Afternoon Book Discussions

Join us for our Afternoon Book Discussions, held on the third Wednesday of every month from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. We select books from a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, encourage lively discussion, and enjoy delicious refreshments. The reading selections for the first half of 2018 are:

January 17^th -- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking/ written by Susan Cain. Demonstrates how introverted people are misunderstood and undervalued in modern culture, charting the rise of extrovert ideology while sharing anecdotal examples of how to use introvert talents to adapt to various situations.

February 21^st – The Little Paris Bookshop: A Novel/written by Nina George. Prescribing books that offer therapeutic benefits to his customers, a literary apothecary in a floating bookstore on the Seine struggles with private heartbreak before embarking on a journey of healing at the side of a blocked writer and a lovelorn chef.

March 21^st – I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban/written by Malala Yousafzai. Describes the life of the young Pakistani student who advocated for women’s rights and education in the Taliban-controlled Swat Valley, survived an assassination attempt, and became the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

April 18^th – All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel/written by Anthony Doerr. A blind French girl on the run from the German occupation and a German orphan-turned-Resistance tracker struggle with respective beliefs after meeting on the Brittany coast.

May 16^th – The Cuckoo’s Calling/written by Robert Galbraith. Working as a private investigator after losing his leg in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike takes the case of a legendary supermodel’s suspicious suicide and finds himself in a world of multi-millionaire beauties, rock star boyfriends, desperate designers, and hedonist pursuits.

June 20^th – Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation/written by Cokie Roberts. Explores the lives of women who helped shape the United States, profiling such key figures as Abigail Adams, Eliza Pinkney, Dolley Payne Madison, Deborah Read Franklin, and Catherine Littlefield Greene. 

Afternoon Book Discussions: July through December 2017

Join us for our afternoon book discussions, held on the third Wednesday each month, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Here is what is scheduled for the second half of 2017.

            On July 19^th, we will discuss The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood. This chilling look at the near future presents the story of Offred, a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, once the United States. Now it is an oppressive world where women are no longer allowed to read and are valued only as long as they are viable for reproduction. There will be an additional discussion of this book on Tuesday, July 18^th at 7:00 p.m. Registration begins June 21^st.

            On August 16^th, we will discuss The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coehlo. This classic work is a fable about undauntingly following one’s dream, listening to one’s heart, and reading life’s omens, featuring dialogue between a boy and an unnamed being. Registration begins July 19^th.

            On September 20^th, we will discuss The Buried Giant, written by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is a novel that imagines a war-ravaged Britain where Axl and Beatrice, an elderly Briton couple set out on a journey to find the son they have not seen in years. They are joined in their travels by a Saxon warrior, his orphaned charge, and a knight. Registration begins August 16^th.

            On October 18^th, we will discuss Hidden Figures: the American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, written by Margot Lee Shetterly. Here is an account of the previously unheralded but pivotal contributions of NASA’s African-American women mathematicians to America’s space program, even while they were segregated from their white counterparts by Jim Crow laws. Registration begins September 20^th.

            On November 15^th, we will discuss Girl on the Train, written by Paula Hawkins. The thriller portrays Rachel, a woman who tries to escape the pain of her own losses by obsessively watching a breakfasting couple every day while on her train ride. Then she witnesses a shocking event that inextricably entangles her in the lives of strangers. Registration begins October 18^th.

            On December 20^th, we will discuss Swans of Fifth Avenue: a Novel, written by Melanie Benjamin. This is a fictionalized version of the friendship between writer Truman Capote and New York City socialite Babe Paley, and its resulting emotional destruction. Registration begins November 15^th.

            Please join us for one or all of these discussions.

           

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Afternoon Book Discussions: January through June 2017

            Join us for our afternoon book discussions, held on the third Wednesday each month, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Here is what is scheduled for the first half of 2017.

            My Beloved World is written by Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic American Supreme Court Justice. She shares the story of her life before becoming a judge, describing her youth in a Bronx housing project, the ambition that fueled her Ivy League education, and the individuals who helped shape her career. The discussion takes place on January 18^th.

