Imagine the near future where power is overtaken by the religious right

When: February 23, 2018
Where: Vre
Book: The Handmaids' Tale by Margaret Atwood

From Goodreads

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...

From Amazon.co.uk

It is the world of the near future, and Offred is a Handmaid in the home of the Commander and his wife. She is allowed out once a day to the food market, she is not permitted to read, and she is hoping the Commander makes her pregnant, because she is only valued if her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she was an independent woman, had a job of her own, a husband and child. But all of that is gone now...everything has changed. Deserves the highest praise. -- San Francisco Chronicle

Novel about Hemingway's first wife starts off the year

When: January 26, 2018
Where: Irina's
Book: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

From Goodreads:

"A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley."

Short stories on sex, love and parenthood end November

When: Friday, November 24th at 7:30pm
Where: Kay's
Book: Jellyfish by Janice Galloway


From Amazon.co.uk:

"Sex and Love and Parenthood. In this sparkling and powerful new collection, Janice Galloway takes on David Lodge's assertion. Literature is mostly about having sex and not much about having children; life's the other way round and scent-marks her multi-layered fiction with what she believes to be the greater truth. Razor sharp tales of two of the most powerful human experiences from one of our country s best loved and most acclaimed authors."

Praise for Janice Galloway's short stories:

'Stories that walk with steady, nerve-cracking skill down a nightmare edge. A virtuoso work.' -- New Statesman

'Blood is a salutary collection. It heightens and dignifies the human, and does it with writing that veers between the good and the simply superb. A writer of passion and virtuosity shines through.' -- Scotland on Sunday

'Genuinely unnerving. This is a fierce, troubling new writer.' -- Observer

'Galloway flecks her hard-edged realism with impressionist grace-notes, a potent mixture that confirms her as one of Scotlands best young writers.' -- Sunday Telegraph

Click here for a review in the Guardian

Memoir on fighting cancer focus of October meeting

When: Friday, October 27 at 7:30pm
Where: Eva's (Aida's choice)
Book: Dying to be Me by Anita Moorjani 



From Barnes and Noble: " In this truly inspirational memoir, Anita Moorjani relates how, after fighting cancer for almost four years, her body—overwhelmed by the malignant cells spreading throughout her system—began shutting down. As her organs failed, she entered into an extraordinary near-death experience where she realized her inherent worth . . . and the actual cause of her disease. Upon regaining consciousness, Anita found that her condition had improved so rapidly that she was able to be released from the hospital within weeks . . . without a trace of cancer in her body!
     Within these pages, Anita recounts stories of her childhood in Hong Kong, her challenge to establish her career and find true love, as well as how she eventually ended up in that hospital bed where she defied all medical knowledge."

Novel combines 'accessible yarn with a suspenseful puzzle', Boston Globe

When: Friday, September 29 at 7:30pm

Where: Vicky's
Book: Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

"For over a decade, Jenna Metcalf obsesses on her vanished mom Alice. Jenna searches online, rereads journals of the scientist who studied grief among elephants. Two unlikely allies are Serenity Jones, psychic for missing people who doubts her gift, and Virgil Stanhope, jaded PI who originally investigated cases of Alice and her colleague. Hard questions and answers." - Goodreads

"Readers can usually count on blockbuster novelist Jodi Picoult for two things. First is a smart, accessible yarn with a suspenseful puzzle at its core that will keep readers enthusiastically turning the page..." - Boston Globe

Memoir 'an exploration of resilience' and 'a celebration of the liberating power of literature'

When: Friday, August 25 Sept 1 at 7:30pm

Where: Catherine

Book: Reading Lolita in Tehrain

Author: Azar Nafisi

"Published in 2003, it has been on the New York Times bestseller list for over one hundred weeks and has been translated into thirty-two languages."

 - Wikipedia

"Every Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a bold and inspired teacher named Azar Nafisi secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. As Islamic morality squads staged arbitrary raids in Tehran, fundamentalists seized hold of the universities, and a blind censor stifled artistic expression, the girls in Azar Nafisi's living room risked removing their veils and immersed themselves in the worlds of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. In this extraordinary memoir, their stories become intertwined with the ones they are reading. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a remarkable exploration of resilience in the face of tyranny and a celebration of the liberating power of literature." 

-GoodReads

Amazon.com link

'A lovely heartwarming, and humorous tale that snags your heartstrings'

When: Friday, June 30 at 7:30pm

Where: Maya's TBD

Book: Britt-Marie Was Here

Author: by Fredrik Backman 

Information from GoodReads.com:

"Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is not one to judge others—no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention. But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes. 

When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?" For more click here.