Avid readers
Join the Avid Readers via Zoom every third Thursday of the month at 6 pm. Contact Susan Gilfeather, Eloise Crosman or Jeanne Paige to receive a Zoom invitation.
Avid Readers to Meet Jan. 19 via Zoom
Note the Time Change!
All are welcome to join Avid Readers discussion of These Truths, a History of the United States by Jill Lapore at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 19. The first two sections, “The Idea (1492-1799)” and “The People (1800-1865)” will be discussed with Grant Gilfeather leading the discussion. The meeting will be held via ZOOM. Please note the start time of 6 pm making it easier for those joining us in other time zones. Contact Susan Gilfeather, Jeanne Paige or Eloise Crosman if you can join the discussion. You will then receive an invitation to the ZOOM meeting.
Note the Time Change!
All are welcome to join Avid Readers discussion of These Truths, a History of the United States by Jill Lapore at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 19. The first two sections, “The Idea (1492-1799)” and “The People (1800-1865)” will be discussed with Grant Gilfeather leading the discussion. The meeting will be held via ZOOM. Please note the start time of 6 pm making it easier for those joining us in other time zones. Contact Susan Gilfeather, Jeanne Paige or Eloise Crosman if you can join the discussion. You will then receive an invitation to the ZOOM meeting.
2020-21 Book Selections
January 19, 2021: These Truths, a History of the United States by Jill Lapore. First two sections: Pt. 1: The Idea (1492-1799) Pt. 2: The People (1800-1865). 307 pages. (The book is 789 pages.) Nonfiction. This one-volume history of the U.S. places truth itself – a devotion to facts, proof and evidence – at the center of the nation’s history. The American experiment rests on three ideas – “these truths,” Jefferson called them – political equality, natural rights and the sovereignty of the people. But has the nation and democracy itself, delivered on that promise? The book tells the uniquely American story, beginning in 1492 asking whether the course of the events over more than five centuries has proven the nation’s truths or eluded them. (From the back cover of the book). Recommended by Becky Wilson. Led by Grant Gilfeather.
February 16, 2021: A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende. Historical Fiction. 313 pages. A man and woman forced to flee Spain during the civil war make a marriage of convenience so that they can emigrate to Chile. “Both an intimate look at the relationship between one man and one woman and an epic story of love, war, family and the search for home, this gorgeous novel, like all the best novels, transports the reader to another time and place, and also sheds light on the way we live now.” (Quote by J. Courtney Sullivan.) Led by Susan Gilfeather.
March 16, 2021: Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels. Non-fiction. 272 pages. Spurred on by personal tragedy and new scholarship from an international group of researchers, Pagels returns to her investigation of the “secret” Gospel of Thomas, and breathes new life into writings once thought heretical. As she arrives at an ever-deeper conviction in her own faith, Pagels reveals how faith allows for a diversity of interpretations, and that the “rogue” voices of Christianity encourage and sustain “the recognition of the light within us all.” (from Barnes & Noble) Led by Susan Mitchler.
April 20, 2021: Tightrope – Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Non-fiction. 262 pages. This book is an urgent call to address the current crisis in rural and urban working-class America and offers solutions to mend a half-century of maligned neglect. It describes the crisis occurring all across the country of communities struggling to stay afloat as blue-collar jobs disappear and an American dies of a drug overdose every seven minutes. While our present state may seem (and actually is) grim, Kristof and WuDunn issue a challenge to strengthen America by strengthening each American….we must demand better of our political leaders, our business executives and ourselves. They offer a multitude of policy suggestions providing a path forward. Led by Allen Henry.
May 4, 2021: Book Choosing Meeting
May 15, 2021: How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry. Fiction. 352 pages. This is the enchanting story of a bookshop, its grieving owner, a supportive literary community, and the extraordinary power of books to heal the heart. Nightingale Books, nestled on the main street in an idyllic little village, is a dream come true for book lovers—a cozy haven and welcoming getaway for the literary-minded locals. But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open after her beloved father’s death, and the temptation to sell is getting stronger. The property developers are circling, yet Emilia's loyal customers have become like family, and she can't imagine breaking the promise she made to her father to keep the store alive. Led by Eloise Crosman.
June 16, 2021:. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Fiction. 352 pages. This finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is a dark fairy tale of a brother and sister spanning five decades. They are two smart people who cannot overcome the past. Despite outward signs of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Their past revolves around The Dutch House where they grew up as children and even after they leave, it remains a focus from which they cannot detach themselves. Led by Susan Mitchler.
July 20, 2021: The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan. Fiction. 274 pages. In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying Grace Winter and her husband across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Her husband secures Grace a place in the lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize has exceeded capacity. For any to live, some must die. Now Grace is on trial for murder. Led by Helen King.
August 17, 2021: 20 Wishes by Debbie Macomber. Fiction. 384 pages. At 38, she’s childless, a recent widow, alone, and seeking happiness again. On Valentine’s Day, Anne Marie and several other widows get together to celebrate a sense of hope. They each begin a list of twenty wishes – including things they’s always wanted to do but never did. Anne Marie meets 8-year-old Ellen and learns that wishes can come true, but not always in the expected way. Recommended by Dee Davis, led by Eloise Crosman.
