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I find that the month of December is an interesting time for reading groups. Some groups pick a holiday themed book to discuss. Others have a holiday book exchange. Some take December off. And others discuss their regularly chosen book. Here at the bookstore, our Afternoon Reading Group has a party. Holiday snacks, cookies, and books. What more could a reader want?
We gather around the goodie table and each of us talk about two titles that have meant a lot to us during the year. The titles can come from any genre (fiction, romance, science, nature, biography, etc.) as long as they weren't part of our reading group discussions. When our talk is done we have quite a few book recommendations and a feast filled with holiday treats.
In next January's newsletter, I'll include some of the titles that were brought up at the party.
I've chosen three fine reading group books for this newsletter, plus a "For Your Entertainment" title. I hope you enjoy the books.
Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!
Ken
kenbksco@gmail.com
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SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE
by Claire Keegan
When I heard Cillian Murphy ("Oppenheimer") in a radio interview saying he'd made a new movie based on Claire Keegan's novel Small Things Like These, I knew I had to read it. And what a beautiful novel I discovered. Short- only 114 pages. But it certainly moved me and made me think. The novel is set during 1985 in a small Irish village. It's nearly Christmas and Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, faces his busiest season. While delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the silences of a town controlled by the church. This is the story of an ordinary man stepping up, regardless of the consequences. People Magazine called the novel, "a sparse, breathtakingly perfect gem of a novel." Author Hilary Mantel said, "every word is the right word in the right place, and the effect is resonant and deeply moving" The novel was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice and a national bestseller. It won the Orwell Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and just a few days ago Oprah chose the book for her book club.
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BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS
by Mary Kay Andrews
The "For Your Entertainment" novel of the month is Mary Kay Andrews' delightful Bright Lights, Big Christmas. Set in Greenwich Village, this is the enchanting tale of a corner Christmas tree lot run by Kerry Tolliver and her brother Murphy. The Tolliver family have been hauling trees from their Christmas tree farm in North Carolina to New York City for years. But this year is different. Mr. Tolliver has had a heart attack and Kerry agrees to take her father's place. Although Murphy and his dog Queenie have made a lot of friends during their many New York visits, this is all new to Kerry. She soon finds herself startled to begin to feel at home selling trees and wreaths, in their quirky little corner of the city. And then there's divorced father Patrick and his young son. Well, what would a Christmas novel be without a little romance? Publishers Weekly says of the novel, "Andrews serves up a Christmas treat in this sparkling tale... Andrews is skillful at plotting and characterization, and here demonstrates that even major cities can have a small-town neighborhood feel. Exemplary supporting characters." A great novel for relieving a bit of your holiday stress. I really enjoyed it.
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ABSOLUTION
by Alice McDermott
American wives in Saigon during the early 1960s is the subject of Alice McDermott's incredible novel. Tricia is a shy newlywed, married to a rising attorney on loan to Navy Intelligence. Charlene is a practiced corporate spouse and mother of three, a beauty and a bully. In Saigon, the two women form a wary alliance as they balance the era's mandate to be "helpmeets" to their ambitious husbands with their impulse to "do good" for the people of Vietnam. Sixty years later, Charlene's daughter reaches out to Tricia. Together they look back on their time in Saigon and Charlene's constant and often harmful altruism: McDermott forces us to look at America's tragic interference in Southeast Asia. Author Tim O'Brien says, "Absolution is an elegantly written, immaculately conceived novel that immerses the reader in the contradictions and moral ambiguities of the human heart. McDermott is a storyteller who aims for the stars. Absolution takes us there, by way of Saigon, and with a powerful reminder that good intentions can have consequences that jerk us awake over a lifetime. What a splendid, compelling book this is." This novel should spark a great reading group discussion.
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THE ROSE CODE
by Kate Quinn
This is the first Kate Quinn novel that I've read and it won't be my last. Set in Britain's Bletchley Park during WWII, Quinn follows three women who work there. Osla is a debutante who puts her fluent German to use translating decoded enemy secrets at Bletchley. Mab, a product of East End London poverty, works the code breaking machines. Beth, a village spinster, hides her extreme shyness by having a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon spreads her wings as one of the female cryptanalysists at the Park. All three women must sign the Official Secrets Act declaring they'll never divulge what they do at Bletchley---or be tried for treason. Kate Quinn has done an incredible amount of research into the real Bletchley Park story. Part fact, part fiction, I found the pages to fly by in this 600+ page historical novel. Author Susan Meissner says, "The Rose Code is everything you love about an unputdownable novel and more. In her signature fashion, Kate Quinn expertly and vividly breaks wide open the secret world of Bletchley Park's remarkable codebreakers. An unforgettable war story to be sure, but also a tale of friendship, fortitude and forgiveness. Utterly satisfying."
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BOOKS & COMPANY BOOK GROUPS
Open to the Public
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Wednesday, December 18th*
1:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
Choose Your Own- Holiday Party
Registration required-
limited seating available
click here to register
*date change due to Christmas Day
Wednesday, January 22nd
1:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
Demon Copperhead
by Barbara Kingsolver
Registration required-
limited seating available
link to come
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Wednesday, December 18th
6:30 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
Choose your own
No registration required for PRADAS book group meetings.
Wednesday, January 15th
6:30 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
The Girls I've Been
by Tess Sharpe
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Tuesday, December 17th*
4:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
She's a Killer
by Kirsten McDougall
*date change due to Christmas Day
No registration required for Mystery book group meetings.
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Thursday, December 19th
6:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Company
Choose your own!
No registration required for Romance book group meetings.
Thursday, January 30th
6:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Company
Catch and Keep
by Erin Hahn
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Book Release Celebration
DANIEL KENITZ
Tuesday, January 7th
6:30 p.m.
Books & Company
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Join us for an exciting evening conversation with author Daniel Kenitz, author of the debut novel The Perfect Home.
Fixer Upper meets Gone Girl in this suspenseful and witty domestic thriller set in the world of home renovation TV--featuring a woman who becomes public enemy #1 after a horrifying discovery prompts her to flee her celebrity husband with their twin babies.
Please register for this free event.
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An Evening at the
Hartland Public Library
NICKOLAS BUTLER
Tuesday, February 25th
6:00 p.m.
Hartland Public Library
110 E Park Avenue
Hartland, WI 53029
| The Hartland Public Library is excited to host Wisconsin author Nickolas Butler for a reading and Q&A. Butler will be visiting Hartland just on the heels of the publication of his newest novel, A Forty-Year Kiss. Butler will read selections from his books, speak about his writing life, and answer questions from the audience. A book signing will follow the event, with books available for purchase from Books & Company. | |
We support over 50 private book groups with their monthly selection available on the Book Group shelf in store. If your book group is registered with us, we offer 15% off of the book group title each month. To register your book group, just let us know what your book group name is and what you're reading, as well as a contact name for the group. As long as we have an updated list of your books, we will have them on the book group shelf in the store and listed on our website. | |
Books & Company
1039 Summit Ave Oconomowoc, WI
262-567-0106
www.booksco.com
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