Book Club Spotlight -- 8/8

In October, the library book club will be reading The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:

Can you read your future in a piece of lace? All of the Whitney women can. But the last time Towner read, it killed her sister and nearly robbed Towner of her own sanity. Vowing never to read lace again, her resolve is tested when faced with the mysterious, unsolvable disappearance of her beloved Great Aunt Eva, Salem's original Lace Reader. Told from opposing and often unreliable perspectives, the story engages the reader's own beliefs. Should we listen to Towner, who may be losing her mind for the second time? Or should we believe John Rafferty, a no nonsense New York detective, who ran away from the city to a simpler place only to find himself inextricably involved in a psychic tug of war with all three generations of Whitney women? Does either have the whole story? Or does the truth lie somewhere in the swirling pattern of the lace?

Have you read this book? If so, give it some love (or dislike) in the comments section -- just no spoilers please!

Talking with Joshua Henkin

On Monday night, my book club had the honor of chatting with Joshua Henkin, author of Matrimony. If you missed it, click and read my review of Matrimony. The first surprising fact we learned was that it took ten years for Mr. Henkin to write Matrimony. It was in the last year that he felt the book really came together. He wrote the book in chronological order, without an outline, and let the story tell itself. Mr. Henkin told the group that he was just as surprised by the ending as we were.

Mr. Henkin talked about how the death of one character is the pivotal plot point and without it the story might not have found Julien and Mia getting married. When asked who his favorite character was he explained that he felt the author's job was not to favor one character over another. He is currently working on his next novel tentatively titled The World Without You, which tells the story of a family's struggle with grief after the death of a family member in Iraq. Thanks again to Joshua Henkin for taking the time to speak to our book club, we look forward to reading more of his work.

Talking with Anita Diamant

At last night's book club meeting, we had the privilege of speaking with Anita Diamant, author of The Last Days of Dogtown. Anita Diamant is from Massachusetts where the novel takes place and actually owns a house on Cape Ann -- the setting of The Last Days of Dogtown. To research the novel, Ms. Diamant used resources found at the local historical society as well as the Newton Public Library to give the novel the historical accuracy needed. Ms. Diamant told the group that while Judy Rhimes was the 'emotional center' of the novel, she felt that the key to her novel was the relationships between the characters. We also learned about her writing process and the 3 years of research and writing it took to make The Last Days of Dogtown the novel it is today. Anita Diamant's next book, Day After Night, set in Palestine in 1945 will be in bookstores this September. Thanks once again to Anita Diamant for taking the time to discuss The Last Days of Dogtown with us. We look forward to reading her next book.

**Next month's book club selection is Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. We will also be speaking with Mr. Henkin at our monthly meeting so look for my review and post detailing our conversation.

What’s the best book that YOU haven’t read yet?

A lot of bloggers have been answering this question over the past two days and I have enjoyed reading their lists and posting comments. I was not surprised to find The Book Thief by Markus Zusak on many of the lists.

I read this book for book club a few months back and really enjoyed it. After I picked up I Am the Messenger, also by Zusak, and realized that I loved this book even more. It's a story of second chances and how one one event can change your life forever. It is a funny and thoughtful adventure ripe with unusual characters.

So if you are going to read The Book Thief (and even if you are not) I recommend that you pick up I Am the Messenger as well. Let me know what you think of it (or both books) in the comments section.

Talking with Juliette Fay

On Monday our book group had the wonderful opportunity to speak to Juliette Fay, author of Shelter Me. Shelter Me is the story of Janie, a recent widow with two small children, and her struggle to move forward with the help of an unlikely group of family and friends. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and so did many of my fellow book clubbers. This is Juliette Fay's first book and she is a native of Massachusetts so we were very interested to talk with her.



There were some very interesting tidbits that came up in conversation. Juliette told us that Shelter Me was not the original title. Instead the original title was En Route, Will Advise and after it was changed she methodically went back throughout the book to add the word shelter to the text to make it more cohesive. The book takes place in Pelham, Massachusetts but it wasn't until after the book was published that she found out there was a real Pelham in Massachusetts.



It was a great conversation and I am very much looking forward to Juliette Fay's next book which she is currently working on. Next month, the book club will read The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant and chat with her as well.

Next Month's Book Club

On Monday, our book club discussed Shelter Me with author Juliette Fay (more on this later). Next month will be an author chat with Anita Diamant, writer of The Last Days of Dogtown. I know absolutely nothing about this book but many of my fellow book clubers enjoyed Diamant's last novel, The Red Tent.