Novel Ideas Book Group: Recent Episodes
Accessible World
Novel Ideas on Accessible World. Meets the third Friday of each month at 8pm Eastern. Facilitator leads the discussion of that month's novel. Sponsored by Helping Hands for the Blind.
Judge Stone: a novel DB136049
Authors: Davis, Viola, Patterson, James
Reading Time: 11 hours, 22 minutes
Read by: Viola Davis
Subjects: Suspense Fiction, Legal Fiction, Women
“In Judge Mary Stone’s courtroom, a person has to take a stand. In Union Springs, Alabama (population 3,314), Judge Mary Stone is a local celebrity. Born a farmer’s daughter in a town where dogwoods bloom every spring and churches rise on every street corner, Judge Mary Stone holds her courtroom to the highest standard in the land. Do the right thing, or don’t do it at all. Then she draws the biggest case Alabama has ever seen. Criminally, it’s open-and-shut. Ethically, there is no middle ground. Essentially, it’s a choice between life and death. As she fights to determine the wisest course, Judge Stone will make history-or die trying.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
New York, NY : Hachette Book Group, 2026.
Bookshare
This book can be found on Bookshare at the below link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/7024183?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUp1ZGdlJTJCU3RvbmU
BARD annotationThe Ursulina DBC27483
Author: Freeman, Brian
Reading Time: 10 hours, 52 minutes
Production: Minnesota State Services for the Blind, Communication Center
Read by: Karen Ray
Subjects: Mystery and Detective Stories, Suspense Fiction
Deputy Rebecca Colder’s dark journey to reveal the truth about the Ursulina ultimately leads to an excruciating choice that will change her life forever. Adult. Strong language.
Ashland, OR : Blackstone Publishing, 2022. ©2022
BookshareThis book is not available on Bookshare.
BARD annotation
The forget-me-not library DB133321
Author: Webber, Heather S.
Reading Time: 11 hours, 48 minutes
Read by: Hallie Ricardo, Stephanie Willis
Subjects: Human Relations, Fantasy Fiction
“A detour. A chance encounter. Two women who alter the pages of each other’s story. Juliet Nightingale is lucky to be alive. Months after a freak accident involving lightning, she’s fully recovered but is left feeling that something is missing from her life. Something big. Impulsively, she decides to take a solo summer road trip, hoping that the journey will lead her down a path that will help her discover exactly what it is that she’s searching for. Newly single mom Tallulah Byrd Mayfield is hanging by a thread after her neat, tidy world was completely undone when her husband decided that their marriage was over. In the aftermath of the breakup, she and her two daughters move in with her eighty-year-old grandfather. Tallulah starts a new job at the Forget-Me-Not Library, where old, treasured memories can be found within the books — and where Lu must learn to adapt to the many changes thrown her way. When a road detour leads Juliet to Forget-Me-Not, Alabama, and straight into Tallulah’s life, the two women soon discover there’s magic in between the pages of where you’ve been and where you still need to go. And that happiness, even when lost, can always be found again.” — From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
New York : Macmillan, 2025.
BookshareThis book can be found on Bookshare at the below link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6897949?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVRoZSUyQmZvcmdldC1tZS1ub3QlMkJsaWJyYXJ5JTJC
BARD annotationThe deep, deep snow DB103386
Author: Freeman, Brian
Reading Time: 10 hours, 8 minutes
Read by: Laura Hatch
Subjects: Mystery and Detective Stories, Suspense Fiction
When ten-year-old Jeremiah Sloan disappears, leaving behind his bicycle on a lonely road, Deputy Shelby Lake is assigned to the case. She discovers everyone around Jeremiah–including herself–is keeping secrets. Shelby worries as the case goes cold. But when a clue appears, the darkest lies come to light. Strong language and some violence. 2020.
Ashland : Blackstone Publishing, 2020.
BookshareThis book is not available on Bookshare.
BARD annotation
Hidden nature DB129760
Author: Roberts, Nora
Reading Time: 14 hours, 57 minutes
Read by: January LaVoy
Subjects: Romantic Suspense, Mystery and Detective Stories
“Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store–and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world. After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parents’ peaceful house in Heron’s Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance. She may be down, but she’s not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young – the missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening. Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case–and she’s willing to risk her life again if that’s what it takes to stop the horror.”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
New York : Macmillan, 2025.
BookshareThis book can be found on Bookshare at the below link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6572947?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUhpZGRlbiUyQm5hdHVyZQ
This book can be found on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6904003?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPXdoZW4lMkJ0aGUlMkJzdGFycyUyQmdvJTJCZGFyaw
The annotation from BARD is below:
When the stars go dark DB102900
Author: McLain, Paula
Reading Time: 11 hours, 31 minutes
Read by: Marin Ireland
Subjects: Mystery and Detective Stories, Suspense Fiction
When tragedy strikes seasoned missing persons detective Anna Hart’s personal life, she flees to the northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. But when she arrives, it’s to find out a local teenager is missing and the circumstances are reminiscent of a murder in Anna’s childhood. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.
New York : Random House Audio, 2021.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
This book can be found on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5068256?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUxldCUyQml0JTJCc25vdw
The annotation from BARD is below:
Let it snow: a novel DB121508
Author: Thayer, Nancy
Reading Time: 6 hours, 3 minutes
Read by: Allison, Kristin
Subjects: Family, Holidays, Romance
“Christina Antonioni is preparing for the holidays at her Nantucket toy shop, unpacking last-minute shipments and decorating for her loyal Christmas shoppers. But when her Scrooge of a landlord, Oscar Bittlesman, raises her rent, it seems nearly impossible for Christina to continue business on the wharf. Even so, Christina hopes there is a warm heart underneath Oscar’s steely exterior. When she bonds with Wink, his sweet, young granddaughter who frequents the shop, it becomes clear that perhaps he isn’t so cold after all. And with the help of Wink’s uncle, who happens to be a charming and very handsome bachelor, this may be the best Christmas any of them could have ever imagined. Nancy Thayer’s enchanting Nantucket setting provides the perfect backdrop for this holiday love story.”– OCLC. Some strong language.
New York : Ballantine Books, [2019]
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
This book can be found on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6414224?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUxhc3QlMkJUd2lsaWdodCUyQmluJTJCUGFyaXMlMkI
The annotation from BARD is below:
Last twilight in Paris DB127477
Author: Jenoff, Pam
Reading Time: 10 hours, 35 minutes
Read by: Maarleveld, Saskia, Plummer, Thérèse
Subjects: Historical Fiction, General Fiction
“London, 1953. Louise is still adjusting to her postwar role as a housewife when she discovers a necklace in a box at a secondhand shop. The box is marked with the name of a department store in Paris, and she is certain she has seen the necklace before, when she worked with the Red Cross in Nazi-occupied Europe–and that it holds the key to the mysterious death of her friend Franny during the war. Following the trail of clues to Paris, Louise seeks help from her former boss Ian, with whom she shares a romantic history. The necklace leads them to discover the dark history of Lévitan–a once-glamorous department store that served as a Nazi prison, and Helaine, a woman who was imprisoned there, torn apart from her husband when the Germans invaded France. Louise races to find the connection between the necklace, the department store and Franny’s death. But nothing is as it seems, and there are forces determined to keep the truth buried forever. Inspired by the true story of Lévitan, Last Twilight in Paris is both a gripping mystery and an unforgettable story about sacrifice, resistance and the power of love to transcend in even the darkest hours.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
New York : Harlequin Audio, 2025.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
This book can be found on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6569392?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPXdoZXJlJTJCdGhlJTJCcmVkJTJCZmVybiUyQmdyb3dz
The annotation from BARD is below:
Where the red fern grows: the story of two dogs and a boy DB32449
Author: Rawls, Wilson
Reading Time: 7 hours, 11 minutes
Read by: David Palmer
Subject: Animals and Wildlife
Ten-year-old Billy, a country boy in the Ozarks, wants a pair of coonhounds so badly that he works hard for two years to pay for them. For grades 5-8 and older readers. 1961.
Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, 1987, c1961.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
This book can be found on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6577346?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPW91ciUyQmxpdHRsZSUyQnNlY3JldA
The annotation from BARD is below:
Our little secret DB126128
Author: Jackson, Lisa
Reading Time: 15 hours, 4 minutes
Read by: Cavallero, Gabriella
Subjects: Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction
“Brooke Harmon is ready to end her brief affair. Gideon Ross is charming and sexy, but he’s not worth throwing away everything she holds dear. So she breaks it off, hoping Gideon will understand. He doesn’t. Gideon insists that he and Brooke are meant to be together. Finally, he backs off, but not before issuing a promise: he’ll never let her go. Little more than a year later, Brooke wants to believe it’s all behind her. Her family has survived intact. Gideon has vanished. But the fear hasn’t disappeared. Brooke can’t tell how much of it is paranoia, and how much is justified, but she’s worried. And maybe she’s right to be. Because Gideon is a man who keeps his promises…” — Amazon.com Violence, strong language and some descriptions of sex.
New York, NY : Kensington Books, 2024.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
This book is not available on Bookshare.
The annotation from BARD is below:
When the day comes DB125107
Series: Timeless
Order in Series: 01
Author: Meyer, Gabrielle
Reading Time: 12 hours, 29 minutes
Read by: Rachel Botchan
Subjects: Historical Fiction, Religious Fiction, Romance, Human Relations
“Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other without any time passing. She has one conscious mind but two very different lives and bodies. In colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their lives – and any hope of love – are put in jeopardy. Libby’s life in 1914 New York is filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only work she cares about – women’s suffrage – is discouraged, and her mother is intent on marrying her off to an undesirable English marquess. The growing talk of war in Europe further complicates matters and forces her to make sacrifices she never imagined. On her twenty-first birthday, Libby must choose one path and forfeit the other forever – but how can she possibly choose when she has so much to lose in each life?”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
[United States] : Recorded Books, Inc., 2022.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
We hope you’ll join us to discuss this great book.
Novel Ideas with Hostess Randi Shelton. The Last Year of the War by Susan Meisner DB94293.
This book is available on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6186195?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPWNvdW50aW5nJTJCbWlyYWNsZXM
The synopsis from BARD is below:
Counting miracles: a novel DB124452Author: Sparks, NicholasReading Time: 10 hours, 49 minutesRead by: Holter Graham, Nicholas SparksSubjects: Human Relations, Romance
“From the acclaimed author of The Longest Ride and The Notebook comes an emotional, powerful novel about wondering if we can change-or even make our peace with–the path we’ve taken. Tanner Hughes was raised by his grandparents, following in his grandfather’s military footsteps to become an Army Ranger. His whole life has been spent abroad, and he is the proverbial rolling stone: happiest when off on his next adventure, zero desire to settle down. But when his grandmother passes away, her last words to him are find where you belong. She also drops a bombshell, telling him the name of the father he never knew-and where to find him. Tanner is due at his next posting soon, but his curiosity is piqued, and he sets out for Asheboro, North Carolina, to ask around. He’s been in town less than twenty-four hours when he meets Kaitlyn Cooper, a doctor and single mom. They both feel an immediate connection; Tanner knows Kaitlyn has a story to tell, and he wants to hear it. To Kaitlyn, Tanner is mysterious, exciting–and possibly leaving in just a few weeks. Meanwhile, nearby, eighty-three-year-old Jasper lives alone in a cabin bordering a national forest. With only his old dog, Arlo, for company, he lives quietly, haunted by a tragic accident that took place decades before. When he hears rumors that a white deer has been spotted in the forest-a creature of legend that inspired his father and grandfather-he becomes obsessed with protecting the deer from poachers. As these characters’ fates orbit closer together, none of them is expecting a miracle … but that may be exactly what is about to alter their futures forever”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
New York : Penguin Random House, 2024.
Host: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
We hope you’ll join us to discuss this great book.
Novel Ideas meets 3/21/25 at 8pm Eastern and will be discussing the book The Kennedy Debutante DB108271by Kerri Maher. Due to confusion locating this book by title on the BARD website, we incorrectly identified the March book to be discussed as Kathleen Kennedy, her life and times DB20590 at the 2/21/25 meeting. We will be discussing The Kennedy Debutante instead which is Randi’s first choice.
This book is available on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/2745687?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVRoZSUyQktlbm5lZHklMkJEZWJ1dGFudGU
The synopsis from BARD is below:
The Kennedy debutante DB108271Author: Maher, KerriReading Time: 12 hours, 24 minutesRead by: Julia WhelanSubject: Historical Fiction
London, 1938. Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy is the effervescent It girl of London society since her father was named the ambassador. Eager to escape the watchful eye of her family, Kick is ready to strike out on her own and is soon swept off her feet by Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2018.
[New York, NY] : Penguin Audio, 2018.
Host: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
We hope you’ll join us to discuss this great book.
This book is available on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/619162?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUJlZm9yZSUyQnRoZSUyQnN0b3Jt
The synopsis from BARD is below:
Before the storm DB120402Author: Chamberlain, DianeReading Time: 11 hours, 37 minutesRead by: Kris Koscheski, Abby CradenSubjects: Women, Human Relations, Family
“Laural Lockwood’s 15-year-old son Andy is “special”. She lost him once through neglect, but is determined to make up for her mistakes. When she allows Andy to attend a local church social she is terrified when the church is consumed by fire. Andy survives and saves other children as well. Initially Andy basks in the role of unlikely hero but when the suspicion of arson is cast upon Andy, Laurel must ask herself how well she really knows her son, and how far she’ll go to keep her promise to protect him forever.”– OCLC. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
Don Mills, Ont. : Tantor Media, Inc., 2014.
Host: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Truths I never told you DB102014 by Kelly Rimmer. This book is available on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5242675?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVRydXRocyUyQkklMkJuZXZlciUyQnRvbGQlMkJ5b3U
The synopsis from BARD is below:
Truths I never told you DB102014
Author: Rimmer, Kelly
Reading Time: 11 hours, 44 minutes
Read by: Jean Ann Douglass
Subject: Historical Fiction
Beth is cleaning her father’s home after settling him in a care facility and discovers loose pieces of a journal in her mother’s handwriting from the 1950s. Beth grew up believing her mother died in a car accident, but the journal hints at a darker truth. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.
[United States] : Harlequin Audio/Recorded Books, 2020.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
This book is available on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6194073?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPXRoZSUyQmNocmlzdG1hcyUyQmlubg
The synopsis from BARD is below:
The Christmas inn: a novel DB124450
Author: Kelley, Pamela M.
Reading Time: 8 hours, 45 minutes
Read by: Stephanie Németh-Parker
Subjects: Holidays, Romance, Family
Explore delightfully cozy and joyful novel of second chances at the most wonderful time of the year, from USA Today bestselling author Pamela Kelley. A feel-good as delightful and comforting as a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night, The Christmas Inn is bestselling author pamela Kelley’s most heart warming magical book yet.
Riley Sanders didn’t plan on losing her job as a content marketing manager right before Christmas. When she calls her sister Amy to vent, she learns that their mother has broken her leg and could really use some help at the inn. Riley decides to head home to the inn, nestled along the shores of Cape Cod, in time for the Christmas rush. She is happy to help and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall. When she gets there, she not only finds delicious cookies and a crackling fire to lift her spirits, but also the sense of family she’s been missing all along. There’s franny, a woman who has just lost her sister and has four unopened letters from her that she plans to use to open her up to new experiences on the cape. and there’s aidan, her high school sweetheart, now a widower, who is staying at the inn with his nine-year-old son, luke. What begins as quick stay over the holidays to help her mom turns into something that means much more-a second chance at romance, a deeper sense of found family, and all the joy and wonder that comes with Christmastime on Cape Cod.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman. DBC 02517. Guest host Carla Hayes will lead us in the discussion. This book is available on Bookshare at the following link:https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/1015328?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPXRoZSUyQmxvc3QlMkJ3aWZlThe synopsis from BARD is below:During the last moments of prewar Prague, two young students fall in love and marry, only to be torn apart — their dreams shattered by the Nazi Invasion. decades later and thousands of miles away, an unexpected encounter in New York leads to an inescapable glance of recognition and and the realization that providence has given Lencha and Josef one more chance.Guest host: carla HayesEmail” Lengual@verizon.netHost: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
We hope you’ll join us to discuss this great book.
This book is available on Bookshare at the following link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6026156?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPW1pbmQlMkJnYW1lcw
The synopsis from BARD is below:
“As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb. Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened. The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse–because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them–and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Date: Friday October 18 2024
Time: 5:00 PM Pacific, 6:00 PM Mountain, 7:00 PM Central, 8:00 PM Eastern
and elsewhere in the world Saturday 00:00 GMT.
We hope you’ll join us to discuss this great book.
As we’ve done the last few years, Novel Ideas will be taking the months of July and August off. Whether you’re going to the summer conferences, enjoying a vacation with family or friends, or just staying home, have a wonderful summer! When we meet in September, we will be discussing A Little Ray Of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins. DB 115175.
This book is available on Bookshare at the following link:https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5982941?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUElMkJMaXR0bGUlMkJSYXklMkJPZiUyQlN1bnNoaW5lJTJC
The Synopsis from BARD is below:
A kid walks into your bookstore and. Guess what? He’s your son. The one you put up for adoption eighteen years ago. The one you never told anyone about. Surprise! And a huge surprise it is. It’s a huge surprise for his adoptive mother, Monica, who thought she had a close relationship with Matthew, her nearly adult son. But apparently, he felt the need to secretly arrange a vacation to Cape Cod for the summer so he could meet his birth mother. Without a word to her or his dad. It’s also a surprise to say the least to Harlow, the woman who secretly placed her baby for adoption so many years ago. She’s spent the years since then building a quiet life. She runs a bookstore with her grandfather, hangs out with her four younger siblings and is more or less happily single, though she can’t help gravitating toward Grady Byrne, her old friend from high school. He’s moved back to town, three-year-old daughter in tow, no wife in the picture. But she’s always figured her life had to be child-free, so that complicates things. When Matthew walks into Harlow’s store, she faints. Monica panics. And all their assumptions about what being a parent really means explode. This summer will be full of more surprises as both their families are redefined. And as both women learn that for them, there’s no limit to a mother’s love.
Host: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Marisol Cruz can’t understand what happened to her life, and more importantly, her dreams. She is a single mother living with her parents in Santa Cruz, barely making a living by selling raffle tickets on the Boardwalk. But when she stumbles across the obituary of Violet Harcourt, a young beauty queen from the area who died seventy years ago and has a mysterious connection to Marisol’s grandfather, her curiosity is awakened. Accompanied by Jason, a recent transplant from Chicago who is struggling to adjust to casual California life, Marisol sets out to discover more about Violet’s life, and in the process, she gains a new appreciation for her hometown and her family. Unrated. Commercial audio book. In this new novel from the author of The Dressmaker’s Dowry, two young women two generations apart discover the joy and heartbreak of following their dreams. Aspiring Hollywood actress Violet makes a shocking choice in 1940, and seventy years later, Mari sets out to discover what happened on that long ago summer. Santa Cruz, Summer 1940: When auburn-haired Violet Harcourt is crowned Miss California on the boardwalk of her hometown, she knows she is one step closer to her cherished dream: a Hollywood screen test. But Violet’s victory comes with a price–discord in her seemingly perfect marriage–and she grapples with how much more she is willing to pay. Summer 2007: Single mother Marisol Cruz lives with her parents in the charming beach cottage that belonged to her grandfather, Ricardo, once a famed performer on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Drawn to the town’s local history and the quaint gazebo where her grandparents danced beneath the stars, Mari sells raffle tickets at the Beach Boardwalk Centennial Celebration, and meets Jason, a California transplant from Chicago. When Mari discovers the obituary of Violet Harcourt, a beauty queen who died too young, she and Jason are sent on a journey together that will uncover her grandfather’s lifelong secret–his connection to Violet–a story of tragedy and courage that will forever transform them. Additional subjects: Missing persons California Los Angeles Fiction; Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) Fiction
Here is the Bookshare link to this title:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5994364?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUJvYXJkd2FsayUyQlN1bW1lcg
Host: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be discussing Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. DB 116555 The synopsis from Bookshare is below.In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.Here’s the Bookshare link to this title:https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5666619?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPXRvbSUyQmxha2UHost: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
This book isn’t available on Bookshare. The BARD Annotation is below.
