Next Meetings:

Afternoon Book Club: Next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 20 at 1 p.m.

Library Book Discussion Group will meet Tuesday, April 20 at 7 p.m. to discuss Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder.

Second Tuesday Women's Reading Group will meet on Tuesday, March 9 to discuss The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. (Due to the current popularity of this book in the network, it will not be available at the Circulation Desk; instead, individual holds must be placed on it. The paperback may be purchased at BookEnds for a discount if you mention the book group.)

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Afternoon Book Club

Copies of the book, some in large print, are available at the Circulation Desk. Ask a Reference Librarian if you want to request an audio version.

First meeting Tuesday, February 16 at 1 p.m.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Best Fiction of 2007, among others. The New York Times described this book as “Funny, street-smart and keenly observed…extraordinarily vibrant, fueled by adrenaline-powered prose.”

Next meeting will be on Tuesday, March16 at 1 p.m.
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

“In this quiet but compelling novel, Trond Sander, a widower nearing seventy, moves to a bare house in remote eastern Norway, seeking the life of quiet contemplation that he has always longed for. A chance encounter with the brother of his childhood friend Jon causes him to ruminate on the summer of 1948, the last he spent with his adored father, who abandoned the family soon afterward. Trond’s recollections center on a single afternoon, when he and Jon set out to take some horses from a nearby farm; what began as an exhilarating adventure ended abruptly and traumatically in an act of unexpected cruelty. Petterson’s spare and deliberate prose has astonishing force, and the narrative gains further power from the artful interplay of Trond’s childhood and adult perspectives. Loss is conveyed with all the intensity of a boy’s perception, but acquires new resonance in the brooding consciousness of the older man.” (The New Yorker)

Library Book Discussion Group 2009-2010

Winchester Public Library Book Discussion Group meets at 7 p.m. in the Library Meeting Room.

Meetings are on the third Monday of each month from September through November, (no meeting in December), and from January through June. The meeting is shifted to Tuesday when the third Monday is a holiday.

Members of the group receive notification of the books and dates, but anyone who has read the book is welcome to drop in.

Generally books are available at the Circulation Desk approximately a month before the group's meeting date. Please check the titles below for any exceptions in availability. Group members choose the books to read, the Library supplies the books, and the discussion is informal.

For more information please email Janet Nelson or call her at the Reference Dept. (781) 721-7171 x20.

Monday, September 21, 2009
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Splendid, beautifully written....Goodwin has brilliantly woven scores of contemporary accounts...into a fluid narrative....This is the most richly detailed account of the Civil War presidency to appear in many years." (Los Angeles Times)  "Goodwin's narrative abilities...are on full display here, and she does an enthralling job of dramatizing...crucial moments in Lincoln's life....A portrait of Lincoln as a virtuosic politician and managerial genius."  (The New York Times)

Monday, October 19, 2009
Song Yet Sung by James McBride. This is the WINCHESTER READS selection with an author visit October 21.

Escaped slaves, free blacks, slave-catchers and plantation owners weave a tangled web of intrigue and adventure in bestselling memoirist (The Color of Water) McBride's intricately constructed and impressive second novel, set in pre–Civil War Maryland. Liz Spocott, a beautiful young runaway slave, suffers a nasty head wound just before being nabbed by a posse of slave catchers. She falls into a coma, and, when she awakes, she can see the future—from the near-future to Martin Luther King to hip-hop—in her dreams. Liz's visions help her and her fellow slaves escape, but soon there are new dangers on her trail…Kidnappings, gunfights and chases ensue as Liz drifts in and out of her visions, which serve as a thoughtful meditation on the nature of freedom and offer sharp social commentary on contemporary America. McBride hasn't lost his touch: he nails the horrors of slavery as well as he does the power of hope and redemption.” (Publishers Weekly)

Monday, November 17, 2009
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar

“Umrigar evocatively describes daily life in two very different households in modern-day Bombay, where the traditions that separate the classes and the sexes still persist. The relationship between Sera Dubash, an upper-class Parsi housewife, and Bhima, her servant, is full of contradictions. They talk over cups of tea like girlfriends, but Bhima must squat on the floor, while Sera sits on a chair…While money and class keep these two from fully bridging the gap between them, they remain closer than either of them can fully see, for as women, they suffer equally the abuse of men, the loss of love, and the joys and sorrows of motherhood. Umrigar beautifully and movingly wends her way through the complexities and subtleties of these unequal but caring relationships.” (Library Journal)

Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Bowers.

"Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naïve’ (San Francisco Chronicle), this epistolary novel, based on Mary Ann Shaffer’s painstaking, lifelong research, is a homage to booklovers and a nostalgic portrayal of an era. As her quirky, loveable characters cite the works of Shakespeare, Austen, and the Brontës, Shaffer subtly weaves those writers’ themes into her own narrative. However, it is the tragic stories of life under Nazi occupation that animate the novel and give it its urgency; furthermore, the novel explores the darker side of human nature without becoming maudlin…[W]ith its humor and optimism, Guernsey ‘affirms the power of books to nourish people during hard times’ (Washington Post).” (Bookmarks Magazine)

Tuesday, Feb. 16 -- meeting cancelled because of the snow storm
The Soloist by Steve Lopez

“Scurrying back to his office one day, Lopez, a columnist for the L.A. Times, is stopped short by the ethereal strains of a violin. Searching for the sound, he spots a homeless man coaxing those beautiful sounds from a battered two-string violin…Over the next few days, Lopez discovers that Nathaniel was once a promising classical bass student at Juilliard, but that various pressures—including being one of a few African-American students and mounting schizophrenia—caused him to drop out…Lopez attempts to help Nathaniel move off Skid Row, regain his dignity, develop his musical talent and free himself of the demons induced by the schizophrenia… With self-effacing humor, fast-paced yet elegant prose and unsparing honesty, Lopez tells an inspiring story of heartbreak and hope.”  (Publishers Weekly

Monday, March 15
Dark Tide by Steven Pueblo

“In this volume, Puleo, a contributor to American History magazine, sets out to determine whether the collapse of a molasses tank that sent a tidal wave of 2.3 million gallons of the sticky liquid through Boston's North End and killed 21 people was the work of Italian anarchists or due to negligence by the tank's owner, United States Industrial Alcohol. Getting into the minds of the major players in the disaster – USIA suits, victims, witnesses, North End residents, politicians – he re-creates not only the scene but also the social, political and economic environments of the time that made the disaster more than just an industrial accident…The most striking aspect of this tale is the timeliness of the topics it touches on. Describing Americans being persecuted because of their ethnicity, a sagging economy boosted by war, and terrorism on U.S. soil that results in anti-immigration laws and deportations, Puleo could just as easily be writing about current events as about events in 1919. Overall, this is another piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is Boston's long and rich history.” (Publishers Weekly)

Tuesday, April 20
Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder

Monday, May 17
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Monday, June 21
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Second Tuesday Women's Reading Group 2009-2010

The Second Tuesday Women's Reading Group meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month from September - June in the Library Meeting Room. Please feel free to drop in for the meeting or contact Sarah Levinson at hal@umich.edu if you are interested in participating.or call Janet Nelson at the Library. Multiple copies of the book are usually available at the Circulation Desk approximately one month before the group's meeting.

Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. For this book there will not be multiple copies at the Circulation Desk; if you would like us to get you a copy, please place a request for it online or call at Reference Desk. Click to request online or call the Reference Dept. and ask a Reference Library to place a request for you.

(Booklist review) "Death is the narrator of this lengthy, powerful story of a town in Nazi Germany. He is a kindly, caring Death, overwhelmed by the souls he has to collect from people in the gas chambers, from soldiers on the battlefields, and from civilians killed in bombings. Death focuses on a young orphan, Liesl; her loving foster parents; the Jewish fugitive they are hiding; and a wild but gentle teen neighbor, Rudy, who defies the Hitler Youth and convinces Liesl to steal for fun. After Liesl learns to read, she steals books from everywhere. When she reads a book in the bomb shelter, even a Nazi woman is enthralled. Then the book thief writes her own story. There's too much commentary at the outset, and too much switching from past to present time, but as in Zusak's enthralling I Am the Messenger (2004), the astonishing characters, drawn without sentimentality, will grab readers. More than the overt message about the power of words, it's Liesl's confrontation with horrifying cruelty and her discovery of kindness in unexpected places that tell the heartbreaking truth. " Hazel Rochman. Copyright © American Library Association.

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009
Song Yet Sung by James McBride (This is the WINCHESTER READS selection with an author visit Oct. 21)

Escaped slaves, free blacks, slave-catchers and plantation owners weave a tangled web of intrigue and adventure in bestselling memoirist (The Color of Water) McBride's intricately constructed and impressive second novel, set in pre–Civil War Maryland. Liz Spocott, a beautiful young runaway slave, suffers a nasty head wound just before being nabbed by a posse of slave catchers. She falls into a coma, and, when she awakes, she can see the future—from the near-future to Martin Luther King to hip-hop—in her dreams. Liz's visions help her and her fellow slaves escape, but soon there are new dangers on her trail…Kidnappings, gunfights and chases ensue as Liz drifts in and out of her visions, which serve as a thoughtful meditation on the nature of freedom and offer sharp social commentary on contemporary America. McBride hasn't lost his touch: he nails the horrors of slavery as well as he does the power of hope and redemption.” (Publishers Weekly)

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

“[I]n her dazzling new novel…Brooks spins her story in two directions. In the present, we follow the resolutely independent Hanna [a rare book conservator] through her thrilling first encounter with the beautifully illustrated codex [the Sarajevo Haggadah] and her discovery of the tiny signs – a white hair, an insect wing, missing clasps, a drop of salt, a wine stain – that will help her to discover its provenance...In the other strand of the narrative we learn, moving backward through time, how the codex came to be lost and found, and made. From the opening section, set in Sarajevo in 1940, to the final section, set in Seville in 1480, these narratives show Brooks writing at her very best…transporting the reader to a fully realized, vividly peopled world, and giving a glimpse of both the long history of anti-Semitism and of the struggle of women toward the independence that Hanna tends to take for granted. Brooks is too good a novelist to belabor her political messages, but her depiction of the Haggadah bringing together Jews, Christians and Muslims could not be more timely. Her gift for storytelling, happily, is timeless.” (Publishers Weekly)

