Orange Beach Library Reading Group

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I have queried the staff for suggestions for the Wednesday book group. Sherry and Andi have been very helpful in gathering titles for me. What do you think about the following titles for upcoming Wednesday groups? We checked to make sure that at least eight copies and an audio edition are available for each title here. I have NOT read any of these! But Sherry has.
Under the Tuscan Sun by Francis Mayes
Echoes by Danielle Steel (this is a “history” tomb and lots of people like it).
The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King
Same Sweet Girl by Cassandra King.
The Race to Save the Lord God Bird (this is a non-fiction book and there are only two copies available in the system but it seems like a good book.)
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Here’s a good article on why we love our bookgroups so much! It’s therapy!!
We are still investigating selections for the group and will post them here for all to read.

Orange Beach Reading Group
Novelist

We had a great time discussing Water for Elephants by Sue Gruen. Some readers even had some personal experience with attending circuses (circi?) and others remembered living in the destitute Depression era America. It seems that working the circus was both chaotic AND a blessing, because even if you did not get paid, you did get to eat. I have not read any other books by Gruen, but I will be looking for something else by her. The Tuesday group did also agree to read Carl Hiaasen’s young adult book “Flush” for DECEMBER.
Please remember that next Wednesday we will have a special guest author, Andy Andrews!
Andy will bring books and CDs to purchase and he will autograph items also. Bring a friend and share this special meeting. I, for one, will be doing some Christmas shopping that day because I love the DVD special he did for PBS and I will give that for Christmas gifts to some lucky family members. I look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday. Come early to get a good seat.

GREAT NEWS!!! The Orange Beach Library Reading Group is excited about its October meeting. Award winning, best-selling author, Andy Andrews, will appear at the Wednesday, October 18 book group which takes place at 2:30 pm in the meeting room. Andy is the author of “Island of Saints” which is the book group’s October pick. Andy is a classic storyteller whose message rings profoundly in the reader’s mind forever. He has spoken at the request of four different U.S. presidents. “The Traveler’s Gift” was a featured book selection of ABC’s Good Morning America and remained on bestseller lists for months. He was featured in Power Source magazine.
Andy will have books available for purchase and will sign them for us!! I”m so excited about this opportunity. He is so popular and his presence is desired at many events around the world, but he is taking the time to visit our little book group. Not only does he write inspiring stories, he backs up his convictions with action. Please tell a friend, bring a friend. You’ll be sorry if you miss this event! Look for the press release in the newspaper. And notice that we have moved the time of the meeting up to 2:30 because Andy has another engagement on that day. That’s right, he’s squeezing us in because he thinks libraries are important places. I look forward to seeing you and your friends and family members there.

The Wednesday group learned much about the French Foreign Legion at the last book group. We discussed Susan Travers’ book “Tomorrow to Be Brave” and decided that it was mostly a love story, that she was indeed a brave woman and that she endured some tough situations. She put up with dirt and discomfort, not really for the sake of kith and country, but more for the love of her life. Wednesday’s group has also chosen a very important selection for October. Local author Andy Andrews’ latest book, “Island of Saints” will be read and discussed. A reading group guide is available and I anticpate a good time at this event. We will also try to get Andy to the group to talk to us briefly. Although he is often accessible to us here at the library, it is touch and go. I hope all of you have the pleasure of speaking to him or hearing him speak. He is entertaining and absolutely and profoundly endearing. The library has a copy of the Seven Decisions Seminar recorded for PBS and I highly recommend it. You can read Andy’s biography! Wow! Now I’ve psyched myself out and can’t wait to read Andy’s current book. Should I have Tori over at Just Books try to get us some signed copies of the books? I’m truly looking forward to hearing how you all react to his words. We’ll work on his dropping in, even if it’s for a few minutes.

Reading the collage art blogs I subscribe to via Bloglines and came across this very profound editorial by an artist who’s work I very much admire and indeed have just purchases a small canvas work from her. She is talking about a Jonathan Franzen essay and another that I have not yet read, but will log in to AVL in just a moment to search for it and read it. The article is a good synopsis of why we read and I think what we are trying to enlarge upon in our book groups in the library. BOTH book groups use novels and the million little events that occur in them to “practice” humanity and learn to live in our chaotic world. Anyway, you’ll also enjoy the artwork on the blog I’ve linked to above.

I’d like to welcome the new book group members today. We enjoyed your presence and your insightful comments on today’s book talk. Tuesday’s “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel discussion was a great hit with the reading group. It surely spurred some deeply interesting questions and discussions. This small book about a tiger, a boy and a life boat was a big surprise. It evoked religious, scientific, literary, mathematical, philosophical and nautical comments! How did he do that. A few of us were talking after most people had left and we decided that it might be the perfect novel! I guess it will have to take the place of “The Great Gatsby” in my list of perfect novels. Hey, there’s one we could read in November.??? What ya’ll think? Anyway, I”m not getting good response on the idea of reading Carl Hiassen young adult books during November and December. We should rethink this. Tuesday’s October pick is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and we have decided to read “Birds Without Wings” by Louis de Bernieres in November. We are still up in the air about whether or not to read Flush by Hiaasen in December. January’s pick for Tuesday will be “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” by Dave Eggers. I’m working on a way to post the PowerPoint presentation on the blog. It’s not a brilliant bit of work, I know, but I thought you’d all enjoy the pics and the info about the various religions.

Dear Reader,
First, I want to tell ya’ll that we are making some changes (improvements) to the web page. Part of that includes a new blog that is hosted by the library and can be found at: http://orangebeachlibrary.org/cambridgeladies/
Until the web page renovation is complete, I will blog to this one.
Today, the Wednesday book group had a wonderful discussion about the selected title “A Million Nightingales”. What at first looked like it might be a “light” read, ended up being a real conversation provoker. (If only Joan had told us early on that she had all the world problems figured out!). We had a very good talk about class, culture, religion, race relations, and genetics! Everyone gave their thoughts on the issues and, as we are learning through bookgroup, everyone is or has been influenced in their thoughts by how they were raised and the culture in which they grew up. Boy, you’d think we had figured that out by now, but we’re just trying to see how we can fix the things around us now. I mean, what is wrong with the world when it is such a pain to get in an airplane and go somewhere? This is progress? Anyway, we’re looking for something light and fun. I was thinking and talking to our new Youth Services Librarian and she just read “Flush” by Carl Hiasson. It is short, fun, yet thought provoking (I havent’ read it, but I know adults who have) it is a Young Adult classified book. I thought we might want to read Flush during the holiday season, say around Nov. or Dec. Let me know what ya’ll think.
See ya on the second Tuesday. Please post some suggestions.

The Tuesday book group had a very nice discussion of Haddon’s “The curious incident of the dog in the night time”. This book revealed some characteristics of autistic people AND also made us astutely aware of how we are incapable, often, of understanding just what is going on inside an autistic’s person’s head. Really, we have that problem with trying to get at what is in ANYONE’s head. It was agreed by most that the real beauty of this novel was its way of letting us inside another’s head. I think that also, that is what the author was trying to accomplish in “Never Let Me Go”, the book about the farming of human clones. To really see the whole picture, it is important too, to see it from every angle. This applies to any important issue that affects human life. (I think).
So, just to recap…. Wednesday’s August pick is “A Million Nightingales” (NOT Amelia Nightingale ) and Wednesday’s September pick is “Tomorrow to be Brave”. That’s the one about the only woman to join the French Foreign Legion.
The September Tuesday pick is “Life of Pi” and the October pick is “Water for Elephants” (NOT Waterford Elephants). It seems we have accent problems today.
I also mentioned that the Tuesday pick in February 2007 will be by visiting cozy (not sappy) mystery author, Denise Swanson. Her latest book is “Murder of a Real Bad Boy”. We have it on order. I”m reading Murder of a Pink Elephant and it is fun. I think it will be a nice change to have a real-live author come to our group.
Start thinking of what we’ll read next in the groups. Don’t make me suggest Proust!
I appreciate all the knowledge you all freely dispense in our book groups. Wow! What groups!
Keep reading.