Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting - May 18
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.
Summary: "Nobody ever talks to strangers on the train. It's a rule. But what would happen if they did? From the New York Times bestselling author of The Authenticity Project, a heartwarming novel about unexpected friendships and the joy of connecting. Every day Iona, a larger-than-life magazine advice columnist, travels the ten stops from Hampton Court to Waterloo Station by train, accompanied by her dog, Lulu. Every day she sees the same people, whom she knows only by nickname: Impossibly-Pretty-Bookworm and Terribly-Lonely-Teenager. Of course, they never speak. Seasoned commuters never do. Then one morning, the man she calls Smart-But-Sexist-Manspreader chokes on a grape right in front of her. He'd have died were it not for the timely intervention of Sanjay, a nurse, who gives him the Heimlich maneuver. This single event starts a chain reaction, and an eclectic group of people with almost nothing in common except their commute discover that a chance encounter can blossom into much more. It turns out that talking to strangers can teach you about the world around you--and even more about yourself."
April 27 - Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books
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.
Our next book group meeting will be April 27 at 3pm at the LME Library and we will be discussing Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books. Copies are available for pickup at the library desk and discussion sheets are also available for pickup or online.
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.
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