Fourth Thursday Book Club

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You're invited to attend our adult book discussions. The discussions are held at 1 p.m. in the Rensselaer Library conference room** on the 4th Thursday in January through October and the 3rd Thursday in November. There is no discussion in December.  Read on for the list of 2017 titles.

Jan 26
The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot

This bestseller tells how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human ceil line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in cancer research, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping. It tells of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.

Feb 23
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
by Rachel Joyce

Harold Fry, recently retired, lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then Harold receives a letter from a woman he hasn' t seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. Harold pens a quick reply and heads to the corner mailbox. But then, Harold becomes convinced that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. And thus begins his unlikely pilgrimage.

Mar 23
All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion
by Fannie Flagg

Just before her 60th birthday, Sookie Poole of Point Clear Alabama, and her formidable mother, may be forced to reimagine who they are. When Sookie discovers a secret about her mother's past, it calls into question everything she ever thought she knew about herself, her family, and her future. Her search for answers takes her back in time, to the 1940s, when an irrepressible woman named Fritzi took on the job of running her family's filling station.

Apr 27
Bruno, Chief of Police
by Martin Walker

Benoit Courreges, aka Bruno, is a policeman in the South of France. He's a former soldier who has embraced the slow rhythms of country life. He has a gun but never wears it; he has the power to arrest but never uses it. The murder of an elderly North African who fought in the French army changes all that. Now Bruno must balance his beloved routines with a politically delicate investigation. He's paired with a young policewoman from Paris and the two suspect anti-immigrant militants.

May 25
Orphan Train
by Christina Baker Kline

Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to 'aging out' out of foster care. As she helps an elderly woman sort through her possessions, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be: as a young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

June 22
Call the Midwife
by Jennifor Worth

In the 1950s, Jenny Lee leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in London's East End slums. While delivering babies all over the city, Jenny encounters a colorful cast of women-- from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lives, to the woman with twenty-four children who can't speak English, to the prostitutes of the city's seedier side.

July 27
A Front Page Affair
by Radha Vatsal with author Skype

New York City, 1915. The Lusitania has just been sunk, and headlines about a shooting at J.P. Morgan's mansion and the Great War are on the front page of every newspaper. Capability "Kitty" Weeks would love to report on the news but she's stuck writing about fashion and society gossip until a man is murdered at a picnic on her beat. Determined to prove her worth, Kitty finds herself in the midst of a wartime conspiracy that may disrupt the privileged life she has always known.

Aug 24
Orban's Inheritance
by Aline Ohanesian

When Orban's eccentric grandfather, Kemal Turko glu, who built a dynasty out of making kilim rugs, is found dead, Orban inherits the decadesold business. However, Kemal has left the family estate to a stranger thousands of miles away, an aging woman in a retirement home in Los Angeles. Intent on righting this injustice, Orhan unearths a story that, if told, has the power to undo the legacy upon which Orban's family is built, a story that could unravel his own future.

Sept 28
Necessary Lies
by Diane Chamberlain

1960, North Carolina and the lives of Ivy Hart and Jane Forrester are quite different. At 15, Ivy lives with her tenant farmer family, but when her parents die, Ivy is left to care for her grandmother, older sister, and nephew. As she struggles, she realizes they need more help. Jane Forrester is Grace County's newest social worker, given the task of recommending which of her clients should be sterilized without their knowledge or consent. Jane and Ivy are thrown together and must ask themselves: How can you know what you believe is right, when everyone is telling you it's wrong?

Oct 26
Books to Bridge the Region
Title To be Announced

Books to Bridge the Region is a reading initiative encompassing seven Northwest Indiana counties: Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski and Starke.

Nov 16
Reader's Recommendations

Bring your favorite book to share with your fellow bibliophiles.

December – No book discussion.  Merry Christmas!

"Any room in our house at any time in the day was there to read in or to be read to."
- Eudora Welty