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Small Pleasures
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
60 posts | 55 read | 62 to read
'A delicious mystery and a touching exploration of loneliness and desire in cloying 1950s suburbia - a great read' Sally Magnusson, author of The Sealwoman's Gift1957, south-east suburbs of London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on the local newspaper, caring for her truculent mother and - unmarried in her mid-30s - considered a spinster of her parish.This limited existence of tedious chores and small pleasures is suddenly cracked open when a reporting assignment takes Jean into the intimate lives of the Tilburys: Gretchen Tilbury has made the sensational claim that her daughter Margaret is the product of a virgin birth and Jean is determined to uncover the truth. But as the initial medical tests seem to confirm Gretchen's version of events, Jean is surprised to find her life has become strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys: Gretchen is now a friend, and her quirky and charming daughter Margaret a sort of surrogate child. But it is Gretchen's husband, Howard, who exerts the greatest gravitational pull on Jean: she doesn't mean to fall in love with him, but Howard surprises her with his dry wit, his intelligence and his kindness - and when she does fall, she falls hard. But he is married, and to her friend - who is also the subject of the story she is researching for the newspaper, a story that increasingly seems to be causing dark ripples across all their lives. And yet Jean cannot bring herself to discard the chance of finally having a taste of happiness...But there will be a price to pay, and it will be unbearable.
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Twocougs
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

A 1950‘s mystery that involves, love, family, a a “virgin birth”. Clare Chambers is a fantastic British writer that keeps you enthralled throughout!

LeeRHarry Loved this one! 💕 3mo
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AnneCecilie
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Eggs Beautiful 🍑🧡🍑 5mo
emmasm08 I loved this book ! 5mo
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Mrs_B
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

I was so drawn in to this story. I thought the author did an excellent job of portraying the minutiae of suburban life in the 1950s, whilst adding all the mystery drama. Very enjoyable read.

LeeRHarry Absolute fave of mine! 😊 5mo
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mirnas
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

I must say that I was reluctant to reading it at first. Glad I did! The pleasure of reading is anything but small.
It depicts simple people's life in post-war british suburbs that are about to be changed...

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merelybookish
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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After a very busy, peoply day such a treat to come home to my #jolabokaflod parcel. Thank you so much @thebacklistbook for the thoughtful selections. Small Pleasures looks like the perfect book to curl up with on a wintery afternoon.
Thank you to @MaleficentBookDragon for running this excellent swap.
Peace and joy to all. ❤️🕊️🌟

LeahBergen I enjoyed this one! Merry Christmas! 😘 10mo
merelybookish @LeahBergen Oh good! And yes, Merry Christmas to you!! 10mo
jlhammar Hope you enjoy the Chambers. I loved it! 10mo
46 likes3 comments
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jlhammar
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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#Top22of22 Part 1

jlhammar See my #12Booksof2022 posts for my favorite audiobooks of the year. 2y
batsy Great list! I loved Trees, Checkout 19, Elena Knows, and Haven ❤️ 2y
Cinfhen Loving your list !!! 2y
staci.reads I keep seeing The Trees pop up on people's recommendations lately, so I'm adding that to my tbr. I've had The Love Songs of WEB DuBois on my shelf for almost a year. I may tackle that one this month. 2y
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Hannah_11
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

This lovely little book was full of small pleasures. Intelligently written, a perfect winter warmer ❄️
#pick #smallpleasures #christmas

Cathythoughts I loved this one 👍🏻❤️ 2y
5 likes1 comment
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monalyisha
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

Jean Swinney writes for a small-time newspaper in Great Britain in the 1950‘s, not in a cabin in the woods in Concord, Massachusetts. Still, she easily could have penned the phrase, “Most women lead lives of quiet desperation.” When she gets the chance to investigate a story about a virgin birth, seemingly made more likely by the recent discovery of parthenogenesis in rabbits, she might finally find a life that‘s slightly louder and happier. 👇🏻

monalyisha 1/1: When a novel begins, however, with a newspaper clipping about a train collision, you know to keep that word “might” prominent in your thoughts. A sad, well-written book…but one that won‘t be topping any lists for me. 2y
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yourfavouritemixtape
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

Only started this because it was on my ereader, but it hooked me from the start. It became one of those books I wanted to read everywhere just to know what happenes next. It‘s raw but still tender, fast-paced but still dreamy. I think I liked it a lot.

