In September, Ellen led the book club discussion of The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. We enjoyed the book, which delivered a bittersweet story about good people whose lives were affected by war, distance, betrayal, solitude and tragedy. Love and redemption were also on offer, but demanded a price with long-term consequences. A good read; we recommend it. We are also reading: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by ChrisRead More →
Seven of us met to discuss Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I can safely say that the book did not fare well with our group (though I will say that I was in the minority who enjoyed it.) The book is composed of a series of six narratives that loosely connect, sometimes through theme, sometimes through character. It is not an easy book, but the writing is sublime and theRead More →
The book club met and the eight of us assembled agreed we did not expect to enjoy Hitchen’s Mortality but due to author’s skill and the short length found it surprisingly readable. Stage 4 death and dying from an avowed atheist’s view was not morbid “there is no Stage 5” while his compassion, snark, and unbowed intellect came through. His examination of his pain, the humiliation of cancer and hisRead More →
Seven of us met to discuss The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye. What an interesting discussion about history and language, politics and religion. Some of the group had already read the sequel, Seven for a Secret. Here are some of the other books people have been reading: The Woman Who Lost Her Soul by Bob Shacochis The Dove Keepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman LifeRead More →
9 people met to discuss Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver this month. Besides discussing the current book, we always like to mention what we have been reading lately. So here it is, Books that Book Clubbers are enjoying: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman The Ungarnished Truth by Ellie Matthews The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom StillRead More →
Eight of us had the great pleasure of sitting down with the author of The Facades, Eric Lundgren. The novel takes place in a fictional midwestern city, Trude, that has pieces of St. Louis woven throughout the buildings and landscape. Sven Norberg is looking for his lost wife, Molly. This is the pull throughout the novel, but the real mystery is how we build these facades around our selves andRead More →
Congratulations to Hilary for winning the Brentwood Book Challenge in 2013. Hilary read 93 books for a total of 29,222 pages! We started this competition as part of the Missouri Book Challenge in 2011. In the statewide challenge, libraries vie for the distinction of having the staff who reads the most. We are competing within our own humble library for that distinction. Which brings me to my second congratulations toRead More →
Eight people met in February to discuss Gulp by Mary Roach. We tackled the very interesting (and sometimes icky) activities of the human alimentary canal, which was presented with the author’s customary regard for careful research, humorous footnotes, factoids and weird events and persons. She did not disappoint; there were descriptions of digestive mishaps, clinical procedures gone awry, cows (not human, but they have multiple stomachs, with more possible mayhem!)Read More →
From mysteries to graphic novels, children’s books to adult titles, we’ve read a lot of great books this year that we would like to share with you! Hilary: -Hero by Alethea Kontis -Of Poseidon by Anna Banks -The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde -The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech -Poison by Bridget Zinn -The Selection by Kiera Cass -Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole -Etiquette andRead More →
Seven of us braved the freezing cold to discuss The Faith Club by Ranya Idliby, et al. It is the account of three women of three faiths who came together to write a children’s book about their religions. They had heated discussions about their religions and ultimately, came away with a greater understanding of their faith and the faith of others. This was about their journey as a group ofRead More →
