Novel Ideas Book Group

The Synopsis from Bookshare is below.   From the bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (People) The Book of Lost Names comes a gripping historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the occupation. Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though...

This book is not available on Bookshare, but the commercial version is on BARD. The BARD synopsis is below. When Ellie Fields accepts a teaching job in a tiny Louisiana town deep in Bayou country in 1949, she knows her life will change—but she could never imagine just how dramatically_ Though rightfully suspicious of outsiders, who hathreatenedted both their language and their unique culture, most...

We had a great discussion of Haven in September. When we meet October 20th, we will be discussing The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride by Joe Siple. DB 104366 This book is not on Bookshare but is on Audible for those who have Audible accounts. The annotation from BARD is below. The five wishes of Mr. Murray McBride DB104366 Siple, Joe Reading time: 8 hours, 22 minutes. David Hartley-Margolin Gene...

Novel Ideas will be taking the summer off. We hope everyone has a great time whether you’re attending conventions, taking a vacation, or just enjoying a staycation at home. When we meet in September, we will be discussing the book Haven by Sherry Gomes. DBC 00693. This book is currently not available on Bookshare but is available on Audible with a different narrator for those with Audible ac...

The synopsis from bookshare is below. Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice. It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live. From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every con...

Novel Ideas will be taking a break from reading fiction for the month of April. We will be reading Being Heumann: An unrepentant Memoir by Judith Heumann. DB 100399 The synopsis from Bookshare is below. One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human. A story of fighting...

The Synopsis from Bookshare is below. One of Newsweek’s 20 New Books to Cozy Up With this FallDefending Britta Stein is a story of bravery, betrayal, and redemption—from Ronald H. Balson, the winner of the National Jewish Book AwardChicago, 2018: Ole Henryks, a popular restauranteur, is set to be honored by the Danish/American Association for his many civic and charitable contributions. Freq...

We had a good discussion of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post in January. In February we’ll be discussing Sawbones by Melissa Linhardt. DB 88004 The synopsis from Bookshare is below. Note from Alan: Those present at the 1/20/23 meeting be aware that the incorrect DB number for Sawbones was given at the meeting. Outlander meets post-Civil War unrest in this fast-paced historical debut. W...

Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty...

Novel Ideas meets with an open forum to discuss a Christmas book, movie, or other Christmas topic of your choice.

The synopsis from Bookshare is below. Nothing prepares Jaya, a New York journalist, for the heartbreak of her third miscarriage and the slow unraveling of her marriage in its wake. Desperate to assuage her deep anguish, she decides to go to India to uncover answers to her family’s past. Intoxicated by the sights, smells, and sounds she experiences, Jaya becomes an eager student of the culture. But...

The synopsis from Bookshare is below. ‘I can tell we’re going to be the best of friends…’ When Louisa Sullivan takes her little boy to his first playdate at a new friend’s house she doesn’t realise life is about to change for her family. Because she’s about to meet Darcy Lane. Darcy is a woman who has everything – a dream house, a powerful husband and enviable wealth. She’s the perfect wife. The p...

Our first Friday free for all went well in June. We hope to repeat it again at a future meeting. Novel Ideas will be taking July and August off. We hope everyone has a wonderful summer. When we meet in September, we will be discussing The Secrets of us. DB 105447 by Lucinda Berry. This book isn’t on Bookshare. The BARD synopsis is below. Foster sisters Krystal and Nichole have always had eac...

Novel Ideas will be trying something different in June. If all goes well, we hope to repeat this event periodically. Have you read a good book you’d like to share? Come join our first Friday Free-forAll on June 17th and tell us about it! Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind. Novel Ideas is a fiction book group. In keeping with that, the book you choose needs to be fiction. It must also...

The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America. In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father...

The Bookshare synopsis is below. The Vatican announces that the Virgin Mary will return to Lourdes this year to perform a miracle cure! Will it be a miracle? Or will it be a fraud? Precious lives, loves, and happiness are at stake: Ken Clayton: the young American who abandons medical treatment for the chance of miracle; Edith Moore: the Englishwoman whose miracle cure has made her famous against h...

Adrian Rizzo is seven when she meets her father for the first time. That was the day he nearly killed her—before her mother, Lina, stepped in. A decade later Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, but she starts getting threatening messages. Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book. Host: Randi Shelton E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta, E-Mai...

The synopsis from Bookshare is below. #1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline offers a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events, the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome”’in the creeping shadow of fascism What war destroys, only love can heal. Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differenc...

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and that 2022s a much better year for all of us. To kick off the new year, guest host Carla Hayes will lead us in the discussion of the book The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. DB 100906. The synopsis from Bookshare is below. Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to...

It’s hard to believe the holidays are upon us. As we do every year, Novel Ideas will be discussing a Christmas book. This year it will be Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah. DBC16784 Here is the Bookshare link to this book: https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/1868087?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUNvbWZvcnQgJmFtcDsgSm95 The synopsis from BARD is below. School li...

From legendary storyteller and #1 bestseller Stephen King, whose “restless imagination is a power that cannot be contained” (The New York Times Book Review), comes a thrilling new novel about a good guy in a bad job. Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. A...

Novel Ideas will be discussing The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. DB 102287 The Synopsis from Bookshare is below. From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land s...

We will be discussing the last two books in the trilogy. The Sugarhouse Blues, (DB 94303) and The Goodbye Cafe (DB 97130) Both books are on Bookshare, and the synopsis for each is below. Have a wonderful summer, and we’ll see you in September. The Sugarhouse Blues In the second novel of the Hudson Sisters series. Allie, Des, and Cara, each having her own reasons for wanting a share of their...

The synopsis from bookshare is below. From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes the first novel in her all-new series, The Hudson Sisters, following a trio of reluctant sisters as they set out to fulfill their father’s dying wish. In the process, they find not only themselves, but the father they only thought they knew. When celebrated and respected agent Fritz Hudson passe...

 Novel Ideas will have a slightly different format for May. We will start with a brief discussion led by Judy Wilkinson about the program Library users Of America has planned for the ACB Convention. If anyone from Library Users of America would like to join us in June to discuss the program for the NFB Convention, please contact me at the email address below. We look forward to hearing from you....