Jump to content
  • Book Groups

    Are you a book lover? Does reading make you happy? Do you find yourself wondering what to read next? Join us as we read and discuss various forms of literature together in groups of like-minded book lovers.

    P.S. I have marked the books with an R that the group has already read. I'm keeping the books listed for ideas and reference.

    Literary Fiction

    In this group, we read general works of fiction. We seek good writing and great characters in the framework of a good story that keeps us page turning hour after hour. 



    R. Horse Geraldine Brooks 
    R. Ordinary Grace  William Kent Kruger
    R. The Fall of the Year: A Novel  Harold Frank Mosher
    R. Carolina Moonset  Matt Goldman
    R. The Sweetness of Water  Nathan Harris
    R. The Overstory  Richard Powers
    R. House Made of Dawn N. Scott Momaday
    R. Sea of Tranquility  Emily Mandel
    R. The World Played Chess Robert Dugoni
    R.  Remarkably Bright Creatures  Shelby Van Pelt
    R.  LightHousekeeping  Jeanette Winterson
    R. Peach Blossom Spring  Melissa Fu

    Added 12/30/2022

    R. A Keeper  Graham Norton
    The Time is Noon  Pearl Buck
    The Whalebone Theater  Joanna Quinn
    Yonder  Jabari Asim
    Forbidden City  Vanessa Hua
    Lessons  Ian McEwan
    French Braid  Anne Tyler

    Eventide  Kent Haruf
    Half of a Yellow Sun  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    The Peppered Moth  Margaret Drabble

    Added 1/19/2023

    A Week in Winter  Maeve Binchy
    The Women Could Fly  Megan Giddings

    Added 1/30/2023

    The Good Lord Bird  James McBride
    West with Giraffes  Linda Rutledge
    The Blackbird Girls  Anne Blankman

    Added 3/1/2023

    The Secret World of Flora Lee  Patti Callahan Henry

    Added 5/15/2023

    Hippie  Paulo Coelho
    Last Bus to Wisdom  Ivan Doug
    Folklorn  Angela Mi Young Hur

    Added 7/2/2023

    The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers  Terri-Lynne DeFino
    Very Cold People  Sarah Mangress
    Banyan Moon  Thao Thai

    Added 8/30/2023

    The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store  James McBride
    The Lager Queen of Minnesota  J. Ryan Stradal
    Whalefall  Daniel Krauss
    Kantika  Elizabeth Graver
    The Librarian of Banned Books  Brianna Labuskes
    The Bean Trees  Barbara Kingsolver


     

    Who Done It

    Love mysteries? There’s so many to chose from in this all so popular genre! We have been reading the first mystery that introduces a detective in a series that may have you going back for more. We’ve found some great ones! Join us for a lively weekly discussion!

    Book List


    R. The Player's Boy is Dead  Leonard Towney (Joan and Matthew Stock)
    R. Cop Hater  Ed McBain  (87th Precinct)
    R. Murder at Melrose Court: A 1920s Country House Murder Mystery  Karen Menuhim  ( Heathcliff Lennox )
    R. Death of Mrs. Westaway  Ruth Ware
    R. Navajo Autumn  P. Allen Chappell (Navajo Nations)
    R. Roman Blood: A Novel of Ancient Rome  Steven Saylor (The Roma Sub Rosa series Book 1)
    R. The Case of the Canterfell Codicil   P. J. Fitzsimmons  (Anty Boisjoly)
    R. The Deep Blue Goodbye  John D. MacDonald  (Travis McGee)
    R. Little Comfort   Edwin Hill (Hester Thursby)
    R. The Religious Body   Catherine Aird (C. D. Sloan The Calleshire Chronicles)
    R. Checkmate to Murder: A Second World War Mystery   E.C.R. Lorac (British Classic Crime)
    R. Rest You Merry   Charlotte MacLeod  (The Peter Shandy)
    R. The Glass Key   Dashiell Hammet
    R. The Winter Queen   Boris Akunin (Erast Fandorin)
    R. The Fencing Master   Arturo Perez-Reverte
    R. The House of the Arrow   A.E.W. Mason
    R. The Night She Died   Dorothy Simpson (The Inspector Thanet)
    R. Midnight at Malabar House   Vassim Khan  (Persis Wadia)
    R.The Lodger   Marie Bellac Lowndes
    R. The Return of the Dancing Master   Henning Mankell
    R. Cathedral of Bones   J. G. Lewis  (Ela Longespee of Salisbury)
    R. The Teeth of the Tiger   Maurice LeBlanc
    R. A Bend of Light   Joy Jordan-Lake
    R. The Return of Faraz Ali   Aamina Ahmad
    R. Ruling Passion   Reginald Hill  (Dalziel and Pascoe)
    R. That Affair Next Door   Anna Catherine Green (model for Miss Marple)
    R. No Strangers Here  Carlene O'Connor  (Cormac O'Brien, County Kerry)

