tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327333098863643772024-03-12T23:11:51.800-04:00Atlantic Highlands Evening BookclubAHLEBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18302423580599601950noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-88377543462642204922018-12-03T09:00:00.000-05:002018-12-03T09:00:03.455-05:00Dec 2018: The Orphan Keeper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bCDMEbJImFo/WtjT4y9NNEI/AAAAAAAAKCg/lf1FtNJ1iQYXZv1hcsI2YF6s-pxSyBElQCLcBGAs/s1600/dec%2B2018%2Beve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bCDMEbJImFo/WtjT4y9NNEI/AAAAAAAAKCg/lf1FtNJ1iQYXZv1hcsI2YF6s-pxSyBElQCLcBGAs/s400/dec%2B2018%2Beve.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<b>The Orphan Keeper, A Novel by Camron Wright </b>via <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29502649-the-orphan-keeper?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
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"Based on a true story.
Seven-year-old Chellamuthu’s life is forever changed when he is kidnapped from his village in India, sold to a Christian orphanage, and then adopted by an unsuspecting couple in the United States. It takes months before the boy can speak enough English to tell his parents that he already has a family back in India. Horrified, they try their best to track down his Indian family, but all avenues lead to dead ends.<br />
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Meanwhile, they simply love him, change his name to Taj, enroll him in school, make him part of their family—and his story might have ended there had it not been for the pestering questions in his head: Who am I? Why was I taken? How do I get home?<br />
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More than a decade later, Taj meets Priya, a girl from southern India with surprising ties to his past. Is she the key to unveil the secrets of his childhood or is it too late? And if he does make it back to India, how will he find his family with so few clues?"<br />
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Author website: Click <a href="http://www.therentcollectorbook.com/author.htm" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
Book's Website: Click <a href="http://www.theorphankeeper.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers Likely!)<br />
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We'll meet to discuss <b>The Orphan Keeper</b> on Thursday, <b>December 6</b>, at 7pm. Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, 100 First Avenue, inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the Library Desk.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-77871164810215206172018-10-03T09:00:00.000-04:002018-10-03T09:00:05.303-04:00Oct 2018: Born A Crime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1s3uzGyfoGg/WtjQ2pbsP1I/AAAAAAAAKCU/vh7ETcb8ShMizXkv_fsEBm5bmGi39rG7ACLcBGAs/s1600/oct%2Beve%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1s3uzGyfoGg/WtjQ2pbsP1I/AAAAAAAAKCU/vh7ETcb8ShMizXkv_fsEBm5bmGi39rG7ACLcBGAs/s400/oct%2Beve%2B2018.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
<b>Born A Crime by Trevor Noah</b> via <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/537515/born-a-crime-by-trevor-noah/9780399588174/" target="_blank">Penguin Random House</a>:<br />
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"Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.<br />
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Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.<br />
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The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love."<br />
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Author facebook: Click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TrevorNoah/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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We'll meet to discuss <b>Born A Crime</b> on Thursday, October 25, at 7pm. Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, 100 First Avenue, inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the Library Desk.<br />
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Please note: This title wasn't available via the Monmouth County Library Bookclub List and quantity is limited!<br />
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Reminder: There is no Evening Bookclub in November!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-13583126898927126042018-09-03T09:00:00.000-04:002018-09-03T09:00:08.506-04:00Sep 2018: My Beloved World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2I9y9fe_oJE/WtjOnY2ukQI/AAAAAAAAKCI/UCx2sN00nFkgS2diYcLKm-ohFyht1adigCLcBGAs/s1600/sept%2B2018%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="318" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2I9y9fe_oJE/WtjOnY2ukQI/AAAAAAAAKCI/UCx2sN00nFkgS2diYcLKm-ohFyht1adigCLcBGAs/s400/sept%2B2018%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
<b>My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor</b> via <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/207069/my-beloved-world-by-sonia-sotomayor/9780345804839/" target="_blank">Penguin Random House</a>:<br />
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"Here is the story of a precarious childhood, with an alcoholic father (who would die when she was nine) and a devoted but overburdened mother, and of the refuge a little girl took from the turmoil at home with her passionately spirited paternal grandmother. But it was when she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes that the precocious Sonia recognized she must ultimately depend on herself. She would learn to give herself the insulin shots she needed to survive and soon imagined a path to a different life. With only television characters for her professional role models, and little understanding of what was involved, she determined to become a lawyer, a dream that would sustain her on an unlikely course, from valedictorian of her high school class to the highest honors at Princeton, Yale Law School, the New York County District Attorney’s office, private practice, and appointment to the Federal District Court before the age of forty. Along the way we see how she was shaped by her invaluable mentors, a failed marriage, and the modern version of extended family she has created from cherished friends and their children. Through her still-astonished eyes, America’s infinite possibilities are envisioned anew in this warm and honest book, destined to become a classic of self-invention and self-discovery."
