Berry Pickers - November 24, 2025
At our October meeting, we discussed The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane. Most of the group found the book less compelling than our usual book club titles, but it was a quick book to read. We also started voting on our book club picks for next year.
Our next meeting is Monday, November 24th at 3pm, and we'll meet in the LME Library's large meeting room. The November read is The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. Books can be picked up at the front desk, and discussion sheets are also available for pick-up or here. We're also picking our titles for 2026--please join us!
Berry Pickers summary: "July 1962. A Mi'kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family's youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister's disappearance for years to come. In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren't telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret. For readers of The Vanishing Half and Woman of Light, this showstopping debut by a vibrant new voice in fiction is a riveting novel about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma, and the persistence of love across time."--
Replacement Wife - October 27
At our book group meeting on September 29th, we discussed What the Bears Know by Steve Searles. We welcomed two new book club members, and everyone enjoyed the book. Most felt they learned a lot about bears and how people need to be more accountable for their actions. Overall, it was a highly rated book and held our interest.
Our next book is The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane, and we'll meet on Monday, October 27th at 3pm at the LME Library. Copies are available in regular print, large print at the front desk and in electronic book and audio formats online. Discussion sheets are available for pickup or can be accessed online.Summary for The Replacement Wife: Elisa Wright is a mom and wife, living a nice, quiet life in a nice, quiet town. She's also convinced her brother-in-law is a murderer. Josh has one dead wife and one missing fianceé, and though he grieved for them he starts dating someone new. Elisa fears for that woman's safety, and she desperately wants to know what happened to her friend, Josh's missing fianceé. Searching for clues means investigating her own family. And she doesn't like what she finds. A laptop filled with incriminating information. Other women. But when Elisa becomes friends with Josh's new girlfriend and starts to question things she thinks are true, Elisa wonders if the memories of a horrible incident a year ago have finally pushed her over the edge and Josh is innocent. With so much at stake, Elisa fights off panic attacks and a strange illness. Is it a breakdown or something more? The race is on to get to the truth before another disappearance because there's a killer in the family, or is there?
July 2025 - Paris Library
At our June 30th meeting, we discussed the Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane. It was okay, but we felt it did not have enough substance for book group. Some felt the mystery wasn't very suspenseful, and others thought the title was misleading. Overall, it was a quick and easy read - good for those who just need a beach read.
Our next meeting is Monday, July 28th at 3:30pm at the LME Library. Copies of The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles are available for pickup at the front desk. Discussion sheets are also available for pickup or can be downloaded here. Summary: "Paris, 1939. Young, ambitious, and tempestuous, Odile Souchet has it all: Paul, her handsome police officer beau; Margaret, her best friend from England; her adored twin brother Remy; and a dream job at the American Library in Paris, working alongside the library's legendary director, Dorothy Reeder. But when World War II breaks out, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear - including her beloved library. After the invasion, as the Nazis declare a war on words and darkness falls over the City of Light, Odile and her fellow librarians join the Resistance with the best weapons they have: books. They risk their lives again and again to help their fellow Jewish readers. When the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal. Montana, 1983. Odile's solitary existence in gossipy small-town Montana is unexpectedly interrupted by Lily, her neighbor, a lonely teenager longing for adventure. As Lily uncovers more about Odile's mysterious past, they find they share a love of language, the same longings, the same lethal jealousy. Odile helps Lily navigate the troubled waters of adolescence by always recommending just the right book at the right time, never suspecting that Lily will be the one to help her reckon with her own terrible secret. Based on the true story of the American Library in Paris, The Paris Library explores the geography of resentment, the consequences of terrible choices made, and how extraordinary heroism can be found in the quietest of places"--
Girl Who Disappeared Twice - June 30
Our May 19th book club had low attendance, but we had a lot to discuss with The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. This true crime non-fiction work profiles Stéphane Breitwieser, who stole more than 300 art objects from museums, churches, and auction houses over nearly ten years. His narcissistic behavior and the lack of repercussions for his crimes stunned us. Finkel was very thorough and presented the details with startling clarity.
Our next meeting is Monday, June 30th at 3pm at the LME Library. We'll be reading the Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane. Copies are available for pickup at the front desk and discussion sheets are available at the desk or online.
Book Summary: When they are hired by veteran family court judge Hope Willis to find her missing daughter, Forensic Investigators--a team of renegade investigators comprised of a behaviorist, a techno-wizard, an intuitive, and a former Navy SEAL--must race against time to bring Krissy back alive.
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