2024 Book Club Favorites
Reading Selections for All Seasons- Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall
Long Island by Colm Toibin (fiction) 2024
In 1976 Lindenhurst, Long Island, Eilis Lacey, an Irish woman in her 40’s, with no one to confide in or rely on in this still new country, discovers that her husband, Tony, has gotten another woman pregnant. The other woman’s husband refuses to raise the baby following the birth, forcing Eilis to decide what she will do or not do in this unexpected situation.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (fiction) 2023
Children tend to think of their parents as having no lives before they were born. It is the spring of 2020, and Lara’s three daughters have come home to lockdown with their parents on the family cherry farm. With time at their disposal, the girls start asking their mother about her time acting in the play Our Town in summer stock at Tom Lake. They are particularly interested in her relationship with the then unknown, but about to become famous, actor Peter Duke. The
children reexamine their relationships and understanding of their parents and themselves. It is a hopeful, loving story beautifully expressed.
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (historical fiction) 2022
This novel is based on the memoir of the woman it is written about. It is the story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, known as “Lady Death”. She was one of the female Soviet snipers during WWII. Her story delves into her life before the war: studying at university, falling in love and becoming a mother, moving towards the war, Soviet and German fighting and propaganda, and later her true friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The story offers a lens into Russian culture of that time, the Russian/German conflict in the war, the ensuing Soviet state and the very real development of mistrust that many Russian people have of government. The overriding theme is one of strong women who are resilient in the worst of situations.
Big Trouble by Dave Barry (fiction) 1999
If you like a little mystery and a good laugh, try this book. In the city of Coconut Grove, Florida, the author introduces the reader to a varied cast of flawed characters. In short order, a chain of events that will change the lives of each and every one of them will commence, leaving some of them wiser, some of them dead, and some of them definitely looking for a new line of work.
With a wicked wit, razor-sharp observations, rich characters, and a plot with more twists than the Inland Waterway, Dave Barry makes his debut a complete triumph.
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (historical fiction) 2008
A young Australian rare book expert is contracted to conserve the priceless Sarajevo Haggadah created in fifteenth century Spain. The tiny artifacts she discovered in the ancient binding (a butterfly wing fragment, a blood and wine stain, salt crystals and a white cat hair), begin to unlock the book’s deep mystery, and unexpectedly plunge her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra nationalist fanatics.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (fiction) 2017
A sweeping, multi-generational saga that tells a powerful story of love, sacrifice, and survival. Set against the backdrop of Japanese-occupied Korea, and spanning several decades, the novel
follows one Korean family’s journey through poverty, war and displacement. This well written novel contains a compelling story, enriched by the details of each character, in addition to the author’s unique, direct writing style.
An Unfinished Love Story: a personal history of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin (biography)
Dick and Doris Goodwin were married for forty-two years. In his twenties, Dick was one of the brilliant young men of John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier. In his thirties, he named and helped
design Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, and was a speechwriter and close advisor to Robert Kennedy. Doris Kearns was a young graduate student when selected as a White House Fellow.
She worked directly for Lyndon Johnson.
The Goodwins’ last great adventure involved finally opening the more than three hundred boxes of letters, diaries, documents, and memorabilia that Dick had saved for more than fifty years. They soon realized they had before them an unparalleled personal time capsule of the 1960s. Their expedition gave Dick’s last years renewed purpose and determination. It also gave the Goodwins an opportunity to make fresh assessments of the central figures of the time: John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, and especially Lyndon Johnson, who greatly impacted both of their lives.
The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helene Simonson (fiction) 2024
A very British post WWI comedy of manners story set at a posh seaside hotel. It is filled with characters that are charming, plucky and adventurous.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King (fiction/fantasy) 2024
This is not one of King’s horror stories, but an actual modern-day fairy tale. Charlie Reade is a seventeen-year-old High School athlete with a lot of problems at home. His mother died in a horrific car accident, and his father has taken to drink and lost his job. Charlie prays for his father to go to Alcoholics Anonymous. He does and Charlie feels he owes a debt to God. Stopping to help his reclusive neighbor, Charlie takes on the responsibility of helping him and his dog, Radar. When the neighbor dies Charlie inherits the keys to a parallel world where evil is fighting to overwhelm good. The bulk of the story happens in this other world, Empis. Is Charlie the promised hero?
Richly developed characters and world building make for a strong narrative. The dog steals the story. Stephen King admits to being influenced by Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. A memorable quote from Charlie: “Something I learned in Empis; Good people shine brighter in dark times.”
The Women by Kristen Hannah (historical fiction) 2024
Frankie McGrath represents all of the nurses and what they endured serving in the Vietnam War. Starting out as a naive young woman, the effects of her war experience changed her in ways that were self-destructive. Coming home with PTSD, she was told again and again, that women did not serve in the war. As hard as it was for the men who returned home to being devalued, the women who served could find no VA or any service that would help them return to normal life. Kristin Hannah took great lengths to make this novel as true to the times of the sixties and seventies through thorough research and first-person accounts. The horrors of what these women endured was forcefully established and compellingly written.
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable (historical fiction) 2024
Set in Venice at the height of her reign in culture and music, it tells the story of the infant left at the Ospedale Della Pieta, an institution famed for its training of musicians. Named Anna Maria, she soon is identified as a violin prodigy and placed under the tutelage of the young maestro Antonia Vivaldi. Her joys, struggles and triumphs are chronicled in this engaging work.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (fiction) 2017
This is an enchanting book with a magical, wintery feel. The author takes the reader on a journey to a magical world, combining Russian folklore, mythology and fairy tales. Young Vasilisa sees the magic that others, including her family cannot. At home and in the deep woods, she encounters Baba Yaga, Rusalkas, (female water nymphs residing in the forest), frost demons and all the fantastic tales of Russian folklore.
There are heroes to cheer for and villains deserving punishment, as well as those who are a bit of both, yielding elements necessary for an engaging book. A compelling read.
This is the first of three novels referred to as the Winter Night Trilogy. There is romance and there are more amazing adventures to come.