Hopkinton Public Library’s Chat’n’Chew Book Club will not meet for two months over the summer. Our next gathering will be on September 18th. We meet in the Ellsworth room or virtually if you choose. Please register on the calendar at our website. This book club does not have a specific selected book to read. Each person talks about whatever they’ve been reading and wishes to share. Join our group in September after your summer vacation and share what you have been reading,
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl
An adventure of food, art, and fashion in 1980s Paris. The book begins with Stella who leads a quiet life as a copy editor in New York City. Her self-absorbed single mother dies and leaves a conditional will that sends Stella to Paris. There, she discovers a vintage store, tries on a stunning Dior dress, and meets an older gentleman who introduces her to the real Paris and sets her on an entirely new life path. Stella transforms from a timid individual to someone open to embracing everything the world offers. If you love vivid depictions of food and atmosphere, you’ll enjoy this. This is a dazzling, heartfelt novel.
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter
Tech designers spend huge amounts of time and money to make users find devices irresistible. Many designers don’t use the products they or their companies design or produce. They are well aware of the addictive potential of their creations. The author does a pretty good job of covering how we get addicted, both behavioral addiction and substance addiction. After reading this you might think differently about the consequences of your screen time (and your children’s) and the approaches it will take to curb your excess. This is well-written, well-researched, and well-timed. Adam Alter is an Associate Professor of Marketing and Psychology at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
Here is an unusual work of historical fiction by this author. This well-researched story, set in the Civil War era, explores the treatment of people with mental illness at the time. The book moves back and forth between 1864 and 1874, between the Civil War and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia (a real place). The novel follows the lives of three people still reeling from the Civil War, scarred, silent, confused, and very, very damaged. This may not be an easy read for all as it balances the horrors of war and rape. But it is hard to put down once you settle into the book. You will be horrified by the war and how it affects the soldiers and the people in the war’s path. At the same time, you will be fascinated by the lunatic asylum that is the backdrop for most of the plot. The asylum treats anyone who has suffered and been unable to recover from the terrors of those war years. The story spans various timelines and perspectives but centers on the relationship and experiences of a mother (Eliza) and daughter (ConaLee) who are dropped off at an asylum in the wake of the Civil War. It is a profound and haunting novel. The book won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize.
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
On the coldest night of the year in Spencer, Iowa, at only a few weeks old, Dewey, (named after the Dewey Decimal System), was stuffed into the return book slot of the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next morning by library director Vicki Myron. Dewey won the love of staff, library goers, and townspeople with his special ability to know what each person needed. Over the years, word of this special cat started spreading beyond the town of Spencer, Iowa to people worldwide. This is a book about the important role a library can play in the life and identity of a community and, of course, Dewey Readmore Books, one of the best-known and well-loved cats in the world. For nineteen years, this orange cat captured the hearts of Americans. This book will touch your heart and is such a strong reminder of how much animals add to our lives.
The Cold, Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty
This is the first in the Detective Shean Duffy series. There are seven altogether. The setting is Northern Ireland in the ‘80s. Sean Duffy, a Catholic detective living among the Protestants, is investigating a bizarre murder while striving to survive during a horrifying time in his country. Because he is a Catholic who joined the mostly Protestant police force, Duffy is essentially under suspicion–and threat–from both sides in the long-running “Troubles” pitting Catholics and Protestants against each other in Northern Ireland. Duffy’s dry wit lightens the mood of the plot and keeps the story flowing smoothly. The plot is complex and intelligent. Even the minor characters are well-drawn and interesting, but what sets the book apart is how McKinty sets the scene. His description of Northern Ireland in these turbulent times is outstanding, and how these otherwise ordinary people conduct their lives in the face of violence and unrest is compelling. This is a great crime thriller.
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
It’s New Year’s Eve 1984, and 85-year-old Lillian Boxfish takes a long walk through Manhattan and reminisces about her life as a wife, mother, grandmother, and top-paid advertising agent for Macy’s in the 1930s. Her main destination is Delmonico’s Steakhouse where she last had dinner with her dead ex-husband Max, though she makes many stops along the way and comes in contact with many different people. On her journey, we gather pieces of information that put together the persona of this singular individual. This is a rich and rewarding walk through the streets of New York, and the paths of Lillian’s life. Charming.
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
After graduating from college, author Suleika Jaouad was ready to take on the world. She had moved to Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a war correspondent and had a new boyfriend. But life would set her up for a different kind of battle. Suleika was 22 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. All of a sudden, her tiredness and mouth sores aren’t just a case of anemia. Part memoir and part travelog, “Between Two Kingdoms” is a deeply personal book about the author’s journey through her cancer treatment and the road trip she embarks on after her treatment concludes. This last part of the book documents a 100-day solo journey across the United States where she visits other cancer survivors who had written her and made a difference in her struggle and now recovery. The people she visited connected with her initially through the Life, Interrupted column she initiated and authored while in the hospital. The column was syndicated in numerous newspapers and magazines across America. It is an amazing memoir of severe illness and the trials and tribulations towards a journey of recovery. It is a powerful and well-written memoir that is brutally honest.
**Another 5-star read that has been discussed previously: Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.
Other honorable mentions: Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner; The Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer (seven in the series); and The Key to Kells: A Key Murphy Ancestral Memory Thriller by Kevin Barry O’Conner.