Updates - 2024

September

In September, the ladies of the book club will be back meeting in our members' homes after the summer break.  

We will be discussing the novel A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson, a Canadian novelist who began writing when her children went to school. This is her fourth novel and is another top-ten best seller which was long-listed for the Booker Prize.

As outlined by the CBC,  "The story opens on a family in crisis- Rose, a rebellious teenager has been missing for weeks with no word and her younger feisty sister Clara keeps a daily vigil hoping for her return. Liam Kane a newly divorced thirtyish gentleman arrives in town and moves next door where Clara is able to watch his comings and goings.  Clara's elderly friend Mrs. Orchard owns this house but was sent for a short stay in the hospital and Clara agrees to keep an eye on the house.

The novel is told through three points of view, Clara's, Mrs. Orchard;s and Liam's. It is a masterful suspenseful and deeply humane novel written by a great Canadian storyteller.

July/August

The Words Worth Reading group will be on a break during July and August.  We will reconvene in September!

June

In June the ladies in the book club will be getting together for a luncheon followed by a discussion of the novel, Bluebird by Genevieve Graham, a best-selling Canadian author of eleven novels.  As outlined on her website, this is a "tender moving tale illuminating a fascinating lesser-known chapter of World War ll history. It is a compelling luminous novel about the strength of the human spirit and the power of love to call us home."  Google describes Bluebird as "a dazzling novel set during the Great War and postwar Prohibition about a young nurse, a soldier, and a family secret that binds them together for generations to come."  Genevieve explains that "her passion lies in discovering forgotten or little-known moments in Canada's history because she feels our history is so often in the shadows of other countries' stories."

May

In May, the Words Worth Reading book club will be discussing the novel "The Wonder" by Emma Donoghue, an Irish-Canadian novelist. The story takes place in the 1800's in the Irish Midlands. As outlined by Goodreads, "An English nurse, Lib Wright, is summoned to a tiny village to observe what some are claiming as a medical anomaly or a miracle - a girl said to have survived without food for months. Tourists have flocked to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O'Donnell, and a journalist has come down to cover the sensation. The Wonder is a tale of two strangers who transform each other's lives, a psychological thriller, and a story of love pitted against evil." 

In 2016 it was nominated for both Best Historical Fiction by Goodreads Choice Award and the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The Guardian, a British daily newspaper called it "a thrilling domestic psychodrama".

April

As outlined by Goodreads, The Lost Apothecary is a New York Times bestseller debut book of historical fiction by Sarah Penner that takes place over two time periods, the late 1700's and present day.  Sarah herself says her novel is a story about women controlling their own destinies. "A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. The two rules that must be followed when the poison is handed out  are the poison must never be used to harm another woman and the names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary's register." 

According to the Bibliofile, a book review site, "In this novel the past and the present collide, resulting in a story about female relationships, full of bitter betrayals and intrigue."

March

In March, the book club will be reading the novel Saving Grace by Jane Green.  As outlined by Goodreads, a site for readers and book recommendations, "Grace and Ted Chapman are widely regarded as the perfect literary power couple. But the marriage is not all that it seems to be. Ted is a successful novelist but Grace must try to deal with his rages and mood swings. When his longtime assistant and mainstay leaves, Grace finds herself in need of help but with no one to turn to. But then a new assistant comes to assist Ted although just maybe she is too good to be true. With everything at stake and no one to confide in, Grace must find a way to save herself before it's too late."

February

In February, the book club will be discussing the novel "The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post" by Allison Pataki.

As outlined by Goodreads, "The author has crafted an intimate portrait of a larger-than-life woman, a powerful story of one woman falling in love with her own voice and embracing her own power while shaping history in the process. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar's treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood's biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweather Post lived an epic life few could imagine.  Not content to stay in her prescribed roles of high-society wife, mother, and hostess, Marjorie dared to demand more, making history in the process. Before turning thirty she amassed millions, becoming the wealthiest woman in the United States. But it was her life force, advocacy, passion, and adventurous spirit that led to her stunning legacy." She even had the now very famous Mar-a-Lago built in Florida.