            Girl Waits with Gun, a novel, is written by Amy Stewart. Living in virtual isolation years after the revelation of a painful family secret, Constance Kopp is terrorized by a belligerent silk factory owner and fight back in ways outside the norm for early twentieth-century women. The discussion takes place on February 15^th.

            Mountains beyond Mountains is written by Tracy Kidder; it is a portrait of infectious disease expert Dr. Paul Farmer, following the efforts of this unconventional Harvard genius to understand the world’s great health, economic, and social problems and to bring healing to humankind. The discussion takes place on March 15^th.

            Circling the Sun: a Novel is written by Paula McLain. It is about aviator Beryl Markham, who was raised by her father and the Kipsigis tribe in 1920s Kenya. Beryl endures painful losses before entering a passionate love triangle and discovering her unconventional true calling. The discussion takes place on April 19^th.

            Nora Webster: a Novel, is written by Colm Toibin. Struggling with grief and financial hardships after the death of her beloved husband, widow Nora Webster struggles to support her four children and clings to secrecy in the intrusive community of her childhood before finding her voice. The discussion takes place on May 17^th.

            The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, is written by Rebecca Skloot. It documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping. The discussion takes place on June 21^st.

            

Afternoon Book Discussions

     Join us for our afternoon book discussions; they take place on the third Wednesday of each month from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. We just have released our schedule for the second half of 2016. It is as follows:

Wednesday, July 20^th; registration begins June 15^th. The Last Runaway. Written by Tracy Chevalier.   Forced to leave England and struggling with illness in the wake of a family tragedy, Quaker Honor Bright is forced to rely on strangers in the harsh landscape of 1850 Ohio and is compelled to join the Underground Railroad network to help runaway slaves escape to freedom.

Wednesday, August 17^th; registration begins July20^th. Dead Wake: the Last Crossing of the Lusitania. Written by Erik Larson. A chronicle of the sinking of the Lusitania discusses the factors that led to the tragedy and the contributions of such figures as Woodrow Wilson, bookseller Charles Lauriat, and architect Theodate Pope Riddle.

Wednesday, September 21^st; registration begins August 17^th. The Wright Brothers. Written by David McCullough. Chronicles the story-behind-the-story about the Wright brothers, sharing insights into the disadvantages that challenged their lives and their mechanical ingenuity.

Wednesday, October 19^th; registration begins September 21^st. The Light between Oceans. Written by M.L. Stedman. Moving his young bride to an isolated lighthouse on Australia’s Janus Rock where the couple suffers miscarriages and a stillbirth, Tom allows his wife to claim an infant who has washed up on the shore only to witness a rift in their marriage that is further complicated by a search by the baby’s desperate mother.

Wednesday, November 16^th; registration begins October 19^th. The Silent Wife: a Novel. Written by A.S.A. Harrison.Told in alternating voices, this gripping novel follows the events leading up to the violent dissolution of Jodi and Todd’s marriage – a union steeped in lies, infidelity, jealousy and denial.

Wednesday, December 21^st; registration begins November 16^th. Girls of Atomic City: the Untold Story of the Women who Helped Win World War II. Written by Denise Kiernan. Looks at the valuable contributions made by the thousands of women who worked at a secret uranium-enriching facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during World War II.

Book Discussions: January through June, 2016

Join us once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, to discuss a fiction or non-fiction book selection. Coffee, tea, and cookies are served. Books are available at the Circulation Desk four weeks before the discussion date. Our schedule is:

          January 20^th: The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics is written by Daniel James Brown. It traces the story of an American rowing team from the University of Washington that defeated elite rivals at Hitler’s 1936 Berlin Olympics, sharing the experiences of such contributors as their enigmatic coach, a visionary boat builder and a homeless teen rower. Registration begins December 16^th.

         February 17^th: The History of Love is written by Nicole Krauss. This is a novel about a man named Leo Gursky, who reminisces about his lost love, missing son, and the publication of his book. Meanwhile, a teenage girl named for one of the book’s characters seeks her namesake, as well as a cure for her widowed mother’s loneliness. Registration begins January 20^th.

