May 2025 Book Nominees

Here are the books that were presented to vote on. Ballots will be emailed out to you and results will be posted here and on Facebook and also emailed out.

 

Kristil

Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

 

Alison

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

 

Brenda

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

 

Nancy

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

 

Kristi 

The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson

From Rocket Boys to October Sky by Homer Hickam

 

Jodi T.

Lifeboat 12 & Lifeboat 5 by Susan Hood

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka

 

Ashley

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt

Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

 

Jodi L.

Refugee by Alan Gratz

The Girl in His Shadow by Audrey Blake

 

Racheal

The Luck of the Bodkins by P.G. Wodehouse

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

 

Jenny R.

The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

 

Laurel

Wish You Well by David Baldacci

The Rim of the Prairie by Bess Streeter Aldrich

Book Voting Results!

Here are the results of the book voting! The books in red are the winners. The top-rated book from each person was selected. Then, since we had 7 people suggest books, but need 8 books to fill our schedule, I put all the books in rated order and selected the top-rated book of those not already chosen, to fill out our schedule.

Scroll down to check out the schedule. If you know your date to host won't work for you, let me know and I can shuffle things around. (The date for May is the 2^nd Tuesday of the month instead of the 1st since the high school year-end choir concert traditionally falls on the previous Tuesday.)

 

 

 

May 2024 Book Nominees

Here are the nominees for our upcoming schedule. Click each title to read the book summary and reader reviews. Check your email for your ballot to cast your vote.

 

Jodi L.

Charming Artemis by Sarah M Eden

 Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Jenny R.

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

Brenda

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Laurel

Dracula by Bram Stoker

His Excellency by Joseph J. Ellis

 

Racheal

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

 

Nancy

Newton and Polly by Jody Hedlund 

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Jodi T.

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

 

2023-2024 Book Voting Results

 

May 2023 Book Nominees

These are the nominees for our upcoming schedule. Click each title to read the book summary and reader reviews. Check your email for your ballot to cast your vote. 

Jodi Lundmark
Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, by Fredrik Backman
A Girl of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton Porter

Laurel
Seven Miracles that Saved America, Chris and Ted Stewart
All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot

Brenda
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute

Nancy
The Reading List, by Sara Nisha Adams
West with Giraffes, by Lynda Rutledge

Racheal
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
A Long Way from Chicago & A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck

Alanna
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, by T. Kingfisher
Tender Leaves of Hope, by Meghan Decker

Jenny
The Pioneers, by David McCollough
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

Jodi Tolman
The Sun Does Shine, by Anthony Ray Hinton
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, by Dan Gemeinhart

2022-2023 Book Voting Results

Here are the results of the book voting. The titles in blue will be on our new reading schedule. The top rated book from each person was chosen, then to fill out the rest of the months, the next two top rated books are also included. I've created a schedule below. If your assigned month doesn't work for you, just let me know and we can make a switch.

 Happy reading!

 

May 2022 Book Nominees

These are the nominees for our upcoming schedule. Click each title to read the book summary and reader reviews. Check your email for your ballot to cast your vote. 

Tiffany
The Power of Stillness by Jacob Z. Hess
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Jenny
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Brenda
We Die Alone by David Howarth
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Becky
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Jodi
Confessions of an Imaginary Friend by Michelle Cuevas
Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Nancy
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery

Alanna
The True Bride and the Shoemaker by L. Palmer
Landing It by Scott Hamilton

2021-2022 Reading Schedule

Here is the new schedule for the next year. Below you will also see the voting results. I took the top -rated book from each person, then took the next highest-rated book to fill in the extra remaining month in our schedule. Looks like a great year of books!

The Nominees...

Here are the books that are on the ballot for our schedule for the next year. A link to the ballot will be emailed to you to cast your votes. Click the titles below to read summaries and reviews for each book.

