Book Club

This book club was begun in 1999 by a group of women who were friends in church. Much has changed since its beginning, including the marriages of children, relocating, and the arrival of grandchildren, but the friendships and the book studies continue. There is no official name for the group other than ‘Book Club’. The meetings are once a month, and the host for the month chooses the book and serves a light dinner. The club currently has six members, including 4 of the 6 in the original group.

We fondly remember our dear friends and Book Club members, Trish, who passed away in March of 2017, and Pat, who passed away in August of 2022.

Book Club 2024

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Jan 16GinnyThe Red LotusChris Bohjallianan American man vanishes in Vietnam and his girlfriend, an ER doctor, follows a path that leads her home to where they met.
Feb 20KayThe Engineer's WifeTracey Enerson Wood The true story of the Brooklyn Bridge and Emily Roebling who helped her injured husband complete the building of the bridge.
Mar 19NancyWest With GiraffesLynda Rutledge Humorous story of two giraffes transported cross country during the Dust Bowl, depression, and WWII.
Apr 16PennyCode Name EidelweissStephanie LandsemThe true story of Jewish lawyer Leon Lewis who helped to foil Nazi plots in America in the 1930s.
May 21PhylisMiss Benson's BeetleRachel JoyceTwo post WWII spinsters set off to prove the existence of a golden beetle.
June 18MarciaThe Woman In Cabin 10Ruth WareIn this mystery thriller, Lo Blacklock, a neurotic travel writer, is assigned to a luxury five-star cruise to Norway.
Jul 16GinnyThe WomenKristin HannahIn the 1960's, Frankie McGrath deals with the upheavals of the Vietnam War.
Aug 22 (Change of date)KayThe Seven Husbands of Evelyn HugoTaylor Jenkins ReidA disposed Hollywood Legend offers a young producer, Monique, the opportunity to tell her story.
Sept 17 (Lunch)NancyThe MeasureNikki ErlickThe residents of a small town receive a box telling how long they will live.
Oct 15PhylisThe InmateFreida McFaddenBrooke Sullivan is a nurse practitioner at a maximum security prison where her ex-boyfriend is incarcerated for life.
Nov 19MarciaWidow Of The SouthRobert HicksStory of the Confederate woman whose house was commandeered as a field hospital following the Battle of Franklin, TN
Dec 17PennyFamiliaris, The Story Of Edgar SawtelleDavid WroblewskiThe origin story of the Sawtelle family and the remarkable dogs that carry the Sawtelle name.

Book Club 2023

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Jan 17GinnyCaleb's CrossingGeraldine BrooksSet in colonial New England, mostly during the 1660s, it tells the story of English puritan, Bethia, and her friendship with Native American Caleb.
Feb 21No Book Club
Mar 21NancyLessons In ChemistryBonnie Gamus A single mother Elizabeth Zott, is a brilliant chemist in a man's world in the1960s
Apr 18PennyThe Midnight LibraryMatt HaigYou are permitted to choose any book from the shelves and each book contains an alternative life. Each life is what would have resulted if you changed a single decision you regretted.
May 16PhylisThe Bluegrass ConspiracySally DentonKentucky history of the Cocaine Epidemic involving some of the top leaders of KY.
June 20MarciaDavid CopperfieldCharles DickensThe novel traces the life of David Copperfield from the time of his birth to his mature manhood, when he is married and familiar with the vicissitudes of life.
Jul 18GinnyDavid Copperfiled, con't
Aug 15 KayThe Other EinsteinMarie BenedictThe story of Albert Einstein's first wife who helped shape many of his theories but never received credit.
Sept 11NancyRemarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van PeltCleaning lady, Tova Sullivan, strikes up a friendship with octopus named Marcellus, and saves his life.
Oct 17PhylisJust A Regular BoyCatherine Ryan Hyde
An orphaned boy raised by a survivalist wends his way into the real world in a newly found family.
Nov 21PennyThe Secret Life Of SunflowersMarta MolnarA young prostitute seeks refuge, and is befriended by Van Gogh.
Dec 19MarciaThese Precious DaysAnn PatchetAnn Patchett’s excellent collection of essays, in which she recalls her own father, an L.A. cop who scorned her writing ambitions and encouraged her to be a dental hygienist.

Book Club 2022

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Jan 11GinnyPiece Of The WorldChristina Baker KlineBiographical fiction about Christina Olson, the subject in the painting titled "Christina's World" by American artist, Andrew Wyeth. Christina was afflicted with a degenerative muscular disorder and the story is based around that.
Feb 8no book club
Mar 15NancyBad Blood (note author)John CarreyrueThis book covers 3 1/2 yrs of investigation into Theranos, its founder Elizabeth Holmes and her meteoric rise and spectacular fall in the obsessive pursuit of a dream.
Apr 19PennyUnder The Gilded MoonJoy Jordan-LakeHistorical fiction.
In the 1800,
young George Washington Vanderbilt II has built Biltmore House in the Appalachian Mountains.
May 24KayRiver Of DoubtCandice MillardThe true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of the Amazon after his failed presidential bid.
Jun 21PhylisThe Stranger In The LifeboatMitch AlbomA luxury yacht encounters a disaster for all but a small group of survivors, whose lives plummeted into thirst, hunger and death depending on their belief of a redeeming Lord.
Jul 19GinnyInvisible ChildAndrea ElliottExcellent portrayal of the trials and tribulations of African\ American family with inner city poverty, homelessness,and drug addiction and a system that fails them.
Aug 23NancyAmerica For BeginnersLeah FranquiBengali widow embarks on a road trip of the U.S. with a Bangladeshi guide and a young American woman after the death of her son who was banished from the family.
Sep 20PennyThe Bookseller's SecretMichelle GableA dual-protagonist story of Katie Cabot, an American author visiting London, and Nancy Mitford, the oldest of the famous Mitford sisters.
Oct 18PhylisHorse - canceledGeraldine BrooksStory of a discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history
Nov 15MarciaHorseDiscussion
Dec 20KayA Trick of the LightLouise PennyDuring the Great depression, Elsa Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, homicide investigator, leads the investigation of murder involving art, marriage, friendship and more in Quebec.

Book Club 2021 (If whole table does not display, click on "Next" at the bottom of this table.)

