My Pick of the Week!

No! I Don’t Want to Join a Book Club: Diary of a 60th Year by Virginia Ironside

Marie Sharp, who is divorced and about to turn 60, has no interest in taking up paragliding or gourmet cooking courses or joining a book club-like many of her 60-ish peers seem to be doing. She is very comfortable with this new phase of her life which brings with it a freedom to do ‘old’ things such as collecting a pension. Marie keeps a diary and her approximately 18 months of entries that make up the narrative offer blunt appraisals of the state of the world, matters of health and family and the good and bad aspects of the Internet age (cut and paste is good; booking travel online is bad). No! I Don’t Want to Join a Book Club is filled with a full gambit of emotions as Marie is thrilled with the news that she is about to become a grandmother; saddened by the illness of one of her best friends; and, skeptical about the possibility of romance with an old crush. Ironside offers a witty and poignant depiction of the challenges and freedoms that come with getting older. A delightful read!