Book Club Blog
The Flemington Library Evening Book Club would like to reach out to all readers. Please post your comments and recommendations for books or other media in our blog posts section at the bottom of this page. Reading is so much more fun when it is shared!
PLEASE NOTE: The Flemington Library Evening Book Club now meets on the first Monday of each month at 6:00 pm on the main floor of the library. New members are welcome! See a list of some of the books we have read.
The Daytime Book Club meets on the 1st Thursday of each month at 10:30 am on the main floor of the library. See what they are reading here.
Evening Book Club Selection for Monday, May 6, 2024 (6:00 pm)
The German occupation of the Channel Islands, recalled in letters between a London reporter and an eccentric gaggle of Guernsey islanders.
This debut by an “aunt-niece” authorial team presents itself as cozy fiction about comfortably quirky people in a bucolic setting, but it quickly evinces far more serious, and ambitious, intent. In 1946, Juliet, famous for her oxymoronic wartime humor column, is coping with life amid the rubble of London when she receives a letter from a reader, Dawsey, a Guernsey resident who asks her help in finding books by Charles Lamb. After she honors his request, a flurry of letters arrive from Guernsey islanders eager to share recollections of the German occupation of the islands. (Readers may be reminded of the PBS series, Island at War.) When the Germans catch some islanders exiting from a late-night pig roast, the group, as an excuse for violating curfew and food restrictions, invents a book club. The “Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” is born….
(continue review on Kirks Reviews)
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Book Resources: find out what’s new!
Best 100 Children’s Books of All Time
Book Riot Reviews (for all age groups)
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Two summers ago I read a very long book–the definitive biography of George Washington, so I was thrilled that the book we were reading this month for our lovely book club was My Dear Hamilton–because it focused, for once, on the woman behind the man–the wife of Alexander Hamilton. I enjoyed this book for at least two reasons. It connected so well with what I already read–the struggles Washington had at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War–but this time for Eliza Schuyler’s POV. But she was also an amazing woman in her own right–I don’t know how we imagine women were like back then, but she was in many ways fearless–fluent in several languages including some Indian dialects–and able to hold court with men we now consider great historic figures. I also loved the fact that the two women who collaborated on the writing of the book and did all the research were inspired by the Hamilton play on Broadway! How cool is that!
I’m so glad I’m part of this book group. Last night we shared our reading experiences–why we liked Lessons in Chemistry. What an interesting book!! Everyone agreed that we loved the dog and his unique point of view. We loved that the main character Elizabeth, even though she was on the autistic spectrum, still stood up for what she wanted in a time–early 1960’s–when women were often offered no choice in how to live their lives. We also loved that the author wrote about what she knew about. She is a rower and has Elizabeth become a rower in the story so the book contains fascinating and realistic details that pull you into the story. Great read and great discussion. As always!!!
Recently read a book passed on by a library employee and it was really good. I highly recommend it! It’s called The 12 Hour Walk by Colin O’Brady. I’m not part of the book club yet but I’ve heard great things about it!
I had so much fun last night discussing The Maid. (We missed you, Maureen!) Heidi did a great job of stepping up to the plate, however, and fearlessly led us through into a raucous discussion. She suggested we begin by doing a secret ballot–rating The Maid on a scale of 1-10. Great idea!!! The ratings ranged from 3 to 9 with an average hovering around a 7. That was a great jumping off point to talk about what we loved and didn’t quite like about the book. The time flew by and I couldn’t believe it when I looked down and realized I had to go. Can’t wait until next month when we’re reading The NY Times Bestseller: Lessons in Chemistry!!!
Another wonderful discussion at the library. I would never choose many of the books we read(I always choose mysteries) and am surprised to find other genres compelling. The Maid was an interesting insight into, what appears to be,a person on the autism spectrum (then curious incident of the dog in the nighttime is another wonderful story).
As a first book it was well done (end was contrived). I look forward to our next discussion.
Our book club is scheduled for tonight. We’re discussing The Maid. I’m glad we decided to read this book because I never would have picked it up on my own to read. Maybe, it’s the title? Not sure. Maybe it’s because sometimes I feel like a maid. Just joking. The author did a fabulous job of telling the story from the maid’s point of view. She doesn’t interpret the world in the usual way. So it was interesting to read the description of what she saw or heard and then hear her interpretation of what she thought was going on. Sometimes she’s a bit clueless, but sometimes she sees things quite clearly. Can’t wait to get together and talk about this very different book tonight!!
Please consider reading our book club selection scheduled for June 15th at 7 pm. We will be reading and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for a year and it is #5 at the top of the list!
It will be another wonderful discussion. Hope to see you at our meeting:)
See the link below to access the April 2022 review from The Guardian by clicking on the link below for more information about this popular book.
After reading The Maid by Nita Prose I found these online articles which may be of interest to you-Fascinating and enlightening information!
Here are the link to 3 articles:
The Fictional Grand Regency Hotel-Most Similar to the Savoy in London, England
https://www.thebooktrail.com/authorsonlocation/travel-to-the-hotel-featured-in-the-maid-by-nita-prose/
What is a crumpet/How do you make a crumpet?
https://www.recipetineats.com/crumpet-recipe/
Autism Doesn’t Hold People Back at Work. Discrimination Does.
Neurodiversity discrimination is systemic, but there are ways to defy it. by Ludmila N. Praslova as seen in Harvard Business Review December 13, 2021
https://hbr.org/2021/12/autism-doesnt-hold-people-back-at-work-discrimination-does
I like the way interacting with other readers leads me to books that I might otherwise have missed! In our book club, we try to sample everyone’s taste in reading, and that has really broadened my horizons.
