Join one of the Book Discussion Groups for Adults

Here are the books and times for the July meetings of both book discussion groups for adults. New attendees are always welcome.

Afternoon Group
Thursday, July 24th
1:00-2:30 pm
Book: Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
When college sophomore Laurel Estabrook is attacked while riding her bicycle through Vermont's back roads, her life is forever changed. Formerly outgoing, Laurel withdraws into her photography and begins to work at a homeless shelter. There she meets Bobbie Crocker, a man with a history of mental illness and a box of photographs that he won't let anyone see. When Bobbie dies suddenly, Laurel discovers that before he was homeless, Bobbie Crocker was a successful photographer. As Laurel's fascination with Bobbie's former life begins to merge into obsession, she becomes convinced that some of his photographs reveal a deeply hidden, dark family secret.

Evening Group
Thursday, July 24th
6:30-7:45 pm
Book 1: Snow in August by Pete Hamill
In 1940s Brooklyn, friendship between an 11-year -old Catholic boy and an elderly Jewish rabbi might seem as unlikely as, well, snow in August. But the relationship between young Michael Devlin and Rabbi Judah Hirsch is only one of the many miracles large and small contained in Pete Hamill's novel. Michael finds himself in trouble when he witnesses the 17-year-old leader of the dreaded Falcons gang beating an elderly shopkeeper. For Michael, 1940s Brooklyn is a world still shaped by life in the Old Country, a world where informing on a fellow Irishman is the worst crime imaginable--worse even than the violent crimes committed by some of those fellows. So Michael keeps silent, finding solace in the company of Rabbi Hirsch, a Czech refuge who he meets by chance. From this serendipitous beginning blossoms a unique friendship--one that proves perilous to both when the Falcons catch up with them.

Book 2: Little Children by Tom Perrotta
Tom Perrotta's thirty-ish parents of young children are a varied and surprising bunch. There's Todd, the handsome stay-at-home dad dubbed "The Prom King" by the moms of the playground; Sarah, a lapsed feminist with a bisexual past, who seems to have stumbled into a traditional marriage; Richard, Sarah's husband, who has found himself more and more involved with a fantasy life on the Internet than with the flesh and blood in his own house; and Mary Ann, who thinks she has it all figured out. They all raise their kids in the kind of sleepy American suburb where nothing ever seems to happen--at least until one eventful summer when a convicted child molester moves back to town, and two restless parents begin an affair that goes further than either of them could have imagined.

What is the Staff Reading Now?

Here are a few of the titles that the staff members at the Library are reading this summer:

Fearless Fourteen : a Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich ; Franklin and Lucy by Joseph E. Persico ; and Anatomy Lesson (a mystery by a local author who teaches at Orange Coast College) by Raymond Obstfeld
(read/listened to by Louise)

Double Bind by Christopher A. Bohjalian ; One More Sunrise by Michael Landon Jr. and Tracie Peterson
(read by Phyllis)

When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
(read by Chris)

La Magdalena by William M. Valtos
(read by Caroline)

The Virgin and the Gypsy by D. H. Lawrence
(read by Maribel)

Merle's Door : Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote
(read by Paula)

The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do by Samantha Ettus
(listened to by Marcia)

More Displays in the Library

Check out the playaways and books for the Summertime blues!!
Thanks to Heather for these great displays.