The Alibi Book Club #21 | New Reads For Spring

My 'book club' of sorts has been going for a couple of years now, and there's not one week or even day when I don't have a book in my hands. I'm a SERIOUS bookworm. So today, I thought I would share with you guys the books I've picked up for the coming season - settle down, it's going to be long and full of goodness. (And I'm calling it new reads even though I've already read three of them. Ah well.)

001: Nick Hornby - Funny Girl:
I bought this one because the cover was really eye catching and it was placed in that Waterstone's way where some books are facing forward on the shelf. It's totally different to your average plot of romance and comedy. And I seriously think it's one of my favourites of 2017 so far because (1.) it's set in the 60's and (2.) it's about having a comedy on the BBC!

"Barbara Parker is Miss Blackpool of 1964, but she doesn't want to be a beauty queen. She only wants to make people laugh. So she leaves her hometown behind, takes herself off to London, and lands a life-changing audition for a new BBC comedy series. Overnight she becomes Sophie Straw: charming, gorgeous, destined to win the nation's hearts. Funny Girl is the story of a smash-hit TV show and the people behind the scenes: the writers, Tony and Bill, friends since national service and comedy obsessives; producer Dennis, Oxbridge educated, clever, mild and not-so-secretly devoted to his star actress Sophie; and dashing male lead Clive, who firmly believes he's destined for better things. The show's success continues rocketing and the cast and crew are having the time of their lives. But when the script begins to get a bit too close to home, and life starts imitating art, they all face a choice. How long can they keep going before it's time to change the channel?"

002: Joanna Cannon - The Trouble With Goats and Sheep:
At first I was like meh, this sounds a bit boring. But when you see it for half price in ASDA, it somehow seems so much more interesting. I've seen it everywhere and it's such a fun but also serious read told from a 10 year old's point of view. It's definitely one I'll be reading again in the summer.

"England, the summer of 1976 and the heat is blazing and Mrs Creasy is missing. The avenue is alive with whispers, as the heat mingles with the swirling dust of rumours and long-buried secrets, bringing old resentments to the surface. For ten-year-old Grace and her best friend Tilly the mystery is a welcome distraction from the usual round of summer holiday boredom and as the summer shimmers endlessly on, they decide to take matters into their own hands. Yet as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined..."

003: Julianne Pachio - The Lucky Ones:
Not gonna lie, I picked this up because it had a pretty cover. Though truth be told, the thought of reading another collection of stories appealed to me - I'm really getting into them at the moment! And this one was the most interesting out of the ones I saw on the display table...

"Set mostly in lush, heady Colombia but even in a jungle-like New York City, they yoke together the fates of guerrilla soldiers, rich kids, rabbits, hostages, bourgeois expats, and drug dealers. Interconnected yet fractured in places, the result is a narrative jigsaw puzzle with some of the pieces missing, or a kaleidoscope where different characters spin into focus as they take turns to come into focus."

004: Jennifer Niven - Holding Up The Universe:
Having loved her first novel All The Bright Places, I knew I wanted to give this one a read. There was a sneak preview chapter in the first novel, so that totally sold me over before it was published. I'm currently reading this one right now, and let me tell you, it is gooooood.

"Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed 'America's Fattest Teen'. But no one's taken the time to look past her weight to get to see who she really is. Since her mum's death, she's been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby's ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin too. Yes, he's got swagger, but he's also mastered the art of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a secret: he can't recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He's the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can't understand what's going on with the inner workings of his own brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don't get too close to anyone. Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game which lands them in group counseling, Libby and Jack are both angry, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world - theirs and yours."

005: Jenny Colgan - The Summer Seaside Kitchen:
As soon as I saw this in one of those book adverts that you see in train stations, I was immediately excited to get it. I have the Christmas ones she's written and her style of writing is fun, down to earth with a hint of seriousness. Plus, it has the words 'summer', 'seaside' and 'kitchen' in. I wasn't wrong though, it was a very easy read that had me gripped but also made me want to move away to a lovely small summery island...

"Flora is definitely, absolutely sure that escaping from the quiet Scottish island where she grew up to the noise and hustle of the big city was the right choice. What was there for her on Mure? It's a place where everyone has known her all her life, and no one will let her forget the past. In the city, she can be anonymous, ambitious and indulge herself in her hopeless crush on her gorgeous boss, Joel. When a new client demands Flora's presence back on Mure, she's suddenly swept back into life with her brothers (all strapping, loud and seemingly incapable of basic housework) and her father. As Flora indulges her new-found love of cooking and breathes life into the dusty little pink-fronted shop on the harbour, she's also going to have to come to terms with past mistakes - and work out exactly where her future lies..."

006: Elizabeth McKenzie - The Portable Veblen:
The cover looked cool and the blurb mentioned a charismatic squirrel. Why wouldn't I pick this up? This one came up on the Waterstone's website on the new releases and I'm always on the hunt for something new to read. Though I have to say in store, they're crap at stocking new books. I've read similar books in terms of relationships before, but this one is on a whole over level!

"Can squirrels speak? Do snails scream? Will a young couple, newly engaged, make it to their wedding day? Will their dysfunctional families ruin everything? Will they be undone by the advances of a very sexy, very unscrupulous heiress to a pharmaceuticals corporation? Is getting married even a remotely reasonable idea in the twenty-first century? And what in the world is a 'Veblen' anyway?"