve into a savage, murderous hunt...
This book is set on a tropical island, so it would link to the Islands in the South-Pacific.
18th – 25th Feb – (7 reading days): Auckland - Sydney
We take time to do some free reading, and then before the next book is assigned in the next club meeting (on 25th Feb) we talk about what we’ve been reading.
This is because the next leg is about to start, and for some it might be their last book club as Auckland is/Sydney are the next destinations/first disembarkations. We also need to appreciate that people will embark, and that we will want them to join the club too.
25th Feb – 12th March – (17 reading days): Sydney – Singapore
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
London, 1806. William Thornhill, happily wedded to his childhood sweetheart Sal, is a waterman on the River Thames. Life is tough but bearable until William makes a mistake, a bad mistake for which he and his family are made to pay dearly.
His sentence: to be transported to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. Soon Thornhill, a man no better or worse than most, has to make the most difficult decision of his life.
This book features locations including Australia, so it would be perfect for this leg of the journey.
12th March – 4th April – (23 reading days): Singapore - Cape Town
The Constant Gardner by John le Carré
Justin Quayle is an amateur gardener, aging widower, and ineffectual bureaucrat that sets out on a personal odyssey to Northern Kenya to uncover the mystery of his wife’s suspicious death. Elevated through tragedy, he discovers his own natural resources and the extraordinary courage of the woman he barely had time to love.
The setting in Kenya is as enticing as the multi-award winning author that writes it. This would be a good read for the club.
4th April – 25th April – (21 reading days): Cape Town to Cape Verde
The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy that yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches him about the essential wisdom of listening to one’s heart, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, following his dreams.
The Alchemist is an international bestseller that has been translated from its native Portuguese into languages from all over the world. It is considered a modern day masterpiece by many, and was written by Brazilian author Paulo Coehlo, which I think would be perfect reading as we approach and visit the country itself.
25th April – 4th May – (9 reading days): Cape Verde – London Tilbury
We will have a week where we celebrate some short stories written by fellow guests.
