When production for Home & Away was put on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Summer Bay regulars Ada Nicodemou and Lynne McGranger spent their free time reading.
WATCH: Ada Nicodemou and Lynne McGranger start a bookclub in lockdown
So much so, in fact, that the soap actors, who play Leah Patterson-Baker and Irene Roberts on the show, decided to team up and start a virtual book club, where they dissect each novel over a live video chat.
Over a year later, the virtual bookclub is still going strong, with the actors having built a community of readers within their fan-base.
So, in the interest of all you avid readers, we figured we’d round up all of Ada and Lynne’s bookclub picks.
From Still Life by Sarah Winman to The Mothers by Genevieve Gannon, scroll on for your next binge-read.
Set in 1944 Italy, Still Life follows the story of a young British soldier, Ulysses, and a sexagenarian art historian and possible spy, Evelyn. As war wreaks havoc around them, the two strangers meet and find kindred spirits in each other.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $24.75.
If you’re a fan of a thriller, this novel involving modern-day pirates, familial relations, and betrayals is right up your alley.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $25.75.
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This historical and psychological fiction novel centres around four famous siblings who throw an end of summer party. But their lives quickly change forever.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $24.75.
A romance and psychological thriller, The Mistake centres around two sisters who could not be less alike, and their respective romantic lives. One is married but is finding herself attracted to someone else. And one falls head over heels for the seemingly perfect man, until she finds out he’s been hiding things from her.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $24.75.
below deck by Sophie Hardcastle
Sophie Hardcastle’s debut centres around 21-year-old Olivia who wakes up on a boat with no memory of how she ended up there. She then accepts the help of two strangers who change her life forever.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $17.95.
This crime novel surrounds a group of teenage girls who go missing in the haunted Tasmanian wilderness, deemed “The Bluffs”. A father of one of the missing students becomes a prime suspect. But Detective Con Badenhorst is adamant that everyone in the town is hiding something.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $17.95.
I Give my Marriage a Year by Holly Wainwright
In this contemporary fiction novel, after a fraught Christmas together, Lou begins to question her 14-year marriage to Josh, with whom she shares two kids, a mortgage, careers, and a lot of history.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $18.75.
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
In this crime novel, five women go on a hike for a team-building exercise but only four return. The one that doesn’t just so happens to be a whistle-blower in a corporate fraud case.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $18.75.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Daisy Jones & The Six follows the rise and fall of a rock band of the 1970s. Daisy is the songwriter and drug addict. Camilla is the frontman’s wife. Karen is the keyboardist. And then there’s the men in their lives.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $14.95.
the end of cuthbert close by Cassie Hamer
They live next door to each other, but they couldn’t be more different. And when a new neighbour comes to town with total disregard for Cuthbert Close’s traditions, Cara, Alex and Beth all have different ideas as to how to handle the situation.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $22.35.
This highly regarded memoir covers Tara Westover’s struggle for self-invention. She grew up without school or medical records, a radical father, and a violent brother. At the age of 16, she decided to educate herself.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $17.25.
The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth
This page-turner is a story about a tricky relationship between a daughter- and mother-in-law. Lucy knew she’d never be close with her husband’s mother, who was a pillar of her community. 10 years later, Diana is found dead along with a suicide note. But the autopsy tells a different story.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $16.90.
This crime novel focuses around the murder of the Hadler family. It was ruled a murder-suicide, but as facts start to surface, Federal Police investigator Aaraon Falk begins to have his doubts.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $18.25.
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
It is the first book in Lucinda Riley’s popular series. Maia D’Apliése and her five sisters congregate at their childhood home – which just so happens to be a castle – after news that their adoptive father has died. Each of them is then given a clue about their true heritage.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $17.80.
The Mothers by Genevieve Gannon
This family drama was inspired by a real-life IVF laboratory mix up. When a woman learns that her embryo was implanted in another woman’s uterus, she must decide whether to remain childless while knowing her son is being raised by strangers, or seek custody of her baby.
You can purchase it via Booktopia, for currently $21.75.
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