February 1, 2024
205 East Main
Marcellus, Michigan 49067
Phone: 269-646-9654
Fax: 2269-646-9603
Email: marcellusmichiganlibrary@gmail.com
Website: www.marcellus.michlibrary.org
MeLCat website: https://mel.org/welcome
First Thursday Book Club Meeting Minutes
February 1, 2024
February 2024 is Library Lovers’ Month!
The Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library’s First Thursday Book Club met on Thursday, February 1, 2024 from 12 NOON to 1:00 PM in the library with ten members in attendance. The group welcomed a new participant to this meeting with introductions all around. Members enjoyed home baked strawberry brownies (delicious) as well as oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies with tea.
The club members were shown the Marcellus Library’s online catalog. Starting in January 2024, when the Library Director orders new books to add to the library’s collection, these books will be preloaded into the catalog as soon as the books are ordered even if the books have not yet arrived at the library. This new process will allow patrons to reserve these books as soon as possible. A screenshot of the catalog has been included below. The books in “pink” at the top of the screen shot are those that have been ordered but have not yet been delivered to the library. These books can be reserved by patrons. Once the book arrives, is catalogued, covered and available to patrons, they will be able to place the book on reserve and will be notified of the book’s availability in the order that their reservations were placed.
These books have not yet arrived at the library but are expected soon. Patrons can place these on reserve.
Since 2007, the Great Michigan Read—Michigan Humanities’ signature program—has bridged communities across the state with Michigan-based fiction and non-fiction titles that spark dialogue among diverse perspectives, encourage a deeper understanding of the humanities, and connect thousands of readers with authors and engaging educational programming. The 2023-2024 title—selected by seven regional selection committees representing all corners of Michigan—is Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley.
This author’s debut novel is a captivating and powerful story that explores complex themes such as identity, family, community, and justice. The novel follows the journey of 18 year old Daunis Fontaine, a biracial tribal member, as she navigates the challenges of her dual identity, the trauma of losing loved ones, and the pressure of being a bridge between two cultures. The novel is beautifully written and well
researched, drawing on Boulley’s own experiences. It provides a rare and insightful glimpse into the complexities and diversity of indigenous communities and their struggles to maintain their traditions and sovereignty in the face of colonization, exploitation, and discrimination. Through Great Michigan Read events and conversations, Firekeeper’s Daughter will help readers understand how the conflicts of the past have shaped indigenous cultures and their commitment to move forward today.
The Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library will be hosting a group discussion regarding the book Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley on Wednesday, April 10 at 6:00 PM. Join us for a community discussion about this book. The library has PLENTY of books to go around, so please check one out and join the book chat. Light refreshments will be available!
In addition, Great Michigan Read in partnership with Portage Communiteen Read is hosting An Evening with Author Angeline Boulley on April 16 from 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM at the Portage Zhang Senior Center, 203 East Centre Avenue, Portage, Michigan. Participants will have the opportunity to meet author Angeline Boulley for a conversation about her book! The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP and tickets can be obtained at the link below:
RSVP and Ticket Link for An Evening with Author Angeline Boulley in Portage, MI, April 16, 2024
The Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library’s First Thursday Book Club meeting minutes are published in “files” on the Marcellus Twp Library Book Club Facebook site. If you have not already joined this site, please do!
Library staff told the group that this month an unusual object would be embedded in the February 2024 minutes. The first person to locate the object and notify library staff by sending an e-mail to marcellusmichiganlibrary@gmail.com describing what the object is and on what page of the minutes it can be found will win this month’s prize. This month, the unusual object is ��.
The library staff will notify the first individual sending us an e-mail that she or he is the winner. The winner will be invited to pick up the gift when he/she next visits the library. Other members will be notified by e-mail that a winner has been identified. All persons receiving the First Thursday Book Club Meeting Minutes are eligible to participate. Library staff are not eligible to participate. This month’s winner will receive a delightful book bag (see photo) from Electric Moon in Marcellus, MI (see below).