Tami
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

Nancy
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
The Scavenger's Daughters by Kay Bratt

Becky
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Cara
Where the Wind Leads by Vinh Chung
The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King

Jodi
All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

Jenny
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson
Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

Amy
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin

Rosanne
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

2020-2021 Schedule

Here is our new book group schedule! Since we only had 5 people recommend books, we decided to keep all of them to fill our 10 month schedule. We will be meeting via Zoom until conditions improve.

2020

June 9: The Vow by Kim Carpenter (Jodi)

July 7 (or August 4): I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (Rosanne)

September 1: Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks (Nancy)

October 6: Lovely War by Julie Berry (Tami)

November 3: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Jenny)

December 1: The Miracle and Tragedy of Dionne Quintuplets by Sarah Miller (Jodi)

2021

January 5: Into the Arms of Strangers by Mark Jonathan Harris (Rosanne)

February 4: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Nancy)

March 11: The Storyteller’s Secret by Sejal Badani (Tami)

April 8: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (Jenny)

May 13: Recommend new books

2019-2020 Voting Results and Schedule

Here are the results of the voting! Looks like we have some great books coming up!

The Nominees...

Here are the books to vote on for the upcoming year. You will receive a link to the ballot via email. Click the book titles below to read reviews and more information about each book.


We Were the Lucky Ones
by Georgia Hunter
Recommended by Jenny

It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety.

As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere.

An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century’s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.


The Ginger Tree
by Oswalk Wynd
Recommended by Jenny

In 1903, a young Scotswoman named Mary Mackenzie sets sail for China to marry her betrothed, a military attaché in Peking. But soon after her arrival, Mary falls into an adulterous affair with a young Japanese nobleman, scandalizing the British community. Casting her out of the European community, her compatriots tear her away from her small daughter. A woman abandoned and alone, Mary learns to survive over forty tumultuous years in Asia, including two world wars and the cataclysmic Tokyo earthquake of 1923.

A bestseller in England, this bittersweet story of love and betrayal in the Far East is the source of the Masterpiece Theatre miniseries.


Sarah's Key
by Tatiana de Rosnay
Recommended by Tiffany

Paris, July 1942: Ten-year-old Sarah is brutally arrested with her family in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, the most notorious act of French collaboration with the Nazis. but before the police come to take them, Sarah locks her younger brother, Michel, in their favorite hiding place, a cupboard in the family's apartment. She keeps the key, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's sixtieth anniversary, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist, is asked by her Paris-based American magazine to write an article about this black day in France's past. Julia has lived in Paris for nearly twenty-five years, married a Frenchman, and she is shocked both by her ignorance about the event and the silence that still surrounds it. In the course of her investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connects her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from the terrible days spent shut in at the Vel' d'Hiv' to the camps and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Writing about the fate of her country with a pitiless clarity, Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and denial surrounding this painful episode in French history.


The Five Love Languages
by Gary Chapman
Recommended by Tiffany

Falling in love is easy. Staying in love—that’s the challenge! How can you keep your relationship fresh and growing amid the demands, conflicts, and just plain boredom of everyday life?

In the #1 New York Times bestseller The 5 Love Languages, you’ll discover the secret that has transformed millions of relationships worldwide. Whether your relationship is flourishing or failing, Dr. Gary Chapman’s proven approach to showing and receiving love will help you experience deeper and richer levels of intimacy with your partner—starting today.

The 5 Love Languages is as practical as it is insightful. Updated to reflect the complexities of relationships today, this new edition reveals intrinsic truths and applies relevant, actionable wisdom in ways that work.

Includes the Couple's Personal Profile assessment so you can discover your love language and that of your loved one.
  

Educated
by Tara Westover
Recommended by Jodi

Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard.

Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.


An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
by Chris Hadfield
Recommended by Jodi

Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. The secret to Col. Hadfield's success-and survival-is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst-and enjoy every moment of it.

In An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, Col. Hadfield takes readers deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible. Through eye-opening, entertaining stories filled with the adrenaline of launch, the mesmerizing wonder of spacewalks, and the measured, calm responses mandated by crises, he explains how conventional wisdom can get in the way of achievement-and happiness. His own extraordinary education in space has taught him some counterintuitive lessons: don't visualize success, do care what others think, and always sweat the small stuff.

