Meets on the 3rd Tuesday, 2 pm.
Join an fun, interesting discussion about books & authors with varied genres.
Click here for a printable PDF of our recommendations
January 2025
FICTION
Second Growth by Ruth Moore. This 1962 book by a well-known Maine author is the insightful story of a struggling small Down East town. The well-written tale describes Mainers transitioning from a prime focus on fishing and farming.
The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy. A young Indian American woman inherits a family home in India and has to deal with family members.
The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This 1907 book is for anyone who loved The Secret Garden (by the same author) and Downton Abbey. It explores the relationship between wealthy Americans and titled, but often financially struggling, British.
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. A 4-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine. The disappearance goes unsolved for 50 years.
NONFICTION
Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo. In 1858, Georgia Ellen Craft, who passes for white, and her husband, William, go on an open escape from slavery with William as Georgia’s slave. This is a well- documented gripping book with sad commentary on our nation’s history. Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
Deep South by Paul Theroux. Theroux has written 10 travel memoirs, but this is his first book about his experiences in the U.S. The Deep South region can be as strange and exotic as any foreign country.
Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. This work tells the true stories of events which made the front pages of newspapers in 1900 and 1910. One was about a murderer and the other about Marconi, the inventor of the wireless. By the end of the book, these two stories connect in a suspenseful and dramatic way.
Lilibet by Carolly Erickson. While this is a very interesting and informative biography of Queen Elizabeth II, it tells us much more about Prince Philip than most people know – or want to know. Read it and find out.
The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson. This is a readable, detailed account of the period (1860-61) between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the attack on Ft. Sumter. There are certain similarities between that period of history and what is happening in our country today.
MYSTERY
The Man Who Invented Florida by Randy Wayne White. Third book in a series featuring a marine biologist in southwest Florida.
February 2025
FICTION
Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone. Newlyweds arrive in Lisbon, where the husband disappears. The local police, the American Embassy, and the CIA get involved. This is a riveting page-turner with an unexpected ending.
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. On her 40th birthday, a woman finds herself at the bedside of her much loved, terminally ill father, questioning her life choices. She gets a unique chance to revisit the past when she discovers a portal back to the day she turned 16
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. This book explores the Dust Bowl years in Texas through the eyes of Elsa Martinelli and her family.
Funny Story by Emily Henry. This rom-com has real understanding of friendships of all kinds. What can go wrong when two people – who were ditched when their respective others fell in love – decide to share an apartment?
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. A teenager vanishes from a summer camp in the Adirondacks, exposing the dark secrets of a wealthy family and the working-class family that surrounds it.
The Spare Room by Helen Gardner. A woman offers her spare room to an old friend in town for a last-ditch treatment of terminal cancer. The woman does not foresee the struggles ahead in this short, powerful novel by an Australian writer.
Monkeys by Susan Minot. This novel is about a large, privileged Massachusetts family in the 1960s and 70s.
The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates. A newlywed husband throws himself over Niagara Falls. After his widow remarries, tragedy overtakes her life.
The Poe Shadow by William McDermott. This well-researched novel is set in the mid 1800s following the death of Edgar Allan Poe. A young lawyer is determined to find out the circumstances of Poe’s death.
NONFICTION
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. This is the author’s first book, published in 2000. He painstakingly illustrates his theory that small changes can make very big differences. This work and his following books are well worth reading.
The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr. This is a balanced, in-depth study of the complex supply system that gives us the modern food supermarket.
Finding Me by Viola Davis. Davis tells her remarkable life story, going from desperate childhood to her position as an actor at the peak of her profession. At Home:
A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson. This is a history of how people lived over the last 1,000 years or so, mostly in England. It covers a wide variety of topics and is rich in detail. The work is by the always-entertaining Bill Bryson.
Spain in Our Hearts by Adam Hochschild. This is the story of the brutal Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). One side included Franco and was supported by Hitler and Mussolini. The other side was Communist and supported by Russia. The war was used as a training ground for weapons later used in World War II.
March 2025
FICTION
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. This classic work is set in New Orleans in the late 1950s. It is the story of a Korean War veteran who is drifting through life, despite his intelligence and many talents.
The Moorings of Mackerel Sky by MZ (Emily Zack.) This debut book by a Mainer combines her knowledge of lobstering communities and her vivid imaginings about mermaids, mermen, and witches. It is set in the town of Mackerel Sky, which is beset by mysterious tragedies.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. This tale of historical fiction is based on the diary of Martha Ballard, a midwife in Hallowell around 1800.
Absolution by Alice McDermott. This novel, set in Saigon in 1962-63, follows the wives of U.S. political and military personnel, then reconnects them 60 years later. It describes wives as “helpmeets” and describes military pressures and the pre-feminist era.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. This book of historical fiction is about two sisters in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. Government officials confiscate a portal that allows time travel. Several people are transported from past centuries to “study and learn.” Each person is assigned a “handler” to help them adapt. Difficulties follow.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. Three adult daughters come home to a farm during the pandemic where they pester their mother into telling the story of when she co-starred with a movie star in the play Our Town in Tom Lake, Michigan.
NONFICTION
Fire and Ice: Henry and Lucy Knox and the Settling of Maine by Gerald W. Gawalt. This is the true story of Revolutionary War hero and first Secretary of War Knox and his wife Lucy who come to Thomaston as Maine is forming.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari. A brilliant professor analyzes complex topics like religion, immigration, and justice in a clear, reasoned, and understandable way.
The Ragged Road by Dennis Leaver. This new book by a Topsham resident covers the author’s life from the “wasted” years of young adulthood to a grace-filled mature adulthood. It starts with a gripping misadventure in the Maine woods and continues as the author starts his faith journey. It is a very inspiring work.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. This true history, set in Oklahoma (1921-26) tells of the reign of terror affecting the Osage Nation, describing murders and the subsequent lack of investigation.
MYSTERIES/CRIME
Dog Gone It by Spencer Quinn. This mystery, involving a hard-luck private detective and his dog, is narrated by the dog. What is the dog thinking? An interesting approach.
World Gone By by Dennis Lehane. This crime novel in set in Florida and Cuba during World War II. Joe Coughlin is involved with crime families, the police, politicians, and the elite of society. There is plenty of action.