         March 16^th: The Art Forger: a Novel is written by Barbara Shapiro. It is about an artist with a tarnished reputation who stumbles on a piece of art that disappeared twenty-five years ago. She agrees to forge it for a gallery owner but then realizes that the art she is forging may itself be a forgery. Registration begins February 17^th.

          April 20^th: The Weird Sisters is written by Eleanor Brown. It is about three sisters who are unwillingly brought together to care for their ailing mother; they discover that everything they have been avoiding may prove more worthwhile than expected. Registration begins March 16^th.

          May 18^th: Time and Again is written by Jack Finney. Here, Simon Morley is selected by a secret government agency to test Einstein’s theory of the past co-existing with the present and is transported back to 1880s New York. Registration begins April 20th.

          June 15^th: Unbroken: a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is written by Laura Hillenbrand. It relates the story of a U.S. airman who survived when his bomber crashed into the sea during World War II, spent forty-seven days adrift in the ocean before being rescued by the Japanese Navy, and was held as a prisoner until the end of the war. Registration begins May 18^th.

Afternoon Book Discussions/July through December 2015

     Join us once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, to discuss a fiction or non-fiction book selection. Coffee, tea and cookies are served. Books are available at the Circulation Desk four weeks before the discussion date. Our schedule is:

 July 15^th                       Registration begins June 17^th

The City of Falling Angels
Written by John Berendt
          Traces the aftermath of the 1996 Venice Opera House fire, an event that devastated Venetian society and was investigated by the author, who through interviews with such locals as a suicidal poet, a surrealist painter, and a master glassblower learned about the region’s rich cultural history.

August 19^th                 Registration begins July 15^th

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
Written by Anthony Bourdain
         A New York City chef who is also a novelist recounts his experiences in the restaurant business and exposes abuses of power, sexual promiscuity, drug use, and other secrets of life behind kitchen doors.

September 16^th            Registration begins August 19^th

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker
Written by Jennifer Chiaverini
         Presents a fictionalized account of the friendship between Mary Todd Lincoln and her dressmaker Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave.

October 21^st                Registration begins September 16^th

Defending Jacob
Written by William Landay
         When his fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student, assistant district attorney Andy Barber is torn between loyalty and justice as facts come to light that lead him to question how well he knows his own son.

November 18^th            Registration begins October 21^st

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin
Written by Erik Larson
         Documents the efforts of the first American ambassador to Hitler’s Germany, William E. Dodd, to acclimate to a residence in an increasingly violent city where he is forced to associate with the Nazis while his daughter pursues a relationship with Gestapo chief Rudolf Diels.

December 16^th             Registration begins November 18^th

What Alice Forgot
Written by Liane Moriarty
         Suffering an accident that causes her to forget the last ten years of her life, Alice is astonished to discover that she is thirty-nine years old, a mother of three children, and in the midst of an acrimonious divorce from a man she dearly loves.

 

 

Afternoon Book Discussions

Join us once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, to discuss a fiction or non-fiction book selection. Coffee, tea and cookies are served. Books are available at the Circulation Desk four weeks before the discussion date. Our schedule is:

January 21^st                

The Beautiful Mystery, written by Louise Penny
When a peaceful monastery in Quebec is shattered by the murder of their renowned choir director, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Saurete du Quebec are challenged to find the killer in a cloistered community that has taken a vow of silence.

February 18^th

Gone Girl, written by Gillian Flynn
When a woman goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary, her diary reveals hidden turmoil in her marriage, while her husband, desperate to clear himself of suspicion, realizes that something more disturbing than murder may have occurred.

March 18^th

Shoemaker’s Wife, written by Adriana Trigiani
Follows star-crossed lovers, Enza, a practical beauty and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who, after their first meeting in the Italian Alps, find their destinies inexplicably entwined as they build their lives in America.

April 15^th

Transatlantic, written by Colum McCann
A tale spanning one hundred fifty years and two continents reimagines the peace efforts of democracy champion Frederick Douglass, Senator George Mitchell, and World War I airmen John Alcock and Teddy Brown through the experiences of four generations of women.