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Rybow
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I say that not because I expected it to be bad, but because the story I read was not at all what I had expected when reading the summary. I throughly enjoyed the book and feel that even though it‘s categorized as a historical romance, the story and the well written human connections, feelings and struggles would lend itself to any fan of reading. I loved every plot and sub-plot included in this novel.

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MicheleinPhilly
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

This book is bleak AF but for some reason it felt like a cosy, comforting hug. My first Clare Chambers but it certainly won‘t be my last. 👍🏼

LeahBergen That‘s so true! Grim and cozy. 😆 2y
MicheleinPhilly @LeahBergen “Grim and cozy” should be the Scorpio tagline. 😉 2y
TrishB A grey and grim read! 2y
LeahBergen That‘s us to a tee. 😆 2y
Megabooks Hit the nail on the head! 2y
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Tamra
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this on audio. 4⭐️ I didn‘t fall in love with the characters, but it was an engaging historical novel with taboo breakers. I appreciated the end because I had completely forgotten the foreshadowing.

I would say Aunt Edie deserves her own spin-off!

LeahBergen I liked that Aunt Edie! 👍 2y
Tamra @LeahBergen I just felt I wanted more. 😄 2y
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LeahBergen
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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I‘ve just started this and I can already tell that it‘s absolutely my sort of read!

Thanks again to @Cathythoughts for this lovely gift. 😘😘

Cathythoughts Oh good. Your welcome, I really loved it 👍🏻❤️ 3y
Bklover Oh happy sigh! I love that feeling! 3y
EvieBee That‘s a good feeling! That bookmark is stunning…and perfect lol! 😍 3y
See All 19 Comments
TrishB And look at that bookmark ♥️ 3y
squirrelbrain Such a good book, and ❤️ the bookmark! 3y
LeahBergen @Cathythoughts I‘m still reading in bed and immediately sucked right into the story! 😘 3y
LeahBergen @Bklover Isn‘t it wonderful? 😊 3y
LeahBergen @EvieBee @TrishB @squirrelbrain I love this bookmark! 😆 I bought it at The Second Shelf bookshop in London but it‘s from a Scottish company. It‘s titled “Book Lovers” on the back. 3y
Cathythoughts Yes that bookmark is a doll ❤️ 3y
LeahBergen @Cathythoughts The orange of the bookmark matched nicely with the orange of the cover, I thought. 😆 3y
Bookbuyingaddict It‘s an amazing 🤩 book 📖 one of my favs of last year ; you‘ll love 💕 it! It gets better and better ! I loved it so much Iv bought Clare chambers back catalogue 😆all on my TBR she‘s a fantastic writer : amazing pod cast with her as a guest on you‘re booked - look it up , she talks about her favourite books of all time. Great podcast 😀 3y
jlhammar I loved this book. One of my favorites of the year so far. Enjoy! 3y
Tamra The bookmark! 3y
paper.reveries Your bookmark is INCREDIBLE!!! 3y
LeahBergen @Karons1 Thanks! I‘ll definitely give that podcast a listen. 👍 3y
LeahBergen @jlhammar Good to hear! I‘m thoroughly enjoying it. 3y
LeahBergen @Tamra @daisyheadmaesie Thanks! It‘s one of my faves. 😄 3y
Megabooks This is a fantastic gift! Great book! 3y
LeahBergen I‘m taking my time with it and thoroughly enjoying it! @Megabooks 3y
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quietlycuriouskate
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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It's book-hangover time again!
A reporter on a local paper investigates a claim of immaculate conception in 1950s Sidcup? Well, Clare Chambers, you've a hard sell on your hands there! Or so I thought: I loved it. She wrote her characters with real pathos amidst the shitty compromises of their lives. Not sure how I feel about that ending, though.

jlhammar One of the best books I've read so far this year. Absolutely loved it! 3y
squirrelbrain The ending was just 😲 3y
Cathythoughts I loved it too👍❤️ 3y
monalyisha Great review! 2y
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jlhammar
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

What a wonderful book! Utterly absorbing. The first page is a news article headlined “Rail Disaster” dated Dec 6, 1957. The next page opens the novel in June 1957. Tragedy looms as the story unfolds, but the reader won‘t know how it connects until the very end.