Books discussed at the February meeting:
Title and Author: Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
Description: This tale—set in modern-day Rwanda—introduces one of the most singular and engaging characters in recent fiction: Angel Tungaraza—mother, cake baker, keeper of secrets—a woman living on the edge of chaos, finding ways to transform lives, weave magic, and create hope amid the madness swirling all around her. In Kigali, Angel runs a bustling business: baking cakes for all occasions—cakes filled with vibrant color, buttery richness, and, most of all, a sense of hope only Angel can deliver.…A CIA agent’s wife seeks the perfect holiday cake but walks away with something far sweeter…a former boy soldier orders an engagement cake, then, between sips of tea, shares an enthralling story…weary human rights workers…lovesick limo drivers. Amid this cacophony of native tongues, love affairs, and confessions, Angel’s kitchen is an oasis where people tell their secrets, where hope abounds and help awaits. In this unlikely place, in the heart of Rwanda, unexpected things are beginning to happen: A most unusual wedding is planned…a heartbreaking mystery—involving Angel’s own family—unravels…and extraordinary connections are being made among the men and women who have tasted Angel’s beautiful cakes…as a chain of events unfolds that will change Angel’s life—and the lives of those around her—in the most astonishing ways.
Genre: Adult fiction
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book
Club member comment(s): The member sharing her thoughts about Baking Cakes in Kigali told the group that she was about halfway through but was enjoying the read. The main character runs a busy cake baking business, and through her work and the sharing of stories with those coming to her for cakes, lives are transformed in marvelous ways.
Title and Author: The Seven Sisters Lucinda Riley (Book #1 in the Seven Sisters Series)
Description: Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each sister is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue that takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story. Eighty years earlier in the Rio of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to complete his vision. Izabela—passionate and longing to see the world—convinces her father to allow her to accompany him and his family to Europe before she is married. There, at Paul Landowski’s studio and in the heady, vibrant cafes of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again. In this sweeping, epic tale of love and loss—the first in a unique, spellbinding series—Lucinda Riley showcases her storytelling talents like never before.
Genre: Historical romance
Availability:
In Library: Libby e-book.
MeLCat: Book; large print book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): This book is the first in a series. In this book, a father who adopted 7 children dies but leaves clues to the seven children he adopted about each child’s true heritage. The book explores Maia’s journey to put together the pieces of her life story. The reader indicated that not all of the questions introduced in this book are answered, but that’s how the reader is enticed to read additional books in the series. An enjoyable read.
Title and Author: The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler
Description: When Graham Barnett named his diner The Tourist Trap, he meant it as a joke. Now he's stuck slinging reindeer dogs to an endless parade of resort visitors who couldn't interest him less. Not even the sweet, enthusiastic tourist in the corner who blushes every time he looks her way… Two weeks in Alaska isn't just the top item on Zoey Caldwell's bucket list. It's the whole bucket. One look at the mountain town of Moose Springs and she's smitten. But when an act of kindness brings Zoey into Graham's world, she may just find there's more to the grumpy local than meets the eye…and more to love in Moose Springs than just the Alaskan wilderness. This story of Alaska marries together all the things you didn't realize you needed: a whirlwind vacation, a friendly moose, a grumpy diner owner, a quirky tourist, plenty of restaurant humor, and a happy ending that'll take you away from it all.
Genre: Fiction-Romance
Availability:
In Library: Book; Libby e-book and audiobook.
MeLCat: Book.
Club member comment(s): This book was described as a fun, light, romantic read.
Title and Author: The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella
Description: She can do anything . . . just not everything. Sasha has had it. She cannot bring herself to respond to another inane, “urgent” (but obviously not at all urgent) email or participate in the corporate employee joyfulness program. She hasn’t seen her friends in months. Sex? Seems like a lot of effort. Even cooking dinner takes far too much planning. Sasha has hit a wall. Armed with good intentions to drink kale smoothies, try yoga, and find peace, she heads to the seaside resort she loved as a child. But it’s the off season, the hotel is in a dilapidated shambles, and she has to share the beach with the only other occupant: a grumpy guy named Finn, who seems as stressed as Sasha. How can she commune with nature when he’s sitting on her favorite rock, watching her? Nor can they agree on how best to alleviate their burnout (Sasha: manifesting, wild swimming; Finn: drinking whisky, getting pizza delivered to the beach). When curious messages, seemingly addressed to Sasha and Finn, begin to appear on the beach, the two are forced to talk— about everything. How did they get so burned out? Can either of them remember something they used to love? (Answer: surfing!) And the question they try and fail to ignore: what does the energy between them— flaring even in the face of their bone-deep exhaustion—signify?
Genre: Fiction-Romance
Availability:
In Library: Book; Libby e-book.
MeLCat: Book; large print book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): Another fun, light book. The reader told the group that she knew where it was going in terms of plot but enjoyed it anyway. Some of the vignettes in the book were particularly humorous including when the main character has a personal meltdown at work. Enjoyable read.
Title and Author: Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler
Description: Hank, Leland, Kip and Ronny were all born and raised in the same Wisconsin town — Little Wing — and are now coming into their own (or not) as husbands and fathers. One of them never left, still farming the family's land that's been tilled for generations. Others did leave, went farther afield to make good, with varying degrees of success; as a rock star, commodities trader, rodeo stud. And seamlessly woven into their patchwork is Beth, whose presence among them—both then and now—fuels the kind of passion one comes to expect of love songs and rivalries. Now all four are home, in hopes of finding what could be real purchase in the world. The result is a shared memory only half-recreated, riddled with culture clashes between people who desperately wish to see themselves as the unified tribe they remember, but are confronted with how things have, in fact, changed. There is conflict here between longtime buddies, between husbands and wives — told with writing that is, frankly, gut-wrenching, and even heartbreaking. But there is also hope, healing, and at times, even heroism. It is strong, American stuff, not at all afraid of showing that we can be good, too — not just fallible and compromising. Shotgun Lovesongs is a remarkable and uncompromising saga that explores the age-old question of whether or not you can ever truly come home again — and the kind of steely faith and love returning requires.
Genre: Adult fiction
Availability:
In Library: Libby audiobook.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): This book has many characters, many perspectives, many secrets, and much drama!
Title and Author: The Secrets of the Lighthouse by Santa Montefiore
Description: Ellen Trawton is running away from it all. She hates her job, she doesn’t love the aristocratic man to whom she is engaged, and her relationship with her controlling mother is becoming increasingly strained. So Ellen leaves London, fleeing to the one place she knows her mother won’t find her, her aunt’s cottage in Connemara. Cutting all her ties with chic London society, Ellen gives in to Ireland’s charm and warmth, thinking her future may lie where so much of her past has been hidden. Her imagination is soon captured by the compelling ruins of a lighthouse where, five years earlier, a young mother died in a fire. The ghost of the young wife, Caitlin, haunts the nearby castle, mourning the future she can never have there. Unable to move on, she watches her husband and children, hoping they might see her and feel her love once more. But she doesn’t anticipate her husband falling in love again. Can she prevent it? Or can she let go and find a way to freedom and happiness? The ruggedly beautiful Connemara coastline with its tightknit community of unforgettable characters provides the backdrop for this poignant story of two women seeking the peace and love they desperately need. For each, the key will be found in the secrets of the past, illuminated by the lighthouse.
Genre: Adult fiction-romance
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): Having listened to the audiobook version, the member shared that the book’s plot became too predictable too quickly. One of few books that this member did not finish.
Title and Author: Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey by Clark Strand
Description: A Zen Buddhist monk explains the value of haiku, a three-line, seventeen-syllable poem, as a writing meditation and spiritual guide and provides exercises to help readers compose their own haiku.
Genre: Adult nonfiction
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook
Club member comment(s): The member sharing thoughts about this book and its focus on haiku enjoyed it immensely. Reading the book prompted the member to experiment with writing haiku of her own. When she turned in her notes about the book, on the backside of the notes, I found a verse that I believe our member wrote herself, and because I appreciated its beauty and simplicity, I just had to share it here!
Shrouded by the fog
Melting snows of January
Fill the waiting creek
Title and Author: Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes by Alison Swan
Description: Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes is a collection of nonfiction works by women writers. These works focus on the Midwest: living with the five interconnected freshwater seas that we know as the Great Lakes. Contributing to this collection are renowned poets, essayists, and fiction writers, all of whom write about their own creative streams of consciousness, the fresh waters of the Great Lakes, and the region's many rivers:
Genre: Adult nonfiction
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book.
Club member comment(s): A particularly interesting book all of the essay authors are female, and they all write about the Great Lakes and the region’s rivers.
Title and Author: The Authenticity Project: A Novel by Clare Pooley
Description: Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren't really honest with one another. But what if they were? And so he writes—in a plain, green journal—the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It's run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves—and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica's Café. The Authenticity Project's cast of characters—including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life is a lot less perfect than it looks online; and their other new friends—is by turns quirky and funny, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. It's a story about being brave and putting your real self forward—and finding out that it's not as scary as it seems. In fact, it looks a lot like happiness. The Authenticity Project is just the tonic for our times that readers are clamoring for—and one they will take to their hearts and read with unabashed pleasure.
Genre: Adult fiction
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book; Audiobook (Playaway).
Club member comment(s): The member reviewing this book told the group that the plot involves 6 people who write authentically about this lives in a notebook left in a local café. The book captured the reader’s attention with its honesty and sense of community among the characters. The plot also included a surprise that the reader did not see coming!
Title and Author: The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
Description: August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and blackout curtains that she finds on her arrival were not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London. Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.
Genre: Historical fiction
Availability:
In Library: Book; Libby audiobook.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): This is a World War II historical fiction novel described as good and recommended to the others.
Title and Author: The Company I Keep: My Life in Beauty by Leonard Lauder
Description: In his memoir, The Company I Keep: My Life in Beauty, Chairman Emeritus and former CEO of The Estée Lauder Companies Leonard Lauder shares the business and life lessons he learned as well as the adventures he had while helping transform the business his mother founded in 1946 in the family kitchen into the beloved brand and ultimately into the iconic global prestige beauty company it is today.
In its infancy in the 1940s and 50s, the company comprised a handful of products, sold under a single brand in just a few prestigious department stores across the United States. Today, The Estée Lauder Companies constitutes one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of prestige skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. It comprises more than 25 brands, whose products are sold in over 150 countries and territories. This growth and success was led by Leonard Lauder, Estée Lauder’s oldest son, who envisioned and effected this expansion during a remarkable 60-year tenure��, including leading the company as CEO and Chairman. In this captivating personal account complete with great stories as only he can tell them, Mr. Lauder, now known as The Estée Lauder Companies’ “Chief Teaching Officer,” reflects on his childhood, growing up during the Great Depression, the vibrant decades of the post-World War II boom, and his work growing the company into the beauty powerhouse it is today. Mr. Lauder pays loving tribute to his mother Estée Lauder, its eponymous founder, and to the employees of the company both past and present, while sharing inside stories about the company, including tales of cutthroat rivalry with Charles Revson of Revlon and others. The book offers keen insights on honing ambition, leveraging success, learning from mistakes, and growing an international company in an age of economic turbulence, uncertainty, and fierce competition.
Genre: Adult nonfiction
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): A fascinating book about the beauty business over Mr. Lauder’s sixty year career. Recommended to the other members.
Title and Author: Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton
Description: A vividly rendered and empathetic exploration of how two of the greatest poets of the 20th century—Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton—became bitter rivals and, eventually, friends. Introduced at a workshop in Boston University led by the acclaimed and famous poet Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton formed a friendship that would soon evolve into a fierce rivalry, colored by jealousy and respect in equal terms. In the years that followed, these two women would not only become iconic figures in literature, but also lead curiously parallel lives haunted by mental illness, suicide attempts, self-doubt, and difficult personal relationships. With weekly martini meetings at the Ritz to discuss everything from sex to suicide, theirs was a relationship as complex and subversive as their poetry. Based on in-depth research and unprecedented archival access, Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz is a remarkable and unforgettable look at two legendary poets and how their work has turned them into lasting and beloved cultural figures.
Genre: Adult nonfiction
Availability:
In Library: Book.
MeLCat: Book.
Club member comment(s): Although and interesting read, the member reviewing this book found it to be somewhat depressing overall.
Title and Author: Found in a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
Description: Loveday Cardew's beloved Lost for Words bookshop, along with the rest of York, has fallen quiet. At the very time when people most need books to widen their horizons, or escape from their fears, or enhance their lives, the doors are closed. Then the first letter comes. Rosemary and George have been married for fifty years. Now their time is running out. They have decided to set out on their last journey together, without ever leaving the bench at the bottom of their garden in Whitby. All they need is someone who shares their love of books. Suddenly it's clear to Loveday that she and her team can do something useful in a crisis. They can recommend books to help with the situations their customers find themselves in: fear, boredom, loneliness, the desire for laughter and escape. And so it begins.
Genre: Adult fiction
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book.
Club member comment(s): When local bookshops close during COVID, an elderly couple opts to help others by recommending books that may help them resolve their personal issues. Enjoyable read.
Title and Author: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Description: A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking’s book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending—or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends? Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and “arrows of time,” of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.
Genre: Adult nonfiction
Availability:
In Library: Book; Libby e-book and audiobook.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): Brilliant author. The book was difficult to understand at times and heavily focused on physics.
Title and Author: Second Act by Danielle Steel
Description: As the head of a prestigious movie studio for nearly two decades, Andy Westfield has had every conceivable professional luxury: a stunning office on the forty-fourth floor, a loyal assistant who can all but read his mind, access to a private jet and company cars. The son of Hollywood royalty, Andy always put his career before his marriage, and now, besides his daughter and young grandchildren, it’s the only thing he truly loves. But then Andy’s world is upended. The studio is sold, and the buyer’s son demands the top seat. Out of a job and humiliated, Andy spirals. When his head clears, he decides to get as far away from Los Angeles as possible until the dust settles and he can find a new way forward. Andy signs a six month rental agreement for a luxurious home in a tiny, forgotten coastal town two hours from London. When he arrives, he hires a local woman to help get his affairs in order. A former journalist, Violet Smith is at a crossroads as well, and this temporary job is exactly what she needs to tide her over. But when Violet leaves the manuscript of her unfinished novel behind after work one day, Andy lets his curiosity get the best of him and is captivated by a story that begs to be adapted for the big screen. Could this be the miracle they’ve both been looking for? In Second Act, Danielle Steel presents a heartening tale of how challenging times give way to opportunities and an original outline does not always contain the perfect ending.
Genre: Adult fiction
Availability:
In Library: Large print book; Libby audiobook.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): The book did a superb job of describing the main character’s feelings of loss and devastation when he loses his job and has to pick himself up and try again. He meets someone else who has had an even more difficult life and realizes that they may both have an opportunity ahead of them that they didn’t imagine was on their horizons. Interesting book and an enjoyable read.
Title and Author: The Clothes on Their Backs: A Novel by Linda Grant
Description: Linda Grant has created an enchanting portrait of a woman who, having endured unbearable loss, finds solace in the family secrets her estranged uncle reveals. Vivien Kovacs, sensitive and bookish, grows up sealed off from the world by her timid Hungarian refugee parents. She loses herself in books and reinvents herself according to her favorite characters, but it is through clothes that she ultimately defines herself. Against her father’s wishes, she forges a relationship with her estranged uncle, a notorious criminal, who, in his old age, wants to share his life story. As he reveals the truth about her family’s past, Vivien, having endured unbearable loss, learns how to be comfortable in her own skin and how to be alive in the world. Linda Grant is a spectacularly humanizing writer whose morally complex characters explore the line between selfishness and self-preservation. In vivid and supple prose, Grant has created a powerful story of family, love, and the hold the past has on the present.
