Month: December 2014

January 2015 Book Discussions

December 27, 2014

Stop by the Adult Services Desk at the Main Library (Harnish) to pick up your copies today!

* Book Clubbers – Thursday, January 8th @ 7pm (Harnish)
 Due to the New Year Holiday, Bookclubbers will meet on the second Thursday this month, instead of the usual first Thursday.

What Alice Forgot
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.

 

 

* Spine-crackers – Friday, January 9th @ 10am (Harnish)
Due to the New Year Holiday, Spine-crackers will meet on the second Friday this month, instead of the usual first Friday. 

The Time Keeper
by Mitch Albom

After being punished for trying to measure God’s greatest gift, Father Time returns to Earth along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

 

* Bookalicious – Monday, January 12th @ 7pm at the Village Vintner
Meets the second Monday of each month.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
by Lish McBride

Sam LaCroix, a Seattle fast-food worker and college dropout, discovers that he is a necromancer, part of a world of harbingers, werewolves, satyrs, and one particular necromancer who sees Sam as a threat to his lucrative business of raising the dead.

 

Nite Readers – Thursday, January 15th @ 7pm (Harnish)
Meets the third Thursday of the month.

Blood From a Stone
by Donna Leon

On a cold Venetian night shortly before Christmas, a street vendor is killed in a scuffle in Campo San Stefano. the closest witnesses are the tourists who had been browsing the man’s wares before his death–fake handbags of every designer label. The dead man had been working as a vu cumpra, one of the many African immigrants purveying goods outside normal shop hours and without work permits. Commissario Brunetti’s response is that of everybody involved: Why would anyone kill an illegal immigrant? Once Brunetti begins to investigate this unfamiliar Venetian underworld, he discovers that matters of great value are at stake. Warned by Patta, his supervisor, to resist further involvement in the case, how far will Brunetti be able to penetrate the murky subculture of Venice’s illegal community?

Classics Book Club
Usually meets the third Wednesday of each month.
Wednesday, January 21st @ 7pm (Harnish)

Our Mutual Friend
by Charles Dickens

After John Harmon is murdered on his way to marry Bella Wilfer and receive a large inheritance, his father’s assistant, Nicodemus Boffin, becomes the new heir and adopts Bella, who evokes an uncommon interest from Boffin’s assistant.

LibraryReads Favorite of Favorites 2014

December 10, 2014

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry:
A Novel
by Gabrielle Zevin

“A middle-aged bookseller mourning his lost wife, a feisty publisher’s rep, and a charmingly precocious abandoned child come together on a small island off the New England coast in this utterly delightful novel of love and second chances.”

- Beth Mills, New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY

The Rosie Project: A Novel
by Graeme Simsion

“Don Tillman, a brilliant geneticist, thinks that having women fill out a six-page, double-sided questionnaire before a date is logical and reasonable. Rosie Jarman, an impetuous barmaid, thinks Don should loosen up and learn to live a little. Follow the unlikely pair in this laugh-out-loud, feel-good story of unexpected joys, discovery and love.”

- Paulette Brooks, Elm Grove Public Library, Elm Grove, WI

All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel
by Anthony Doerr
Published: 5/6/2014 by Scribner
ISBN: 9781476746586

“Set during World War II Europe, this novel is sobering without being sentimental. The tension builds as the alternating, parallel stories of Werner and Marie-Laure unfold, and their paths cross. I highly recommend this beautiful and compelling story.”

- Kelly Currie, Delphi Public Library, Delphi, IN

Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell

“At turns funny, sweet, smart, and sad, Fangirl traces Cath’s journey to independence as she begins college, struggles to have an identity separate from her twin sister, find her voice and passion as a writer and fall in love, maybe, for the first time. As sharp and emotionally resonant as Rowell’s previous novel, Eleanor & Park.”

- Stephanie Chase, Hillsboro Public Library, Hillsboro, OR

The Goldfinch
by Donna Tartt

“Fans of The Secret History will rediscover the Tartt they loved back in 1992. Readers who love the novelist for her richly developed, dark, multi-layered characters and thoroughly researched topics will not be disappointed. Tartt pulls together many threads of a story across a long span of pages and into a complete masterpiece.”