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Bookbuyingaddict
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

Really surprised 😮 I loved this as much as I did as the premise didn‘t grab me so so glad I bought it wonderful book 📖 #oneofmyfavourites #favouritereadsof21 #favouritenewauthors never read Clare chambers before but have purchased 2 more of her back catalogue

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Donna1980
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

My second read of the year, recommended by a good friend. I really enjoyed this and found myself making time to read it (always a good sign). The characters are a rich tapestry of human life, love and interaction. and I loved how well the author conjured up what life was like in Kent and London in the 1950s. The ending was a bit of a surprise and perhaps my least favourite part, but I decided to be hopeful for all the characters involved. 4/5

Cathythoughts Nice review! I enjoyed this too 3y
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TrishB
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

Somewhere between a pick and a so so for me. I find 1950s Britain one of the most depressing places in history. I feel grey and repressed now. Explains a lot about my mum I can tell you! She once berated me for sending her a card and not putting Mrs on it….in case the postman didn‘t know she was married. I would say who cares, but she did, a lot.
So, well written but didn‘t thrill me. And that bloody ending!!

Caroline2 Totally agree. It‘s pretty bleak. And that ending…. 🙄😬 3y
LeahBergen I love to read about 1950s Britain. 🤣 3y
TrishB @Caroline2 definitely! 3y
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TrishB @LeahBergen you will love this if you haven‘t already read 😁👍🏻 3y
LeahBergen It was a recent gift from @Cathythoughts ! 🥰 3y
squirrelbrain The ending was a complete shock to me! 3y
TrishB @LeahBergen 👍🏻 enjoy when you get to it. 3y
TrishB @squirrelbrain it was a wtf/excuse me moment to the author! 3y
Megabooks That ending for sure!! 3y
Reggie Oh, TrishB, I know, sometimes ya just want a mom and not Emily Post. 3y
TrishB @Megabooks I know it‘s basically there at the beginning- but you‘ve forgotten all about that by the end! 3y
TrishB @Reggie got lost down the rabbit hole finding out who Emily Post was! 3y
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TrishB
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Hairdresser reading, thankfully had an app already this week. Given who knows what‘s going to happen (again).

squirrelbrain I went a couple of days ago, fortunately! 3y
Oryx @squirrelbrain @trishb Got mine in last week too 3y
Cathythoughts Oh good 👍🏻❤️ you‘ll be good for Christmas 3y
TrishB @squirrelbrain @Oryx @Cathythoughts all good for Christmas and what ever happens next! 3y
82 likes4 comments
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GidgetsTreasures75
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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12-18-21: My 127th finished book of 2021! What a lovely story. Jean, a reporter at a local Kent newspaper, is tasked with interviewing a woman, Gretchen, who claims to have had a “virgin birth”. While taking care of her ailing mom by night, during the day Jean starts the arduous task of finding proof to this woman‘s claim. She gets close to Gretchen and her family especially the child. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼📖#️⃣1️⃣2️⃣7️⃣

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LeahBergen
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Thank you so much, Cathy!!! The lovely Xmas dog-walking card only arrived yesterday and the book arrived today. How clever are you to tell me the initials of the title so that I knew this Book Depository delivery was from you?? 😆 I HAVEN‘T read it but I‘ve really wanted to … it‘s absolutely wonderful!

I wasn‘t quite as sharp as you but I did order a book for you this week from Book Depository (initials = TF).

