Someone Knows My Name

Please join us on Wednesday July 15th at 1pm for a discussion of Lawrence Hill's book Someone Knows My Name.

Aminata Diallo is the beguiling heroine of Lawrence Hill's Someone Knows My Name. In it, Hill exquisitely imagines the tale of an eighteenth- century woman's life, spanning six decades and three continents. The fascinating story that Hill tells is a work of the soul and the imagination. Aminata is a character who will stir readers, from her kidnapping from Africa through her journeys back and forth across the ocean. -- From the book jacket

Rabbit, Run

The evening group is reading Rabbit, Run this month. John Updike (1932-2009) originally created the character of Harry 'Rabbit' Engstrom in 1960. Tuesday evening June 30th at 7:30pm.

Harry Angstrom was a star basketball player in high school and that was the best time of his life. Now in his mid-20s, his work is unfulfilling, his marriage is moribund, and he tries to find happiness with another woman. But happiness is more elusive than a medal, and Harry must continue to run--from his wife, his life, and from himself, until he reaches the end of the road and has to turn back.... -- From the publisher's summary

In the Memory House

Please join us at the Library on Wednesday afternoon June 17th at 1:00PM as we discuss Howard Mansfield's thoughtful and evocative work, In the Memory House.

This unique study of cultural introspection unfolds in a series of meditative essays about time and change in New England that reveal how profoundly cultural memory affects our lives. Mansfield meanders through the small historical museums of New England; he peers into the past and present of the town meeting; he visits Lowell, Massachusetts, and the Jack Kerouac Memorial; he contrasts two views of Walden Pond and he causes us to consider seriously the passing of old-growth trees. -- From the publisher's summary

This May and June, we have partnered with the New Hampshire Antiquarian Society in celebrating the work of local author, Howard Mansfield. Don't miss these related events:

• Hopkinton's Attic: 150 Years of Collecting History, opening at NHAS on June 5th
• Howard Mansfield Discusses In the Memory House, also at NHAS, on June 14th

The 19th Wife

The afternoon group is reading The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff and will meet on Wednesday May 20th at 1pm by the fireplace. Check out a copy at the library today!

The 19th Wife explores the mysteries of love, history and faith in two intertwined narratives: a historical thread about Brigham Young's expulsion of his own 19th wife, Ann Eliza Young from the Mormon Church and a modern-day murder mystery set on a polygamous compound in Utah.

from the book's website

Reading Group Guide

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (4/15)

It's spring! Join the afternoon group as we read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year in Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. The group will meet Wednesday afternoon April 15 at 1:00pm.

Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver returns with her first nonfiction narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: you are what you eat. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet. --from the book jacket.

Pride and Prejudice (4/8, 4/14 & 5/5)

Join Mike Timm on April 8th, 14th, and May 5th, at 7:30 PM, for a three-part exploration of Jane Austen's novel of 19th century romance, Pride and Prejudice. Here are your reading assignments!

1. (Wednesday, April 8): Chapters 1-26
2. (Tuesday, April 14): Chapters 27-47
3. (Tuesday, May 5): Chapters 48-end
   

Elizabeth Bennett has a great amount of pride in her family - even though they aren't nearly as wealthy as Fitzwilliam Darcy. Darcy, for his part, holds a certain prejudice against those of lesser rank and fortune; Elizabeth is prejudiced against his snobbery. How these 2 can ever fall in love can only be the work of Jane Austen, who masterfully arranges their story, the humorous characterizations, and a caricature of English society. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Austen changed the course of novels with her examinations of ordinary people in everyday life, and Pride and Prejudice stands as entertaining evidence to that fact. -- From the publisher's summary.

Murder on the Orient Express (3/24)

Join us on Tuesday, March 24th, at 7:30 PM, to explore Agatha Christie's classic whodunit, Murder on the Orient Express.

Savor one of the most clever of Christie's suspenseful classics. An American businessman is stabbed to death aboard a luxury train, the Orient Express, snowbound in the middle of Europe. Nothing escapes the eagle eye and quick intelligence of the great Hercule Poirot, and clues abound. Sorting through a dozen perfectly respectable passengers, all suspects, Poirot is tenacious in his pursuit of the truth.

Don't miss other titles in the Hercule Poirot series. -- From the publisher's summary.

Five Quarters of the Orange (3/18)

Join us on Wednesday, March 18th, at 1:00 PM, to explore Joanne Harris' compelling novel, Five Quarters of the Orange.

When the widowed Framboise moves back to the village of Les Laveuses, where she grew up, she is pleased to discover that no-one recognises her. She soon forges a new life for herself there, and before long has established a profitable creperie.

All is going well, until her profiteering nephew realises that money can be made by publishing a collection of Framboise's increasingly popular recipes, left to her by her mother, a woman despised throughout the village. For the book to be a success, her true identity must be revealed, opening the flood gates to a past life and painful childhood memories. -- From the publisher's summary.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (2/18)

Join our book discussion group on Wednesday, February 18th, at 1:00 PM, as we tackle Maya Angelou's classic work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Maya Angelou's childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s. Filled with images and recollections that point to the dignity and courage of black men and women, Angelou paints a sometimes disquieting, but always affecting picture of the people, and the times, that touched her life. -- From the publisher's summary.