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(No author site links)<br />
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We'll meet to discuss My Beloved World on Thursday, September 27, at 7pm. Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, 100 First Avenue, inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the Library Desk.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-2466347306747174812018-08-03T09:00:00.001-04:002018-08-03T09:00:05.022-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N8fxypeT3C8/WtjHJ5TwSzI/AAAAAAAAKB0/u1tX0vye4fMyIza6Zo1Yhspz2KhZDW_9QCEwYBhgL/s1600/aug%2Beve%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="318" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N8fxypeT3C8/WtjHJ5TwSzI/AAAAAAAAKB0/u1tX0vye4fMyIza6Zo1Yhspz2KhZDW_9QCEwYBhgL/s400/aug%2Beve%2B2018.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
<b>The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate, Discoveries From a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben</b>, Jane Billinghurst Translator via <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28256439-the-hidden-life-of-trees?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
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"Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware. Much like human families, tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. In contrast, solitary trees, like street kids, have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a group.<br />
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Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries, Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities; he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him."<br />
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Author Website: Click <a href="https://www.peter-wohlleben.de/english/" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
The Man Who Thinks Trees Talk To Each Other (article): Click <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/12/peter-wohlleben-man-who-believes-trees-talk-to-each-other" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
Author on Scandinavian TV (interview): Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1djibBPOfto" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
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We'll meet to discuss <b>The Hidden Life of Trees</b> on Thursday, Aug 30, at 7pm. Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, 100 First Avenue, inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the Library Desk.<br />
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Please note: This title wasn't available via the Monmouth County Library Bookclub List and quantity is limited!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-24667843379904427672018-07-03T09:00:00.000-04:002018-07-03T09:00:14.048-04:00July 2018: The House On Mango Street<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FmAHW6RergY/WtjFA3JuTYI/AAAAAAAAKBk/-666LfqYaVgMRSgdJfg75bjGfTNYYXVowCLcBGAs/s1600/jul%2B2018%2Beve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="260" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FmAHW6RergY/WtjFA3JuTYI/AAAAAAAAKBk/-666LfqYaVgMRSgdJfg75bjGfTNYYXVowCLcBGAs/s400/jul%2B2018%2Beve.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
<b>The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros</b> via <a href="https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-house-on-mango-street/summary" target="_blank">LitCharts</a>:<br />
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"The House on Mango Street is a bildungsroman (coming-of-age story) of a young Chicana (Mexican-American) girl named Esperanza Cordero. The book is told in small vignettes which act as both chapters of a novel and independent short stories or prose poems. The story encompasses a year in Esperanza’s life, as she moves to a house on Mango Street in a barrio (Latino neighborhood) of Chicago, Illinois. The house on Mango Street is an improvement over Esperanza’s previous residences, but it is still not the house she or her family dreams of, and throughout the book Esperanza feels that she doesn’t belong there.<br />
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Over the course of the year Esperanza grows emotionally, artistically, and sexually, and the novel meanders through her experiences with her neighbors and classmates. Esperanza makes friends with two other Chicana girls of Mango Street, Rachel and Lucy. These three, along with Esperanza’s little sister Nenny, have many small adventures in the first part of the book, including searching through a labyrinthine junk store and learning from an older girl named Marin. While exploring her world, Esperanza experiences the shame of poverty, the unfairness of racism, and the beauty of poetry and music."<br />
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<b>Author Website</b>: Click <a href="https://www.sandracisneros.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
<b>Books As Medicine</b> - A Conversation With Sandra Cisneros (article): Click <a href="https://electricliterature.com/books-as-medicine-a-conversation-with-sandra-cisneros-a976e764a5b3" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
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We'll meet to discuss The House on Mango Street On Thursday, July 26, at 7pm. Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, 100 First Avenue, inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the Library Desk.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-12678251789443478912018-06-03T09:00:00.000-04:002018-06-03T09:00:10.009-04:00June 2018: Claire Of The Sea Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7gXB_i3-YM/Wti2c1trGqI/AAAAAAAAKBU/F53R7IXzca0-GSBiN6PECgcg6X2XYaRmwCLcBGAs/s1600/jun%2B2018%2Beve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="318" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7gXB_i3-YM/Wti2c1trGqI/AAAAAAAAKBU/F53R7IXzca0-GSBiN6PECgcg6X2XYaRmwCLcBGAs/s400/jun%2B2018%2Beve.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat via <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16280051-claire-of-the-sea-light?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
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"Claire Limyè Lanmè - Claire of the Sea Light - is an enchanting child born into love and tragedy in Ville Rose, Haiti. Claire's mother died in childbirth, and on each of her birthdays Claire is taken by her father, Nozias, to visit her mother's grave. Nozias wonders if he should give away his young daughter to a local shopkeeper, who lost a child of her own, so that Claire can have a better life.<br />
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But on the night of Claire's seventh birthday, when at last he makes the wrenching decision to do so, she disappears. As Nozias and others look for her, painful secrets, haunting memories, and startling truths are unearthed among the community of men and women whose individual stories connect to Claire, to her parents, and to the town itself."<br />
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Author Website: Click <a href="http://www.edwidgedanticat.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
Author facebook: Click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/edwidgedanticat/" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
Author TED Talk: Click <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/edwidge_danticat_stories_of_haiti" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
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We'll meet to discuss Claire of the Sea Light On Thursday, June 28, at 7pm. Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, 100 First Avenue, inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the Library Desk.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-3391958179952146572018-05-03T09:00:00.000-04:002018-05-03T09:00:07.131-04:00May 2018: The Story Of A New Name<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1A31wFP_enw/Wti0U9cepGI/AAAAAAAAKBI/xahszZ9IIFEgpbGApXpUYMGRt8ccJ35awCLcBGAs/s1600/may%2Beve%2Bbkclub%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="305" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1A31wFP_enw/Wti0U9cepGI/AAAAAAAAKBI/xahszZ9IIFEgpbGApXpUYMGRt8ccJ35awCLcBGAs/s400/may%2Beve%2Bbkclub%2B2018.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<b>The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante </b>(Anna Goldstein translator) via <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465515-the-story-of-a-new-name?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
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"In 2012, Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend introduced readers to the unforgettable Elena and Lila, whose lifelong friendship provides the backbone for the Neapolitan Novels. The Story of a New Name is the second book in this series. With these books, which the New Yorker's James Wood described as "large, captivating, amiably peopled ... a beautiful and delicate tale of confluence and reversal," Ferrante proves herself to be one of Italy's most accomplished storytellers. She writes vividly about a specific neighborhood of Naples from the late-1950s through to the current day and about two remarkable young women who are very much the products of that place and time. Yet in doing so she has created a world in which readers will recognize themselves and has drawn a marvelously nuanced portrait of friendship.