- Kim Dorman, Princeton Public Library, Princeton, NJ

We Were Liars
by E. Lockhart

“This brilliant and heartbreaking novel tells the story of a prestigious family living on a private island off the coast of Massachusetts. Full of love, lies, secrets, no shortage of family dysfunction, and a shocking twist that you won’t see coming. Though this book is written for teens, it shouldn’t be overlooked by anyone looking for a fantastic read.”

- Susan Balla, Fairfield Public Library, Fairfield, CT

Station Eleven: A Novel
by Emily St. John Mandel

“An actor playing King Lear dies onstage just before a cataclysmic event changes the future of everyone on Earth. What will be valued and what will be discarded? Will art have a place in a world that has lost so much? What will make life worth living? These are just some of the issues explored in this beautifully written dystopian novel. Recommended for fans of David Mitchell, John Scalzi and Kate Atkinson.”

- Janet Lockhart, Wake County Public Libraries, Cary, NC

One Plus One: A Novel
by Jojo Moyes
Published: 7/1/2014 by Pamela Dorman Books
ISBN: 9780525426585

“A single mom, her math genius daughter, her eye-shadow-wearing stepson, a wealthy computer geek and a smelly dog all get into a car…it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but it’s actually another charming novel from Jojo Moyes. It’s more of a traditional romance than Me Before You, but will also appeal to fans of quirky, hard-working characters. A quick read and perfect for summer.”

- Emily Wichman, Clermont County Public Library, Milford, OH

Landline
by Rainbow Rowell

“Landline explores the delicate balance women make between work and family, considering the tradeoffs and pain. Rowell has a special gift for offering incredible insights into ordinary life. Never heavy-handed, Rowell’s writing is delivered with humor and grace. I finish all of her books wanting to laugh and cry at the same time–they are that moving. Landline captured my heart.”

- Andrea Larson, Cook Memorial Public Library, Libertyville, IL

Longbourn: A Novel
by Jo Baker

“Using Pride and Prejudice’s familiar setting and characters, Baker tells a very different story of family, love and self-discovery. Bold and intelligent, Sarah is an orphaned housemaid whose days are filled with hard, body-punishing work. Baker doesn’t sugar-coat. A beautiful, uplifting novel full of mystery, hope and romance. Highly recommended for Austen fans and historical fiction readers.”

- Jenifer May, Secaucus Public Library, Secaucus, NJ

December 2014 Book Discussions

December 2, 2014

Stop by the Adult Services Desk at the Main Library (Harnish) to pick up your copies today!

* Book Clubbers
Meets the first Thursday of each month.
Thursday, December 4th @ 7pm

The Chaperone
by Laura Moriarty

A novel about the friendship between an adolescent, pre-movie-star Louise Brooks, and the 36-year-old woman who chaperones her to New York City for a summer, in 1922, and how it changes both their lives.

 

 

* Spine-crackers
Meets the first Friday of each month.
Friday, December 5th @ 10am
(Note: Meets at EASTGATE BRANCH this month)

A Christmas Memory
by Truman Capote

A reminiscence of a Christmas shared by a seven-year-old boy and an older childlike woman, with enormous love and friendship between them.

 

 

* Bookalicious
Meets the second Monday of each month.
Monday, December 8th @ 7pm at the Village Vintner

Jellicoe Road
by Melina Marchetta

Abandoned by her drug-addicted mother at the age of eleven, high school student Taylor Markham struggles with her identity and family history at a boarding school in Australia.

 

 

Classics Book Club
Usually meets the third Wednesday of each month.
Wednesday, December 10th @ 7pm (Harnish
(Note: meets 2nd Wednesday this month)

A Separate Peace
by John Knowles

Gene Forrester looks back fifteen years to a World War II year in which he and his best friend were roommates in a New Hampshire boarding school.

 

 

Nite Readers
Meets the third Thursday of the month.
Thursday, December 18th @ 7pm

The Snow Child
by Eowyn Ivey

Alaska in the 1920s is a difficult place for Jack and Mabel. Drifting apart, the childless couple discover Faina, a young girl living alone in the wilderness. Soon, Jack and Mabel come to love Faina as their own. But when they learn a surprising truth about the girl, their lives change in profound ways.