January Book
December Book
Wednesday December 15th at 1pm by the fireplace. Copies of the book are available to check out at the library.
When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965, Mooreland, Indiana was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this witty and lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back to a time when small-town America was caught in the amber of the innocent postwar period - people helped their neighbors, went ot church on Sunday, and kept barnyard animals in their backyards.
Laced with fine storytelling, sharp wit, dead-on observations, and moments of sheer joy, Haven Kimmel's straight-shooting portrait of her childhood gives us a heroine who is wonderfully sweet and sly as she navigates the quirky adult world that surrounds Zippy. --from the book cover
November book
The Vine of Desire continues the story of Anju and Sudha, the two young women at the center of Divakaruni's bestselling novel Sister of My Heart [We did this as September's book choice - although you needn't have read this prior to this month's book]. Far from Calcutta, the city of their childhood, and after years of living separate lives, Anju and Sudha rekindle their friendship in America. The deep-seated love they feel for each other porvides the support each of them needs...a moving and satisfying sequel to Sister of My Heart, The Vine of Desire stands on its own as a novel of extraordinary depth and sensitivity. Through the eyes of people caught in the clash of cultures, Divakaruni reveals the rewards and the perils of breaking free from the past and the complicated, often contradictory emotions that shape the passage to independence. --from the book jacket
Hopkinton READS!
We're back!
Sister of My Heart is about how the lives of two women are changed by marriage, as one woman comes to California, and the other stays behind in India. Anju is the daughter of an upper-caste Calcutta family of distinction. Sudha is the daughter of the black sheep of that same family. Sudha is startlingly beautiful; Anju is not. Despite these differences, since the day the two girls were born—the same day their fathers died, mysteriously and violently—Sudha and Anju have been sisters of the heart. Bonded in ways even their mothers cannot comprehend, the two girls grow into womanhood as if their fates, as well as their hearts, are merged. ....from the author's website.
Mother-Daughter Reading Club
Attention moms and daughters (aged 9-12)! Pick up a copy of The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman and Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Schlitz to read for our May 20th meeting. The group will meet at 6:30 pm in the Community Room. Join us!
May Book Discussion
The book group will meet by the fireplace on Wednesday May 19th at 1pm - join us! Copies of the book and audio CD are available to check out at the library. Also available as a downloadable audiobook on OverDrive.A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope - a captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it!
Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague
When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housema
id named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders." Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. Written with stunning emotional intelligence and introducing "an inspiring heroine" (The Wall Street Journal), Brooks blends love and learning, loss and renewal into a spellbinding and unforgettable read.
id named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders." Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. Written with stunning emotional intelligence and introducing "an inspiring heroine" (The Wall Street Journal), Brooks blends love and learning, loss and renewal into a spellbinding and unforgettable read.Penguin.com
Wednesday April 21 at 1pm. Copies of the book are available to check out at the library.
Wednesday April 21 at 1pm. Copies of the book are available to check out at the library.
The Glass Castle
The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family. The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered. The Glass Castle is truly astonishing -- a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar, but loyal, family. Jeannette Walls has a story to tell, and tells it brilliantly, without an ounce of self-pity. readinggroupguides.com Copies of the book and the audiobook are available at the library. Join us on Wednesday March 17th at 1:00pm by the fireplace for a lively chat!
Mother-Daughter Reading Group
NEW! For our first Mother-Daughter Reading Group we'll be reading Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. We have plenty of copies so girls (ages 9-12) and their moms can read the book at the same time. Discussion will take place on Thursday March 4th from 6:15-7:30. Julie of the Wolves is an award-winning book about survival in the wilderness. A young Eskimo girl, named both Julie Edward ( her American name) and Miyax Kapugen (her Eskimo name), runs away from a traditional planned marriage that she finds intolerable. She becomes lost, far away from even the most remote settlement. Read the book to find out what happens!
The Good Earth
In conjunction with our Chinese New Year display and celebration, the afternoon book group will be reading The Good Earth, the classic novel of pre-revolutionary China by the Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck. This moving, classic story of the farmer Wang Lung and his selfless wife O-lan is must reading for those who would fully appreciate the sweeping changes that have occurred in the lives of the Chinese people during this century (from the book cover).Come to the library to check out a copy of the book and while you're here, browse our display of books and movies about China. You'll also see our glass-front display case filled with items that will dazzle the eye and educate the mind - all about Chinese New Year!
In addition to our book group meeting, the library will have a Chinese New Year Celebration on Sunday February 14 from 2-4pm with crafts, music, and Chinese food in the Community Room. All are welcome at this free program!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The afternoon group is reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows this month. This much talked about book has been a top pick for many reading groups in the last year, not surprisingly since the plot involves the formation of a very special book club. Written as a lively epistolary exchange, the book is "...a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name" (from the book cover).
Cozy up to the Library's fireplace on Wednesday January 20th at 1pm!
Also available in large print, audio CD and through OverDrive downloadable audiobooks.
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