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Jan 12CancelledCOVID
Feb 9CancelledCOVID
Mar 9CancelledCOVID
Apr 14KayThe Lighthouse Keepers DaughterHazel GaynorThe story is divided between the historical Victorian heroine, Grace Darling, and a young pregnant girl of 100 years later.
May 11PennyThe Dutch HouseAnn PatchettMaeve and Danny are abandoned by their mother when their father buys a mansion for their mother who abandons them. They are force to leave by their step mother, and spend their lives returning to look at the mansion that was once theirs.
Jun 8PhylisThe Nickel BoysColson WhiteheadElwood and Turner are in a reform school for boys, where they suffer cruel treatment and racial discrimination.
Jul 13Cancelledcancelled
Aug 10GinnyThe Vanishing HalfBrit BennettTwin girls grow up in the segregated South, and rebel by choosing different life styles, one with a black husband, and one with a white husband.
Sep 21NancySons of Blackbird MountainJoanne BischofTwo handsome brothers. An age-old Appalachian feud. And a love that may tear the Norgaard family apart.
Oct 12PennyThe Paris LibraryJanet Skeslien Charles Women in Paris keep the American Library in Paris open during WW II.
Nov 9KayThe Book of Lost FriendsLisa WingateStory of three young women searching for family post–Civil War, and a modern-day teacher who learns of their story.
Dec 14PhylisSullivan's IslandDorothea Benton FrankSusan Hayes navigated through her turbulent childhood with humor, spunk, and Southern sass. But years later, she is a conflicted woman with an unfaithful husband, and a resentful teenage daughter.

Book Club 2020 (If whole table does not display, click on "Next" at the bottom of this table.)

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Jan 14KayWhat The Wind KnowsAmy HarmonOn the death of her grandfather, a young author goes to Ireland to discover the story of her family's past during the Irish rebellion.
Feb 11PatDinner with Pat
Mar, Apr, May, June, all canceled because of COVID-19
July 21PhylisA Gentleman In MoscowAmor TowlesFollows the story of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov and his life in the Hotel Metropol where he has been under house arrest for thirty-two years.
Aug 11NancyThe Giver of StarsJoJo MoyesDuring the Great Depression, the WPA employed women who could ride horses as traveling KY librarians.
Sept 8ClareAmerican DirtJeanine Cummins A Mexican bookseller escapes cartel-related violence with her son, fleeing to the US.
Oct 13GinnyA Far Piece To CanaanSam Halpern Samuel Zelinsky, a former professor, reluctantly returns after his wife’s death to the Kentucky hills where he lived as a to make good on a forgotten promise.
Nov 10PhyilsThe Pull of the StarsEmma DonoghueIn an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Flu are quarantined together
Dec 8CancelledCOVID

Book Club 2019 (If whole table does not display, click on "Next" at the bottom of this table.)

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Jan 8, 2019KayRemarkable CreaturesTracy ChevalierBased on real characters, the story of two young women who discover ancient fossils in southern England.
Feb 12, 2019Patno book club this month. '------'------
Mar 12, 2019PennyNext Year In HavanaChanel CleetonTwo women, decades apart, grow up in Cuba in the last half of the 20th century.
Apr 9, 2019ClareWhere The Crawdads SingDelia OwensAbandoned by her parents in very poor surroundings, nature-loving Kya eventually learns to interact with those around her.
May 14, 2019GinnyPachinkoMin Jin LeeFamily saga about four generations of a Korean family that is set in Korea and Japan.
June 11, 2019KayThe Art ForgerB.A. ShapiroAlmost twenty-five years after the infamous art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, one of the stolen Degas paintings is delivered to the Boston studio of a young artist, Claire Roth. h
July 9, 2019Phylisparty for Jerry O.
Aug 13, 2019NancyThe Baker's SecretStephen P. KiernanA baker's apprentice during the Nazi occupation keeps her townspeople alive.
Sept 10, 2019PatDinner with Pat------------------------
Oct 8, 2019PennyThe Last List of Miss Judith KrattAndrea BobotisTwo women review scandal and hard times that befell a family over 60 years. Historical fiction.
Nov 12, 2019ClareThe Silent PatientAlex MichaelidesPsychological thriller about an artist who shoots her husband and then refuses to speak.
Dec 10, 2019GinnyNews of the WorldPaulette JilesAfter the Civil War, two women make their way through perils both natural (swollen rivers) and human (Indians and male predators) on the lengthy trip from Wichita Falls to San Antonio.

Book Club 2018 (If whole table does not display, click on "Next" at the bottom of this table.)

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Jan 9, 2018PatHidden FiguresMargot Lee ShetterlyThe story of the African-American women who helped build NASA
Feb 13, 2018GinnyThe Truth According To UsAnnie BarrowsThe secrets of a small Depression-era West Virginia town through the eyes of 12 year old Willa, and Layla, a who was assigned by Roosevelt's Writer Project.
Mar 13, 2018ClareLilac GirlsMartha Hall Kelly The book is written from the perspective of 3 individuals in WW II -- a woman in NYC trying to help the French children; a Polish woman and her family who were sent to one of the worst "re-education camps"; and from a female German doctor who worked at that re-education camp.
Apr 10, 2018KaySgt. Reckless: America's War HorseRobin HuttonReckless, a Korean pony conscripted into the Marines to carry ammunition, is the only animal ever to be given official rank in the U.S. Armed Forces.
May 8, 2018PennyThe Alice NetworkKate QuinnSet in two times - 1915 and 1947, the story of two women whose paths intersect.
Jun 12, 2018NancyThe Handmaids TaleMargaret AtwoodFuturistic novel about a post-nuclear-war world in which women are breeding stock.
Jul 10, 2018PhylisRabbit A MemoirPatricia WilliamsHumorous telling of the author's escape from her background of poverty.
Aug 14, 2018PatThe President Is MissingBill Clinton & James PattersonThe President of the US goes into a secure place to fight an internet terrorist attack.
Sep 11, 2018GinnyThe Last SuppersMandy MikulencakA woman's quest to provide meals for death row prisoners leads her into the secrets of her own past.
Oct 9, 2018ClareCrazy Rich AsiansKevin KwanMan's extremely rich family is worried that he is going to propose to someone who is not from a “good” family.
Nov 13, 2018NancyAnd Then There Were NoneAgatha ChristieA murder mystery in which ten people are invited to an Island and are murdered one by one according to an old nursery rhyme.
Dec 11, 2018PhylisThe French For ChristmasFiona ValpyEvie is heartbroken after a year grief and loss. The offer of her neighbor's holiday cottage in France help her find friendship, consolation and a new confidence in herself.