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In The Story of a New Name, Lila has recently married and made her entrée into the family business; Elena, meanwhile, continues her studies and her exploration of the world beyond the neighborhood that she so often finds stifling. Love, jealousy, family, freedom, commitment, and above all friendship: these are signs under which both women live out this phase in their stories. Marriage appears to have imprisoned Lila, and the pressure to excel is at times too much for Elena. Yet the two young women share a complex and evolving bond that is central to their emotional lives and is a source of strength in the face of life's challenges. In these Neapolitan Novels, Elena Ferrante, the acclaimed author of The Days of Abandonment, gives readers a poignant and universal story about friendship and belonging."<br />
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<b>Author Website</b>: Click <a href="http://elenaferrante.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers possible)<br />
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We'll meet to discuss <b>The Story of a New Name On</b> Thursday, May 31, at 7pm. Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, 100 First Avenue, inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the Library Desk.<br />
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Please note: This title wasn't available via the Monmouth County Library Bookclub List and quantity is limited!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-36850241600209576172018-04-19T11:16:00.000-04:002018-04-19T11:24:17.524-04:00April 2018: The Mayor Of Casterbridge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tWS6PCoa14A/WtiwAOldkLI/AAAAAAAAKA8/vlcgEftorbECnJ3ddg0UWMcDN76xAuBBACLcBGAs/s1600/apr%2B2018%2Beve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="254" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tWS6PCoa14A/WtiwAOldkLI/AAAAAAAAKA8/vlcgEftorbECnJ3ddg0UWMcDN76xAuBBACLcBGAs/s400/apr%2B2018%2Beve.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
<b>The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy</b> via Goodreads:<br />
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"In a fit of drunken anger, Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas at a country fair. Over the course of the following years, he manages to establish himself as a respected and prosperous pillar of the community of Casterbridge, but behind his success there always lurk the shameful secret of his past and a personality prone to self-destructive pride and temper."<br />
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Thomas Hardy biography via Encyclopedia Britannica: Click <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Hardy" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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We'll meet to discuss <b>The Mayor of Casterbridge </b>On Thursday, April 26, at 7pm. Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, 100 First Avenue, inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the Library Desk.<br />
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Please note: This title wasn't available via the Monmouth County Library Bookclub List and quantity is limited!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-59333696474729764282018-02-25T16:00:00.000-05:002018-02-25T16:14:46.991-05:00Mar 2018: The Signature Of All Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-szQe6IGfNmY/WmEUvAgQToI/AAAAAAAAKAE/89DyCE33YLMqq2LzBEkW2dJwgLXoJxNSgCLcBGAs/s1600/eve%2Bbkclub%2Bmar%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-szQe6IGfNmY/WmEUvAgQToI/AAAAAAAAKAE/89DyCE33YLMqq2LzBEkW2dJwgLXoJxNSgCLcBGAs/s400/eve%2Bbkclub%2Bmar%2B2018.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
<b>The Signature Of All Things</b> by Elizabeth Gilbert via <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20763711-the-signature-of-all-things" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">"Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father’s money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">As Alma’s research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction—into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a Utopian artist—but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is the story of Alma Whittaker, who—born in the Age of Enlightenment, but living well into the Industrial Revolution—bears witness to that extraordinary moment in human history when all the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were exploding into dangerous new ideas."</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author Website</b>: Click <a href="https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/bio/" target="_blank">here</a>. (spoilers possible)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Book Trailer</b>: Click <a href="https://youtu.be/4LHVU3SGEng" target="_blank">here</a>. (spoilers possible) video</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Elizabeth Gilbert on The Signature Of All Things</b>: Click <a href="https://youtu.be/vc6Da_tld18" target="_blank">here</a>. (spoilers possible) video</span></span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We'll
meet to discuss<b> The Signature Of All Things </b>on Thursday, March 29, at 7pm.
Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth
County Library, <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">100 First Avenue</st1:address></st1:street>,
inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the
Library Desk.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Please note</b>: This title wasn't available via the Monmouth County Library Bookclub List and quantity is limited!</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-61961810726946953302018-02-03T09:00:00.000-05:002018-02-03T09:00:05.910-05:00Feb 2018: The Rosie Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_-CGUzG6uUI/WmETAOvwnUI/AAAAAAAAJ_4/a28pHEeoeaIEH1CfmkMqL3SYjC_881cvwCLcBGAs/s1600/Eve%2Bbkclub%2Bfeb%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="311" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_-CGUzG6uUI/WmETAOvwnUI/AAAAAAAAJ_4/a28pHEeoeaIEH1CfmkMqL3SYjC_881cvwCLcBGAs/s400/Eve%2Bbkclub%2Bfeb%2B2018.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
<b>The Rosie Project </b>by Graeme Simsion via <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16181775-the-rosie-project?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper."</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #181818;"><b>Author Website</b>: Click <a href="http://graemesimsion.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. (spoilers may be possible)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We'll
meet to discuss <b>The Rosie Project </b>on Thursday, February 22, at 7pm.
Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth
County Library, <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">100 First Avenue</st1:address></st1:street>,
inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the
Library Desk.</span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-59430888600965064802018-01-18T16:32:00.001-05:002018-01-18T16:50:22.424-05:00Jan 2018: All The Light We Cannot See<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bt3jAU8Xh_I/WmEQdll5XzI/AAAAAAAAJ_s/fkGFE7Tv5B82WSvyRadDPlOmkStqKOBQACLcBGAs/s1600/Eve%2Bbkclub%2Bjan%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bt3jAU8Xh_I/WmEQdll5XzI/AAAAAAAAJ_s/fkGFE7Tv5B82WSvyRadDPlOmkStqKOBQACLcBGAs/s400/Eve%2Bbkclub%2Bjan%2B2018.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
<b>All The Light We Cannot See</b> by Anthony Doerr via <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143977-all-the-light-we-cannot-see?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">"Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>Author Website</b>: Click <a href="http://anthonydoerr.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. (spoilers possible)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>Anthony Doerr on his novel</b>: Click <a href="https://youtu.be/IYBK3Lsx7aI" target="_blank">here</a>. (spoilers possible) video</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">We'll meet to discuss <b>All The Light We Cannot See </b>on Thursday, January 25, at 7pm. Location: Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, 100 First Avenue, inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands. Books are available at the Library Desk.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><b>Please note</b>: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">This title wasn't available via the Monmouth County Library Bookclub List and quantity is limited!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-59136737731626731782018-01-18T16:01:00.002-05:002018-01-18T16:15:54.117-05:00AHLEBC 2017 Round Up<b>Happy New Year fellow readers!</b><br />
<br />
Before we get started with 2018, I wanted us to take a look back at our year of reading in 2017 via our voting in December (which was done via email and during our annual holiday / December meet up).<br />
<br />
Here are the results from Lori's email:<br />
<br />
Remember, our voting systems was a little unorthodox, for example, you could have more than one favorite, but we are not a rule following book club. We do things our way, baby! :-)<br />
<br />
My Brilliant Friend
Fav: 7
Liked: 4
No one thought this book was meh or hated it.<br />
<br />
Thank Who Mistook his Wife...
Liked: 5
Meh: 3
No one's favorite and no one hated it.
<br />
<br />
One Thousand White Women
Liked: 6
Meh: 1
Hated: 1
No one's favorite.
<br />
<br />
When the Emperor was Divine
Fav: 1
Liked: 6
Meh: 4
No one hated it.
<br />
<br />
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Fav: 1
Liked: 3
Meh: 5
No one hated this book.
<br />
<br />
Olive Kitteridge
Fav: 4
Liked: 6
No one thought this book was meh or hated it.
<br />
<br />
Being Mortal
Fav: 2
Liked: 8
Meh: 11
No one hated it.
<br />
<br />
Frankenstein
Liked: 4
Meh: 3
Hated: 3
No one's favorite.
<br />
<br />
Euphoria
Liked: 5
Meh: 4
Hated: 1
No one's favorite.
<br />
<br />
Orphan train
Liked: 10
Meh: 2
No one's favorite and no one hated it.
<br />
<br />
A Man Called Ove
Fav: 2
Liked: 7
Meh: 2
Hated: 2
<br />
<br />
So...