May 20^th

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, written by Gilbert King
Chronicles a little-known court case in which Thurgood Marshall successfully saved a black citrus worker from the electric chair after the worker was accused of raping a white woman with three other black men.

June 17^th

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, written by Cheryl Strayed
Traces the personal crisis the author endured after the death of her mother and a painful divorce, which prompted her ambition to undertake a dangerous 1,100-mile solo hike that both drove her to rock bottom and helped her to heal.

 

Short Story Discussion Group

No time to read a whole novel? Why not try our short story discussion
group? Our group meets every second Friday of the month at 11 a.m.

Upcoming sessions:
     July 13 -- The Stories of Junot Diaz
     August 11 -- The Stories of H.G. Wells.
 
Pick up stories at the Circulation Desk.

Afternoon Book Discussions

Join us once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, to discuss a fiction or non-fiction book selection. Coffee, tea and cookies are served. Books are available at the Circulation Desk four weeks before the discussion date. Our schedule is:

January 19th
“Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books”, by Aaron Lansky

February 16th
“Friday Night Knitting Club”, by Kate Jacobs

March 16th
“Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love”, by Dava Sobel

April 20th
“Three Junes”, by Julia Glass

May 18th
“The Lost Painting”, by Jonathan Harr

June 15th
“Art of Racing in the Rain”, by Garth Stein

Afternoon Book Discussions

Join us once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, to discuss a fiction or non-fiction book selection. Coffee, tea and cookies are served. Books are available at the Circulation Desk four weeks before the discussion date. Our schedule is:

July 21st
“The Space Between Us: A Novel” by Thrity N. Umrigar

August 18th
“Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer

September 15th
“The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir” by Bill Bryson

October 20th
“Isaac’s Storm” by Erik Larson

November 17th
“Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy” by Carlos Eire

December 15th
“The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox” by Maggie O’Farrell.

Afternoon Book Discussions

Join us once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, to discuss a fiction or non-fiction book selection. Coffee, tea and cookies are served. Books are available at the Circulation Desk four weeks before the discussion date. Our schedule is:

January 20th
"The Senator’s Wife" by Sue Miller

February 17th
"The Nanny Diaries" by Emma McLaughlin

March 17th
"The Omnivore’s Dilemma: a Natural History of Four Meals" by Michael Pollan

April 21st
"West of Then: A Mother, a Daughter and a Journey Past Paradise" by Tara Bray Smith

May 19th
"Snow in August" by Pete Hamill

June 16th
"The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story" by Diane Ackerman

Afternoon Book Discussions

Join us once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., to discuss a fiction or non-fiction book selection. Coffee, tea and cookies are served. Books are available at the Circulation Desk three weeks before the discussion date. Our schedule is:

Wednesday, July 15th
Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

Wednesday, August 19th
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

Wednesday, September 16th
North River: A Novel by Pete Hamill

Wednesday, October 21st
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year
of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

Wednesday, November 18th
Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir from an Atomic Town by Kelly McMasters

Wednesday, December 16th
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen: How One Girl Risked Her Marriage, Her Job, And Her Sanity to Master the Art of Living by Julie Powell

Afternoon Book Discussions

Join us once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, to discuss a fiction or non-fiction book selection. Coffee, tea and cookies are served. Books are available at the Circulation Desk three weeks before the discussion date. Our schedule is:

Wednesday, January 21st
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

Wednesday, February 18th
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Letham

Wednesday, March 18th (postponed from an earlier date)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything across Italy, India and Indonesia

Wednesday, April 15th
Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt

Wednesday, May 20th
Persuasion by Jane Austen

Wednesday, June 17th
The 10th Circle by Jodi Picoult

Afternoon Book Discussions

Join us once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, to discuss a fiction or non-fiction book selection. Coffee, tea and cookies are served. Books are available at the Circulation Desk three weeks before the discussion date. Our schedule is:

Wednesday, July 16th
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Wednesday, August 20th
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl
Wednesday, September 17th
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Wednesday, October 15th
Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Wednesday, November 19th
Loving Frank: A Novel by Nancy Horan
Wednesday, December 17th
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert