Book Clubs
Share your reading experiences and gain insight while getting to know other readers from all across the state. Wolfner Library proudly offers three book clubs for your reading pleasure! Each book club will feature a different type of reading experience.
- Novel Reads is the general fiction book club.
- Big Ideas is a non-fiction book club.
- Good Books is a mild reads book club. The Good Books club will read fiction and non-fiction books that feature little-to-no sex, violence, or strong language.
All three clubs will meet via conference call line.
How the club works:
Call Wolfner Library to register for the club or clubs you are interested in. Your books will be sent to you. We recommend registering at least two weeks in advance of your club meeting date.
1. Read the book for your club(s).
2. On the appointed day and time, call the toll-free number which will be provided at the time of registration.
3. Once everyone is on the line, we will discuss the book we have read!
Schedule:
November, 2018-January, 2019
Book clubs will be on hiatus for the holiday season. Meetings will resume in February, 2019, and that month's selections will be taken from the 2019 Adult Winter Reading Program titles. The February through April titles will introduce readers to unlikely aristocrats, rare book hunters, strong women from two continents, a real life love story gone wrong, and a dystopian world. If any of these topics are of interest, sign up for book clubs today by contacting Amy or Meghan at 1-800-392-2614.
February:
February 14 at 2 p.m. Novel Reads: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins DB 68384, LP002028, BR 18488
Narrated by Erin Jones.
In a future North America, Panem's rulers maintain control through a televised survival competition pitting teens from twelve districts in a fight to the death. Sixteen-year-olds Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are this year's girl and boy contestants from District Twelve. Hunger Games series, book 1. Some violence. Truman Award nominee, 2010-2011. Gateway Book Award nominee, 2010-2011. For junior and senior high readers. 2008.
February 21 at 2 p.m. Good Books (mild reads): The Black Count: Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss DB 75664
Narrated by Conrad Feininger.
Author of The Orientalist (DB 60073) pens a biography of General Alex Dumas (1762-1806), mixed-race father of French novelist Alexandre Dumas. Traces the general's roots in Saint-Domingue, his military career during the French Revolution and under Napoleon, and the rivalry that led to his fall. Pulitzer Prize Winner, 2013. 2012.
February 28 at 2 p.m. Big Ideas: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt DB 73856
Narrated by Lou Harpenau.
Harvard humanities professor, author of Will in the World (DB 59294), reconstructs the life of Poggio Bracciolini, a Renaissance book hunter who rediscovered the lost poem On the Nature of Things (DB 37721) by Lucretius. Emphasizes the importance of Bracciolini's find and its impact on Western culture. Pulitzer Prize, 2012 and national Book Award, 2011. Bestseller. Descriptions of Sex. 2011.
March:
March 14 at 2 p.m. Novel Reads: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah DB 81189, LP030238
Narrated by Laura Giannarelli.
France, 1939. Vianne Mauriac sends her husband off to war, while her younger sister Isabelle runs off to Paris. Once there, Isabelle becomes involved in the Resistance. Vianne's home is occupied by the invading Nazis. Violence and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2015.
March 21 at 2 p.m. Good Books: America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie DB 88020, LP030919
Narrated by Pilar Witherspoon.
Patsy Jefferson, eldest daughter of Thomas, grows up during the tumult of the American Revolution. When her mother dies, she joins her father in France and is torn between love and filial duty when courted by an abolitionist. This conflict of desires follows her through life. Some violence. 2016.
March 28 at 2 p.m. Big Ideas: Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens by Jane Dunn DB 59041
Narrated by Martha Harmon Pardee.
Historical portrayal of the dynamic relationships between Elizabeth I of England and Mary Queen of Scots, both sixteenth-century claimants to the English throne. Discusses the vast differences in their lives, personalities, and handling of palace scandals. Also describes their struggles for supremacy, culminating in Mary's execution at Elizabeth's direction. 2003.
April:
April 11 at 2 p.m. Novel Reads: Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiaverini DB 90393, LP030225
Narrated by Christina Moore.
Shy debutante Julia Dent meets US Army lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant. His family doesn't approve of the marriage because Julia chooses to keep a slave, Jule. Jule acts as visually-impaired Julia's eyes, but when emancipation is declared, Jule has a choice to make. 2015.
April 18 at 2 p.m. Good Books (mild reads): Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin DB 50549, LP001487, BR 01583 (web-braille not available)
Narrated by Jennifer Mendenhall.
