BOOK CLUB PICKS

Have you ever wanted to join a book club, or read the same books as a book club without attending the meetings?  This entry can help with both of these desires.

It's easy to join a bookclub.  Our library's book club meets every other month at 10:30am.  The next discussion will be held on August 21st.  Read Atonement by Ian McEwan and stop on by!

Can't make our meetings?  Try forming your own bookclub.  All you need is at least one other person to participate with you, and you can be as creative as you want in selecting your books.  You can read a wide variety of works, only classics, only mysteries, only poetry, only nonfiction, or only a particular author (such as Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, or James Patterson); it's up to you.  Can't find a time for everyone to meet?  Try meeting online through instant messaging or e-mail.

Or, if you're not interested in discussing what you read, but are looking for some suggestions on what to read next, take a look at the choices below.

The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel -  An old, discarded diary is recovered by Lily Koppel, a young writer working at the New York Times.  The diary shows the reader what life was like in 1930s New York; from 1929 to 1934, not a single day's entry is skipped.  As Koppel reads the diary, she is captivated by the headstrong young woman whose thoughts and emotions fill the pages.  Koppel sets out to find the diary's owner, and a phone call from a private investigator leads Koppel to Florence, a ninety-year-old woman living with her husband of sixty-seven years. Reunited with her diary, Florence revisists the girl she once was.  Lily Koppel joins intimate interviews with original diary entries in order to reveal the world of a New York teenager.  The Red Leather Diary recreates the romance, sophistication, and promise of 1930s New York, bringing to life the true story of a young woman who dared to follow her dreams.

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent is about Martha Carrier, one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts.  This is the story of Martha's defiance and death, as told by the daughter who survived.  Kent is a descendent of Martha Carrier, and she creates a portrait of Puritan New England as well as of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff tells the story of Ann Eliza Young who has recently separated from her  husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church.  Expelled and an outcast from the community, Ann Eliza sets out to end polygamy in the United States.  Soon after Ann Eliza's story begins, a second narrative unfolds, telling a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah:  Jordan Scott must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father's death. And, as Ann Eliza's narrative intertwines with that of Jordan's search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love, family, and faith.

Some other popular picks include:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Room by Emma Donoghue
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
The Story of a Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Picture from http://www.mamalit.com/book-clubs-that-you-can-choose-from/