At our November 25th meeting we discussed Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.  Overall, we thought the book was well written.  However, the subject was difficult and some of us could have used more hopefulness in the story.  The recipes choices were Belle's Molasses Cake and Saltine Walnut Toffee.

We also picked our books for 2014.  Remember that anyone can join a book discussion--we meet monthly at 3pm in the Turner Room.  Here's our list:

“Talk About a Good Book” Book Club Discussion Group

Wondering how we pick the books for bookgroup?  Well, it's a group effort!  Beth pulls together potential titles throughout the year from reading lists and suggestions from the group.  Since we have several members who prefer large print or audio, she then checks to make sure that the title is available in these formats.  If a title does not have multiple formats, we don't use it for bookgroup.

In October, the list is complete and sheets are made up with all the potential titles.  We review half the books at the October bookgroup meeting and vote on our favorites. The other half is reviewed the same way in November.

So far, we've looked at some fiction titles.  Next month, we will review the rest of the fiction and choose the non-fiction.  Do we have any titles chosen yet?  You bet!  We still need to choose at least 4 more fiction titles and 3 non-fiction books but here are 5 fiction books we will be reading next year:

• Home Front by Kristin Hannah
• Someone: A Novel by Alice McDermott
• The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
• Where We Belong by Emily Giffin
• Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

Once we have all the books chosen, we'll post them to this blog.  Watch for the list in early December and don't forget to talk about a good book!

At our meeting on October 28, we discussed Still Alice by Lisa Genova. Featured recipes were White Chocolate Bread Pudding and Cranberry Cupcakes.  

For our next bookgroup, we are reading Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.  We will meet on November 25th at 3pm in the Turner Room.  Discussion sheets are available in the library or online.  All are welcome to attend!  

Here is a short summary:
"Oprhaned aboard a ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. Eventually accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction, Lavinia straddles two very different world."

Our next bookgroup meeting is Monday, October 28th at 3pm in the Turner Room.  We will be discussing the book, Still Alice, by Lisa Genova.  The discussion guide is available in the library or online.

We will also start choosing our books for 2014. I'll have a stack of potential titles, and we'll spend a few minutes looking at each book.  We'll then vote on our favorites.  We'll do this again with additional titles in November.  I'll tally the votes shortly after our November meeting to compile a list of the books selected.  If you have any suggestions, just let me know!  We like to read both fiction and nonfiction works.