I almost forgot to post the wrap-up for Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller, so better late than never! We had seven members at our April 27th book group, and most of the group thought the book was funny and topical. The biggest issue for some was that it covered so many issues that it diminished the impact. Also, there were a lot of characters and members had a hard time keeping them straight! Overall though, the book received high ratings.

Our next book club meeting is a week early due to the Memorial Day holiday. The meeting is Monday, May 18th at 3pm at the LME Library. We will be discussing Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley. Books can be picked up at the library desk and the discussion is also available for pickup or here. 

At our March 30th meeting, we discussed The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon. We chose this book as part of our America 250 celebration, and we had a couple of new club members--welcome! Most thought that this was an interesting book, but it could use a better table of contents and an index. The group liked the author's storytelling and commentary. Overall, it was inspiring to see how people have made a difference even through adversity. 

Summary of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books: Beverly Underwood and her arch enemy, Lula Dean, live in the tiny town of Troy, Georgia, where they were born and raised. Now Beverly is on the school board, and Lula has become a local celebrity by embarking on mission to rid the public libraries of all inappropriate books-- none of which she's actually read. To replace the "pornographic" books she's challenged at the local public library, Lula starts her own lending library in front of her home: a cute wooden hutch with glass doors and neat rows of the worthy literature that she's sure the town's readers need. What Lula doesn't know is that a local troublemaker has stolen her wholesome books, removed their dust jackets, and restocked Lula's library with banned books: literary classics, gay romances, Black history, witchy spell books, Judy Blume novels, and more. One by one, neighbors who borrow books from Lula Dean's library find their lives changed in unexpected ways. Finally, one of Lula Dean's enemies discovers the library and decides to turn the tables on her, just as Lula and Beverly are running against each other to replace the town's disgraced mayor. That's when all the townspeople who've been borrowing from Lula's library begin to reveal themselves. That's when the showdown that's been brewing between Beverly and Lula will roil the whole town...and change it forever.

At our February 23, 2026 meeting, we discussed James by Percival Everett. The group liked reading the classic from James' perspective, but it was outside what they regularly read. Group members were interested in what it might be like to read the story from a female perspective. Overall, they rated it highly, but some members probably won't suggest it to others because it is more literary than what they usually read.

Book Summary: "From America's favorite government teacher, a heartfelt, inspiring portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country. In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn't make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers. Through meticulous research, she discovers history's unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time. This is a book about what really made America - and Americans - great. McMahon's cast of improbable champions will become familiar friends, lighting the path we journey in our quest to make the world more just, peaceful, good, and free."

Our book club met on Monday, January 26th and discussed Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. The discussion sheet is here. 

Even though everything was a bit confusing at first, we felt the author deliberately used this as a storytelling device. Most members laughed out loud at times and some shed happy tears at the ending. Overall, it was favorably rated even though it felt foreign at times. (Understandably, since this is a Swedish author whose works are translated.)

Book Summary for James: "From Percival Everett-a recipient of the NBCC Lifetime Achievement Award and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Booker Prize, and numerous PEN awards-comes James, a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river's banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin...), Jim's agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light. Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a "cult literary icon" (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature"--