Summer Book Club Title Nominations

Book Club Members: Let us know your thoughts! Please stop by, or call or  the store with your top picks for the June through September Book Club selections.

	The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane Katherine Howe Fiction    Forced to set aside her Ph.D. research in order to help the settling of her late grandmother's abandoned home, Connie Goodwin discovers a hidden key among her grandmother's possessions that is linked to a darker chapter in Salem Witch Trial history.
	Losing Mum and Pup Christopher Buckley Memoir    In twelve months between 2007 and 2008, Christopher Buckley coped with the passing of his father, William F. Buckley, the father of the modern conservative movement, and his mother, Patricia Taylor Buckley, one of New York's most glamorous and colorful socialites. He was their only child and their relationship was close and complicated. Writes Buckley: "They were not - with respect to every other set of loving, wonderful parents in the world - your typical mom and dad."    As Buckley tells the story of their final year together, he takes readers on a surprisingly entertaining tour through hospitals, funeral homes, and memorial services, capturing the heartbreaking and disorienting feeling of becoming a 55-year-old orphan. Buckley maintains his sense of humor by recalling the words of Oscar Wilde: "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness."
	Coventry: A Novel Helen Humphreys Fiction    On the evening of November 14, 1940, Harriet Marsh stands on the roof of the historic Coventry cathedral and marvels at the frost glittering beneath a full moon. But it is a bomber's moon, and the Luftwaffe is coming to unleash destruction on the city. For Harriet; for the young fire watcher, Jeremy, standing beside her; and for his artist mother, Maeve, hiding in a cellar, this single night of horror will resonate for the rest of their lives. Coventry is a testament to the power of the human spirit, an honest and ultimately uplifting account of heartache transformed into compassion and love.
	A Reliable Wife Robert Goolrich Fiction    Abandoning her worldly life, traveling to a remote Wisconsin town in the dead of winter, trusting her future to a man she had never met - such was Catherine Land's new beginning. But there was an ending in sight as well, an ending that would redeem the treachery ahead, justify the sacrifice, and allow her to start over yet again. That was her plan.    For Ralph Truitt, the wealthy businessman who had advertised for "a reliable wife," this was also to be a new beginning. Years of solitude, denial, and remorse would be erased, and Catherine Land, whoever she might be, would be the vessel of his desires, the keeper of his secrets, the means to recover what was lost. That was his plan.
	A Change in Altitude Anita Shreve Fiction    Margaret and Patrick have been married just a few months when they set off on what they hope will be a great adventure-a year living in Kenya. Margaret quickly realizes there is a great deal she doesn't know about the complex mores of her new home, and about her own husband.    A British couple invites the newlyweds to join on a climbing expedition to Mount Kenya, and they eagerly agree. But during their harrowing ascent, a horrific accident occurs. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Margaret struggles to understand what happened on the mountain and how these events have transformed her and her marriage, perhaps forever.    A Change in Altitude illuminates the inner landscape of a couple, the irrevocable impact of tragedy, and the elusive nature of forgiveness. With stunning language and striking emotional intensity, Anita Shreve transports us to the exotic panoramas of Africa and into the core of our most intimate relationships.
	All Other Nights Dara Horn Fiction    How is tonight different from all other nights? For Jacob Rappaport, a Jewish soldier in the Union Army, it is a question his commanders have answered for him: on Passover, 1862, he is ordered to murder his own uncle, who is plotting to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. After this harrowing mission, Jacob is recruited to pursue another enemy agent--this time not to murder the spy, but to marry her. Based on real historical figures, this eagerly awaited novel from award-winning author Dara Horn delivers multilayered, page-turning storytelling at its best.