Book Club 2017

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Jan 10, 2017KayThe Good EarthPearl S. BuckA Chinese man fulfills his desire for land.
Feb 14, 2017NANo Meeting
Mar 14, 2017NancyThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & ClayMichael ChabonKavalier and his friend Sammy Clay are instrumental in the of creating comic books in 1939 in NY.
Apr 11, 2017PennyThe Garden of Evening MistsTan Twan EngA privileged Japanese woman survives a prisoner of war camp in the 1980's and builds a memorial garden.
May 9, 2017PhylisAn Invisible ThreadLaura SchroffA successful NY winab executive helps a poor young man as he is growing up.
Jun 13, 2017PatThe Night Circus

Hidden Figures (for next time)
Eric Morgenstern

(for next time): Margot Lee Shetterly
Magic and fantasy as a circus appears and disappears over the years.

(for next time) Black women mathematicians help win the space race in the 1960's
Jul 11, 2017GinnyThe Secret Wisdom of the EarthChristopher ScottonA troubled teenager's coming of age in an equally troubled town in Appalachia.
Aug 8, 2017ClarePure HeartTroy BallRaising 3 sons, two with special needs, the author makes the most of her southern town experience.
Sep 12, 2017PhylisSmall Great ThingsJodi PicoultThe true story of a nurse who was prohibited from caring for a newborn by its bigoted father.
Oct 10, 2017KayHillbilly ElegyJ.D. VanceThe author goes from poverty in Appalachia and Ohio to Yale.
Nov 14, 2017NancyThe Light Between OceansM.L. StedmanThe Light Between Oceans tells the story about an Australian lighthouse keeper and his wife who have their world turned upside one day when a boat containing a body and a baby wash up on their island.
Dec 12, 2017PennyA Man Called OveFredrik BackmanA cranky man's sour view of the world changes when he gets new neighbors.

Book Club 2016

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec 13, 2016ClareA Prayer for Owen MeanyJohn IrvingThe memoir of a dwarf who believes he is the instrument of God.
Nov8, 2016TrishThe Throwaway ChildrenDiney CosteloeSad story of two children who are taken from their abusive home and sent to Australia.
Oct 11, 2016PhylisSpilled MilkK L RandisHeroic story of Brooke, a young girl who survives domestic abuse to live to a happier life.
Sep 13, 2016PatEverything I Never Told YouCeleste NGA Chinese father and a Caucasian mother work their way through the death of their 16-year-old daughter.
Aug 9, 2016PennyThe Summer Before The WarHelen SimonsonBeatrice Nash arrives in Rye, England to teach Latin before WWI, during the time of manners and class distinction.
Jul 12, 2016GinnySaturdayIan McEwanHenry Perowne, a middle-aged doctor in London struggles with terrorist anxiety after seeing an explosion in the sky.
Jun 14 2016NancyUncle Tom's CabinHarriet Beecher StoweThe anti-slavery novel published in 1852 that changed the view of slavery.
May 10, 2016PhylisRosemary: The Hidden Kennedy DaughterKate Clifford LarsonThe biography of the Kennedy's daughter who suffered from mental disabilities.
Apr 12, 2016KayThe Rosie ProjectGraeme SimsionA socially inept professor sets out to logically choose a wife.
Mar 8, 2016TrishOf Marriageable AgeSharon MaasThis story of three children goes back and forth in time between India, Guyana and England as it highlights love and marriage in different cultures.
Feb 9, 2016ClareOrdinary GraceWilliam Kent KruegerA 13-year-old boy comes of age in Minnesota in 1961.
Jan 12, 2016PatAll The Light We Cannot SeeAnthony DoerrA blind girl and a German boy eventually cross paths during World War II.

Book Club 2015

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 8, 2015GinnyCircling The SunPaula McLainThe biography of Beryl Markham, the rebellious woman who became the first horse trainer and first woman pilot from Africa.
Nov. 10, 2015PennyThe NightingaleKristen HannahTwo sisters resist the Nazis, each in their own way, during the occupation of France.
Oct. 13, 2015NancyDead Wake. The Last Crossing of the LusitaniaErik LarsonThe factual telling of the ship Lusitania, which was sunk by German torpedoes prior to WW I.
Sep. 8, 2015PhylisGhost BoyMartin PistoriusA boy who, through illness, became a quadriplegic at age 12 recovers and tells of the experience.
Aug. 11, 2015KayCrazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health MadnessPete EarleyDescription of a father's efforts to find help for his mentally ill son.
July 14, 2015ClareThe Girl On The TrainPaula HawkinsMystery involving what a girl traveling on a train sees.
Jun 9, 2015TrishHannah CoulterWendell Berry
Hannah is a twice-married woman from Port William, KY and her live during and after World War II.
May 12, 2015PhylisSecrets of a Charmed LifeSusan MeissnerHistorical fiction telling of a mother who must evacuate her children from London during the WW II Blitz.
Apr. 14, 2015GinnyA Tree Grows In BrooklynBetty SmithA coming of age novel about Francie Nolan that chronicles her adventures during her teen years in Brooklyn, NY
Mar. 10, 2015PennyThe Invention of WingsSue Monk KiddBased loosely on the real-life story of Sarah Grimke, a Charleston aristocrat, and her slave, Handful, as they both struggle with the bonds imposed on them in the early 1800's.
Feb. 10, 2015NancyNothing To EnvyBarbara DemickThe book follows 6 people in North Korea in the 1990's.
Jan. 13, 2015PatWhat Alice ForgotLiane MoriartyAlice is close to 40 when she has a fall and, waking up, can't remember the last 10 years of her life.