Genre: Adult fiction
Availability:
In Library: Book.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): The member reviewing this book told the group that she almost put it aside because the story is sad and difficult to read. The member picked up the book again and plans on finishing it because the character is trying to learn something about her life and move forward in a new and better way.
Title and Author: Before We Were Yours: A Novel by Lisa Wingate
Description: Oklahoma, 1909. Eleven-year-old Olive Augusta Radley knows that her stepfather doesn’t have good intentions toward the two Choctaw girls boarded in their home as wards. When the older girl disappears, Ollie flees to the woods, taking six-year-old Nessa with her. Together they begin a perilous journey to the rugged Winding Stair Mountains, the notorious territory of outlaws, treasure hunters, and desperate men. Along the way, Ollie and Nessa form an unlikely band with others like themselves, struggling to stay one step ahead of those who seek to exploit them . . . or worse. Oklahoma, 1990. Law Enforcement Ranger Valerie Boren O’dell arrives at Horsethief Trail National Park seeking a quiet place to balance a career and single parenthood. But no sooner has Valerie reported for duty than she’s faced with local controversy over the park’s opening, a teenage hiker gone missing from one of the trails, and the long-hidden burial site of three children deep in a cave. Val’s quest to uncover the truth wins an ally among the neighboring Choctaw Tribal Police but soon collides with old secrets and the tragic and deadly history of the land itself. In this emotional and enveloping novel, Lisa Wingate traces the story of children abandoned by the law and the battle to see justice done. Amid times of deep conflict over who owns the land and its riches, Ollie and Val traverse the wild and beautiful terrain, each leaving behind one life in search of another.
Genre: Historical fiction
Availability:
In Library: Book; Libby e-book and audiobook.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook; large print book; Spanish book.
Club member comment(s): The plot involves a woman who stole children (and sometimes more than one child in a family), brought these children to orphanages, and sold them for her own profit. One particular character is stolen along with her siblings. The author fully develops this character, and the author’s doing so kept the reader engaged. Another character’s role, the daughter of a high ranking politician, was not nearly as well developed in the book. The reader told the group that she disliked this character. The reader enjoys what she describes as “lean” books—books that tell the complete story succinctly without unnecessary fluff. She felt that this book was about 50 to 100 pages too long. As an example, the author wrote five pages of detailed descriptive prose to get to one important nugget of information.
Title and Author: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Description: Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while cracks are beginning to show in Acapulco because of the cartels, Lydia’s life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But after her husband’s tell-all profile of the newest drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same. Forced to flee, Lydia and Luca find themselves joining the countless people trying to reach the United States. Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?
Genre: Adult fiction
Availability:
In Library: Book; Libby e-book and audiobook.
MeLCat: Book; large print book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): This book examines the plight of migrants coming into the United States. The member reading the book found the experience tough because she is half Mexican, and the book’s characters are of Mexican heritage. The member described visiting Mexico herself as a child and being told that she could never go anywhere without her father because of concerns about abduction or harm. This books does not exaggerate the current state of affairs in Mexico or the plight of migrants. In the book, the main character’s family is annihilated because her husband spoke out against the cartels. She is aware that they will be coming back for her, prompting her decision to leave the country. This is a tough book to read—emotionally. It gets to the essence of humanity at its core. The member told the group that this book will “stay with her for a long time.”
