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Fresh Fiction Ideas for Discussion
Our Spoons Came From Woolworths by Barbara Comyns
 “I told Helen my story and she went home and cried.” So begins Our Spoons Came from Woolworth’s. But Barbara Comyns’s beguiling novel is far from tragic, despite the harrowing ordeals its heroine endures.
Sophia is twenty-one and naïve when she marries fellow artist Charles. She seems hardly fonder of her husband than she is of her pet newt; she can’t keep house (everything she cooks tastes of soap); and she mistakes morning sickness for the aftereffects of a bad batch of strawberries. England is in the middle of the Great Depression, and the money Sophia makes from the occasional modeling gig doesn’t make up for her husband’s indifference to paying the rent. Predictably, the marriage falters; not so predictably, Sophia’s artlessness will be the very thing that turns her life around.
The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos
 From the New York Times bestselling author of Belong to Me, Love Walked In, and Falling Together comes a captivating novel about friendship, family, second chances, and the redemptive power of love.
Told in alternating voices—Taisy’s strong, unsparing observations and Willow’s naive, heartbreakingly earnest yearnings—The Precious One is an unforgettable novel of family secrets, lost love, and dangerous obsession, a captivating tale with the deep characterization, piercing emotional resonance, and heartfelt insight that are the hallmarks of Marisa de los Santos’s beloved works.
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“Tim Johnston’s high-wire literary thriller . . . will leave you gasping.”
—Vanity Fair
 “A riveting literary thriller of the can’t-stop-turning-the-page, stay-up-all-night variety.” —Alice LaPlante, author of A Circle of Wives
“Outstanding . . . The days when you had to choose between a great story and a great piece of writing? Gone.” —Esquire
The Rocky Mountains have cast their spell over the Courtlands, a family from the plains taking a last summer vacation before their daughter begins college. For eighteen-year-old Caitlin, the mountains loom as the ultimate test of her runner’s heart, while her parents hope that so much beauty, so much grandeur, will somehow repair a damaged marriage. But when Caitlin and her younger brother, Sean, go out for an early morning run and only Sean returns, the mountains become as terrifying as they are majestic, as suddenly this family find themselves living the kind of nightmare they've only read about in headlines or seen on TV.
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This Raging Light
by Estelle Laure
 “This Raging Light is a funny, heartwrenching, and soulful read as Lucille develops her own personal family, bloodline or not. It's not one you'll soon forget.” —Bustle
For seventeen-year-old Lucille Bennett, life currently feels like the worst joke ever. With her parents MIA, Lucille has a nine-year-old sister to care for, stacks of bills to pay, and inquisitive neighbors and teachers to avoid. This isn’t the right time to fall in love. But love—messy, complicated love—is what Lucille finds with Digby Jones, her best friend’s brother. He offers Lucille a series of perfect moments during a string of seemingly impossible days. Digby’s kindness—and the kindness of others around her—make Lucille realize that “maybe when a lot of bad things happen, good things have to happen too.” With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure’s soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page.
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Click Below To Register For A Chance To Win
December's Contest!
Register for a chance to be 1 of 5 winners to win SIGNED copies (up to 10) of It Was Me All Along for your group.
1 Grand Prize Winner will win SIGNED copies (up to 10) of It Was Me All Along PLUS a SKYPE CHAT with author, Andie Mitchell.
It Was Me All Along: A Memoir
Inspiring and enlightening, It Was Me All Along is a wonderful choice for reading groups.
Raising provocative questions about body image, emotional hunger, and the power of our earliest experiences with food, It Was Me All Along is the memoir of a culinary writer who, weighing 268 pounds at age twenty, embarked on an inspiring journey to overcome her addiction to food.
Watching her talented, beloved father succumb to alcoholism when she was a child, Andie Mitchell comforted herself with the cooking of her mother, who struggled to make ends meet but always found a way to serve generous portions and pack the pantry with sugary treats. As Andie grew up, leaving behind her working-class neighborhood to pursue a college degree (including a study-abroad program in Italy), her love of food became as intense as her hatred of her body. In mesmerizing scenes, she recounts her road to recovery, confronting the anguish that had haunted her for a lifetime. Along the way, she learns to savor every morsel, finding beauty in herself and in the balanced life she at last achieves.
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The BSBC is a sisterhood of women that read books primarily by African American authors to gain insight into our personal issues, and to participate in community activities that support literacy.
The Brown Sugar Book Club was founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan in April 2001. At which time, the book club consisted of 15 women. However, due to many factors, the book club was put on pause and restarted in June 2002 as Brown Sugar Book Club. The book club emerged with seven women. Meetings were most often held in our homes with a potluck meal, sharing time, review of the book and a discussion of coming events. Each member rates the book and a summary of the book with brief member comments are maintained. Members pay monthly dues that support book club activities. BSBC also takes a lot of pride in having BSBC T-shirts, book bags, pins, stationery, pens, business cards and signage.
In 2005 the BSBC began to formalize. This included a mission statement, book reading guidelines, book history, officer job descriptions, by-laws, summary of books read. Emphasis was put on the selection of members that “fit” to create a sisterhood. Through the reading of the books we share a lot of personal information and support each other in our sisterhood. For this reason all members must agree on new members due to personal issues being discussed. For the same reason our membership numbers are kept low.
In 2007 the BSBC became more involved in community projects and eventually included this involvement in our mission statement. Our history includes traveling to see authors, viewing movies of book titles read, community projects that support literacy, and supporting members in personal and professional interest. In 2011 we began meeting with The Saturday’s Eve and Mavens book clubs to review books. BSBC also has a history of participating in activities presented by the Portage and Kalamazoo Libraries. A close relationship is maintained with Kazoo Books in the form of purchasing books for events, utilizing space for meetings and supporting their events.
Become one of our Spotlight Book Clubs:
Email us at info@readinggroupchoices.com with a picture of your book group and description of what makes your reading group unique. If your book club is chosen, we will send you and your group a box of books to share! |
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Thank you to the Multicultural Book Group of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for entering our Faith Sullivan contest. Enjoy the book, and the discussion!
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 Reading Group Choices 2016 is now available for purchase as an ebook or print book on our website. We hope you enjoy the variety of books we have recommended this year. We have sections dedicated to fiction, nonfiction, and young adult. As always, thank you to our readers for your continued support, interest, and passion for books! Have fun choosing your books for the year, and happy reading!
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