Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain

Tuesday

March18, 2014

7:00 pm

“In this heart-wrenching historical fiction, prolific author Chamberlain focuses on a time in North Carolina’s history that most people would rather forget. It’s 1960, and Jane is a 21-year-old newlywed who’s just accepted a job as a social worker, though her husband, Robert, would rather she stay home like the other country club wives. Her clients—poor tobacco farmers in Grace County, like the Hart family—live in the harsh reality of the rural South, with too many mouths to feed and not much to feed them. Jane is eager to help, until she discovers that part of her job is deciding whether young girls like the vivacious Ivy Hart should be sterilized, in order to keep them from having babies that depend on the state. A captivating look at the little-discussed eugenics program that was responsible for sterilizing more than 7,000 American citizens—some without their knowledge—this engrossing novel digs deep into the moral complexity of a dark period in history and brings it to life.” …Publisher’s Weekly

Meetings are the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm Please pre-register by calling 419-586-4442 or emailing Connie Gray at grayco@oplin.org

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

Tuesday

February 18, 2014

7:00 pm

Anne Morrow Lindbergh and her aviator husband, Charles, attracted attention on an order comparable to Princess Diana. The golden couple couldn't go out in public without being mobbed. The kidnapping and murder of their first child was called "The Crime of the Century" and spurred legislation that categorized kidnapping as a federal crime. Melanie Benjamin is adept at using the well-documented facts of their lives, putting the reader inside Anne's life with her famous husband.

Meetings are the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm Please pre-register by calling 419-586-4442 or emailing Connie Gray at grayco@oplin.org

The Lemon Orchard by Luanne Rice

Tuesday

January 21, 2014

7:00pm

(No December Meeting)

Christmas Party December 16

Call for Details

Still devastated by grief five years after the death of her husband and teenage daughter in a car accident, Julia hopes to find solitude and solace while house-sitting at her aunt and uncle’s California estate. Amid the lush landscapes and lemon groves of Malibu, Julia does find these things—in addition to an unexpected relationship with Roberto, who oversees the estate. Roberto, an undocumented immigrant, connects with Julia over her loss: he became separated from his young daughter during their crossing from Mexico and believes her to be dead. Set in the sea and citrus-scented air of the breathtaking Santa Monica Mountains, The Lemon Orchard is an affirming story about the redemptive power of compassion and the kind of love that seems to find us when we need it most.

Meetings are the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm Please pre-register by calling 419-586-4442 or emailing Connie Gray at grayco@oplin.org

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

Tuesday

November 19, 2013

7:00 pm

During her treatment for cancer, Mary Anne Schwalbe and her son Will spent many hours sitting in waiting rooms together. To pass the time, they would talk about the books they were reading. Once, by chance, they read the same book at the same time—and an informal book club of two was born. Through their wide-ranging reading, Will and Mary Anne—and we, their fellow readers—are reminded how books can be comforting, astonishing, and illuminating, changing the way that we feel about and interact with the world around us.

Meetings are the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm

 Please pre-register by calling 419-586-4442 or emailing Connie Gray at grayco@oplin.org

Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert Goolrick

Tuesday

October 15, 2013

7:00 pm

It is the summer of 1948 when a handsome, charismatic stranger, Charlie Beale, recently back from the war in Europe, shows up in the town of Brownsburg, a sleepy village nestled in the Valley of Virginia. All he has with him are two suitcases: one contains his few possessions, including a fine set of butcher knives; the other is full of money. A lot of money. Heading Out to Wonderful is a haunting, heart-stopping novel of love gone terribly wrong in a place where once upon a time such things could happen.

Join Mercer County Library's Newest Book Discussion Group

Meeting the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm

Please pre-register by calling 419-586-4442 or

email Connie Gray at grayco@oplin.org or Janie Stammen at jstammen@oplin.org

CANADA by Richard Ford

Tuesday

September 17, 2013

7:00 pm

When fifteen-year-old Dell Parsons' parents rob a bank, his sense of normal life is forever altered. In an instant, this private cataclysm drives his life into before and after, a threshold that can never be uncrossed. His parents' arrest and imprisonment mean a threatening and uncertain future for Dell and his twin sister, Berner. Willful and burning with resentment, Berner flees their home in Montana, abandoning her brother and her life. But Dell is not completely alone. A family friend intervenes, spiriting him across the Canadian border, in hopes of delivering him to a better life. A work of haunting and spectacular vision from a Pulitzer Prize winning author, Canada is a novel of boundaries traversed, innocence lost and reconciled, and the mysterious bonds of family. Told in spare, elegant prose it is destined to become a classic.

Meetings are the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm Please pre-register by calling 419-586-4442 or emailing Connie Gray at grayco@oplin.org

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

Tuesday

August 20, 2013

7:00 pm

In this historical fiction gem, Fowler explores the highs and the lows of the marriage of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.  While many accounts of the Fitzgerald’s marriage sympathize with her charming, famous, booze-loving husband— the more famous of the two — this book is completely Zelda’s. It is fascinating to see F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife and muse come to life. Readers can see how the real Zelda influenced many of Fitzgerald's characters, most famously Daisy in "The Great Gatsby." 

Meetings are the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm Please pre-register by calling 419-586-4442 or emailing Connie Gray at grayco@oplin.org