The Perfume Collector: by Kathleen Tessaro

The Perfume Collector - A remarkable novel about secrets, desire, memory, passion, and possibility.

Newlywed Grace Monroe doesn’t fit anyone’s expectations of a successful 1950s London socialite, least of all her own. When she receives an unexpected inheritance from a complete stranger, Madame Eva d’Orsey, Grace is drawn to uncover the identity of her mysterious benefactor.

Weaving through the decades, from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London, the story Grace uncovers is that of an extraordinary women who inspired one of Paris’s greatest perfumers. Immortalized in three evocative perfumes, Eva d’Orsey’s history will transform Grace’s life forever, forcing her to choose between the woman she is expected to be and the person she really is.

The Perfume Collector explores the complex and obsessive love between muse and artist, and the tremendous power of memory and scent.

Next Book Club - Sunday January 25th 2015

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan - December 7th 2014

In 1949 four Chinese women-drawn together by the shadow of their past-begin meeting in San Francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and "say" stories. They call their gathering the Joy Luck Club. Nearly forty years later, one of the members has died, and her daughter has come to take her place, only to learn of her mother's lifelong wish-and the tragic way in which it has come true. The revelation of this secret unleashes an urgent need among the women to reach back and remember... In this extraordinary first work of fiction, Amy Tan writes about what is lost-over the years, between generations, among friends-and what is saved.

In 1949, four Chinese women begin meeting in San Francisco for fun. Nearly 40 years later, their daughters continue to meet as the Joy Luck Club. Their stories ultimately display the double happiness that can be found in being both Chinese and American. First serials to Ladies' Home Journal, Atlantic Monthly, and San Francisco Focus. 

Next Book Club December 7th - Joyce Charpentier

The Sweetness of Forgetting - by Kristin Harmel (November 2nd 2014)

The Sweetness of Forgetting - by Kristin Harmel
A baker in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, must travel to Paris to uncover a family secret for her dying grandmother—and what she learns may change everything. The Sweetness of Forgettingis the book that made Kristin Harmel an international bestseller.

At thirty-six, Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her for a twenty-two year old, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she’s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen. 

Now, Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie, who wowed the Cape with her fabulous pastries for more than fifty years, is drifting away into a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in Paris. And then, arming her with a scrawled list of names, she sends Hope to France to uncover a seventy-year-old mystery. 

Hope’s emotional journey takes her through the bakeries of Paris and three religious traditions, all guided by Mamie’s fairy tales and the sweet tastes of home. As Hope pieces together her family’s history, she finds horrific Holocaust stories mixed with powerful testimonies of her family’s will to survive in a world gone mad. And to reunite two lovers torn apart by terror, all she’ll need is a dash of courage, and the belief that God exists everywhere, even in cake. . . .

October's meeting will be November 2nd........LouAnn Arguilla
Dec 7th..........................................Joyce Charpentier

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline - September 28th 2014

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude? As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community-service position helping an elderly widow clean out her attic is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past. Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship.

Trailer and Book Club Questions
More about the Author: http://christinabakerkline.com/novels/orphan-train
Video below and link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zVe698daTE 


Next Book Club
Sunday, September 28th 2014
Hostess: Penny Munsey
----------------------------

Fall 2014
September 28th .............................................Penny Munsey
October's meeting will be November 2nd........LouAnn Arguilla
Nov 30th / Dec 7th..........................................Joyce Charpentier

" Woman of Substance " by Barbara Taylor Bradford - August 24th 2014

Woman of Substance " by  Barbara Taylor Bradford

A celebration of an indomitable spirit, here is New York Times bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford's dazzling saga of a woman who dared to dream--and to triumph against all odds... In the brooding moors above a humble Yorkshire village stood Fairley Hall. There, Emma Harte, its oppressed but resourceful servant girl, acquired a shrewd determination. There, she honed her skills, discovered the meaning of treachery, learned to survive, to become a woman, and vowed to make her mark on the world.In the wake of tragedy she rose from poverty to magnificent wealth as the iron-willed force behind a thriving international enterprise. As one of the richest women in the world Emma Harte has almost everything she fought so hard to achieve--save for the dream of love, and for the passion of the one man she could never have.  Through two marriages, two devastating wars, and generations of secrets, Emma's unparalleled success has come with a price. As greed, envy, and revenge consume those closest to her, the brilliant matriarch now finds herself poised to outwit her enemies, and to face the betrayals of the past with the same ingenious resolve that forged her empire.

