The Halo Effect : a novel " by Anne D. Le Claire - January 21st 2018

The Halo Effect : a novel " by Anne D. Le Claire (about the author here)

In this tour de force, a father, shaken by tragedy, tries to avenge his daughter’s murder—and restore his family’s shattered life.

It was supposed to be a typical October evening for renowned portrait artist Will Light. Over dinner of lamb tagine, his wife, Sophie, would share news about chorus rehearsals for the upcoming holiday concert, and their teenage daughter, Lucy, would chatter about French club and field hockey. Only Lucy never came home. Her body was found, days later, in the woods.

The Eastern Seaboard town of Port Fortune used to be Will’s comfort. Now, there’s no safe harbor for him. Not even when Father Gervase asks Will to paint portraits of saints for the new cathedral. Using the townspeople as models, Will sees in each face only a mask of the darkness of evil. And he just might be painting his daughter’s killer.

As Will navigates his rage and heartbreak, Sophie tries to move on; Father Gervase becomes an unexpected ally; and Rain, Lucy’s best friend, shrouds herself in a near-silent fugue. Their paths collide in a series of inextricably linked, dark, dangerous moments that could lead to their undoing…or to their redemption.

“The Halo Effect : a novel " by Anne D. Le Claire
Our next meeting is .............................Sunday, January 21st, 7pm

Our next hostess is   ........................... Kelly Bell

Please email the hostess and use Genius Signup to let each other know if we are attending and what you would like to bring. Here is the link  to signup and see what others are bringing!

Ester is a Noel by - Rebecca Kanner — December 3rd 2017 & Holiday Book Swap

Esther: A Novel - From the award-winning author of Sinners and the Sea comes a breathtaking new look into the timeless tale of Queen Esther, “a riveting tale of courage” (New York Times bestselling author Tosca Lee). A glittering Persian king has a vast empire that reaches farther than where the sun meets the horizon. He is bathed in riches and commands a frightening military force. He possesses power beyond any other mortal man and rules his kingdom as a god. Anything he desires, he has. Any woman he wants, he possesses. Thousands of them. Young virgins from all across his many lands. A Jewish girl is ripped from her hut by the king’s brutish warriors and forced to march across blistering, scorched earth to the capital city. Trapped for months in the splendid cage of the king’s palace, she must avoid the ire of the king’s concubines and eunuchs all while preparing for her one night with the king. Soon the fated night arrives, and she does everything in her power to captivate the king and become his queen. But wearing the crown brings with it a new set of dangers. When a ruthless man plies the king’s ear with whispers of genocide, it is up to the young queen to prevent the extermination of the Jews. She must find the strength within to violate the king’s law, risk her life, and save her people. This is a story of finding hidden depths of courage within one’s self. Of risking it all to stand up for what is right. This is the story of Queen Esther. 
See the movie trailer here

Next Book Club: December 3rd
Hostess  Sylvia & Nicole @7:00 PM
Holiday Book Swap too!

Please email the hostess and use Genius Signup to let each other know if we are attending and what you would like to bring. Here is the link  to signup and see what others are bringing!

A Man Called Ove - October 22nd 2017

Our next book club is October 22nd 2017
Our Hostess is ... Kathy LeBlanc

The Book is A Man Called Ove
Book Club Questions 

Twitter #amancalledove
A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations. 

NEW coming soon ... Tom Hanks to Star in, Produce 'A Man Called Ove' Movie

Please email the hostess and use Genius Signup to let each other know if we are attending and what you would like to bring. Here is the link  to signup and see what others are bringing!

Upcoming dates:  

• December 3rd ( Christmas Book Exchange! )

January 2018 

• January - Kelly Bell

Next Book Club is September 20th - The Hundred-Foot Journey by RichardC. Morais

Next Book Club is September 17th - the hostess is ... Mary Marotta

The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morris
"That skinny Indian teenager has that mysterious something that comes along once a generation. He is one of those rare chefs who is simply born. He is an artist." And so begins the rise of Hassan Haji, the unlikely gourmand who recounts his life’s journey in Richard Morais’s charming novel, The Hundred-Foot Journey. Lively and brimming with the colors, flavors, and scents of the kitchen, The Hundred-Foot Journey is a succulent treat about family, nationality, and the mysteries of good taste. Born above his grandfather’s modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan first experienced life through intoxicating whiffs of spicy fish curry, trips to the local markets, and gourmet outings with his mother. But when tragedy pushes the family out of India, they console themselves by eating their way around the world, eventually settling in Lumière, a small village in the French Alps. The boisterous Haji family takes Lumière by storm. They open an inexpensive Indian restaurant opposite an esteemed French relais—that of the famous chef Madame Mallory—and infuse the sleepy town with the spices of India, transforming the lives of its eccentric villagers and infuriating their celebrated neighbor. Only after Madame Mallory wages culinary war with the immigrant family, does she finally agree to mentor young Hassan, leading him to Paris, the launch of his own restaurant, and a slew of new adventures. The Hundred-Foot Journey is about how the hundred-foot distance between a new Indian kitchen and a traditional French one can represent the gulf between different cultures and desires. A testament to the inevitability of destiny, this is a fable for the ages—charming, endearing, and compulsively readable.  Book Club questions here.