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar

“Umrigar evocatively describes daily life in two very different households in modern-day Bombay, where the traditions that separate the classes and the sexes still persist. The relationship between Sera Dubash, an upper-class Parsi housewife, and Bhima, her servant, is full of contradictions. They talk over cups of tea like girlfriends, but Bhima must squat on the floor, while Sera sits on a chair…While money and class keep these two from fully bridging the gap between them, they remain closer than either of them can fully see, for as women, they suffer equally the abuse of men, the loss of love, and the joys and sorrows of motherhood. Umrigar beautifully and movingly wends her way through the complexities and subtleties of these unequal but caring relationships.” (Library Journal)

Tuesday, Jan. 12
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky

“You probably enjoy eating codfish, but reading about them? Mark Kurlansky has written a fabulous book--well worth your time--about a fish that probably has mattered more in human history than any other. The cod helped inspire the discovery and exploration of North America. It had a profound impact upon the economic development of New England and eastern Canada from the earliest times. Today, however, overfishing is a constant threat. Kurlansky sprinkles his well-written and occasionally humorous history with interesting asides on the possible origin of the word codpiece and dozens of fish recipes. Sometimes a book on an offbeat or neglected subject really makes the grade. This is one of them.” (Amazon.com)

Tuesday, Feb. 9
Time Is a River by Mary Alice Monroe

“Breast cancer survivor Mia Landan…asks Belle Carson, a fly-fishing guide and the head of Casting for Recovery, if she can stay in Belle’s isolated mountain cabin. At first, the solitude isn’t easy, and Mia has to overcome some major fears. Her real healing begins after she discovers the long-forgotten diary of Kate Watkins, a controversial woman ahead of her time, who used to live in the cabin. Kate loved fly-fishing, too, and, guided by her journal, Mia begins to get in touch with the mountains, the wildlife, the river, and herself…Monroe once again treats her readers to lush descriptions of nature in this exquisite, many-layered novel of an unsolved mystery, an obsession, a reconciliation, and a little romance.” (Booklist)

Tuesday, March 9
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

(Due to the current popularity of this book in the network, it will not be available at the Circulation Desk; instead, individual holds must be placed on it. The paperback may be purchased at BookEnds for a discount if you mention the book group.)

“This dark but redemptive novel [has been] an international bestseller…Renee Michel, 54 and widowed, is the stolid concierge in an elegant Paris hotel. Though "short, ugly, and plump," … she has a secret: she's a ferocious autodidact who's better versed in literature and the arts than any of the building's snobby residents. Meanwhile, "supersmart" yet pessimistic 12-year-old Paloma Josse, who switches off narration with Renee, lives in the building with her wealthy, liberal family…The arrival of a new tenant, Kakuro Ozu, who befriends both characters, sets up their possible transformations. By turns very funny (particularly in Paloma's sections) and heartbreaking, Barbery never allows either of her dour narrators to get too cerebral or too sentimental. Her simple plot and sudden denouement add up to a great deal more than the sum of their parts.” (Publishers Weekly)

Tuesday, April 13
Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo. 

“In this volume, Puleo, a contributor to American History magazine, sets out to determine whether the collapse of a molasses tank that sent a tidal wave of 2.3 million gallons of the sticky liquid through Boston's North End and killed 21 people was the work of Italian anarchists or due to negligence by the tank's owner, United States Industrial Alcohol. Getting into the minds of the major players in the disaster – USIA suits, victims, witnesses, North End residents, politicians – he re-creates not only the scene but also the social, political and economic environments of the time that made the disaster more than just an industrial accident…The most striking aspect of this tale is the timeliness of the topics it touches on. Describing Americans being persecuted because of their ethnicity, a sagging economy boosted by war, and terrorism on U.S. soil that results in anti-immigration laws and deportations, Puleo could just as easily be writing about current events as about events in 1919. Overall, this is another piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is Boston's long and rich history.” (Publishers Weekly

Tuesday, May 11
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Tuesday, June 8th
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Parenting Book Group will meet on Tuesday, April 6 at 7 p.m.

The Library and Parent to Parent are offering four parenting book group sessions this year.

The April discussion will be about the book The Talk: What Your Kids Need to Hear From YOU About Sex by Sharon Maxwell.

Dr. Maxwell focuses on the importance of love and intimacy in an age when our culture is pushing our kids to be "sexy" earlier and earlier. The book helps parents define their values about sexuality, power, intimacy, and privacy, and gives concrete examples of how to share those values with their children. The discussion will be an informal sharing of how the ideas in the book can help us face our common challenges in raising our children. It is not necessary to have read the book to participate in this supportive discussion.

Copies of this book will not be available at the Circulation Desk. You may place a hold through the Minuteman Network or purchase a copy at BookEnds at the book group discount price. For more information: visit www.parenttoparentwinchester.org
or call the Library at 781-721-7171 x20.

 

For more information, visit parenttoparent