You might never be able to build a robot, pilot a spacecraft, make a music video or perform basic surgery in zero gravity like Col. Hadfield. But his vivid and refreshing insights will teach you how to think like an astronaut, and will change, completely, the way you view life on Earth-especially your own.


Refugee
by Alan Gratz
Recommended by Tami

Three different kids. One mission in common: ESCAPE.

Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world…

Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety and freedom in America…

Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe…

All three young people will go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers–from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But for each of them, there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, surprising connections will tie their stories together in the end.
 

Small Great Things
by Jodi Picoult
Recommended by Tami

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn't offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.


Before We Were Yours
by Lisa Wingate
Recommended by Nancy

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong. 


 Midnight in the Broad Daylight
by Pamela Rotner Sakamoto
Recommended by Nancy

Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Midnight in Broad Daylight is the true story of a Japanese American family that found itself on opposite sides during World War II. An epic tale of family, separation, divided loyalties, love, reconciliation, loss, and redemption, Pamela Rotner Sakamoto’s history is a riveting chronicle of U.S.-Japan relations and of the Japanese experience in America.

After their father’s death, the Fukuhara children—all born and raised in the Pacific Northwest—moved with their mother to Hiroshima, their parents’ ancestral home. Eager to go back to America, Harry and his sister, Mary, returned there in the late 1930s. Then came Pearl Harbor. Harry and Mary were sent to an internment camp until a call came for Japanese translators, and Harry dutifully volunteered to serve his country. Back in Hiroshima, their brothers, Frank and Pierce, became soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army.

As the war raged on, Harry, one of the finest bilingual interpreters in the United States Army, island-hopped across the Pacific, moving ever closer to the enemy—and to his younger brothers. But before the Fukuharas would have to face one another in battle, the U.S. detonated the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, gravely injuring tens of thousands of civilians, including members of the Fukuhara family.

Alternating between American and Japanese perspectives, Midnight in Broad Daylight captures the uncertainty and intensity of those charged with the fighting, as well as 
the deteriorating home front of Hiroshima—never depicted before in English—and provides a fresh look at the events surrounding the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Intimate and evocative, here is an indelible portrait of a resilient family, a scathing examination of racism and xenophobia, an homage to the tremendous Japanese American contribution to the American war effort, and an invaluable addition to the historical record of this extraordinary time.


The Rent Collector
by Cameron Wright
Recommended by Sue

Survival for Ki Lim and Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Meanchey, the largest municipal waste dump in all of Cambodia. They make their living scavenging recyclables from the trash. Life would be hard enough without the worry for their chronically ill child, Nisay, and the added expense of medicines that are not working. Just when things seem worst, Sang Ly learns a secret about the bad-tempered rent collector who comes demanding money--a secret that sets in motion a tide that will change the life of everyone it sweeps past.

The Rent Collector is a story of hope, of one woman's journey to save her son and another woman's chance at redemption.


Surviving Hitler
by O. Hakan Palm
Recommended by Sue

Gustav Palm kept his secret for more than forty years. He’d been a young man when Hitler invaded his native Norway. After being forced to guard a Nazi prison camp, however, Gustav took his only option for escape: he volunteered for the Waffen-SS to fight at the front.

Agnes Erdös grew up in privilege and prosperity as a child in Hungary. She and her parents were practicing Roman Catholics, but they were ethnic Jews, and after the Nazis invaded her country, Agnes and her parents were sent to the death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Miraculously, both Agnes and Gustav survived. And after the war, they found each other.

Told in their own words, Surviving Hitler is the story of two indomitable spirits who built on their life-altering experiences to overcome the past, help each other heal, and embrace a common faith in God that led them to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.



