Talk About a Good Book

May 20 - Story of Arthur Truluv

At our April 29th book club meeting, we discussed the book, Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly. Members liked the book and the fact that it brings attention to the contributions made by these women. The movie version focuses only on the race to moon, so it was interesting that about a third of the book dealt with WWII war efforts. It was amazing to read about how these working women were able to balance children, families, jobs, and all that goes with it in an age before many of our modern conveniences (permapress clothing, convenience foods, even dishwashers!) During the meeting, we had treats from Frosted Bakery.

Our next book club will meeting on Monday, May 20th at 3pm. This is a week earlier than usual to accommodate the Memorial Day holiday. We will be reading The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg. The book discussion guide can be picked up with the book at the library desk or is also available online.

Book Summary: "For the past six months, Arthur Moses's days have looked the same: He tends to his rose garden and to Gordon, his cat, then rides the bus to the cemetery to visit his beloved late wife for lunch. The last thing Arthur would imagine is for one unlikely encounter to utterly transform his life. Eighteen-year-old Maddy Harris is an introspective girl who visits the cemetery to escape the other kids at school. One afternoon she joins Arthur--a gesture that begins a surprising friendship between two lonely souls. Moved by Arthur's kindness and devotion, Maddy gives him the nickname "Truluv." As Arthur's neighbor Lucille moves into their orbit, the unlikely trio band together and, through heartache and hardships, help one another rediscover their own potential to start anew. Wonderfully written and full of profound observations about life, The Story of Arthur Truluv is a beautiful and moving novel of compassion in the face of loss, of the small acts that turn friends into family, and of the possibilities to achieve happiness at any age."

Book Club article in Library Journal - Apr 2019

The LME Library book group has been meeting for over 15 years. Why do book groups (or clubs) continue to be popular? Find out in this article from Library Journal called "The Book Club Experience".

April 29 - Hidden Figures

At the book group meeting on March 25, we had a small group discuss Celine by Peter Heller. Definitely not your run of the mill mystery, but if you like eccentric characters, vivid imagery, insightful passages, and are patient with the storytelling, you will probably enjoy this one. Interesting note: the character, Celine, was modeled after the author's own mother. We had cinnamon coffee cake from Frosted Bakery.

Our next meeting will be Monday, April 29th at 3pm and we will be discussing Hidden Figures by Marot Lee Shetterly. Copies are available at the LME Library desk and discussion sheets are available for pickup or online.

Summary: "Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South's segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America's aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam's call, moving to Hampton, Virginia, and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley's all-black "West Computing" group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens."

March 25 - Celine by Peter Heller

At our February 25th meeting, we discussed the book, Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson. Everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed the book and we had a great discussion. There's so much going on with the book that most of the readers would love to see a sequel! We had cupcakes and cookies from Frosted Bakery for refreshments.

Our next bookgroup will be on Monday, March 25th at 3pm. We will be discussing Celine by Peter Heller. Books are available for pickup from the desk and new members are welcome! Discussion sheets can also be picked up at the library or are available online.

Summary: Celine specializes in reuniting families, trying to make amends for a loss in her own past. She is asked for help by Gabriela, whose father, a photographer, went missing on the border of Montana and Wyoming. He was assumed to have died from a grizzly mauling, but his body was never found. Investigating a trail gone cold in Yellowstone National Park, it becomes clear the two women are being followed-- and this is a case someone desperately wants to keep closed.

February 25 - Almost Sisters

At our January 28th meeting, we discussed the book, Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galbraith (pseudonym for J.K. Rowling). This is the first book in the Cormoran Strike series and we enjoyed reading this mystery. We had the traditional English dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding, during our discussion. Even with the inclement weather, we still had 8 members attend.

Our next meeting will be Monday, February 25 at 3pm in the library's large meeting room. We will be discussing the book, Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson. Books are available for pickup at the library and the discussion guide is available at the library and online.

A summary of Almost Sisters is below: "With empathy, grace, humor, and piercing insight, the author of gods in Alabama pens a powerful, emotionally resonant novel of the South that confronts the truth about privilege, family, and the distinctions between perception and reality—-the stories we tell ourselves about our origins and who we really are.
Superheroes have always been Leia Birch Briggs' weakness. One tequila-soaked night at a comics convention, the usually level-headed graphic novelist is swept off her barstool by a handsome and anonymous Batman. It turns out the caped crusader has left her with more than just a nice, fuzzy memory. She's having a baby boy—an unexpected but not unhappy development in the thirty-eight year-old's life. But before Leia can break the news of her impending single-motherhood (including the fact that her baby is biracial) to her conventional, Southern family, her step-sister Rachel's marriage implodes. Worse, she learns her beloved ninety-year-old grandmother, Birchie, is losing her mind, and she's been hiding her dementia with the help of Wattie, her best friend since girlhood.
Leia returns to Alabama to put her grandmother's affairs in order, clean out the big Victorian that has been in the Birch family for generations, and tell her family that she's pregnant. Yet just when Leia thinks she's got it all under control, she learns that illness is not the only thing Birchie's been hiding. Tucked in the attic is a dangerous secret with roots that reach all the way back to the Civil War. Its exposure threatens the family's freedom and future, and it will change everything about how Leia sees herself and her sister, her son and his missing father, and the world she thinks she knows."