Thanks again, sweet friend! 😘😘

Crazeedi Beautiful card and special friend!! 3y
squirrelbrain Lovely gift - I loved this book! ❤️ 3y
LeahBergen @Crazeedi She is, indeed! 3y
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LeahBergen @squirrelbrain Oh, good to hear. 👍 3y
TrishB Lovely ♥️ 3y
LeahBergen @TrishB Isn‘t it? 😊 3y
erzascarletbookgasm 💝 gift. On my tbr 3y
Cathythoughts Oh I‘m so glad you got this. They tell me the post is slow to Canada at the P. O. I really enjoyed this book & I hope you will too. T F sounds exciting! I‘ll be thinking about those initials 😂🤔 and thankyou 😘 Happy Christmas lovely friend X 3y
LeahBergen @Cathythoughts I was thrilled! It made my day. 😊 I hope TF doesn‘t take too long to reach you. 😆 Thank you so much and Happy Christmas to you! 😘😘 3y
batsy Cathy is so sweet 💕 3y
erzascarletbookgasm Oh no, Leah I hope we didn‘t both gotten the same book for Cathy (TF) 😂 3y
Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm well I did send @batsy a book with the initials SP and it‘s not Small Pleasures .. 😂. I have something on the way to you too Jessie. I think it‘s MD ! 3y
LeahBergen @batsy Yes, she is! 🥰 3y
LeahBergen @erzascarletbookgasm We probably did! 😆 We are going to have to start giving each other coded messages ahead of time! 😆😆 I sent something to you from Book Depository, too … the title is three words. 3y
LeahBergen @Cathythoughts Hmm… what is another SP book? 🤔😆😆 3y
LeahBergen @batsy I really need to start sending you a book for holidays. Will you email your address to me? bergenl@shaw.ca 3y
batsy @LeahBergen I was thinking the same! Will drop you a line soon ❤️ 3y
batsy @Cathythoughts Oooh I think I might have guessed 😁🧐🕵🏽‍♀️ 3y
LeahBergen @batsy Yes, do! 😘 3y
Cathythoughts @batsy oh dear! Maybe this ‘initials‘ scheme isn‘t going to work 😂 I‘d say Detective Suba you have cracked the case 🕵️‍♀️ 3y
Megabooks Great book! 3y
batsy @Cathythoughts 😆😆 3y
erzascarletbookgasm @Cathythoughts Thank you Cathy! MD, huh..I have a suspect.. 😄 3y
erzascarletbookgasm Thank you Leah! Three words title..that‘s more difficult to guess😂 3y
65 likes25 comments
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Megabooks
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

This book was a pleasure to read, but I had to suspend my knowledge about journalism to believe it. It‘s 1957 and Jean is a spinster living with and caring for her mother while working as a reporter for the local daily. When a woman writes in saying that her daughter is the product of a virgin birth, Jean sets out to investigate while the woman and her daughter go for medical testing. Jean becomes compromisingly involved in the family‘s life. 😬

Megabooks @BarbaraBB thank you very much for this gift! It was definitely a winner! 💜 3y
Megabooks @TheAromaofBooks this is my actual #bookspin! 3y
BarbaraBB It sounds weird! Not sure if I want to read it myself. So this book was 499…. Which means you‘re now into you‘re #DriveTo500 book! 3y
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Megabooks You had to suspend journalistic ethics, but it was a good story! This was 497. I‘m a bit behind on reviews. Still working on reading 499 and 500! 😁 @BarbaraBB (edited) 3y
Cinfhen I keep wavering on reading this book too!! I can‘t wait to see which book will be 500!!!!! 3y
Cathythoughts I really enjoyed this one. That ending ! 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB just tagged y‘all in the 500 post!! I planned to send a update tonight but we have severe storms with tornadoes coming through, so I want to save battery. Mom has packed bags for us because of course! I put Molly‘s bone in, so she has something. 😉 I think things will be okay. 💜 3y
Megabooks @Cathythoughts I know poor Jean!! Interesting book for sure! 3y
Cinfhen Stay safe ♥️ 3y
BarbaraBB Stay safe Meg, it will be quite the adventure for Molly 🐶 3y
Cathythoughts Stay safe in the storm Meg ❤️ 3y
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Kazzie
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
Pickpick

Very well written, insightful story into mid century British life - with an examination of interior thoughts and lives that I haven‘t read much before. Beautiful and sad love story. The protagonist Jean is such a likeable character

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monalyisha
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Another #NewYearWhoDis pick going on my TBR, this time from @LeeRHarry 🌸.

The story centers around a purported Virgin Birth & a lonely reporter who gets all tangled up with the family making the claim. It sounds like there‘s a lot of tenderness, as well as a “ripple of darkness.”

*Longlisted for the Women‘s Prize for Fiction*

#NYWD22

LeeRHarry Hope you enjoy it! It has had mixed reviews but I gave it 5 stars 😊 gorgeous writing and definitely “a ripple of darkness”. (edited) 3y
Clare-Dragonfly What a beautiful cover! And a great author name 😁 3y
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Bookbuyingaddict
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
Pickpick

Wow ! What a wonderful wonderful read ! A bookclub choice for us and I was alittle unsure about it , but it blew me away . The writing style quick and engaging a beautiful story I‘m amazed it‘s so poorly rated on goodreads ! Now want to read everything by this wonderful author

Nute Welcome to Litsy! It‘s a warm and friendly community. I know that you will enjoy yourself here. I‘m looking forward to getting to know you!🙂
Check out #LitsyEvents for a varied listing of fun-related happenings within this neighborhood of fellow readers.🤗
3y
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KarenUK
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

A lovely quiet novel of loneliness and duty with an unusual mystery and a surprising love affair thrown in. Told with simple prose and keenly observed period detail, I was swept along with the story. It‘s a beautifully written 50‘s suburban period piece, where Jean, a young journalist who takes care of her ailing mother, investigates the possibility of a woman‘s virgin birth after receiving an intriguing letter to her local paper.