Also Recommended:
Badani, Sejal, The Story Teller’s Secret
Bosch, Henry, Black Echo
Camus, Albert, The Plague (a classic!)
Chung, Catherine, The Tenth Muse
Hannah, Kristin, The Great Alone
Hunter, Georgia, We Were the Lucky Ones
Kleinman, Arthur, The Soul of Care, the Moral Education of a Husband and a Doctor
Lester, Natasha, The Paris Seamstress
Lombardo, Claire, The Most Fun We Ever Had
Loigman, Linda Cohen, Wartime Sisters
MacMorris, Kristina, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
Moyes, Jojo, The Giver of Stars
Obama, Michelle, Becoming Michelle Obama
O’Neil, Barbara, When We Believed in Mermaids (a surprisingly good beach read)
Russo, Richard, Chances Are
Tierney, P. J., Theocracy: Can American Democracy Survive Fundamentalism?
Wilson, Kevin, Nothing to See Hear
February 16, 2021: A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende. Historical Fiction. 313 pages. A man and woman forced to flee Spain during the civil war make a marriage of convenience so that they can emigrate to Chile. “Both an intimate look at the relationship between one man and one woman and an epic story of love, war, family and the search for home, this gorgeous novel, like all the best novels, transports the reader to another time and place, and also sheds light on the way we live now.” (Quote by J. Courtney Sullivan.) Led by Susan Gilfeather.
March 16, 2021: Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels. Non-fiction. 272 pages. Spurred on by personal tragedy and new scholarship from an international group of researchers, Pagels returns to her investigation of the “secret” Gospel of Thomas, and breathes new life into writings once thought heretical. As she arrives at an ever-deeper conviction in her own faith, Pagels reveals how faith allows for a diversity of interpretations, and that the “rogue” voices of Christianity encourage and sustain “the recognition of the light within us all.” (from Barnes & Noble) Led by Susan Mitchler.
April 20, 2021: Tightrope – Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Non-fiction. 262 pages. This book is an urgent call to address the current crisis in rural and urban working-class America and offers solutions to mend a half-century of maligned neglect. It describes the crisis occurring all across the country of communities struggling to stay afloat as blue-collar jobs disappear and an American dies of a drug overdose every seven minutes. While our present state may seem (and actually is) grim, Kristof and WuDunn issue a challenge to strengthen America by strengthening each American….we must demand better of our political leaders, our business executives and ourselves. They offer a multitude of policy suggestions providing a path forward. Led by Allen Henry.
May 4, 2021: Book Choosing Meeting
May 15, 2021: How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry. Fiction. 352 pages. This is the enchanting story of a bookshop, its grieving owner, a supportive literary community, and the extraordinary power of books to heal the heart. Nightingale Books, nestled on the main street in an idyllic little village, is a dream come true for book lovers—a cozy haven and welcoming getaway for the literary-minded locals. But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open after her beloved father’s death, and the temptation to sell is getting stronger. The property developers are circling, yet Emilia's loyal customers have become like family, and she can't imagine breaking the promise she made to her father to keep the store alive. Led by Eloise Crosman.
June 16, 2021:. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Fiction. 352 pages. This finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is a dark fairy tale of a brother and sister spanning five decades. They are two smart people who cannot overcome the past. Despite outward signs of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Their past revolves around The Dutch House where they grew up as children and even after they leave, it remains a focus from which they cannot detach themselves. Led by Susan Mitchler.
July 20, 2021: The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan. Fiction. 274 pages. In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying Grace Winter and her husband across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Her husband secures Grace a place in the lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize has exceeded capacity. For any to live, some must die. Now Grace is on trial for murder. Led by Helen King.
August 17, 2021: 20 Wishes by Debbie Macomber. Fiction. 384 pages. At 38, she’s childless, a recent widow, alone, and seeking happiness again. On Valentine’s Day, Anne Marie and several other widows get together to celebrate a sense of hope. They each begin a list of twenty wishes – including things they’s always wanted to do but never did. Anne Marie meets 8-year-old Ellen and learns that wishes can come true, but not always in the expected way. Recommended by Dee Davis, led by Eloise Crosman.
Also Recommended:
Badani, Sejal, The Story Teller’s Secret
Bosch, Henry, Black Echo
Camus, Albert, The Plague (a classic!)
Chung, Catherine, The Tenth Muse
Hannah, Kristin, The Great Alone
Hunter, Georgia, We Were the Lucky Ones
Kleinman, Arthur, The Soul of Care, the Moral Education of a Husband and a Doctor
Lester, Natasha, The Paris Seamstress
Lombardo, Claire, The Most Fun We Ever Had
Loigman, Linda Cohen, Wartime Sisters
MacMorris, Kristina, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
Moyes, Jojo, The Giver of Stars
Obama, Michelle, Becoming Michelle Obama
O’Neil, Barbara, When We Believed in Mermaids (a surprisingly good beach read)
Russo, Richard, Chances Are
Tierney, P. J., Theocracy: Can American Democracy Survive Fundamentalism?
Wilson, Kevin, Nothing to See Hear