Talk About a Good Book

Jane Eyre - September 24

At our August 27th book group, we discussed the book This Is Always How It Is by Laurie Frankel. We had eleven members present and the book provided an excellent discussion of a timely topic. We had pie and danishes from Frosted Bakery.

Our next meeting will be Monday, September 24 at 3:30pm in the LME Library large meeting room. The book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Copies are available at the library circulation desk. Discussion sheets are available for pickup or online at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/286570/jane-eyre-by-charlotte-bronte/9780143106159/readers-guide/#

Summary: In early nineteenth-century England, an orphaned young woman accepts employment as a governess and soon finds herself in love with her employer who has a terrible secret.

August 27 - This is How It Always Is

At our July 30th meeting, we discussed Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. The book provided great discussion opportunities and all the participants liked reading the book. We had cupcakes and cake pops from Frosted Bakery.

For our August 27th meeting, we will be reading This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel. Books are available at the LME Library desk for pickup as of 7/31/18. We distributed discussion sheets but they are also available for pickup or online here.

Here's a summary of the book:
"When Rosie and Penn and their four boys welcome the newest member of their family, no one is surprised it's another baby boy. At least their large, loving, chaotic family knows what to expect. But Claude is not like his brothers. One day he puts on a dress and refuses to take it off. He wants to bring a purse to kindergarten. He wants hair long enough to sit on. When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl. Rosie and Penn aren't panicked at first. Kids go through phases, after all, and make-believe is fun. But soon the entire family is keeping Claude's secret. Until one day it explodes. This Is How It Always Is is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family. And it's about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again; parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts; children grow but not always according to plan. And families with secrets don't get to keep them forever."

Hillbilly Elegy - July 30

At our June 25th bookgroup, we discussed Dry by Jane Harper. Most of the group enjoys mysteries, and this one held us all to the end. Definitely a quick read for the group and well received. We had the Oreo brownie from Frosted which was excellent!

Our next bookgroup meeting will be Monday, July 30 at 3pm in the Library's large meeting room. The book is Hillbilly Elegy J.D. Vance. Copies of the book are available at the library desk and discussion sheets can be picked up or are available online.

Summary: "J. D. Vance's grandparents moved north from Kentucky's Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. However, Vance's family struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, and were never able to fully escape the legacy of poverty. A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country."

Dry by Jane Harper - June 25

At our May 21st meeting, we discussed the book Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. Even though we all greatly enjoyed the book, we've decided we'd like to take a break from WWII historical fiction for a while. We had treats from Frosted that we're lovely.

Our next book selection is Dry by Jane Harper. We will meet at 3pm on Monday, June 25th in the new meeting room. Books are available for pickup from the front desk and discussion sheets are available in the library or online. Summary: "A small town hides big secrets in The Dry. After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke's steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn't tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead. Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there's more to Luke's death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets."

Women in the Castle - May 21

At our April meeting, we discussed the book, Killers of the Flower Moon. It was very well received by the group and everyone felt that there hasn't been enough of Native American history taught at school. We had cookies and turnovers from Frosted.

Our next book group is a week earlier than usual due to the Memorial Day holiday. We will be meeting on Monday, May 21 at 3pm at the LME Library. We're discussing Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. Books can be picked up at the front desk and discussion sheets are also available for pickup or online.

Summary for Women in the Castle: Three women, haunted by the past and the secrets they hold. Amid the ashes of Nazi Germany's defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the once-grand castle of her husband's ancestors, an imposing stone fortress now fallen into ruin following years of war. The widow of a resister murdered in the failed July 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Marianne plans to uphold the promise she made to her husband's brave conspirators: to find and protect their wives, her fellow resistance widows. As Marianne assembles this makeshift family from the ruins of her husband's resistance movement, she is certain their shared pain and circumstances will hold them together. But she quickly discovers that the black-and-white, highly principled world of her privileged past has become infinitely more complicated, filled with secrets and dark passions that threaten to tear them apart. Eventually, all three women must come to terms with the choices that have defined their lives before, during, and after the war--each with their own unique share of challenges.