Please email the hostess and use Genius Signup to let each other know if we are attending and what you would like to bring. Here is the link  to signup and see what others are bringing!

Here are the upcoming dates for Fall 2017: 

• August 20th cancelled and moved to September
• September 17th - Hostess (Mary Marotta)
• October 22nd 
• December 3rd ( Christmas Book Exchange! )

Options for October: 10/22

• A Man Called Ove *

• Lilac Girls 
• Everything I Never Told You
• The Kitchen House
• From Sand and Ash
• Into the Water
• Big Little Lies
• A Man Called Ove

9 Must-Read Books to Top Your Reading List This September

From The Boston Globe on 9/17

Next Book Club - June 25th 2017 - Speed Dating with Books

Our next Book Club is Speed Dating with Books 
Our next meeting is .... Sunday, June 25th, 7pm
Our next hostess is ...........Penny Munsey  Olde Tavern Rd. use the Genius Signup to let each other know if we are attending and what you would like to bring. Here is the link  to signup and see what others are bringing!
What is Speed Dating with Books It's your choice to share! 

Speed Dating with books allows you to briefly discuss a book that you have read and would recommend to the rest of book club!  This may help other pick great summer reads! Want to learn more?  Here is a fun article about "Catching feelings at Book Club Speed Dating"Finding the right read for your book club can feel a little bit like dating sometimes. You go through a bunch of duds before finding the right fit. Sometimes your friends are helpful but other times… not so much (looking at you, Friend Who Tried Setting Me Up With Someone Who Hates Cats).The whole thing is messy, but at least with books we can make it a little easier. Behold: Book Club Speed Dating. It’s like regular speed dating, but with books, which is way less awkward. The Book Squad (along with fab folks from the Raven and The Dusty Bookshelf) recently put on our third Book Club Speed Dating event.Read MORE HERE  or here

More summer Book Groups Recommend Summer Reading bit.ly/2rutOej

Penny's recommendation for August 20th is:

" One-Hundred Foot Journey : by Richard C. Morais

Note: There is no hostess set yet. The date if we have a hostess will be August 20th.   

Here are the upcoming dates for Fall 2017: 

• August 20th 
• September 17th 
• October 22nd 
• November / December 3rd ( Christmas Book Exchange! )

Sister of My Heart is a novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakarun

Sister of My Heart is a novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. First published in 1999, this novel was followed in 2002 by a sequel The Vine of Desire. The story centers on the lives of two Indian girls Anju and Sudha. 

May 21st........Fran Cooley
- June 25th.......Penny Munsey

Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness & Survival: by Liz Murray - April 30th 2017

Our next Book Club selection.." Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness & Survival
Our next meeting is .......... Sunday, April 30th, 7pm
Our next hostess is .........................Isabelle Feyant, 41 Olde Tavern Rd.
Use the Genius Signup to let each other know if we are attending and what you would like to bring. Here is the link  to signup and see what others are bringing!

Breaking Night is the stunning memoir of a young woman who at age fifteen was living on the streets, and who eventually made it into Harvard. Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age fifteen, Liz found herself on the streets when her family finally unraveled. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep. 

When Liz's mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny and go back to high school, often completing her assignments in the hallways and subway stations where she slept. Liz squeezed four years of high school into two, while homeless; won a New York Times scholarship; and made it into the Ivy League. Breaking Night is an unforgettable and beautifully written story of one young woman's indomitable spirit to survive and prevail, against all odds. Here for more about the book and  Discussion Questions

Liz Murray talks about going from Homeless to Harvard and her new book, Breaking Night, that outlines that journey.

Upcoming dates for Spring 2017!
- May 21st........Fran Cooley
- June 25th.......Penny Munsey

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain - March 26th 2017

The Red Notebook - Heroic bookseller Antoine Laurain comes across an abandoned handbag on a Parisian street. There's nothing in the bag to indicate who it belongs to, although there's all sorts of other things in it. Laurent feels a strong impulse to find the owner and tries to puzzle together who she might be from the contents of the bag. Especially a red notebook with her jottings, which really makes him want to meet her. Without even a name to go on, and only a few of her possessions to help him, how is he to find one woman in a city of millions?  More

NEXT Books club
February - cancelled moved to 

March 26th - Hostess Kathy Leblanc

Use the Genius Signup to let each other know if we are attending and what you would like to bring. Here is the link  to signup and see what others are bringing!

Upcoming Spring Dates (Contact Laurie to signup!)

- April 30th ( Easter is April 16th )

- May 21st and June 25th

Other recommended books:
The Chemist (Recommended by Terry)
Barnes and Mobel Best Sellers and Oprah's List 
(Recommended by Laurie)

• The Snow Child 
• Jack Reacher returns in another fast-moving, action-packed, suspenseful book from Lee Child.
• Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult http://www.jodipicoult.com/small-great-things.html