Adult Book Group

Would you like the opportunity to read a book and then discuss it with someone else who has read the same book?

You can at the Library. A group of people meet at the library every second Tuesday of each month at 4 p.m. to share their insights, likes, and dislikes about the book they have read for that particular month.

Joining the book group is free and easy. You must be 18 or older. Simply show up on the second Tuesday of a month and get signed up. If you wish to purchase the books to be read, they will be offered at a minimal cost. The Book Group meets from 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Upcoming reads for the following months:

August: The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

September: The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn

October: Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs

One of our Club Members , Barb Jenshak ,has agreed to give us a book review.  Thanks Barb!

This month the book group read Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson.  This book is an award winner but very complex to read.  It shifts times and perception of what is going on is difficult to follow.  It is a good read for those people looking for a challenging read and not just a good storyline.

The book group has changed its structure a little.  The way it will work is that everyone is invited to read and discuss one central book each month.  In addition people may suggest books that they have read.  Each month there will be suggestions for those who may be looking for a good book on a cold winter night.

This month's suggestions are Where the Wild Rose Blooms by Lori Wick.  It is the first book in a series that is about settlers in the west.  It is designated as a Christian book.  Another suggestion is the William Monk mysteries series by Anne Perry.  They are set in Victorian England and the descriptions and characters are very interesting as well as a very gripping mystery in each book. 

Hope everyone is able to enjoy some of these suggestions and come to the book group with some suggestions for us as well.

The October book for the Library Book club was “The Art of Racing in the Rain”, a novel written by Garth Stein.  It is an entertaining book that has the added ‘hook’ of having the book narrated by Enzo, the main character’s dog.  The dog, who has educated himself in human ways by watching television programs on the TV that is left on for him to keep him company during the day when everyone is at work,  is both storyteller and philosopher.  He is an observer of almost all action/conversation in the book.  The philosophical statements are inserted through racing strategies the dog has gained from his race car driver master.  For example: “Racing is about discipline and intelligence, not about who has the heavier foot.  The one who drives smart will always win in the end.”  The story is one of families at their best and at their worst of times.  It is enriching to read and wonderful to discuss.  I recommend very highly “ The Art of Racing in the Rain.”  Read it yourself and then pass it on to a friend.

The King’s Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi is not the script of the wonderful award winning movie. It is a non-fiction book that is taken directly from the diaries of Lionel Logue, the therapist who worked with King George VI on his stutter. The diaries were found by Lionel’s grandson, Mark, and then he and Peter Conradi put together this book which provides background to the lives of the two men. For anyone who has seen the movie this enriches your understanding of how each man came to the place that the movie begins and takes you past the spot in each of their lives when the movie ends. The professional and friendly relationship of the two men lasted for the duration of their lives.

The book provides pictures of the actual events that are enacted in the movie. It is not a dry textbook approach but an enjoyable read behind the scenes in the lives of two men, unlikely to form a friendship, but through the demand of their professional lives they gain respect and friendship for each other.

This book I highly recommend (and then get the DVD again and watch a great movie!).

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a very rare book.  It is enjoyed by men and women.  It is only 127 pages long and would appear to be an easy read but actually can be read on many different levels.  It won a Pulitzer Prize and was listed as an example of excellence when Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature.  It was the final book that he published during his lifetime.  It was tremendously popular when it initially came out first in magazine form and then as a stand alone book.  I could go on and on about the history of this book.

Do yourself a favor and read the book for yourself for whatever reason you choose.  It can be an adventure tale.  It can be looked at with its many religious illusions.  It can be a story of Hemingways's fascination with nature.  It can be a picture of Hemingway's belief that machismo/manhood is what is most important in life.  Read it for the beauty of the descriptive narrative that Hemingway is a master of.  I am sure that whatever the reason that you pick the little masterpiece up you will be rewarded for your efforts.

The Help was written by Kathryn Stockett and is set in the 1960's Civil Rights Movement era.  It is set in a town in the South and is told from the point of view of two Black women who work as domestics in the homes of white families of the time and a White woman who has graduated from college, is not married, and doesn't fit into the discriminatory life that she returns to.  Each of these women has a strong, brave character that enobles them as they work their way through the story.  Each of the women have suffered from prejudices of the time.  Each of the women play out their story against the actual historical happenings of the times.  This is a touching, admirable, detailed perspective of all of the dynamic forces which were changing at the time and the painful interplay of attitudes that have lead us to where we are today in race relations.  An excellent book to enjoy and to learn from.

"A Name of Her Own" by Jane Kirkpatrick is part of her "The Tender Ties
Historical Series". It is a novel based on the true story of Marie Dorion who in the early years of the 19th century made a trip with her husband and sons similar to the trip of Lewis and Clark earlier. She is an Indian woman married to a French Canadian hunter/trapper/guide/interpreter for an expedition beginning in St. Louis to reach the Pacific Ocean. Reading the book gives you the feeling of being on the trip. It is sometimes plodding, sometimes dangerous, sometimes brutal, sometimes spectacular. By its end you come to admire the immense courage of Marie and women like her who carried the sense of family with them as they tackled many unknowns to settle the Pacific Northwest. It wasn't always easy. They faced many setbacks both personal and physical.
But ultimately Marie and those like her survived and provided an example for many of the men she traveled with. This is the story of a strong woman and her triumph over unimaginable circumstances. You cannot read the book without admiring this woman.