Date: August 24th 2014
Hostess: Mary Marotta

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth - June 29th 2014

The Book for June is ... "Divergent  ----   by  Veronica Roth 

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her. Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the YA scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.  Reviews

The next book club is ...... June 29th and the hostess is Kathy LeBlanc

The Preservationist: author visit Justin Kramon (June 1st)

Thanks to Laurie Roy and winning a contest from  (readinggroupguides.com).  Author Justin Kramon will be coming to our neighborhood book club! - 

Hold the date - June 1st !  - Our hostess will be Sylvia and Nicole. Contact Laurie now to get your copy to be signed at book club!

The Preservationist:  by Justin Kramon  

Link to Amazon

A page-turning psychological thriller from the “talented young” author of Finny (Boston Globe)

To Sam Blount, meeting Julia is the best thing that has ever happened to him.

Working at the local college and unsuccessful in his previous relationships, he’d been feeling troubled about his approaching fortieth birthday, “a great beast of a birthday,” as he sees it, but being with Julia makes him feel young and hopeful. Julia Stilwell, a freshman trying to come to terms with a recent tragedy that has stripped her of her greatest talent, is flattered by Sam’s attention. But their relationship is tested by a shy young man with a secret, Marcus Broley, who is also infatuated with Julia.

Told in alternating points of view, The Preservationist is the riveting tale of Julia and Sam's relationship, which begins to unravel as the threat of violence approaches and Julia becomes less and less sure whom she can trust.

Check out the trailer

More here http://justinkramon.com
www.justinkramon.com

www.facebook.com/justin.kramon.writer
www.facebook.com/pages/ReadingGroupGuidescom/443218496133

The Goldfinch:By -Donna Tartt:

The Goldfinch at Amazon for details

"The Goldfinch is a rarity that comes along perhaps half a dozen times per decade, a smartly written literary novel that connects with the heart as well as the mind....Donna Tartt has delivered an extraordinary work of fiction."--Stephen King,The New York Times Book Review

Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

THE GOLDFINCH is a mesmerizing, tell-all-your-friends triumph, hailed by Stephen King as "a rarity that comes along perhaps half a dozen times per decade, a smartly written literary novel that connects with the heart as well as the mind." (New York Times Book Review)

Interview - Link  


Book club poll http://www.readinggroupguides.com/connect/poll

Our next meeting is.............................Sunday, April 27th, 7pm.

Our next hostess is  ...........................Julie Bigelow

Our next Book Club selection......" The Goldfinch " by Donna Tartt

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

Next book club is February 23rd - hosted by Terrie Rigopoulos

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (see her blog)
Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret - something so terrible it would destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others too. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. Cecilia Fitzpatrick achieved it all - she's an incredibly successful business woman, a pillar of her small community and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia - or each other - but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband's devastating secret.

Check out the video
Here is a video of Liane talking about the book. 


Looking for another good book to try? Checkout "In the Time of the Butterflies" by  Julia Alvarez

Other upcoming dates:

Our next meeting is.............................Sunday, February 23rd

Our next hostess is  ...........................Terrie Rigopoulos, 6 Olde Tavern Rd.

Our next Book Club selection......" The Husbands Secret "  by Liane Moriarty

Upcoming Dates

Tentative dates

March 30th...........Laurie Roy ? Cancel and move to April 
April 13, 27th or May 4th  ...........Julie Bigelow (see Laurie for details)

1. April - TBD
2. May/June 1st .....Sylvia Pepin/Nicole Harris (visiting author Justin Kramon/post ) 
3. June 29th .........date still open
4. July - summer vacation / no book club
5. August ....
6. September ....

The Preservationist: A Novel Hardcover by Justin Kramon (hold the date: June 1st)

Thanks to Laurie Roy and winning a contest from  (readinggroupguides.com).  Author Justin Kramon will be coming to our neighborhood book club! - Hold the date - June 1st !  - Our hostess will be Sylvia and Nicole. Contact Laurie now to get your copy to be signed at book club!

The Preservationist:  by Justin Kramon  

Link to Amazon

A page-turning psychological thriller from the “talented young” author of Finny (Boston Globe)

To Sam Blount, meeting Julia is the best thing that has ever happened to him.

Working at the local college and unsuccessful in his previous relationships, he’d been feeling troubled about his approaching fortieth birthday, “a great beast of a birthday,” as he sees it, but being with Julia makes him feel young and hopeful. Julia Stilwell, a freshman trying to come to terms with a recent tragedy that has stripped her of her greatest talent, is flattered by Sam’s attention. But their relationship is tested by a shy young man with a secret, Marcus Broley, who is also infatuated with Julia.

Told in alternating points of view, The Preservationist is the riveting tale of Julia and Sam's relationship, which begins to unravel as the threat of violence approaches and Julia becomes less and less sure whom she can trust.

Check out the trailer

More here http://justinkramon.com
www.justinkramon.com

www.facebook.com/justin.kramon.writer
www.facebook.com/pages/ReadingGroupGuidescom/443218496133

Group picture!