<br />
<br />
Favorite book: My Brilliant Friend
Least Favorite: Frankenstein
Most Liked: Orphan Train
Most Meh: Being Mortal
<br />
<br />
Thanks for voting!<br />
<br />
<b>Speaking of "rules"</b> - along with input from those who attended the annual holiday / December meet up, Lori and I have come to the decision (for lack of a better word) that we're bringing the bookclub back to its' roots in some ways to make it more inclusive for all who attend, and less "to-do" pressure for Lori, who has been our fearless and faithful leader though thick & thin, but as can happen with us all, needs to have less on-hands time with the bookclub now, as I have needed these last couple of years.<br />
<br />
<b>So in that spirit, here are the new old "rules" for 2018 and beyond:</b><br />
<br />
-If you pick a book that gets chosen as a monthly selection, You are responsible for facilitating the month your book is assigned to.<br />
-If you are unable to do so, please let Lori and myself know ASAP (or hit "reply all" to the latest email from us) so that we can go from there and someone can volunteer to facilitate in their place.<br />
-(Emergencies are the obvious exception here, so in this case those who attend that month will carry on and discuss the book sans facilitator).<br />
<br />
-If you are facilitating, that month you bring the snacks.<br />
-If you're unable to do so, or would like everyone to try and bring something as well, please let the group know by hitting "reply all" to the latest email from us. This way those who are able to bring something can do so.<br />
-(There are paper goods at the library already - if Lori or I aren't there, just ask the librarians).<br />
-Lori will continue to bring the electric kettle and tea.<br />
<br />
<b>As a reminder</b>: If you pick a book that is not on the<a href="http://www.eventkeeper.com/kitkeeper/show_kit_list.cfm" target="_blank"> Monmouth County Bookclub Library List</a>, all will be done to try and locate enough copies of that book throughout the system, however, we cannot guarantee that there will be enough system wide and therefore we may ask you to pick a back-up title in case.<br />
<br />
In closing, here is our 2017 annual Holiday / December meet up group photo!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hYlZ6KRX7oM/WmELIdsKlRI/AAAAAAAAJ_c/DVyQWk51KDQvDfshUZe8PtDfseh1Zmh0wCLcBGAs/s1600/Book%2BClub%2BChristmas%2BParty%2B2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hYlZ6KRX7oM/WmELIdsKlRI/AAAAAAAAJ_c/DVyQWk51KDQvDfshUZe8PtDfseh1Zmh0wCLcBGAs/s320/Book%2BClub%2BChristmas%2BParty%2B2017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Here's to another great year of reading together!<br />
-JoUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-5083050804166684232017-11-03T08:30:00.000-04:002017-11-03T08:30:01.945-04:00Nov/Dec 2017: A Man Called Ove<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-brPIiCOi_dY/WTX384nbdeI/AAAAAAAAJ8s/rExe5SJS-2Y1hZA5w7EPxFXb_EAu9_oAQCLcB/s1600/Nov%2Bdec%2B2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-brPIiCOi_dY/WTX384nbdeI/AAAAAAAAJ8s/rExe5SJS-2Y1hZA5w7EPxFXb_EAu9_oAQCLcB/s400/Nov%2Bdec%2B2017.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
A Man Called Ove: A Novel by Fredrik Backman (author), Henning Koch (translator)<br />
<br />
From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774964-a-man-called-ove?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
<br />
"A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.<br />
<br />
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?<br />
<br />
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations."<br />
<br />
Author site: Click <a href="http://www.fredrikbackmanbooks.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss A Man Called Ove on Thursday, <b>December 7</b>, 2017 at 7pm in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands. (If we are having a holiday party during this discussion, look for details in the email preceding this meetup).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-72834110118897299582017-10-03T08:30:00.000-04:002017-10-03T08:30:00.163-04:00Oct 2017: Orphan Train <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oUcn94nwo_w/WTX181TBgaI/AAAAAAAAJ8o/GUldgKL59swjNlATz49TkDTSxHEVHZr1QCLcB/s1600/Oct%2B2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oUcn94nwo_w/WTX181TBgaI/AAAAAAAAJ8o/GUldgKL59swjNlATz49TkDTSxHEVHZr1QCLcB/s400/Oct%2B2017.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
Orphan Train: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline<br />
<br />
From <a href="http://christinabakerkline.com/novels/orphan-train/" target="_blank">christinabakerkline.com</a>:<br />
<br />
"Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by luck or chance. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude?<br />
<br />
As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past.<br />
<br />
Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community-service position helping an elderly widow clean out her attic is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.<br />
<br />
Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship."<br />
<br />
Author background on writing Orphan Train (spoilers likely): Click <a href="http://bakerkline.wpengine.com/novels/orphan-train/the-story-behind-the-writing-of-orphan-train/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
Author site: Click <a href="http://christinabakerkline.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
Google search on orphan trains: Click <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Orphan+Trains&rlz=1C1SFXN_enUS499US500&oq=Orphan+Trains&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.6280j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss Orphan Train on Thursday, 26, 2017 at 7pm in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-4022497282374150602017-09-03T08:30:00.000-04:002017-09-03T08:30:03.878-04:00Sep 2017: Euphoria<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wKsOXKjLIFU/WTX0vSKEk7I/AAAAAAAAJ8k/sPXVxd3FvZ03TzBZ_NtlQw0SyqFhimPcgCLcB/s1600/Sep%2B2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wKsOXKjLIFU/WTX0vSKEk7I/AAAAAAAAJ8k/sPXVxd3FvZ03TzBZ_NtlQw0SyqFhimPcgCLcB/s400/Sep%2B2017.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
<h1 class="bookTitle" id="bookTitle" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: merriweather, georgia, serif; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px; width: 455px;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Euphoria by Lily King</span></span></h1>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18467802-euphoria?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
"Inspired by events in the life of revolutionary anthropologist Margaret Mead, Euphoria is the story of three young, gifted anthropologists of the 1930s caught in a passionate love triangle that threatens their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives."<br />
<br />
Author site: Click <a href="http://www.lilykingbooks.com/book/euphoria/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss Euphoria on Thursday, 28, 2017 at 7pm in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-61961378311825330772017-08-03T08:30:00.000-04:002017-08-03T08:30:24.966-04:00Aug 2017: Frankenstein <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IEViZzNwWEI/WTXyufL4tYI/AAAAAAAAJ8g/FMOCj8o-a7UCaaQR-Kfe1OsXpRvx4jA4ACEw/s1600/franken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IEViZzNwWEI/WTXyufL4tYI/AAAAAAAAJ8g/FMOCj8o-a7UCaaQR-Kfe1OsXpRvx4jA4ACEw/s400/franken.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus Mary Shelley<br />
<br />
From <a href="http://bn.com/">BN.com</a>:<br />
<br />
"Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering "the cause of generation and life" and "bestowing animation upon lifeless matter," Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creatures hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.<br />
<br />
Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises rofound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever."<br />
<br />
Poetry Foundation author bio: Click <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss Frankenstein on Thursday, 31, 2017 at 7pm in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-47902572470268404262017-07-03T08:30:00.000-04:002017-07-03T08:30:40.292-04:00Jul 2017: Being Mortal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1JLCW7UemA/WTXuGZcFFqI/AAAAAAAAJ8Y/jiBnlUkLrhIfMtFHaRsr1mF-6kww-TvSgCLcB/s1600/jul%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1JLCW7UemA/WTXuGZcFFqI/AAAAAAAAJ8Y/jiBnlUkLrhIfMtFHaRsr1mF-6kww-TvSgCLcB/s400/jul%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
by Atul Gawande<br />
<br />
From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20696006-being-mortal?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
<br />
"In Being Mortal, bestselling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending.