Silent Night
by Stanley Weintraub
Recommended by Rosanne

It was one of history's most powerful -- yet forgotten -- Christmas stories. It took place in the improbable setting of the mud, cold rain and senseless killing of the trenches of World War I. It happened in spite of orders to the contrary by superiors; it happened in spite of language barriers. And it still stands as the only time in history that peace spontaneously arose from the lower ranks in a major conflict, bubbling up to the officers and temporarily turning sworn enemies into friends. "Silent Night," by renowned military historian Stanley Weintraub, magically restores the 1914 Christmas Truce to history. It had been lost in the tide of horror that filled the battlefields of Europe for months and years afterward. Yet in December 1914 the Great War was still young, and the men who suddenly threw down their arms and came together across the front lines -- to sing carols, exchange gifts and letters, eat and drink and even play friendly games of soccer -- naively hoped that the war would be short-lived, and that they were fraternizing with future friends.

It began when German soldiers lit candles on small Christmas trees, and British, French, Belgian and German troops serenaded each other on Christmas Eve. Soon they were gathering and burying the dead, in an age-old custom of truces. But as the power of Christmas grew among them, they broke bread, exchanged addresses and letters and expressed deep admiration for one another. When angry superiors ordered them to recommence the shooting, many men aimed harmlessly high overhead.

Sometimes the greatest beauty emerges from deep tragedy. Surely the forgotten Christmas Truce was one of history's most beautiful moments, made allthe more beautiful in light of the carnage that followed it. Stanley Weintraub's moving re-creation demonstrates that peace can be more fragile than war, but also that ordinary men can bond with one another despite all efforts of politicians and generals to the contrary. 


 Up a Road Slowly
by Irene Hunt
Recommended by Rosanne

The Newbery Award-winning novel. From the author of Across Five Aprils and No Promises in the Wind comes her most beloved story of a girl's coming of age. After her mother's death, Julie goes to live with Aunt Cordelia, a spinster schoolteacher, where she experiences many emotions and changes as she grows from seven to eighteen.

 

It's Time to Pick More Books!

It's that time of the year again to present new books to the group for our reading schedule! We'll do it the same way we did it last time, but here's a reminder of how it will work, and some guidelines to follow as you consider which books to recommend:

- We will meet on Tuesday, May 7th at 7:30pm at Rosanne's house to present new book recommendations.

- You recommend 2 books that the group will vote on, and one of your books will win. You will then host book group for the month your winning book is assigned to, lead the discussion, and provide a refreshment.  If you don't want to have book group at your house, there are always others willing to host for you.

- The books you recommend can be from any genre, but must be books that you have previously read and know that they have minimal language, violence, etc., and are appropriate for the standards of our group.

- If possible, please bring a copy of each of your book suggestions to book group in May so we can see the book and get a sense of it's length and size. Let me know if you can't find a copy of a book you want to present and I might be able to pick up a copy for you from libraries you don't have access to.

- The voting will take place anonymously with an online survey as usual, where you will rate your interest in each book on a scale of 1 to 5. Voting this way will give you time to read book reviews or learn more about the choices before casting your vote.  This also allows people who can't attend in May the ability to still vote. Voting will stay open for 3-4 weeks and results given at June's book group and online. Each person's book with the highest weighted average will be selected for our upcoming schedule.

- A total of 8 books will be selected. (We won't meet in June, July, or August, and May will always be our night to present new books.) If we have fewer than 8 people recommending books, the schedule will be filled in with the next top rated books.

- If you would like to recommend books but can't attend book group in May, please let me know and I will present your books to the group for you.

- To see a list of books that our group has already read, scroll down and you'll see the list in the right side bar of this blog.

2018-2019 Schedule and Voting Results

Here is the new schedule for the next year. Let me know if your month won't work for you and we can shuffle things around. Happy reading!

New Book Nominees

Here are the new books that were presented for our reading schedule for the next year.  Voting will be done online and results will be shared later this month. Click on the book names to read a summary and reviews of each book.

