January Book Club

After several postponements, we are finally having book club to discuss Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur. We will meet at 7:30 at Debby's house on Tuesday January 23. 

We will also do a book exchange since we didn't make it happen in December. Bring your favorite book from 2023 (that we didn't read in book club) wrapped, if you would like to participate in the book exchange. Looking forward to reconnecting!

November Book Club Postponed

Debby picked Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur for our November book pick. Here is some information about the book:

Elise and Franklin have always been best friends. Elise has always lived in the big house with her loving Uncle and Aunt, because Elise's parents died when she was too young to remember them.  There's always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors on the second floor.
When Elise and Franklin start middle school, things feel all wrong. Bullying. Not fitting in. Franklin suddenly seems babyish.  Then, soon after her 12th birthday, Elise receives a mysterious key left for her by her father. A key that unlocks one of the eight doors upstairs in the barn.

Unfortunately for book club but fortunately for Debby and Gary, Gary's surgery was scheduled for the week of book club and we don't have a new date yet.  

 

October's Book - Dracula

We had a great discussion about West With Giraffes last night. Alecia also made a delicious pumpkin dessert and had ice cream to put on top. 

Melissa has picked Dracula by Bram Stoker for our book for October. Here is some information about the book: 

During a business visit to Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania, a young English solicitor finds himself at the center of a series of horrifying incidents. Jonathan Harker is attacked by three phantom women, observes the Count's transformation from human to bat form, and discovers puncture wounds on his own neck that seem to have been made by teeth. Harker returns home upon his escape from Dracula's grim fortress, but a friend's strange malady — involving sleepwalking, inexplicable blood loss, and mysterious throat wounds — initiates a frantic vampire hunt. The popularity of Bram Stoker's 1897 horror romance is as deathless as any vampire. Its supernatural appeal has spawned a host of film and stage adaptations, and more than a century after its initial publication, it continues to hold readers spellbound.

We will meet at 7:30 on October 17 at Debby's house to discuss the book. Hope to see you there. 

September Book - West With Giraffes

Alecia picked our book for September, West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. We will meet at 7:30pm on Tuesday September 19 to discuss the book. 

Here is some information about the book: 

An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.

Caraval - Book for August

Jess picked Caraval by Stephanie Garber for our August book. Here is some information about the book:

Welcome, welcome to CARAVAL, Stephanie Garber’s enchanting, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling fantasy debut about two sisters swept up in a mysterious competition filled with magic, heartbreak, and danger

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful and cruel father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett's long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to attend. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season's Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, and her sister disappears forever.

Continue the adventure in Legendary and Finale.

We will meet a week later in August. We will be meeting on the fourth Tuesday which is August 22, 2023. We will meet at 7:30 at Debby's house. 

Lessons in Chemistry - Book for July

Lana has picked Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus for our book for July. 

Here is a little information about the book: 

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. 

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.  
Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

Hope to see you at Debby's house on July 18 at 7:30. 

The Second Life of Mirielle West

We met on Tuesday for our book club discussion. Nola led the discussion and also brought a delicious peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream for our treat. 

Corinna, Sarah C, Nola, and Jess

It was Corinna's first time to come to book club. It is good to have new people join in the discussions. 

Olivia, Lana, and Amy

Lana has moved back to Maryland. She was one of the original members of the book club. It is great to have her join us again. 

Tracie and Alecia

We had a great discussion. Lots of connections were made. Almost everyone enjoyed the book and we discussed the main theme and how the characters grew and changed over the course of the book.