<br />
<br />
Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot. Doctors, committed to extending life, continue to carry out devastating procedures that in the end extend suffering.<br />
<br />
Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession’s ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified.<br />
<br />
Full of eye-opening research and riveting storytelling, Being Mortal asserts that medicine can comfort and enhance our experience even to the end, providing not only a good life but also a good end."<br />
<br />
Author site: Click <a href="http://atulgawande.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss Being Mortal on Thursday, 27, 2017 at 7pm in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-63373459985839331262017-06-05T19:48:00.002-04:002017-06-05T19:48:29.140-04:00Jun 2017: Olive Kitteridge <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--D4EplNYIvg/WTXstbbOjQI/AAAAAAAAJ8U/WqaWRwFHLWgOtYfslU8pzLqK-65XcEeZQCLcB/s1600/jun%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--D4EplNYIvg/WTXstbbOjQI/AAAAAAAAJ8U/WqaWRwFHLWgOtYfslU8pzLqK-65XcEeZQCLcB/s400/jun%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout<br />
<br />
From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5552635-olive-kitteridge" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
<br />
"At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.
<br />
<br />
As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life–sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition–its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires."<br />
<br />
Author site: Click <a href="http://www.elizabethstrout.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
Recent New Yorker Profile: Click <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/01/elizabeth-strouts-long-homecoming" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss Olive Kitteridge on Thursday, June 29, 2017 at 7pm in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-52549042693667668822017-06-05T19:42:00.003-04:002017-06-05T19:42:22.255-04:00May 2017: The Bridge Of San Luis Rey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XNTQylY4mt4/WTXrJYHSrzI/AAAAAAAAJ8Q/I7Xk4nPXBS8WK52L9f8oU5FMNAdRRBS3ACLcB/s1600/may%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XNTQylY4mt4/WTXrJYHSrzI/AAAAAAAAJ8Q/I7Xk4nPXBS8WK52L9f8oU5FMNAdRRBS3ACLcB/s400/may%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
by Thornton Wilder<br />
<br />
From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213791.The_Bridge_of_San_Luis_Rey" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
<br />
"By chance, a monk witnesses the tragedy. Brother Juniper seeks to prove that it was divine intervention rather than chance that led to the deaths of those who perished in the tragedy. His study leads to his own death -- and to the author's timeless investigation into the nature of love and the meaning of the human condition."<br />
<br />
For The Thorton Wilder Society book page: Click <a href="http://www.twildersociety.org/works/the-bridge-of-san-luis-rey/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We met to discuss The Bridge Of San Luis Rey on Thursday, May 25, 2017 in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-66393966617588643782017-06-05T19:34:00.002-04:002017-06-05T19:34:48.971-04:00Apr 2017: When The Emperor Was Divine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B5IrER6Q9Ao/WTXpbWXm0pI/AAAAAAAAJ8M/CMnT2CRKWZwIZdFyuI3zyAXvBuPhqv8CgCLcB/s1600/Apr%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B5IrER6Q9Ao/WTXpbWXm0pI/AAAAAAAAJ8M/CMnT2CRKWZwIZdFyuI3zyAXvBuPhqv8CgCLcB/s400/Apr%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka (debut novel)<br />
<br />
From <a href="http://www.julieotsuka.com/when-the-emperor-was-divine/" target="_blank">julieotsuka.com</a>:<br />
<br />
"On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her house, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family’s possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, virtually overnight, as enemy aliens and are about to be uprooted from their homes and sent to a dusty internment camp in the Utah desert.<br />
<br />
In this lean and devastatingly evocative first novel, Julie Otsuka tells the story of one Japanese American family from five flawlessly realized points of view—the mother receiving the order to evacuate; the daughter on the long train ride to the camp; the son in the desert encampment; the family’s return to their home; and the bitter release of the father after almost four years in captivity. When the Emperor Was Divine is a work of enormous power that makes a shameful episode of our history as immediate as today’s headlines."<br />