    R.  A Key to Deceit  Ashley Weaver  (Electra McDonnell)
    R.  The Bellamy Trial  Frances Noyes Hart (first trial mystery)
    R.  Full Dark House  Christopher Fowler (Bryant and May)
    R.  Murder in eMinor   Robert Goldsborough (Nero Wolfe)
    R. Dancing Aztecs  Donald Westlake
    R. Gone for Good  Joanna Schaffhauser (Annalisa Vega)
    R. The Bookseller  Mark Pryor (Hugo Marston)
    R. Hunting Rabbits  Mark Gilleo (Charlie Gates)
    R.Trouble Follows Me  Ross MacDonald
    R. In Spite of Thunder  John Dickson Carr (Dr. Gideon)

    Added 12/30/2022

    R. Pepper Pike   Les Roberts (Milan Jacovich)
    R. Death at Charity's Point   William Tappley (Brady Coyne)
    Ask the Right Question  Michael Lewin (Albert Samson)
    Blunt Darts  Jeremiah Healy (John Francis Cuddy)
    The Snatch  Bill Pronzini (Nameless)
    Lonely Hearts  John Harvey (Charlie Resnik)

    Ken's List of "Grandmothers" of Who Done It

    A is for Alibi  Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone)
    Edwin of the Iron Shoes  Marcia Muller  (Sharon McCone)
    Indemnity Only  Sara Paretsky  (V.I. Warshawski)
    In the Last Analysis  Amanda Cross (Kate Fansler)
    Gaudy Night  Dorothy Sayers (Harriet Vane)

    A Blunt Instrument  Georgette Heyer
    Death in the Stocks  Georgette Heyer (Inspector Hannasyde)
    City on Fire  Don Winslow
    Falling Star  Patricia Moyes (Pudge)

    Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead  Olga Takarczuk
    The Wolf and the Watchman  Niklas Natt och Dag
    The Cuckoo's Calling  Robert Gilbraith (Cormoran Strike)
    Sacred Games  Gary Corby (Athenian Mysteries, Ancient Greece)

    Added 1/30/2023

    Nothing Ventured  Jeffrey Archer (William Warwick)
    Aristotle Detective  Margaret Doody (Aristotle)

    The Blessing Way  Tony Hillerman (Leaphorn and Chee)

    2/13/2023


    The Dead Letter Seeley Regester (The first full length American Detective Story)
    Until Proven Guilty  J.A. Jance  (J.P. Beaumont)

    Added 3/1/2023

    Remarkably Bright Creatures  Shelby Van Pelt
    The Last Detective  by Peter Lovesey (Peter Diamond)
    The House of Whispering Pines  Anna Katherine Green (Mother of Detective Fiction)
    Sunlit Weapon  Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs)

    Apothecary Rose  Candace Robb  (Owen Archer)
    Redline: A Matt Sinclair Mystery  Brian Thiem

    Added 5/15/2023

    Overboard  Sara Paretsky
    The Fellowship of the Frog  Edgar Wallace
    The Middle of Things  J.S. Fletcher
    Blaze Me a Sun  Christoffer Carlsson (Best Swedish Crime Novel 2023)

    Added 5/30/2023

    Too Many Cooks  Rex Stout

    Added 7/2/2023

    Green for Danger  (Inspector Cockrill) Christianna Brand and Martin Edwards
    A Duty to the Dead (Bess Crawford) Charles Todd
    Nomad's Land  Mary Roberts Rinehard
    Murder Takes No Holiday  (Mike Shayne) Brett Halliday
    Fire Burn John Dickson Carr