Book Club 2014

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 9, 2014KayThe InfernoDan BrownSet in Florence, Italy, Prof. Robert Langdon tries to battle past amnesia to challenge a bio-terrorism threat.
Nov. 11, 2014ClareThe Boys In The BoatDaniel BrownThe well-researched tale of the University of Washington rowing crew that captured a gold medal in the 1936 Olympics.
Oct. 14, 2014TrishThe Husband's SecretLiane MoriartyThe lives of three women are turned upside-down when the secret of one of their husbands is revealed
Sep. 9, 2014PhylisEnrique's JourneySonia NazarioThe unforgettable quest of a Honduran boy looking for his mother, 11 years after she is forced to leave her starving family to find work in the United States.
Aug. 12, 2014GinnyThe Fault In Our StarsJohn GreenTwo teens battle cancer with humor and love.
Jul, 8, 2014PennyI Am MalalaMalala Yousafzai and Christina LambA young Pakastani girl, shot in the face by the Taliban, fights to recover and also for the right for an education.
Jun. 10, 2014NancyAnimal Vegetable MiracleBarbara KingsolverKingsolver details her family's move to a farm in W. Va., and their decision to eat only the food that they raise or that is local.
May 13, 2014PatFather Mother GodLucia GreenhouseThis book tells the horrifying story of the illness and tragic death of the author's mother, her father's involvement, and her family's attempt to deal with it all as Christian Scientests.
Apr. 8, 2014KayAnd The Mountains EchoedKhaled HosseiniThe story focuses on siblings, Abdullah and Pari, as it moves from East to West and shifts geographies, telling the story from different points of view.
Mar. 11, 2014ClareMotherlandMaria HummelThe tragedy and triumph of a young German family trying to survive the trials and tribulations of a devastated Germany at the end of World War ll.
Feb. 11, 2014Cancelled------------ ------------ ------------
Jan. 14, 2014TrishLookaway LookawayWilton BarnhardtThe Johnston family lives off the fumes of its great past. The money is gone, the husband, Duke, is obsessed with the Civil War and his wife, Jerene, is obsessed with making sure that the family name still shines.

Book Club 2013

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 10, 2013PhylisThe Orphan TrainChristina Baker KlineThe intertwined lives of two orphans - an aged Vivian Daly and a young Molly Ayers, told in juxtaposed stories.
Nov.12, 2013GinnyDinner at the Homesick RestaurantAnne TyleThe novel changes perspective and uses flashbacks to give a complete view of the Tull's family relations and their struggle to connect to each other.
Oct. 8, 2013PennyThe Pecan ManCassie DandridgeOra Lee Beckworth is a perfectly flawed, ornery but proper southern lady who likes to meddle but means well. The story, set in the civil rights era, centers around her and the family of the woman who helps her with her house.
Sep. 10, 2013NancyGillespie and IJane HarrisRemembrances of an elderly woman of her friendship with a volatile artist and his family, and her place in the controversy that consumes them.
Aug. 13, 2013PatThe Kitchen HouseKathleen GrissomTale of the South during the days of slavery, told from two different perspectives: Belle, the mulatto daughter of a plantation owner, and Lavinia, a white girl from Ireland who is sent to work in the "kitchen house" with Belle and other "nigras."
Jul. 09, 2013KayFlight BehaviorBarbara KingsolverDellarobia, a bored, poor mother of two small children witnesses an unusual gathering of Monarch butterflies in Southern Appalachia.
Jun. 11, 2013ClareLanguage of FlowerVanessa DiffenbaughThe story of Victoria, - her journey to self acceptance and love after years of being raised in the foster care system.
May 14, 2013TrishBent CreekMarlene MitchellA first hand account on how one person struggles to find a way out of poverty in a coal-mining town in Kentucky.
Apr. 09, 2013PhylisState of WonderAnn PatchettAfter an employee of a pharmaceutical company dies in the Amazon, a fellow researcher is sent to find out exactly what happened to him. The novel deals with interesting political and ethical issues related to drug development and reproduction.
Mar. 12, 2013GinnyPassing BellsPhillip RockThe story follows a English Earl's family and servants as World War I and the horrors of war descends and changes everyone's way of life.
Feb. 12, 2013PennyAtlas of UnknownsTania JamesSet in Kerala, India -- and in Queens, New York -- the novel tells about a family torn apart by betrayal and separated both geographically and by life's choices.
Jan. 08, 2013NancyOn Hallowed GroundRobert M. PooleHistory of Arlington National Cemetery

Book Club 2012

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 11, 2012PatCatherine The Great: Portrait of a Woman -
Part 5 to the End
----
Nov. 13, 2012KayCatherine The Great: Portrait of a Woman -
Through Part 4
Robert K. MassieA historical account of the 18th century Russian empress who rose from German princess to one of Russia's greatest rulers.
Oct. 9, 2012ClareMao's Last DancerCunxin LiA poor Chinese peasant is pulled from poverty to attend the Beijing Dance Academy. He defects to the U.S., and then returns with the US troop with his wife to China as the featured dancer.
Sep. 11, 2012PhylisThe LetterMarie TillmanA letter left by a soldier on his way to combat in Afghanistan sustains his wife after his death.
Aug. 14, 2012TrishThe Snow ChildEowyn IveyDealing with the unimaginable grief that comes with the loss of a newborn child, married couple Jack and Mabel have moved to the rugged wilderness of 1920's Alaska.
Jul. 10, 2012GinnyIn The Garden of BeastsEric LarsonHistorical account of William Dodd and his family's term as ambassador to Pre-Nazi Germany in 1933.
Jun. 12, 2012NancyLoving FrankNancy HoranThe fictional recreation of architect Frank Lloyd Wright's love affair and marriage to his second wife, Mamah Borthwick Cheney, and its ultimate tragic ending. Note: field trip to Chicago in Sept!
May 8, 2012PatThis I Believe: On MotherhoodDan Gediman, Mary Jo Gediman and John GregoryA collection of 60 essays on mothers and motherhood.
Apr. 10, 2012KayA Walk In The WoodsBill BrysonTwo middle-aged and out of shape men (Bryson and his buddy, Katz) decide to hike the Appalachian Trail.
Mar. 13, 2012ClareTrail of ThreadLinda HubalekStory of a family traveling from Kentucky to Kansas as told by Deborah Pieratt in letter form to her mother, Betsy Goodpaster.
Feb. 21, 2012TrishDeath In The City of LightDavid KingTrue story of a serial killer who terrorized Nazi-controlled Paris in 1944.
Jan. 10, 2012Phylis (at Kay's)In The Land of Invisible WomenQanta AhmedA Muslim British female doctor tells of the challenges of practicing medicine in Saudi Arabia.