<br />
Author site: Click <a href="http://www.julieotsuka.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We met to discuss When The Emperor Was Divine on Thursday, April 27, 2017 in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-19225046285480365472017-06-05T19:28:00.000-04:002017-06-05T19:28:18.034-04:00Mar 2017: One Thousand White Women<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YEqkR2nL6VU/WTXkD_3Kk9I/AAAAAAAAJ8E/9vTLB09L1EATdIr6xpwQ5aM1zh2FanR4gCLcB/s1600/Mar%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="260" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YEqkR2nL6VU/WTXkD_3Kk9I/AAAAAAAAJ8E/9vTLB09L1EATdIr6xpwQ5aM1zh2FanR4gCLcB/s400/Mar%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus<br />
<br />
From <a href="http://jimfergus.com/books/one-thousand-white-women/" target="_blank">jimfergusbooks</a>:<br />
<br />
"Based on an actual historical event but told through fictional diaries, this is the story of a remarkable woman who travels west in 1875 and marries the Chief of the Cheyenne Nation.<br />
<br />
ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN begins with May Dodd’s journey west into the unknown. Yet the unknown is a far better fate than the life she left behind. Committed to an insane asylum by her blue-blood family for the crime of loving a man beneath her station, May finds that her only hope of freedom is to participate in a secret government program whereby women from the “civilized” world become the brides of Cheyenne warriors. What follows is the story of May’s breathtaking adventures: her brief, passionate romance with the gallant young army captain John Bourke; her marriage to the great chief Little Wolf; and her conflict of being caught between two worlds, loving two men, living two lives."<br />
<br />
Author site: Click <a href="http://jimfergus.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We met to discuss One Thousand White Women on Thursday, March 30, 2017 in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-29533071435347021652017-02-14T14:08:00.000-05:002017-02-14T14:08:38.309-05:00Feb 2017: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bTIKjzb0ya4/WKNUQafUWuI/AAAAAAAAJ6w/srb57MJ9nTQ9SMHu5x0MSCWLqPK8tpckACLcB/s1600/Feb%2B2017%2Bahlebc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bTIKjzb0ya4/WKNUQafUWuI/AAAAAAAAJ6w/srb57MJ9nTQ9SMHu5x0MSCWLqPK8tpckACLcB/s320/Feb%2B2017%2Bahlebc.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
From <a href="http://www.oliversacks.com/books-by-oliver-sacks/man-mistook-wife-hat/" target="_blank">OliverSacks.Com</a>:<br />
<br />
"Here Dr. Sacks recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders: people afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations; patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.<br />
<br />
If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales remain, in Dr. Sacks’s splendid and sympathetic telling, deeply human. They are studies of life struggling against incredible adversity, and they enable us to enter the world of the neurologically impaired, to imagine with our hearts what it must be to live and feel as they do."<br />
<br />
Helpful links:<br />
Author webite click <a href="http://www.oliversacks.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss The Man Who Misstook His Wife For A Hat on Thursday, 2/23/17, at 7pm in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located at 100 First Avenue inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-29286482676592929972017-01-03T11:20:00.001-05:002017-01-03T11:37:47.148-05:00Jan 2017 - My Brilliant Friend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X4dUYciCadM/WGvMX-1agXI/AAAAAAAAJ4I/3ElCfy-WjTMPF3VtC2sBa48a7rsh12w-gCLcB/s1600/My%2BBrilliant%2BFriend%2Bjan%2B2017%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X4dUYciCadM/WGvMX-1agXI/AAAAAAAAJ4I/3ElCfy-WjTMPF3VtC2sBa48a7rsh12w-gCLcB/s400/My%2BBrilliant%2BFriend%2Bjan%2B2017%2Beve%2Bbk.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13586707-my-brilliant-friend?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
(L'amica geniale #1)
by Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein (Translator)<br />
"A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship.
<br />
<br />
The story begins in the 1950s, in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else. As they grow, as their paths repeatedly diverge and converge, Elena and Lila remain best friends whose respective destinies are reflected and refracted in the other. They are likewise the embodiments of a nation undergoing momentous change. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her protagonists, the unforgettable Elena and Lila.