Cathythoughts I really enjoyed this one ❤️ 3y
squirrelbrain I really liked it too @Cathythoughts ! 3y
KarenUK @Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain I went in not knowing anything about it and it was a nice surprise! 3y
monalyisha Great review! 2y
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

#womensprizelonglist
This was good. Not amazing but a solid 3. Chambers combined 2 historical events that did not take place in the same time or place which I find a bit bizarre. She also barely touches on one of them but make a point of explaining in an author's note why she wrote about both.
Mostly a character study this is a fairly slow read that would have benefited from more action and depth. But I did keep picking it up to finish

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NovelNancyM
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

This novel has strong character development, and a strong sense of time and place. The characters are every day people with not much happiness, but find more through their friendship. There are a couple of plot twists as well making for an enjoyable, quick read.

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ChaoticMissAdventures
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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As a divorce for so long I could be a maiden aunt I love that our view on this station of life has changed!

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Cazxxx
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

Wasn‘t sure about this one but ended up reading it in 2 days and really enjoying it!

Cathythoughts I sooo enjoyed this book ❤️💔 3y
Cazxxx @Cathythoughts I enjoyed it a lot more than I though I would have! 😊 3y
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rachaich
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

Loved it!
Liked the writing, the quirky characters, the era, the relationships. Thought the ending was well done, had to re read it to make sure I'd understood 😗😆🤔 and was surprised by the outcome.
Might find some more of hers.

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rachaich
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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After hearing this on radio 4 I chose it for our book club.
Very readable, like the era, also really unsure if the virgin birth will be true...

Cathythoughts So good. I‘m thinking of choosing it next for our Bookclub ( I loved it ) … and I‘m up next to pick … 😬 3y
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JillR
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

A quiet but captivating story set in the 1950s of Jean, a journalist wanting to prove herself but held back by her demanding mother, and the relationship she forms with the Tilbury family whilst investigating Mrs Tilbury‘s claim of a virgin birth. Jean‘s quiet frustrations and loneliness are so well written and you‘re rooting for her throughout.

TrishB I have this one waiting 👍🏻 lovely review. 3y
LeeRHarry 5 star read for me - loved it. 3y
JillR @trishb hope you enjoy it too 😊 3y
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Eggs 🧡🍊📙👏🏻 3y
21 likes1 comment
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BookishTrish
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Love this cover! #bookmail

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emmaturi
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book. It didn't get on the shortlist for the Women's Price for Fiction. Jean is a journalist and investigates the case of Gretchen who claims to have given birth to a daughter without involvement of a man. Jean becomes friends with the whole family and spends lots of time with them. Which causes a few problems with her own mother who needs help. It is part mystery. It is quite gripping as you want to find out the truth.

Cathythoughts I really enjoyed this book too 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 3y
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nocto
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

Really enjoyed this one. I wasn‘t at all sure that a book about a small town newspaper journalist, in 1957, investigating a story about a woman claiming to have had a virgin birth was going to be up my street but it very much was. Lots of fab female characters and it manages to be uplifting as well as desperately sad.

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AnneCecilie
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

It‘s the 1950s and Jean is working as a writer at the local newspaper. Jean is almost 40, never moved out and therefore still lives with her mother whom she takes care of.

One day at work she gets a letter from a woman claiming that the birth of her now 10 yr old daughter was a virgin birth.

Before Jean knows it, she is more involved in this family than she ever expected to be.

This book had a nostalgic feel to it.

Cathythoughts I really loved this one ❤️ 4y
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nocto
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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All ready with my May #bookspin picks. I finally finished my April book yesterday afternoon. Hopefully the extra day in May will help this month! [Struggling to post this, will it be fourth time lucky?]

nocto And then they all appeared at once. Ooops! 🙁 4y
nocto And tagging @TheAromaofBooks who does a great job of organising this! Thank you! 4y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 4y
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nocto
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Masked raid 😷 of the local bookshop (& coffee shop) went well I think! Latte drunk, time to read!