Book Club 2011

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec.13, 2011GinnyBonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, SpyEric MetaxasFrom his early childhood to his arrest and subsequent martyrdom for his involvement in the conspiracy against Hitler, Metaxas draws from the letters of Bonhoeffer as well as his family to write this biography.
Nov. 8, 2011NancyThe Paris WifePaula McLainSet mainly in Paris during prohibition, this tells of Ernest Hemmingway and his first wife, Hadley, how they met, and how their relationship eventually deteriorated.
Oct. 11, 2011PatWhen Crickets CryCharles MartinWhat happens a broken hearted man and a small child who is clinging to a thread of life connect, through an act of God.
Sep. 13, 2011Kay (at Phylis's)Major Pettigrew's Last StandHelen SimonsonA reserved widowed British major falls in love with a Pakistani shop keeper.
Aug. 9, 2011ClareHalf Broke HorsesJeannette WallsThe story of the author's maternal grandmother, set in the Southwest US during the women's rights movement.
Jul. 12, 2011TrishOrange Is The New BlackPiper KermanA woman's account of her year in prison, where she found friendship with other prisoners, love from her family and encouragement from her friends near and far.
Jun 14, 2011GinnyA Pearl In The StormTori Murden McClureTori Murden McClure attempts to become the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
May 12, 2011PhylisUnbrokenLaura HillenbrandThe story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete who endured incredible hardships during World War II when he was shot down over the ocean and then held as a Japanese prisoner of was.
Apr. 12, 2011NancyThe Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksRebecca SklootThe story of a poor African-American woman who unknowingly had her cervical cancer cells (dubbed HeLa) used to grow the first immortalized cells cultures.
Mar. 8, 2011PatStrength In What RemainsTracy KidderThe story of Deo, a survivor of the Tutsi-Hutu genocide who escaped and went from being a homeless person in New York's Central Park to graduating from Columbia University, and building a medical clinic in his native Burundi.
Feb. 8, 2011No Meeting
Jan. 11, 2011ClareRosesLeila MeachamThe multi-generational story, spanning a century, of the DuMont, the Tolliver and Warwick families, who started their empire in small town in E. Texas.

Book Club 2010

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 14, 2010KayOne Thousand White Women: The Journals of May DoddJim FergusAt a peace conference by a Cheyenne Indian Chief in 1854, it was agreed to trade white women for horses. The women would become brides and the children of these unions would make assimilation into the white mans society easier.
Nov. 9, 2010TrishHome To Big Stone GapAdriana TrigianiPart of a series set in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ave Maria Mulligan MacChesney's beloved only daughter Etta has married an Italian and is living in his native country. Her new husband, Jack is having health problems.
Oct. 12, 2010GinnyA Parchment of LeavesSilas HouseSet in the backwoods of Kentucky at the beginning of WWI, this is a story of a young white man who falls in love with a beautiful Cherokee girl.
Sept 14, 2010PhylisThe Girl With The Dragon TatooSteig LarssonA disgraced journalist and a disfunctional but brilliant young woman team up to solve an old mystery of a woman's disappearance.
Aug. 10, 2010NancyCutting For StoneAbraham VergheseThe fictional story of two conjoined twins fathered by a brilliant British Surgeon and an Indian Nun.
July 13, 2010PatThe Blind SideMichael LewisStory of a southern family that adopts a poor young black student who becomes a star football player.
June 8, 2010AnneWhere The God Of Love Hangs OutAmy BloomA collection of short stories that are journeys into the lives of very different American families who experience the common traumas of life, such as aging and death.
May 11, 2010ClareThe HelpKathryn StockettThe Help is about a young white woman in the early 1960s in Mississippi who becomes interested in the plight of the black ladies' maids that every family has working for them.
Apr. 13, 2010AllTrip with husbands to Savannah
Mar. 9, 2010KayMidnight In The Garden Of Good and Evil - The MovieJohn BerendtCombined meeting with the husbands to watch the movie based on the book
Feb. 9, 2010TrishMidnight In The Garden Of Good and EvilJohn BerendtA true crime novel set in Savannah, GA. It goes behind velvet curtains and antique walls into a society where pedigree is based as much on lineage, wealth, and power as on quirky southern traditions like knowing how to serve a fine platter of tomato sandwiches.
Jan. 12, 2010NancyOlive KitteridgeElizabeth StroutA "novel" of short stories that tell of small-town Maine residents who all struggle with relationships in the small town of Maisy Mills, Maine, and who all know a common character, Olive Kitteridge.

Book Club 2009

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 8, 2009KayPeople of the BookGeraldine BrooksIn 1996, as rare book expert Dr. Hanna Heath examines the Sarajevo Haggadah, an illuminated Hebrew manuscript from 15th century Spain, she carefully removes a series of artifacts that, under laboratory examination, will offer insight into the remarkable journey of this unusual text.
Nov. 10, 2009PhylisThe Kabul Beauty SchoolD.Rodriguez. & Kristin OhlsonThe narrator is a hairdresser from Michigan who is having a difficult time extricating herself from an abusive marriage. She gets the idea to use her beauty skills to travel to Afghanistan and help women there learn cosmetology.
Oct. 13, 2009GinnyThe Art of Racing in the RainGarth SteinOn the eve of his death, Enzo (a dog) tells what amounts to his master's life story.
Sept. 8, 2009AnneMarchGeraldine BrooksThe author takes the well known story of Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) and weaves a tale centering on the absentee father and husband, Peter March.
Aug. 13, 2009ClareThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie SocietyMary Ann Shaffer and Annie BarrowsA series of letters written during the post-World War II years from and to Juliet, a London-based writer, her publisher, her friends, her suitor, and a group of residents of Guernsey (in the Channel Islands) who formed a book club of sorts during the German occupation of the island.
July 14, 2009PatWe Are All Welcome HereElizabeth BergThe story about an adult woman polio survivor, her adolescent daughter, and her housekeeper/friend.
June 9, 2009TrishSarah's KeyTatiana de RosnayThe story of the 1942 Vel d'Hiv roundup of the Jews in Paris, seen through the eyes of eleven year old Sarah, a French Jew. It is also the story of Julia Jarmond, a journalist living in Paris in 2002 and writing the story about the roundup.
May 12, 2009PhylisMudboundHillary JordanThe end of World War II, sees two the vastly different homecomings for two returning war heroes--one black, one white--to the Jim Crow south.
Apr. 14, 2009GinnySuite Francaise
Irene Nemirovsky and Sandra Smith
A young mother's notes are turned into the novel she was planning to write by her daughters after her capture and execution in WW II by the Nazis. The story tells about the people who lived in occupied France.
Mar. 10, 2009NancyDreams From My FatherBarack ObamaMemoir written in 1995 of Obama's early years, growing up as the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Africa.
Feb. 10, 2009AnneThe Story of Edgar SawtelleDavid WroblewskiContinuing with The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Jan.13, 2009KayThe Story of Edgar SawtelleDavid WroblewskiA mute boy, Edgar, growing up in a family that raises a special breed of highly intelligent dogs, experiences tragedy as his father dies and an uncle steps in his place. When his father's apparitions suggests murder, its investigation precipitates even more tragedy, and Edgar runs away in the companion of his dogs