<br />
<br />
Ferrante is the author of three previous works of critically acclaimed fiction: The Days of Abandonment, Troubling Love, and The Lost Daughter, and this novel is the first in a trilogy."<br />
<br />
<b>Helpful Links</b> <i>(*Spoilers May Be Possible*)</i>:<br />
-Author Site click <a href="http://elenaferrante.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
-"The "Unmasking" Of Elena Ferrante" New Yorker Article click <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-unmasking-of-elena-ferrante" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
-"Women On The Verge" (review of her writing in general) New Yorker Article click <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/01/21/women-on-the-verge" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss My Brilliant Friend on Thursday 1/26/17 at 7pm in the Community Room of the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library (located at 100 First Avenue inside Atlantic Highlands Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands opposite Veterans Park).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-45417802929298201422016-11-25T11:25:00.002-05:002017-01-03T11:44:07.577-05:00The Hundred Year Old Man... - Nov/Dec 2016 (Updated 1/3/17)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bv3VRJfHxhc/WDhj18rLrSI/AAAAAAAAJ30/UF4o9hwNaMIvRBi6TuxUjl0GOItz2k8UwCLcB/s1600/Hundred%2BYear%2BOld%2BMan%2BAHLEBC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bv3VRJfHxhc/WDhj18rLrSI/AAAAAAAAJ30/UF4o9hwNaMIvRBi6TuxUjl0GOItz2k8UwCLcB/s400/Hundred%2BYear%2BOld%2BMan%2BAHLEBC.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13486632-the-hundred-year-old-man-who-climbed-out-of-the-window-and-disappeared?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
"It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people’s home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The Mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not… Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan’s earlier life in which – remarkably – he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century."<br />
<br />
Helpful Links:<br />
Author website click <a href="http://www.jonasjonasson.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss The Hundred Year Old Man... on Thursday, December 1, 2016, at 7pm in the Community Room in the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library located at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands (inside Borough Hall). <br />
<br />
Details regarding our annual Holiday Party for this meetup to follow. (Watch your email).<br />
<br />
<b>Updated 1/3/17 with Holiday Party:</b><br />
<br />
Here are the results of the vote:<br />
-Our favorite book with a total of seven votes (including Linda and Jo's) was: The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson<br />
- Our least favorite book with a total of three votes was: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry.
It looks like we liked most of the books we read.<br />
<br />
At the end of the year Elita (who started the book club with me) and I would always say something about the group. I continued the tradition after she moved back to her native Australia. Here is my message for this year:
I want to you to know how much I appreciate every one of you and thank you for being apart of our book club. To our facilitators and those bringing snacks, those who come regularly and those who come occasionally, a heartfelt thank you. You are a wonderful group of people, smart, funny, caring, and supportive. You never make anyone feel uncomfortable if they disagree. You are always generous with your praise and go out of your way to be understanding. I am so grateful and happy to know you and I look forward to seeing you every month. The hours that we meet go by super fast and there is never enough time. I wish all of you a happy holiday and all the good things life has to offer in 2017.
See you next year
Love,
Lori<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lX8gC-EzxR0/WGvUcPFMJNI/AAAAAAAAJ4Y/8siKLmiLezIYMUieSkPGIp2XYkyKDKm9wCLcB/s1600/Eve%2Bbookclub%2Bannual%2Bholiday%2Bparty%2B2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lX8gC-EzxR0/WGvUcPFMJNI/AAAAAAAAJ4Y/8siKLmiLezIYMUieSkPGIp2XYkyKDKm9wCLcB/s320/Eve%2Bbookclub%2Bannual%2Bholiday%2Bparty%2B2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">December 1, 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-432733309886364377.post-48135227310869173482016-10-10T16:27:00.002-04:002016-10-10T16:28:03.975-04:00Ines Of My Soul - Oct 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wE5qcm0Fv0U/V_v2uiSR8yI/AAAAAAAAJ3M/zvFkRQcrJaEFFitGwCgXgPB_khX5H06dgCLcB/s1600/Ines%2Bof%2Bmy%2Bsoul%2Boct%2B2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wE5qcm0Fv0U/V_v2uiSR8yI/AAAAAAAAJ3M/zvFkRQcrJaEFFitGwCgXgPB_khX5H06dgCLcB/s400/Ines%2Bof%2Bmy%2Bsoul%2Boct%2B2016.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3300.In_s_of_My_Soul?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:<br />
<br />
"Born into a poor family in Spain, Inés, a seamstress, finds herself condemned to a life of hard work without reward or hope for the future. It is the sixteenth century, the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and when her shiftless husband disappears to the New World, Inés uses the opportunity to search for him as an excuse to flee her stifling homeland and seek adventure. After her treacherous journey takes her to Peru, she learns that her husband has died in battle. Soon she begins a fiery love affair with a man who will change the course of her life: Pedro de Valdivia, war hero and field marshal to the famed Francisco Pizarro.
<br />
<br />
Valdivia's dream is to succeed where other Spaniards have failed: to become the conquerer of Chile. The natives of Chile are fearsome warriors, and the land is rumored to be barren of gold, but this suits Valdivia, who seeks only honor and glory. Together the lovers Inés Suárez and Pedro de Valdivia will build the new city of Santiago, and they will wage a bloody, ruthless war against the indigenous Chileans—the fierce local Indians led by the chief Michimalonko, and the even fiercer Mapuche from the south. The horrific struggle will change them forever, pulling each of them toward their separate destinies."<br />
<br />
Helpful links:<br />
-Author site: click <a href="http://www.isabelallende.com/en/home/13" target="_blank">here</a>. (from her site you can also find links to her other social media)<br />
-NYT Sunday Book Review of novel: click <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/books/review/Galehouse.t.html" target="_blank">here</a>. (Spoilers Likely)<br />
-Author's TED Talk video: click <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/isabel_allende_tells_tales_of_passion?language=en" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We will meet to discuss this book on Thursday, October 27th, in the Community Room at the Atlantic Highlands Branch of the Monmouth County Library at 7pm, located at 100 First Avenue inside Borough Hall in downtown Atlantic Highlands.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0