	Boy Alone Karl Taro Greenfeld Memoir     Karl Taro Greenfeld knew from an early age that his little brother, Noah, was not like other children. He couldn't crawl, and he had trouble making eye contact or interacting with his family. As Noah grew older, his differences became even more pronounced—he was unable to communicate verbally, use the toilet, or tie his shoes, and despite his angelic demeanor, he often had violent outbursts.    No doctor, social worker, or specialist could pinpoint what was wrong with Noah beyond a general diagnosis: autism. The boys' parents, Josh and Foumi, dedicated their lives to caring for their younger son with myriad approaches—a challenging, often painful experience that the devoted father detailed in a bestselling trilogy of books.    Now, for the first time, acclaimed journalist Karl Taro Greenfeld speaks out about growing up in the shadow of his autistic brother, revealing the complex mix of rage, confusion, and love that defined his childhood. Boy Alone is his brutally honest memoir of the hopes, dreams, and realities of life with a mentally disabled sibling.    Seamlessly weaving together the social history of autism and autism research—as the Greenfelds lived through it in seeking treatment for Noah—with the deeply affecting story of two very different boys growing up side by side, this book raises crucial philosophical questions: Can relationships exist without language? How should aging parents care for a nonverbal, violent child, and then a grown man who is not self-sufficient? Is there anything that can be done to help an extremely autistic child or adult become a member of mainstream society?    Haunting, tragic, and unforgettable, this chronicle of autism is a beautiful, wholly original exploration of what it means to be a family, a brother, and a person.
	The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft    Ulrich Boser Non-Fiction - Art History    Note: A September trip to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum might be a nice tie-in if this book is voted in. Let us know if this interests you!   One museum, two thieves, and the Boston underworld—the story behind the lost Gardner masterpieces and the art detective who swore to get them back    Shortly after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and committed the largest art heist in history. They stole a dozen masterpieces, including one Vermeer, three Rembrandts, and five Degas. But after thousands of leads, hundreds of interviews, and a $5-million reward, not a single painting has been recovered. Worth a total of $500 million, the missing masterpieces have become the Holy Grail of the art world and one of the nation's most extraordinary unsolved mysteries.       Art detective Harold Smith worked on the theft for years, and after his death, reporter Ulrich Boser inherited his case files. Traveling deep into the art underworld, Boser explores Smith's unfinished leads and comes across a remarkable cast of characters, including the brilliant rock 'n' roll art thief; the golden-boy gangster who professes his innocence in rhyming verse; the deadly mobster James "Whitey" Bulger; and the Boston heiress Isabella Stewart Gardner, who stipulated in her will that nothing should ever be changed in her museum, a provision followed so closely that the empty frames of the stolen works still hang on the walls. Boser eventually cracks one of the biggest mysteries of the case and uncovers the identities of the men who robbed the museum nearly two decades ago. A tale of art and greed, of obsession and loss, The Gardner Heist is as compelling as the stolen masterpieces themselves.
	What I Thought I Knew   Alice Eve Cohen Memoir    A playwright and theatre artist examines the complex family relationships in her life and the bombardment of advice she received when she unexpectedly found herself six months into a high-risk pregnancy with no insurance coverage and no prenatal care. A personal and medical odyssey beyond anything most women would believe possible.    At age forty-four, Alice Eve Cohen was happy for the first time in years. After a difficult divorce, she was engaged to an inspiring man, joyfully raising her adopted daughter, and her career was blossoming. Alice tells her fiance that she's never been happier. And then the stomach pains begin.    In her unflinchingly honest and ruefully witty voice, Alice nimbly carries us through her metamorphosis from a woman who has come to terms with infertility to one who struggles to love a heartbeat found in her womb at six months into a high-risk pregnancy.      What I Thought I Knew is a page-turner filled with vivid characters, humor, and many surprises and twists of fate. With the suspense of a thriller and the intimacy of a diary, Cohen describes her unexpected journey through doubt, a broken medical system, and the hotly contested terrain of motherhood and family in today's society. Timely and compelling, What I Thought I Knew will capture readers of memoirs such as Eat, Pray, Love; The Glass Castle; and A Three Dog Life.
	Honolulu Alan Brennert Fiction    Journeying to 1914 Hawaii as a mail-order "picture bride," Korean-born Jin finds her hopes for education and a better life devastated by the realities of a rushed marriage to an embittered laborer, a situation throughout which she works to overcome limited opportunities and prejudice in order to improve circumstances for her fellow brides.
