October 16: “Love, Death and Rare Books” by Robert Hellenga.  This is a profound book about love and death.  Story of a rare book store in a family for 3 generations.  Ellen will lead the discussion.

November 13:  “First Ladies” by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.  This is the story of the friendship and partnership of Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist, Mary McLeod Bethune. This is an impeccably researched book, with the co-authors painstakingly recreating, through records and accounts, the lives of these two very different important women.  Pat will lead the discussion.

December 11: “Hang the Moon” by Jennette Walls.  A riveting new novel about the Roaring ‘20s.  Country life is roller-coastering along, but it becomes more intriguing once you know its rural Virginian petty dynasties correspond to the Tudors at the height of British rule.  Elviria will lead the discussion.

2024

January 8: “The Dutch House” by Ann Patchett.  Unlike a fairy tale The Dutch House is peopled not with archetypes but with distinctive and believable characters.  It’s beautifully layered and gorgeously told . Susan B. will lead the discussion.

February 12: “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus.  Will make you wonder about all the real-life women born ahead of their time-women who were sidelined, ignored and worse.  Susan J. will lead the discussion.

March 11:“Madame Restell” by Jennifer Wright.  The life, Death and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless and Infamous Abortionist. Elviria will lead the discussion.

April 8:  “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig. A whimsical fantasy about learning what’s important in life. An unhappy woman who tires to commit suicide finds herself in a mysterious library that allows her to explore new lives.  Ellen will lead the discussion.

May 13: “Trackers” by Charles Frazier.  A stunning new novel by the author of the best seller Cold Mountain. Hurtling past a downtrodden communities of Depression-Era America, painter Val Welch travels westward to the rural town of Dawes, Wyoming. He’s landed a New Deal assignment to create a mural for the town, intrigue follows.  Susan B. will lead the discussion.

June 10:  “Island Queen” by Vanessa Riley.  A remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free Black women who rose form slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies.  Joann will lead the discussion.

July 8.  “Hotel Cuba” Aaron Hamburger.  Fleeing the chaos of World War 1 and the terror of the Soviet Revolution, practical, sensible Pearl Kahn and her lovestruck, impulsive younger sibling travel to Havana,  Cuba where the story weaves a beautiful story of sister-love and leave-taking.  Susan J. will lead the discussion.

August 12:  “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy.  It’s a tale of John
Grady Cole, who at sixteen finds himself at the end of a long line of Texas rancher. With two companions, he sets off for Mexico on a sometimes idyllic, sometimes comic journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood.  Pat will lead the discussion.