Book Club
The Book Club was started in January 2024. Any Probus member can join, subject to a maximum number of members. Please email David Cunliffe at d.cunliffe@gmail.com if you are interested in joining.
We meet at 10:00 am, usually on the last Wednesday of the month, at the regular coffee mornings at the United Reformed Church next to Heswall Tesco's. Members of the Club take turns each month to suggest books for the group to read. Two books are chosen and group members then choose whether to read one or both (or indeed neither!).
The aim is to find books that are enjoyable and/or interesting to read, that group members may not otherwise have discovered or read. The selected books can be borrowed from Heswall Library, downloaded on Kindle, or purchased through the usual sources.
Monthly meetings of the group are relaxed and informal, and generally last about an hour. The chat mainly covers the books read since the last meeting, and details are given of the two books selected for the following month. Coffee and biscuits are provided for the usual coffee morning fee of £3.00.
The next Book Club meeting will be at 10:00am on Wednesday, 2nd September 2026.
August 2026 book choices:
Books previously read in 2026
| The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts | Louis de Bernières | |
| Hotel Ukraine | Martin Cruz Smith | |
| Before the Coffee Gets Cold | Toshikazu Kawaguchi | |
| Brunanburh: Never Greater Slaughter | Michael Livingston | |
| Middlemarch | George Eliot | |
| Master & Commander | Patrick O'Brian | |
| The Temptation of Forgiveness | Donna Leon | |
| Hide & Seek | Ian Rankin | |
| The Paris Architect | Charles Belfoure | |
| The Shepherd's Life | James Rebanks | |
| The Wirral Killings | Simon McLeave | |
| This Thing of Darkness | Harry Thompson |
Top 10 most popular books read in 2025
Of the 22 books chosen by members to read in 2025, the following were the most popular (average score out of 10):
| Title | Author | Score |
| 1. Henry V: England's Warrior King | Dan Jones | 9.1 |
| 2. To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | 8.7 |
| 3. Longitude | Dava Sobel | 8.6 |
| 4. Wilding | Isabella Tree | 8.3 |
| 5. Slow Horses | Mick Herron | 8.1 |
| 6. Class of '37 | Hester Barron | 8.0 |
| 7. Still William | Richmal Crompton | 7.9 |
| 8. The Truce | Primo Levi | 7.8 |
| 9. Not Thomas | Sara Gethin | 7.8 |
| 10. The Fear Index | Robert Harris | 7.7 |
Top 10 most popular books read in 2024
Of the 22 books chosen by members to read in 2024, the following were the most popular (average score out of 10):
| Title | Author | Score |
| 1. Munich | Robert Harris | 8.6 |
| 2. The Power of Geography | Tim Marshall | 8.5 |
| 3. The Sisters Brothers | Patrick deWitt | 8.1 |
| 4. The Blackhouse | Peter May | 8.0 |
| 5. March Violets | Philip Kerr | 7.9 |
| 6. A Fine Balance | Rohinton Mistry | 7.7 |
| 7. When She Was White | Judith Stone | 7.7 |
| 8. Erebus | Michael Palin | 7.7 |
| 9. The Worst Journey in the World | Apsley Cherry-Garrard | 7.6 |
| 10. The World For Sale | Javier Blas | 7.5 |
Please contact David Cunliffe at d.cunliffe@gmail.com if you would like any further information.