Title and Author: Iron Orchid: A Holly Barker Novel (Holly Barkby Stuart Woods
Description: When his plane exploded off the coast of Maine, authorities thought they had seen the last of Teddy Fay—the ex-CIA tech wizard who kills his political targets for sport. But now they’ve found irrefutable evidence that he is alive and up to his old tricks. Now working for the CIA, ex-chief-of-police Holly Barker joins the elite task force tracking Fay in New York City. As he begins to pick off America’s enemies one by one, Holly unexpectedly finds herself face-to-face with the killer, kick-starting a high speed chase through the canyons of midtown Manhattan, the Metropolitan Opera house, Central Park, and the United Nations Plaza, all to prevent another assassination before Fay disappears again—maybe this time for good.
Genre: Adult fiction-mystery
Availability:
In Library: Book.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): A fun mystery to read.
Title and Author: Hello Darkness by Sandra Brown
Description: A person who lives and works in darkness and seclusion. Someone who is reluctant to interact with other people except by telephone. A life so contained that even daylight is shunned. For reasons that come to light — pun intended — in the book, Paris Gibson works alone each night in a remote radio station. Although her late night show has high ratings and a loyal audience, she is known to her listeners only by her smoky, provocative voice. They confide to her their most private thoughts, their triumphs and failures, but Paris carefully guards her own personal life. When a listener who goes by the coy name of Valentino calls her one night and tells her about the violent act he’s about to commit, she is thrust into a high-profile police investigation. It’s commandeered by Dean Malloy — the one person who knows the secret behind Paris’s fiercely protected privacy.
Genre: Adult fiction-romantic suspense
Availability:
In Library: Book; Libby audiobook.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook; large print book.
Club member comment(s): Interesting and enjoyable thriller.
Title and Author: Payback in Death: An Eve Dallas Novel by J.D. Robb
Description: In the latest from #1 New York Times bestselling author J.D. Robb, Eve Dallas solves a harrowing case standing for one of her own. Lt. Eve Dallas is just home from a long overdue vacation when she responds to a call of an unattended death. The victim is Martin Greenleaf, retired Internal Affairs Captain. At first glance, the scene appears to be suicide, but the closer Eve examines the body, the more suspicious she becomes. An unlocked open window, a loving wife and family, a too perfect suicide note—Eve’s gut says it’s a homicide. After all, Greenleaf put a lot of dirty cops away during his forty-seven years in Internal Affairs. It could very well be payback—and she will not rest until the case is closed.
Genre: Adult fiction—urban fantasy
Availability:
In Library: Libby e-book and audiobook.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook; large print book.
Club member comment(s): Another good thriller!
Title and Author: While We’re Far Apart by Lynn Austin
Description: In an unassuming apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, three lives intersect as the reality of war invades each aspect of their lives. Young Esther is heartbroken when her father decides to enlist in the army shortly after the death of her mother. Penny Goodrich has been in love with Eddie Shaffer for as long as she can remember; now that Eddie's wife is dead, Penny feels she has been given a second chance and offers to care for his children in the hope that he will finally notice her and marry her after the war. And elderly Mr. Mendel, the landlord, waits for the war to end to hear what has happened to his son trapped in war-torn Hungary. But during the long, endless wait for victory overseas, life on the home front will go from bad to worse. Yet these characters will find themselves growing and changing in ways they never expected--and ultimately discovering truths about God's love... even when He is silent.
Genre: Historical fiction
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): Inspirational literature. Focuses on the lives of a family of sorts and a widowed elderly Jewish man living in an apartment building in New York City during WW II. The main character, Penny, agrees to care for the children of a widowed father who opts to join the Army because he is still grieving the death of his wife. Penny believes she loves this man and that caring for his children in his absence will force him to see her as a potential marriage partner when he returns. The elderly Jewish man, Mr. Mendel, lost his wife in a tragic accident and has no idea where his Jewish son, daughter in-law, and small grandchild are in war torn Europe. Penny and Mr. Mendel learn to rely on each other and their respective faiths during challenging times, growing and changing in ways they never expected. The character development in this book was quite good. Enjoyable read.
