Summer 2012 - Spring 2013 Book Discussion Titles
Join us every second Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. for an informal book discussion. The books chosen for discussion through May 2012 will be available to borrow about a month before each discussion and may be picked up at the library circulation desk. The titles are a mixture of fiction and non-fiction. The discussion is open to all adults.
Books For Discussion
July 11, 2012
Pearl of China
by Anchee Min
It is the end of the nineteenth century and China is riding on the crest of great change, but for nine-year-old Willow, the only child of a destitute family in the small southern town of Chin-kiang, nothing ever seems to change. Until the day she meets Pearl, the eldest daughter of a zealous American missionary.
Pearl is head-strong, independent and fiercely intelligent, and will grow up to be Pearl S Buck, the Pulitzer- and Nobel Prize-winning writer and humanitarian activist, but for now all Willow knows is that she has never met anyone like her in all her life. From the start the two are thick as thieves, but when the Boxer Rebellion rocks the nation, Pearl's family is forced to leave China to flee religious persecution. As the twentieth century unfolds in all its turmoil, through right-wing military coups and Mao's Red Revolution, through bad marriages and broken dreams, the two girls cling to their lifelong friendship across the sea.
In this ambitious and moving new novel, Anchee Min, acclaimed author of Empress Orchid and Red Azalea, brings to life a courageous and passionate woman who loved the country of her childhood and who has been hailed in China as a modern heroine.
August 08, 2012
The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the
Forgotton Colony
by Russell Shorto
In a work of history, Shorto presents astonishing information on the founding of our nation and reveals in riveting detail the crucial role of the Dutch in making America what it is today. A history of the Dutch role in the establishment of Manhattan discussed the rivalry between England and the Dutch Republic, focusing on the power struggle between Holland governor Peter Stuyvesant and politician Adriaen van der Donck that shaped New York’s culture and social freedoms.
September 12, 2012
The Postmistress
by Sarah Blake
The stories of a small Cape Cod postmistress and an American radio reporter stationed in London collide on the eve of the United States's entrance into World War II, a meeting that is shaped by a broken promise to deliver a letter.
October 10, 2012
Sarah’s Key
by Tatiana DeRosnay
On the sixtieth anniversary of the 1942 roundup of Jews by the French police in the Vel d'Hiv section of Paris, American journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article on this dark episode during World War II and embarks on investigation that leads her to long-hidden family secrets and to the ordeal of Sarah, a young girl caught up in the raid.
November 14, 2012
The Kings Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy
by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi
Based on the recently discovered diaries of Lionel Logue, The King's Speech recounts an inspiring real-life tale of triumph over adversity, when an Australian taught a British king with a crippling speech defect how to speak to his subjects.
December 12, 2012
Hound of the Baskervilles
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
What’s the truth behind the legend of the hound of the Baskervilles? Is it really a devil-beast that’s haunting the lonely moors? Enter Sherlock Holmes to find the answer, in this full-length novel written by the creator of one of the most popular and enduring detective series ever written.
January 09, 2013
Growing Up Laughing: My Story
by Marlo Thomas
The award-winning actress and #1 New York Times bestselling author shares her funny and heartwarming stories of a life filled with laughter. Woven throughout the book are Marlo's interviews with America's most beloved comedians about how they, too, found the funny in their lives.
February 13, 2013
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
by Helen Simonson
Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired) leads a quiet life in the village of St. Mary, England, until his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But will their relationship survive in a society that considers Ali a foreigner?
March 13, 2013
Making Rounds with Oscar
by David Dosa
Dosa, a geriatrician with a strong aversion to cats, tells the endearing story of Oscar the cat, the aloof resident at a nursing home who only spends time with people who are about to die. Despite hearing numerous stories about Oscar’s uncanny ability to predict when a patient’s time is nearing, Dosa, ever the scientist, remains skeptical.
April 10, 2013
The Walk: A Novel
by Paul Richard Evans
What would you do if you lost everything--your job, your home, and the love of your life--all at the same time? When it happens to Seattle ad executive Alan Christoffersen, he's tempted by his darkest thoughts but then decides to take a walk, heading for the farthest point on his map: Key West, Florida. The people he encounters along the way, and the lessons they share with him, will save his life.
May 08, 2013
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
Henrietta Lacks was a 31 year old black mother of five in Baltimore when she died of cervical cancer in 1951. Writing in plain, clear prose, Skloot avoids melodrama and makes no judgments. Letting people and events speak for themselves, Skloot tells a rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society’s most vulnerable people.