Book Club 2008

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 9, 2008ClareThe Education Of Little TreeForrest CarterA child learns lessons of life from his part-Cherokee grandfather.
Nov. 11, 2008PatThe ShackWilliam P. Young'Mack' Phillips's young daughter is abducted during a family trip, apparently murdered. Four years later, a mysterious note is delivered to Mack asking him to come back to 'The Shack' where she had been taken. The note was apparently from God.
Oct. 14, 2008TrishEscapeCarolyn JessopA woman's memoir details life as a wife in an extremist cult of the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints.
Sept. 9, 2008PhylisWater For ElephantsSara GruenA 93-year-old man reflects on his life through flashbacks, remembering his time with the circus and living through the depression.
Aug. 12, 2008NancyThe Shipping NewsAnnie ProulxQuoyle decides to relocate to Newfoundland after his wife is killed in an accident. He, his two daughters and his aunt eventually find happiness living among a cast of interesting characters.
July 8, 2008GinnyMary, Mrs. A. LincolnJanis Cooke NewmanA historically-based fictional account of the life of Mary Todd Lincoln.
June 10, 2008KayThe Widow's WarSally GunningA newly widowed woman challenges both law and custom in Pre-Revolutionary Cape Cod.
May 13, 2008PatTrip to Actors TheaterThe group attends "Menopause, The Musical"
Apr. 8, 2008ClareLuncheon of the Boating PartySusan VreelandBased on Renoir's famous painting,  the novel combines historical fact with  vivid imagination as we learn how the painting came into existence and how the models were chosen, as well as Auguste Renoir's struggling even to cover the costs of purchasing  paint.
Mar.11, 2008AnneThe Archivist's StoryTravis HollandSet in Russia in the 1930's, the story tells of an archivist torn between his love of literature and his desire to survive, requiring that he destroy unapproved manuscripts.
Feb. 19, 2008Trish BoomTom BrokawA TV journalist's account of the '60's in America.  (We discussed this book in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, accompanied by our husbands.)
Jan. 8, 2008NancyThread Of GraceMary Doria RussellA small group of Italian soldiers and peasants try to save the lives of Jewish refugees from  Nazi soldiers by escorting them  through a mountain pass and then hiding them, selflessly sacrificing their lives.

Book Club 2007

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 11, 2007PhylisThe Faraday GirlsMonica McinerneyWhen 16-yr. old Clementine becomes pregnant, her father and four sisters agree to raise baby "Maggie."  Twenty-six years pass, and secrets are revealed.
Nov. 13, 2007GinnyThe Bean TreesBarbara KingsolverA young woman strikes out on her own, is handed an abandoned baby, and sets up life in Arizona.
Oct. 9, 2007KayThe Shadow Of The WindCarlos Luis ZafonA young man, Daniel Sempere, comes upon a hidden book, and becomes fascinated with, and attempts to find out more about, the life of its author, Julian Carax.
Sept. 11, 2007AnneSmall IslandAndrea LevyA Jamaican couple moves to London after World War II, and their attempts to settle in and deal with hatred.
August 14, 2007TrishA Thousand Splendid SunsKhaled HosseiniTwo women from very different backgrounds become allies to survive the turmoil and oppression as one Muslim radical group after another takes over the government in modern day Afghanistan.
July 10, 2007PatMidwivesChris BohjalianA thoughtful and provocative look at how a home-birth gone wrong leads to a trial and the effects it has on a family and community.
June 12, 2007ClareSnow Flower and the Secret FanLisa SeeA novel about women in the Chinese culture of the past; Mother-daughter relationships; Foot-binding; Arranged marriage.
May 8, 2007PhylisVanishing ActsJodi PicoultA young woman finds out that, when she was very young, she was kidnapped by her father.  The story tells of her relationship with him, his ex-wife, and her two best friends, to whom one of which she is engaged.
Apr. 10, 2007GinnyThe Glass CastleJeanette WallsHow the author overcame a childhood of  adversity and hardship, growing up with an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother, to become a success.
Mar. 13, 2007NancyThe Memory Keepers DaughterKim EdwardsThe birth of fraternal twins, a healthy boy and a girl with Down syndrome, results in the father's disavowal and sending away of his newborn daughter, telling his wife the girl did not survive.
Feb. 13, 2007KayThe WhiteDeborah LarsenBased on a true story of a woman kidnapped and raised by Native Americans around 1800.  A short book written in poetic but Spartan style.
Jan. 9, 2007AnneThe Things They CarriedTim O'BrienO'Brien is both able to effectively convey the raw emotions of being an American soldier in Vietnam as well as helping him exorcise his demons.