Title and Author: When Winter Comes by V.A. Shannon
Description: In the voice of an unforgettable heroine, V.A. Shannon explores one of the most harrowing episodes in pioneer history--the ill-fated journey of the Donner Party--in a mesmerizing novel of resilience and survival. Mrs. Jacob Klein has a husband, children, and a warm and comfortable home in California. No one--not even her family--knows how she came to be out West thirteen years ago. Jacob, a kind and patient man, has promised not to ask. But if she were to tell her story, she would recount a tale of tragedy, mishaps, and unthinkable choices--yet also sacrifice, courage, and a powerful, unexpected love . . . 1846: On the outskirts of Cincinnati, wagons gather by the hundreds, readying to head west to California. Among the throng is a fifteen-year-old girl eager to escape her abusive family. With just a few stolen dollars to her name, she enlists as helpmate to a married couple with a young daughter. Their group stays optimistic in the face of the journey's hazards and delays. Then comes a decision that she is powerless to prevent: Instead of following the wagon train's established route, the Donner Party will take a shortcut over the Sierras, aiming to clear the mountains before the first snows descend. In the years since that infamous winter, other survivors have sold their accounts for notoriety and money, lurid tales often filled with half-truths or blatant, gory lies. Now, Mrs. Klein must decide whether to keep those bitter memories secret, or risk destroying the life she has endured so much to build . . .
Genre: Historical fiction
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book; large print book; audiobook (Playaway).
Club member comment(s): History has recorded what happened when the ill-fated Donner Party attempted to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains in an effort to get to California as quickly as possible. This author takes a different look at these historical events by embedding a teenage girl with a family traveling in the Donner Party and writing the book from her perspective. This is a dual time line novel written from the perspective of this girl as an active participant in the harrowing wilderness experience and as a young mother with a husband and children of her own years after the devastating winter on the mountain. As a young mother, the main character has opted not to tell anyone about what she went through because to do so may change the way many perceive her. The reader did not know a great deal about the Donner Party’s excursion. The book is rich in historical detail and has been well researched. The main character is well developed, but the reader did not find her to be particularly likeable which made reading the book challenging. The author’s notes at the end of the book shed significant light on how history actually recorded these events versus how this author recorded them in this work of fiction.
The club member listened to the audiobook version of this novel on a Playaway and enjoyed using this device. A photo of the device is included below.
Title and Author: Love Africa: A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival by Jeffrey Gettleman
Description: A seasoned war correspondent, Jeffrey Gettleman has covered every major conflict over the past twenty years, from Afghanistan to Iraq to the Congo. For the past decade, he has served as the East Africa bureau chief for the New York Times, fulfilling a teenage dream. At nineteen, Gettleman fell in love, twice. On a do-it-yourself community service trip in college, he went to East Africa—a terrifying, exciting, dreamlike part of the world in the throes of change that imprinted itself on his imagination and on his heart. But around that same time he also fell in love with a fellow Cornell student—the brightest, classiest, most principled woman he’d ever met. To say they were opposites was an understatement. She became a criminal lawyer in America; he hungered to return to Africa. For the next decade he would be torn between these two abiding passions. A sensually rendered coming-of-age story in the tradition of Barbarian Days, Love, Africa is a tale of passion, violence, far-flung adventure, tortuous long-distance relationships, screwing up, forgiveness, parenthood, and happiness that explores the power of finding yourself in the most unexpected of places.
Genre: Adult nonfiction
Availability:
In Library: Not available.
MeLCat: Book; audiobook.
Club member comment(s): The reader enjoyed this book but had hoped that it would include more content about Africa. Instead, the book focused on the war correspondent and relationships. Familiar with Africa having been a teacher there, the club member recognized a physician that she knew referenced in the book.
The next meeting of the Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library’s First Thursday Book Club will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 12 NOON in the library. We look forward to seeing you here!
Tammy Terpstra
Interlibrary Loan Specialist/Library Assistant Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library