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kellock
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Ending April with these 4. Tagged book was my favourite I think. Or Hamnet. So hard to pick!

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Cathythoughts
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

I‘ve just finished this book ... OMG what an ending ! Set in 1957 in London & Kent. There were times I could have killed Jean Swinney for all her goodness .. but I never expected that ending. A most engaging story & some lovely writing. I‘d like to read more by this author. So good 👍🏻❤️ another favorite from this year.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love your photo ❤️ 🍎 4y
Cathythoughts @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thanks 👍🏻❤️and it‘s such a good book 4y
squirrelbrain I loved this one too! I still hope that the ending wasn‘t what was implied and that he wasn‘t one of the victims - what do you think? 4y
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LeeRHarry @squirrelbrain he was on the train, it was set up from the beginning, which I had forgotten so promptly burst into tears 😭 4y
Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain oh that‘s a hopeful thought .. I just presumed the worst ! (I‘ll have to stop that thinking 🙄) it was so well done ... you couldn‘t have imagined that ending & yet it all tied in so cleverly ... I‘m looking up others by this author now 4y
Cathythoughts @LeeRHarry I had forgotten that part from the beginning as well ... so clever! What a shocker ... I‘d say she was definitely pregnant too .... you think ? She couldn‘t eat with nausea 4y
LeeRHarry @Cathythoughts yes I think so 4y
BarbaraBB Sold! 🤍 4y
Tamra I must check it out - I love a surprise ending! 4y
LeahBergen I‘m intrigued! 4y
Cathythoughts @BarbaraBB I hope you like it 👍🏻❤️ 4y
Cathythoughts @Tamra It‘s very good ❤️👍🏻 4y
Cathythoughts @LeahBergen I imagine you would like it 👍🏻❤️ 4y
73 likes13 comments
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squirrelbrain
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

Book 11 of the #womensprize longlist.

Loved this tale of a suspected virgin birth in 1950s England. I thought I had the plot all worked out fairly early on, but I was wrong! it would certainly be near the top of my ‘favourites‘ shortlist. I‘m not sure however if it‘s quirky / groundbreaking / different enough to make the actual prize shortlist but I hope it does.

TrishB Interesting 👍🏻 got on offer a couple of weeks ago. 4y
Kalalalatja Great review! 4y
charl08 Love the cover of this one. Hoping to read it soon. 4y
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LeeRHarry Still my favourite so far although I‘ve stalled a bit with reading the list, also a bit behind on my reviews....glad you enjoyed it 😊 4y
Cathythoughts Nice review! I‘m reading this one now & it‘s very good 👍🏻❤️ 4y
eraderneely I thought I had read all the longlist books I was going to manage, then you hit me with a review like that... 4y
squirrelbrain Sorry @eraderneely ! (Not really!) 🤪 4y
84 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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Cathythoughts
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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I need to pick up my pace with the reading ... So , I‘ve ordered some new books from Book Depository & just picked the tagged one up on kindle 🤞🏻
Still on audio with The Lying Life of Adults .. & completely blown away by it

LeahBergen Yay for ordering new books! 😆 4y
Cathythoughts @LeahBergen I know ! It‘s just I need a new bookcase 😬... but I don‘t care , I‘ll put them somewhere, I needed inspiration... ❤️📚 4y
TrishB Don‘t worry about where you put them 😁 I never do! 4y
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Cathythoughts @TrishB I won‘t worry 👍🏻❤️😁 it‘s all good 4y
Mahatma_Canejeeves 😏Really like Book Depository. Ordered a lot from them when I was in Ireland. 😏 4y
Cathythoughts @Arkrayder They are a good crowd to order from ... I really like them too 👍🏻😁 4y
67 likes6 comments
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AnneCecilie
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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It‘s good to know that someone has their priorities right

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kellock
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Pickpick

I loved this. A very different kind of mystery. I thought I was getting the ending I wanted but fear in the end that I didn't 😢

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kellock
Small Pleasures | Clare Chambers
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Same book. New drink. Pimms O'clock 🥃

EvieBee Love me some Pimms! 4y
Cathythoughts Both look good 👍🏻❤️ 4y
21 likes2 comments