Book Club 2006

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 12, 2006TrishThe Time Traveler's WifeAudrey NiffeneggerAt the heart of the story is the love of Henry and his wife Clare. Henry has the ability to transport himself in time.
Nov. 14, 2006ClarePlain TruthJodi PicoultKatie Fisher, an 18-year-old Amish girl, is pregnant and unmarried. She gives birth in the barn, falls asleep and when she wakes up, the baby is gone.
Oct. 10, 2006PhylisMountains Beyond MountainsTracy KidderThe story of Dr. Paul Farmer's quest to bring modern medicine to Haiti.
Sept. 19, 2006GinnyDisgraceJ.M. CoetzeeA South African professor is forced to leave when a sexual romp with a young student no longer remains exclusively behind closed doors
Aug. 8, 2006PatDeath BenefitDavid HeilbronerA lawyer investigates the death of a Louisville woman and discovers a 20-year pattern of arson and murder.
July 11, 2006NancyHersheyMichael D'AntonioThe biography of Milton S. Hershey, the founder of the candy empire and the town.
June 13, 2006KayAdventures In The Mainstream Greg PalmerThe humorous true story of a father preparing his almost-adult son with Down Syndrome for life as an adult.
May 9 , 2006PhylisThe NovelistAngela HuntA adventure-series novelist  teaches a class and answers the challenge of one of her students to write something deeper and more personal.  Her spiritual allegory helps her deal with her troubled son.
Apr. 11, 2006ClareIn The Company of the CourtesanSarah DunantA courtesan and her dwarf companion share adventures in Renaissance Italy.
Mar. 14, 2006TrishPossession, con't
Feb. 7, 2006AnnePossessionA.S. ByattTwo Victorian researchers, Maud and Roland stumble upon a letter written by reputed Victorian Poet Ash, an uncontroversial figure believed to have led a smooth, rather bland, life. But further research points to a romantic relationship between Ash and a lesser known poet, Christabel.
38727GinnyNever Let Me GoKazuo IshiguroA group of cloned children grow up in an English boarding school, where the truth about their biology is both the cause and effect of some very strange happenings.

Book Club 2005

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 13, 2005PatSea GlassAnita ShreveSet on the New Hampshire coast during the depression, this is the story of Honora Beecher, a young newlywed who compulsively collects sea glass, and Francis, a boy who discovers a father figure in the  of McDermott, an Irish mill worker.
Nov. 8, 2005NancyDevil In The White CityErik LarsonA story of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 focusing primarily on two men - the architect who was the driving force behind the fair, and  a sadistic serial killer working under the cover of the busy fair.
Oct. 11, 2005KayAngry  Housewives Eating Bon BonsLorna LandvikThe five women who comprise a small-town MN reading group do much more than eat candy--and experience many more emotions than anger--over a 30-yr period.
Sept. 13, 2005PhylisGood GriefLolly WinstonSophie Stanton goes from newlywed to widow in just three short years of marriage, her competent and confident persona replaced by an Oreo-munching, robe-and-slipper-clad zombie.  Sophie leaves her high-pressure, memory-laden Silicon Valley lifestyle for a laid-back Oregon village.
Aug. 9, 2005TrishThe Life Of PiYann MartelA 16 year old Indian boy is adrift in a lifeboat with a 450 pound Bengal tiger and a small menagerie of expatriated zoo animals.
July 12, 2005ClareThe #1 Ladies Detective AgencyAlexander McCall SmithA series of vignettes linked to the establishment and growth of Mma Ramotswe's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" both entertain  also explore conditions in Botswana in a way that is both penetrating and light.
June 14, 2005AnneDon't Let's Go To The Dogs TonightAlexandra FullerA white African girl's childhood during the Rhodesian civil war (1971-1979) Fuller describes her parents' racism and the wartime relationships between blacks and whites through a child's watchful eyes.
May 10, 2005PhylisReading Lolita In TehranAzar NafisiWestern classics are read and discussed by a group of women who met secretly with Nafisi, an instructor at the University of Tehran. She was expelled in 1997 for shunning the veil.
Apr. 12, 2005PatOne True ThingAnna QuindlenA daughter quits her top-dog job to care for her cancer-stricken homemaker mother, and also has to deal with her father, a chilly professor who lets the women in the family do the heavy emotional lifting dying requires.
Mar. 8, 2005NancyThe Kite RunnerKhaled HosseiniTwo young boys have their friendship challenged in war-torn Afghanistan.
Feb. 8, 2005KayGravesend KidLionel LindsayTrue story of a boy growing up in Brooklyn, NY.
Jan. 11, 2005AnneThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night TimeMark HaddonThe solution of a mystery, as told from the perspective of an adolescent with autism.

Book Club 2004

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 14, 2004GinnyAll SoulsMichael Patrick MacDonaldA true story of a family in South Boston and their violent experiences in the 1970's and 80's.
Nov. 9, 2004PennyThe Ladies AuxiliaryTova MirvisAn Orthodox Jewish group of women in Memphis, TN are disturbed when a new woman moves into their community
Oct. 12, 2004ClareYear of WondersGeraldine BrooksA young housekeeper tells the story of how her town dealt with the plague of the 1600's.
Sept. 14, 2004PatBeginners LuckLaura PedersenA rebellious 16-yr-old girl runs away and  lives with an eccentric woman and her son for her senior year.
August 10, 2004NancyThe Five People You Meet In HeavenMitch AlbomAn old man dies and meets some interesting people from his past on his way to heaven.
July 6, 2004KayDeception on His MindElizabeth GeorgeMystery set in a seaside town outside of London involving Pakistani community
June 8, 2004PhylisThe WifeMeg WolitzerAn aspiring author gives up her dreams of being a successful writer  to support her husband's writing career.
May 11, 2004AnneNamesakeJhumpa LaHiriAn Indian family adjusts to life in America
April 13, 2004ClareThe Gates of the AlamoStephen HarriganA romance and adventure set around the battle of the Alamo
March 9, 2004PatThe Keeper's SonHomer HickamA lighthouse keeper's son fights WWII German U-Boats off the coast of N.C.
Feb. 10, 2004GinnyTo Kill A MockingbirdMovie nightThe VCR movie based on the novel.
Jan. 13, 2004NancyTo Kill A MockingbirdHarper LeeA young Southern girl sees her lawyer father fight prejudice.