	Listening Below the Noise: The Transformative Power of Silence Anne D. LeClaire Non-Fiction * Local Author - we would extend an invitation to her to attend our book club meeting if her title is selected    When Anne D. LeClaire decided to turn an ordinary Monday into a day of silence, she viewed her experiment as a one-time occurrence. Little did she realize she had begun an inner voyage that would transform her life.    In the seventeen years since, LeClaire has practiced total silence on the first and third Monday of each month. By detaching herself from the bustle of her hectic lifestyle and learning to listen to her deepest self, she has found a center from which to live—one that tests, strengthens, and heals her. In practicing silence, she has discovered her own secret garden—a cloistered, sacred, private place where true personal growth is possible.    In this eloquent book—part memoir, part philosophical inquiry—LeClaire reflects on how silence can help us attend to the world around us, expand our awareness, and achieve inner peace. Silence, LeClaire contends, reminds us to pay attention to the ordinary moments of our existence. In silence we can learn how to listen, become more compassionate, ignite and nurture creativity, uncover our inner yearnings, and ultimately find peace and improve our well-being. By confronting ourselves and learning from the anxiety that arises when we are freed from distraction, we can become whole. With clarity and humor, LeClaire reveals how silence has brought joy to her life and helped her foster new connections with nature, with others, and with herself.
	The Year of the Flood Margaret Atwood Fiction/Science Fiction    The long-awaited new novel from Margaret Atwood. The Year of the Flood is a dystopic masterpiece and a testament to her visionary power.    The times and species have been changing at a rapid rate, and the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability. Adam One, the kindly leader of the God's Gardeners—a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion, as well as the preservation of all plant and animal life—has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have survived: Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, a God's Gardener barricaded inside a luxurious spa where many of the treatments are edible.    Have others survived? Ren's bioartist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover, Jimmy? Or the murderous Painballers, survivors of the mutual-elimination Painball prison? Not to mention the shadowy, corrupt policing force of the ruling powers . . .    Meanwhile, gene-spliced life forms are proliferating: the lion/lamb blends, the Mo'hair sheep with human hair, the pigs with human brain tissue. As Adam One and his intrepid hemp-clad band make their way through this strange new world, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move. They can't stay locked away .    By turns dark, tender, violent, thoughtful, and uneasily hilarious, The Year of the Flood is Atwood at her most brilliant and inventive.
	Take a Deep Breath Dr. David E Burns Memoir   * Local Author - we would extend an invitation to him to attend our book club meeting if his title is selected    Take A Deep Breath presents real stories from an Upstate New York doctor: how he succeeds after he leaves the farm and proceeds through professional training. The uncertainty from being a student is erased as he matures professionally during Residency-the doctor relates gritty descriptive accounts of the many people in need. Experience his acute clinical decisions-his own mother, critically ill, dying before his eyes as he advances a pacing-wire into her failing heart. Understand why his practice was so remote, far from the ivy towers of academics.    He tells of exceptional events-gripping tales of numerous people in extremis-which were routine moments of his Practice. His words bring us near-compel us to smell the antiseptic, the acridity of burnt flesh as well as the pungency of fabric after a fire. Through his prose, one can taste the drama of resuscitation, the salty tears of failure, and the sweetness of success. From an ER to a lakeside drowning, from acute illness to crushing auto injuries, descriptions are up close and personal. All take us on a serious medical ride.
	Little Bee Chris Cleave Fiction    The Somerset Maugham Award-winning author of Incendiary presents a tale of a precarious friendship between an illegal Nigerian refugee and a recent widow from suburban London, a story told from the alternating and disparate perspectives of both women.
	Cutting for Stone  Abraham Verghese Fiction    The twin sons of a secret love affair between an Indian nun and a British surgeon in Addis Ababa, Marion and Shiva Stone are orphaned by their mother's death in childbirth and father's disappearance, coming of age in an Ethiopia on the brink of revolution, bound together by a shared interest in medicine and forever divided by their love for the same woman.
	A Soft Place to Land Susan Rebecca White Fiction    After a fatal accident claims their parents, half-sisters Ruthie and Julia must live in different parts of the country, each with a remaining biological parent, a separation that severs their relationship--until another shocking accident offers them a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reconcile. By the author of Bound South.