A classic novel of social customs in late eighteenth-century England. Depicts the personality clash between Elizabeth Bennet, one of five daughters of a country gentleman, and the neighboring aristocratic landowner Fitzwilliam Darcy, which eventually develops into courtship. 1813.
April 25 at 2 p.m. Big Ideas: Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story by Theo Aronson DB 33402
Narrated by George Holmes.
Aronson, who has had a lifelong fascination with the Napoleonic saga, offers a domestic biography of Napoleon's marriage to Josephine. Political, economic, and military events are discussed in detail only when they directly affect the relationship. Describing the Bonaparte union as one of an attraction of opposites, Aronson depicts the marriage from its early years through divorce and Napoleon's exile to Elba.
May:
May 16th at 2 p.m. Novel Reads: Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers DB 29775, BR 17796
Narrated by Earle Hyman.
With dreams of college fading, Ritchie Perry, a black youth from Harlem, enlists in the army. He is sent to Vietnam and into a bloody, violent nightmare where he sees desperate heroism and equally desperate cowardice. He struggles to survive racist officers, pitched battles, guerrilla raids, and multiple wounds. Strong language and violence. For high school and older readers.
May 23th at 2 p.m. Good Books (mild reads): A Flight of Arrows by Lori Benton DB 89741, LP030460
Narrated by Liz Pearce.
William, from The Wood's Edge (DB 82082), has joined the British Army to hide from his family as he tries to sort out his new identity. As the American Revolution reaches the Mohawk Valley, Two Hawks and Anna try to build a life together. Unrated. 2016.
May 30th at 2 p.m. Big Ideas: Nujeen: One Girl’s Incredible Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair by Nujeen Mustafa with Christina Lamb DB 88414
Narrated by Emily Ellet.
The story of Nujeen Mustafa, who was born with cerebral palsy and journeyed from Syria to Germany in a wheelchair. Denied education in Syria because of her condition, she taught herself English using American soap operas. Nujeen fled after her small town became the epicenter of conflict between ISIS militants and Kurdish troops. Some violence. 2016.
June:
June 13th at 2 p.m. Novel Reads: Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin DB 45742, BR 21103
Narrated by Roy Avers.
In a bygone world of decades-long seasons, three families struggle for the throne. When honorable Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell is sent south to be the hand of the king, he faces many ambitious and ruthless people. Meanwhile the king contends with wildlings and creatures beyond the domain wall. A Song of Ice and Fire series, book 1. Some descriptions of sex, some strong language, and some violence. 1996.
June 20nd at 2 p.m. Good Books: Where Courage Calls by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan DB 78313, LP030814, BR 20446
Narrated by Theresa Conkin.
Beth Thatcher from Toronto takes a teaching post in a remote coal-mining town in western Canada. She adjusts to outdoor plumbing and oil lamps while organizing the one-room school, Bible studies, and English lessons. Meanwhile, two Mounties come courting. Return to the Canadian West, book 1. 2014.
June 27th at 2 p.m. Big Ideas: The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard DB 88736, BR 17738
Narrated by Jeremy Gage.
An account of the Golden Age of Piracy and the "Flying Gang," a group of eighteenth-century pirate captains who joined forces, including Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch and "Black Sam" Bellamy. Examines why many of those involved turned to piracy and how they self-governed before their ultimate downfall at the hands of Captain Woodes Rogers. 2007.
July:
July 11th at 2 p.m. Novel Reads: Artemis by Andy Weir DB 89733, LP033119, BR 22166
Narrated by Rosario Dawson.
Jazz Bashara smuggles contraband into the moon city of Artemis as a way to make extra money. After she takes on a particularly lucrative job, however, she soon finds herself entangled in a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself. Some strong language. 2017.
July 18th at 2 p.m. Good Books (mild reads): Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew by Michael D. Leinbach DB 90380
Narrated by Gregory Maupin.
Chronicle of the investigation of the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia over Texas on its return in 2003. Discusses the cause of the accident, interagency work protocols, and the contributions of volunteers, which allowed for the recovery of crew remains and forty percent of debris. 2018.
July 25th at 2 p.m. Big Ideas: Space Race: The Epic Battle between America and the Soviet Union for Dominion of Space by Deborah Cadbury DB 64644
Narrated by Butch Hoover.
Examines the superpower rivalries that fueled the race to the moon and the engineering masterminds behind it: Sergei Korolev in the Soviet Union and Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi, in the United States. Discusses the political paranoia of the cold war era and the technological advances it produced. 2006.