Book Club 2003

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 9, 2003PhylisSecret Life of BeesSue Monk KiddNeglected girl escapes her father and finds a good life among women who are beekeepers.
Nov. 11, 2003AnneAtonementIan McKeonYoung aspiring author comes upon her sister and a boy, and then lies about what she saw, changing all their lives.
Oct. 14, 2003KayThe Age of InnocenceEdith WhartonA man and woman are constrained by manners and morals in New York society in the 1870s.  Also saw the movie.
Sept. 9, 2003PennyThree JunesJulia GlassSet in Greece, England and New York over 3 summers, this portrays the relationship between a father, his sons,  the gay relationships of one son, and family relationships of the others.
Aug. 12, 2003ClareSeabiscuitMovie NightDate night for the movie Seabiscuit
July 8, 2003GinnyCrossing to SafetyWallace StegnerTwo couples' friendship as the men become professors, and then one of the woman becomes ill.  Set in Vermont.
June 10, 2003NancyPoisonwood BibleBarbara KingsolverA missionary family goes to the Congo in the 1960's where they deal with the difficulties of differences in culture and an insane father.
May 13, 2003PatWhen The Emperor Was DivineJulie OtsukaA Japanese-American family is sent to an internment camp during WWII.
Apr. 8, 2003PhylisNext Of KinJoanna TrollopeCaro, an American wife in rural England, dies,leaving behind a husband who has long slept in a separate bedroom and an angry adopted daughter. But another young woman Zoe, arrives,and unlike Caro, she finds something   compelling in the Meredith's strenuous, earthbound lifestyle--and in Robin, the husband. 
Mar. 18, 2003KayThe Ditchdigger's DaughtersYvonne ThorntonAn African-American father with 5 daughters challenges them to succeed in life.
Feb. 11, 2003AnneEmpire Falls (2)Richard RussoStory of a declining river town in upstate New York.
Jan. 14, 2003PennyEmpire Falls (1)Richard RussoStory of a declining river town in upstate New York.

Book Club 2002

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 10, 2002ClareMrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage PatchAlice CaldwellA poor family growing up in Louisville in the 1800's struggles to escape poverty. This tells of the beginnings of the social work done through the Cabbabe Patch program in the poor area of Louisville.
Nov. 12, 2002NancyEvensongGail GodwinWoman Episcopal pastor clashes with female Evangelist who comes to her mountain town.
Oct. 8, 2002PatFirst MothersBonnie AngeloThe story of eleven 20th century mothers of US presidents
Sept. 10, 2002NancyClay's QuiltSilas HouseA young man's life within the culture of the KY coal mining area and his struggles to find himself after the death of his mother when he is 4.
Aug. 13, 2002PhylisBee SeasonMyla GoldbergYoung girl in a disfunctional family wins a spelling bee and her family becomes wrapped up in her compulsion.
July 9, 2002KaySeabiscuitLaura HillenbrandA horse with a poor pedigree and the three people who made him famous.
June 11, 2002ClareNanny DiariesNicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlinA young woman is hired as a nanny by a rich, disfunctional New York socialite family.
May 14, 2002AnneKingdom Of ShadowsNicolas FurstAn espionage tale of a Hungarian emigre attempting to keep the Balkan countries out of war in 1937.
April 9, 2002GinnyAndorraPeter CameronA  mythical place where a man seeks to begin his life over, but is caught up in a murder.
Mar. 12, 2002PennyThe Professor's HouseWilla CatherProfessor experiencing a mid-life crisis resists a move to a bigger more modern house.
Feb. 12, 2002GinnyIceboundJerri Nielsen and Maryanne VollersA doctor leaves her family and goes to the South Pole as the only doctor.  While there, she discovers a lump in her breast.
Jan. 8, 2002PatThe PactJodi PicoultThe story of a 17-yr-old boy, his girlfriend who may have committed suicide, and their families dealing with her death and the resulting trial.

Book Club 2001

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 2001Fools of FortuneWilliam TrevorThe story of a man's life as it is affected by the death of his father and sister who are killed for siding with Irish rebels
Nov. 2001Wonder BoysMichael ChabonA college professor and his misadventures with one of his distressed students.
Diary for NicholasThe parents attempt to adjust to life after the death of a child.
Sept. 2001Girl With A Pearl EarringTracy ChevalierFictional story of the servant's life of the subject in a painting by Vermeer
Aug. 2001The Sot Weed FactorJohn BarthDifficult book written about a young aristocrat in Europe and how he attempts to better himself through ridiculous schemes.
July 2001Alias GraceMargaret AtwoodHistorical Fiction of a servant in Canada in 1800's accused of killing her employers
June 2001Book suggestions were submitted
May 2001The Red TentAnita DiamantA fictional account based on the story of Rachel and Jacob in the Bible
Apr. 2001ChocolatStory of a shake up in the culture of a small French village dominated by the Catholic Church.
Mar. 2001Ahab's WifeSena Jeta NashundFictional story of the wire of Capt. Ahab in Moby Dick.  Written in the style of the 1800's.
Feb. 2001Clear SpringsBobbie Ann MasonAutobiographical piece of the author's early life in Clear Springs, KY.
Jan.2001Miss Julia Speaks Her MindAnn B. RossStory of a recently widowed southern belle who discovers her husband has had a child with another woman and the scandal that ensues.

Book Club 2000

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 2000Traveling MerciesAnne LamottTrue story of a "New Age" woman and how she could see God through her various life choices.
Nov. 2000Open HouseElizabeth BergStory of a newly divorced woman and the adjustments she has to make.
Oct. 2000Jim The BoyJames EarlyA 10-year old boy is raised by a widow and her brothers in rural NC in the 1930's.
Sept. 2000Pope JoanDonna Woolfold CrossHistorical fiction about a 9th century woman who disguises herself as a man and becomes Pope.
Aug. 2000No meeting.
July 2000Keeping FaithA young girl affects a custody battle when she has visions of God.
June 2000Maybe/Maybe NotRobert FulghamObservations on human nature.
May 2000The BelieversJanice Holt GilesFictional account of living within the Shaker culture.
Apr. 2000The SparrowMary Doria RussellA science fiction story of the one Jesuit who survived and returned to earth after visiting another planet in 2060.
Mar. 2000The Color of WaterJames McBrideTrue story of a Jewish mother and her black children.
Feb. 2000A Map of the WorldJane HamiltonSad story of the aftermath of a neighbor's child drowning while in the care of her mother's friend.
Jan. 2000The LoopNicholas EvansStory of the federal program to save wolves vs. ranchers in Montana

Book Club 1999

DateHostTitleAuthorSummary
Dec. 1999Kiss of GodMarshall Stewart BallPoetry of  developmentally handicapped child.
Nov. 1999Night of Many DreamsGail TsukiyamaTale of two sisters growing up in Hong Kong in 1940's.
Oct. 1999Memoires of a GeishaArthur GoldenA geisha tells of her culture.
Sept. 1999The Odd Sea
Snow Angels
Grederick Reiken
Stewart O'Nan
Stories of adolescence.
Aug. 1999Jacob's LadderDonanl McCaigCivil War story told though the eyes of a slave.