    Added 8/30/2023

    The Exploits of Juve  Marcel Allain & Pierre Souvestre (The Fantomas Novels)
    The Housekeeper  Alex Hay
    The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie  Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce)
    The Law and the Lady  Wilkie Collins (1st female detective)
    Fadeout  Joseph Hansen (Dave Brandstetter)
    Girl Waits with Gun  Amy Stewart (Kopp Sisters)
    Shutter  Ramona Emerson
    Death of a Shadow George Bellairs (Inspector Littlejohn)
    Deadly Hall  John Dickson Carr
    The Hangman's Daughter  Oliver Potzsch
    Bruno Chief of Police  Martin Walker
    A Rare Interest in Corpses  Ann Granger (Inspector Benjamin Ross)



     

    Historical Fiction

    Do you enjoy learning about world history? Do you prefer to read great stories that teach? Then you want to join us as we read fictionalized history that teaches while it entertains. 

    Book List


    R. The Glass Ocean  Beatriz Williams
    R. The Poland Trilogy  Book One Push Not the River  James Conroyd Martin
    R. Olaf the Glorious  Robert Leighton
    R. The Swift and the Harrier   Minette Walters
    R. March  Geraldine Brooks
    R. The Saints of Swallow Hill  Donna Everhart
    R. The Moon in the Palace  Weina Dai Randel
    R. Simon the Fiddler   Paulette Jiles
    R. The Apothecary Rose  Candace Robb
    R. A Hundred Sweet Promises  Sepehr Haddad
    R. Deep River   Karl Marlantes
    Empress Orchid   Anchee Min
    The Master  Colm Tóibín
    The Blue   Nancy Bilyeau  (maybe Fugitive Colors as well)

    Added 12/30/2022

    The Thread Collectors  Shaunna Edwards and Alyson Richman
    The Marriage Portrait  Maggie O'Farrell
    Dance of the Jakaranda  Peter Kimani
    Through a Darkening Glass  R.S. Maxwell
    A Tale of Two Citizens  Elyce Waberman
    The Forgotten Bookshop of Paris  Daisy Wood
    Emily's House  Amy Belding Brown

    The Far Traveler  Nancy Marie Brown
    The Distant Hours  Kate Morton
    The Midwife of Hope River  Patricia Harman
    A Dress of Violet Taffeta  Tessa Arlen
    Raphael, Painter in Rome  Stephanie Story
    Please say Kaddish for Me  Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
    Lady Magdalen  Robin Jenkins

    Added 12/31/2022

    The Adventuress: A Novelette (One Virtue and a Thousand Crimes Book 1)  Mira Kanehl

    Added 1/1/2023


    Paris by the Book  Liam Callanan
    Laughing Boy  Oliver La Farge
    The Women of Chateau LaFayette  Stephanie Day

    Added 1/19/2023

    Judah the Pious: A Novel  Francine Prose

    Added 1/30/2023

    River Sing Me Home  Eleanor Shearer
    Porcelain Moon  Janie Chang

    Lucy Tan's Circle of Women  Lisa See
    The Last White Rose  Alison Weir

    Added 2/13/2023

    Sons of Liberty  Matthew Speiser
    The Executives  Sarah Elizabeth Sawyer
    Beyond the Ghetto Gates  Michelle Cameron
    Remarkable Creatures  Tracy Chevalier
    The House on the Lagoon  Silvia Sierra

    Added 3/1/2023

    The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights  Kitty Zeldis
    Painting with Fire  Amanda Hughes
    The Mountains Sing
       Nguyen Phan Que Mai
    The Last Queen  Chitra B. Divakaruni

    Added Rachel 5/15/2023

    Threads of Treason  Mary Balo
    Windfall  Erika Bolstad
    The House of Riverton  Kate Morton
    Seamstress of New Orleans  Diane C. McPhail
    This Other Eden  Paul Harding

    1,000 White Women  Jim Fergus
    Girl in Hyacinth Blue  Susan Vreeland
    Judah the Pious  Francine Prose

    The Rice Mother  Rani Manicka
    The Paper Bracelet  Rachael English
    The Dark Ladies Mask  Mary Sharratt
    The Bookseller's Tale  Ann Swinton
    Aristotle and the Secrets of Life  Margaret Doody
    Mistress of Rome  Kate Quinn
    Fall of Giants  Ken Follett
    Kristin Lavransdatter  Sigrid Undset

