Talk About a Good Book

July 2019 - Educated

Our next book group meeting will be Monday, July 29th at 3pm in LME Library meeting room. We are reading Educated by Tara Westover and copies of the book are available at the front desk. Discussion sheets are also available in the library or online. All adults are welcome so feel free to join us!

Summary of Educated by Tara Westover:
"Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag." In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. As a way out, Tara began to educate herself, learning enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University. Her quest for knowledge would transform her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Tara Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes, and the will to change it."

June 2019 - Bluebird, Bluebird

At our June meeting on June 24th, we discussed Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke. The group liked that the book was a mystery and that the story had a quick pace. We were divided on the cliffhanger at the end--some loved that it ensures another book in the series while others didn't like the loose end. Overall though, the book was well rated by the group! The book discussion guide is available online and we had Frosted's strawberry cream cheese coffeecake for dessert.

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."