Talking book titles. I don’t mean audiobooks, but talking about books.
What is better than reading books? Sharing them with others.
For years I’ve been part of book clubs that discussed a book a month. It wasn’t until I attended a local library book discussion group that I discovered a new format. Everyone shares one or two books that they have read.
The benefits of this arrangement is that you hear reviews about many books. Some members give a synopsis, while others go into more detail. This format lends itself to discussion, too, because often others have heard of the title, the author, or read another book by the author, so we segue into a mini discussion.
This brings me to another benefit of book groups — a community where you connect with others who love for books, but might read different genres. There’s solid common ground, yet variety in the discussion.
I always leave the book club meetings feeling content and with more books for my “To Read” list. The other bonus is that before we formed our COVID breakout group, we were part of the library group that provided tea and treats! Books and snacks – double dividends!
Stay tuned to this blog for updated posts on what the members are reading and recommending (and sometimes, not recommending).
Here is the list of the eclectic titles provided in the September book group meet. I have dubbed us The NW Bookfiends because we meet in the Northwest Cape and we fiendishly enjoy reading and talking about books. Titles below have a morsel from each bookfiend. Click on the links to be directed to Amazon for more information about the title.
HRH Queen Elizabeth turns Miss Marple in this very proper mystery for Anglophiles. (JD – the self professed Anglofile of the group gave two enthusiastic thumbs up for this title.)
This is a thriller about discovering the truth behind the death of a teenager. Did her best friends really kill her, and did the true murderer go to jail? (This is the first title by this author that LR has read and she gave it a thumbs up.)
Life in the gator-wrestling theme park of the Everlglades in Florida has its moments for thirteen-year-old gator wrestler. who leaves her home to find her siblings who seem to have lost their minds. (DB gave a thumbs up to the first 100 pages of this title)
Set two years into World War Two, this is the story of four women who enter a cooking contest that is designed to inspire housewives with the meagre food rations they are receiving. A fascinating look at life during the war, and the role of these women, and women supporting the war effort in general. (DB gave an enthusiastic two thumbs up for this title, AND has copied a few recipes to try – and hopefully share with us at one of the next meetings)
A fun mystery set in tropical Cape Coral, Florida, and led by two seventy-year-old snowbirds . (DA recommended this cozy-ish mystery, especially interesting for those who are familiar with Cape Coral and will recognize the locales visited as Ellen and Charlie try to solve the murder.)
There’s murder and mystery aboard a ship set for Amsterdam in the year 1634. Samuel Pipps – the world’s greatest detective – and his best friend solve the sightings of the dead leper, with the help of a fiercely independent and mistreated noblewoman. (As you might guess – from my review of this title – I gave this title two thumbs up. I especially recommended for those who like sea-faring stories and mysteries with a touch of the supernatural.
Set in the twenties, this is the true story of J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Bella da Costa Greene, and how she rose to become well known and respected in high society for helping Morgan curate manuscripts for the Pierpoint Morgan library. All the while she keeps her secret that she is black. (MR gave this historical fiction novel an enthusiastic two thumbs up,)