    Added 5/30/2023

    Molokai A Novel  Alan Bennet
    Reindeer Moon  Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
    When the Apricots Bloom  Gina Wilkerson

    Added 7/2/2023

    Lady Tan's Circle of Women  Lisa See
    The Devil's Queen  Jeanne Kalogridis
    The Trackers  Charles Frazier
    The Last Wife  Susanna Moore
    All the Queen's Spies  Oliver Clements
    The Revolution of the Moon  Andrea Camilleri
    Weyward  Emilia Hart
    The Physicians Daughter  Martha Conway
    Falcon of Palermo  Maria Bordihn
    Loot  Tania James
    Killingly  Katherine Beutner
    Kaikeyi  V. Patel

    Added 7/7/2023


    The Life She Wanted  Anita Abriel
    On Killing Charles Dickens  Zadie Smith

    Added 8/30/2023

    The Kashmir Shawl  Rosie Thomas
    Booth  Karen Kay Fowler
    Fire Blossom  Sarah Lark
    Beyond the Pale  Elana Dykenwoman
    The Mayfair Bookshop  Eliza Knight
    Canary Girls  Jennifer Chiavarini
    The Exiles  Christina Baker Kline
    The Paris Assignment  Rhys Bowen
    The Living Reed  Pearl Buck
    Take My Hand  Polen Perkins-Valdez




     

    Women of Note

    If you enjoy reading about strong women who had a impact on the human story, then this class is for you! History is all about his-story. In this circle, we’ll read about the women who had a part in forming our world, her-story. You’ll be amazed at how many women made significant contributions that were ignored or attributed to men. We’ll read about the strong women who held the home front while men were off fighting, too. There’s a saying, “behind every great man, there was an even greater woman.” Come and find out who they were! This class begins October 7.

    The plan is to read biographical novels. Our first one is about a woman little known, but highly influential, the one hidden behind the man she influenced.

    My MacArthur  Cindy Fazzi

    Added 1/30/2023

    An Indiscreet Princess  Georgie Blalock
    The First Ladies  Marie Benedict
    Queen of Exiles  Vanessa Riley
    Invincible Miss Cust  Penny Haw
    Carolina Bright  Kianna Alexander
    Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post  Allison Pataki
    Her Hidden Genius  Marie Benedict

    2/13/2023

    Mad Woman  Louisa Treger

    Maybe...Coventry Women  Cathy Hunt (British Heroines from 1850-1950)

    Added 3/1/2023

    The Invisible Miss Cust  Penny Haw
    Too Soon the Night  (Empress Theodora)  James Conroyd Martin
    Woman, Captive, Rebel  Margaret Wilson

    Added 5/15/2023

    Monster  Mary Shelley
    St. Theresa  Barbara Mujica

    Added 7/2/2023

    Illuminations  Mary Sharratt

    Added 8/30/2023

    After Anne  Logan Steiner  (Lucy Maude Montgomery)
    In Her Own Right  Amanda Schiavo  (Lady Mary Tudor)

    Bible Study

    Come read the Bible with me. This fall, starting October 4, we'll be studying the Gospel of John. Unlike the other gospels, John is not simply a story, but much more, and is notorious for being "difficult" to understand. We'll be using, The Good Wine: Reading God From the Center by Bruno Barnhart to unlock the message of John.

    I’ve studied the Bible all my life and have been a certified mentor for the University of the South for twenty years. All are welcome, regardless of faith practice, but please note that we will not be considering the Bible as inerrant truth, but rather a guide that contains many truths.

    History of Christianity

    Using Diarmond MacCullogh’s History of Christianity, The First Three Thousand Years, we’ll explore the influence of the faith that shaped world events for centuries. 

    Whispers of the Spirit

     A Faith Based Books Reading Circle

    This circle is for you if you wish to gain in your understanding of God and spirituality. We'll be reading and discussing these challenging books one chapter a week so that we can fully absorb the message the Spirit is whispering to us. The circle starts October 4 in the evening.

    Sabboth  Abraham Joshua Heschel
    Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul  John Phillip Newell
    Our Hearts are Restless  Richard Lischer
    Life and Ministry of the Messiah  Ray Vander Laan

    Future Circles in the works:

    Children’s Literature
    Classical Literature, American or European
    Stitch Along

×
×
  • Create New...