I can’t wait to discuss The Maid by Nita Prose. It is a great story of a neurodivergent young adult who works as a maid at a luxury hotel. She finds herself in the middle of criminal activity there, like murder and other serious crimes.
It certainly kept me entertained! I can’t wait to hear the discussion. The quote from the main character, Molly, that really sums it all up is, “You can be so important, so crucial to the fabric of things and yet be entirely overlooked.”
It also brings up some important issues about how we view differences. Our assumptions need to be questioned to gain better insights into the complex beauty of human diversity and its intersection with others, whether bonding together or colliding randomly (or not so randomly) into each other. The author does a great job of showcasing both!
I am a regular member of the book club group for years now. It is wonderful to be with a group of people who love to read and share together. The book choices are really good, and it is delightful to read outside of my comfort zone as well as within it. It is nice to know that you are part of a group of people who are warm and inviting, especially during these more challenging times of isolation and division. We comfortably discuss our selections, sharing our individual thoughts and feelings. It is always enlightening and refreshing to hear other perspectives. It virtually always results in a positive collective experience. That’s why I love the group!
I saw a book club flyer posted on the front door of the library featuring the historical fiction book, “Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Kline, and it caught my attention.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book! I learned about how many children were poorly treated in that era, and I was amazed by the many obstacles they had to overcome. It was very interesting, so I read it quickly. The discussion at the group was lively and entertaining.
I attend regularly now and even read the books if I can’t make the meetings.
My daughter gave me a pillow that says “everyone is entitled to my opinion “. The book club is a wonderful place to express an opinion about books, some you like,some you don’t, but always exciting to talk about.
We had such a fun discussion this past Thursday. I love our group because we are all so casual. Ordinary Grace was fun to discuss because it took place in 1962, which provoked a lot of memories about the way life used to be for many of us living in a small town before the advent of technology. At the end, Heidi surprised us all by playing an audio of an interview with the author that was cool to listen to–always interesting to listen to what inspires a story. Thanks, Maureen, for leading a great discussion!!
One of the most memorable and richly layered books I have read with this group over the past year is The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. It is a long novel that is well worth the read. The setting is Nebraska in 1954. The story begins with the release of the main character, Emmett, from a juvenile facility and his return to a family farm in foreclosure. The recent death of Emmett’s father has left 18-year-old Emmett to raise his eight-year-old brother, Billy. Emmett appears to have returned home as a serious young man who is eager to change his life for the better and who is prepared to take full responsibility for Billy. The two brothers have a plan to leave their hometown and journey to California, taking the Lincoln Highway, to find the mother who abandoned them several years before. The plan is actually designed by Billy, and Emmett reluctantly agrees to go along with it; Billy is an old soul, intelligent and persuasive beyond his years, yet childishly innocent.
However, their trip is interrupted before it gets underway when two of Emmett’s friends from the juvenile facility escape and show up at the farm. This leads to drastic detours from the original plan, highlighted by encounters with unique and often dangerous characters.
The journey to California seems to be less of a trip than a symbol of a new life and Emmett’s passage into adulthood. Really still a juvenile, he makes mistakes along the way caused by his lack of life experience, but the strong bond between the brothers holds firm. The book also shows how individuals can react very differently to the same circumstances, and how damage from the traumas of childhood can shape adult lives.
This was an amazing book, not only a wonderful story about a small town filled with ordinary people to whom an extraordinary event happens but also a murder mystery (my favorite). It’s nostalgia for a time when there was still family life and children were children. The tragedy which is the central and reveals the characters as other deaths occur is very well done. It was one of the best books I have read recently
I’ve been a member of this library’s Book Club from the beginning and try to come as often as I can. Love the ladies who come and talk about the books we read. And I love, most of all, the fact that we read all different kinds of books–historical fiction, adventure, popular as well as some classics! I absolutely love the book we’re reading for this upcoming meeting in April–Ordinary Grace. Never heard of the author before and that just goes to show you how many great books out there are yet to be discovered! This story really captured my interest because it takes place in a small town, around the 1960’s (before cell phones, streaming and all the wonderful modern conveniences that I love to hate). It’s written from a young boy’s POV–very touching. I would call it a coming of age story, but with all great stories, it’s so much more!
I’m not an official member of the book club, but, as a child growing up in Flemington, the library was instrumental in shaping me as reader and lover of books. From the moment I pushed open those heavy (for me) glass doors, there was a particular aroma—a heady combination of leather, books, and newsprint, I believe—that resonated with me for years to come. I’d head straight for the children’s room, load up my arms with books of all sizes (some sheathed in plastic with tapes or records), and tiptoe outside to the patio, where I could pretend I had a secret forested hideaway that was accessible only to me. It’s a strange, make-believe world you conjure as a child, populated mostly by the creations of your own active imagination. As I got older, I’d bypass the children’s area in favor of loitering at the magazine rack, the glossy photos and depiction of urbane life mesmerizing me for hours as I contemplated my future.
I read a review that described Ordinary Grace, by Wiliam Kent Krueger, as a novel, a mystery, historical fiction, crime fiction and, possibly, a memoir. And I thought, wow, I have to read this book. Set in the summer of 1961, the story was told from 13-year old Frank Drum’s point of view–a time of grief, hardship, friendships made and lost, hope, and life. Frank took his first steps into adulthood during those long, hot days and readers will sympathize when Frank comes to the sinking realization that it may never be possible to figure it all out. Perhaps, like me, you’ll get a glimpse of your own 13 year-old self in Frank’s story.
I don’t like to go down a big list, like you see here, when somebody asks me why I like a book, but this one covers all these genres and themes so well. Such great storytelling.
I just loved this book.