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy

Emma by Jane Austen 

The Martian by Andy Weir

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

My Antonia by Willa Cather

I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell  

On Two Feet and Wings by Abbas Kazerooni 

Mount Vernon Love Story by Mary Higgins Clark 

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Where There's Hope by Elizabeth Smart

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King  

The Chosen by Chaim Potok 

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes 

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee 

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson  

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Time for New Books!

It's that time of the year again to present new books to the group for our reading schedule! We'll do it the same way we did it last time, but here's a reminder of how it will work, and some guidelines to follow as you consider which books to recommend:

- We will meet on Thursday, May 3rd at 7:30pm at Joy's house to present new book recommendations.

- You recommend 2 books that the group will vote on, and one of your books will win. You will then host book group for the month your winning book is assigned to, lead the discussion, and provide a refreshment.  If you don't want to have book group at your house, there are always others willing to host for you.

- The books you recommend can be from any genre, but must be books that you have previously read and know that they have minimal language, violence, etc., and are appropriate for the standards of our group.

- If possible, please bring a copy of each of your book suggestions to book group in May so we can see the book and get a sense of it's length and size. Let me know if you can't find a copy of a book you want to present and I might be able to pick up a copy for you from libraries you don't have access to.

- The voting will take place anonymously with an online survey as usual, where you will rate your interest in each book on a scale of 1 to 5. Voting this way will give you time to read book reviews or learn more about the choices before casting your vote.  This also allows people who can't attend in May the ability to still vote. Voting will stay open for 3-4 weeks and results given at June's book group and online. Each person's book with the highest weighted average will be selected for our upcoming schedule.

- If you would like to recommend books but can't attend book group in May, please let me know and I will present your books to the group for you.

- To see a list of books that our group has already read, scroll down and you'll see the list in the right side bar of this blog.

A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie

Our next book is A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie.  We'll discuss this book at Joy's house on Thursday, November 2nd at 7:30pm.


Rex Fortescue, king of a financial empire, was sipping tea in his “counting house” when he suffered an agonizing and sudden death. On later inspection,the pockets of the deceased were found to contain traces of cereals.

Yet, it was the incident in the parlor which confirmed Miss Marple’s suspicion that here she was looking at a case of crime by rhyme. . . .
-From GoodReads.com

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda

Our next book group is on Thursday, October 5th at 7:30pm at Jodi's house.  We'll discuss I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda.

 The true story of an all-American girl and a boy from an impoverished city in Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever.

It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but when Caitlin saw Zimbabwe written on the board, it sounded like the most exotic place she had ever heard of--so she chose it.
Martin was lucky to even receive a pen pal letter. There were only ten letters, and forty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one.

That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.

In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends --and better people--through letters. Their story will inspire readers to look beyond their own lives and wonder about the world at large and their place in it.
--From GoodReads.com

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

Our next book is Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. We'll meet on Thursday, September 14th at 7:30pm at Jill's house.

The one thing you can depend on in Cold Sassy, Georgia, is that word gets around--fast.

On July 5, 1906, scandal breaks in the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia, when the proprietor of the general store, E. Rucker Blakeslee, elopes with Miss Love Simpson. He is barely three weeks a widower, and she is only half his age and a Yankee to boot. As their marriage inspires a whirlwind of local gossip, fourteen-year-old Will Tweedy suddenly finds himself eyewitness to a family scandal, and that’s where his adventures begin.

Cold Sassy Tree is the undeniably entertaining and extraordinarily moving account of small-town Southern life in a bygone era. Brimming with characters who are wise and loony, unimpeachably pious and deliciously irreverent, Olive Ann Burns’s classic bestseller is a timeless, funny, and resplendent treasure.  --From GoodReads.com

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

We'll just be having one book group over the summer, on Wednesday, August 2nd at 7:30pm at Barb's house.  We'll be discussing The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry  by Rachel Joyce.

Harold Fry is convinced that he must deliver a letter to an old love in order to save her, meeting various characters along the way and reminiscing about the events of his past and people he has known, as he tries to find peace and acceptance.  -From GoodReads.com