1806: Astrid Pool sits in her bridal clothes overwhelmed with happiness, but before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him.
Graphic designer Sonya Mactavish bis stunned to learn that her alate father had a twin he never knew about and that her newly discovered uncle Collin Pool has left her almost everything he owned including the Majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast which the will stipulates she must live in for at least three years. Her engagement recently broke, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light. Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor notes Sonya’s unease and acknowledges that yes the place is haunted but just a little. Sure enough Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle’s office and a portrait of a woman named Astrid whom the lawyer refers to as the first lost bride. It’s becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries old curse and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be discussing Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham. DBC 28910 The synopsis from Bookshare is below.
Recently orphaned, eleven-year-old Cathy Benson feels she has been dropped into a cultural and intellectual wasteland when she is forced to move from her academically privileged life in California to the small town of Kersey in the Texas Panhandle where the sport of football reigns supreme. She is quickly taken under the unlikely wings of up-and-coming gridiron stars and classmates John Caldwell and Trey Don Hall, orphans like herself, with whom she forms a friendship and eventual love triangle that will determine the course of the rest of their lives. Taking the three friends through their growing up years until their high school graduations when several tragic events uproot and break them apart, the novel expands to follow their careers and futures until they reunite in Kersey at forty years of age. Told with all of Meacham’s signature drama, unforgettable characters, and plot twists, readers will be turning the pages, desperate to learn how it all plays out.NLS annotationTumbleweeds: a novel DBC28910Meacham, Leila Reading time: 14 hours, 57 minutes.Angèle Masters A production of Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Talking Book Program.
Sports FictionRomance
“Recently orphaned, eleven-year-old Cathy Benson feels she has been dropped into a cultural and intellectual wasteland when she is forced to move from her academically privileged life in California to the small town of Kersey in the Texas Panhandle where the sport of football reigns supreme. She is quickly taken under the unlikely wings of up-and-coming gridiron stars and classmates John Caldwell and Trey Don Hall, orphans like herself, with whom she forms a friendship and eventual love triangle that will determine the course of the rest of their lives. Taking the three friends through their growing up years until their high school graduations when several tragic events uproot and break them apart, the novel expands to follow their careers and futures until they reunite in Kersey at forty years of age. Told with all of Meacham’s signature drama, unforgettable characters, and plot twists, readers will be turning the pages, desperate to learn how it all plays out.” — Publisher description. Commercial audiobook. Adult. Some descriptions of sex. Some violence. Strong language.Bookshare link:https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/4081480?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPXR1bWJsZXdlZWRzHost: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Don’t miss the New York Times and USA Today bestseller and addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist that’s burning up Instagram and TikTok—Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid is perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, and Verity. Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband. I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late. But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am. They don’t know what I’m capable of…NLS AnnotationThe housemaid DB114201McFadden, Freida Reading time: 10 hours, 7 minutes.Sandra Murphy
Suspense FictionMystery and Detective StoriesBestsellersPsychological Fiction
“Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband. I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late. But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am. They don’t know what I’m capable of…” — Provided by publisher. Violence, strong language and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller.Bookshare Linkhttps://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5416627?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPXRoZSUyQmhvdXNlbWFpZA
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
The Synopsis from Bookshare is below.
From the bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (People) The Book of Lost Names comes a gripping historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the occupation. Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change. Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.
Here’s the NLS annotation:
The Paris daughter DB115102Harmel, Kristin; Maby, Madeleine Reading time: 11 hours, 53 minutes.Madeleine Maby; Kristin Harmel
Friendship FictionHistorical FictionWomenWar Stories
“Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change. When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it. More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble—and Juliette nowhere to be found. What happened to her daughter in those last, terrible moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate search leads her to New York—and to Juliette—one final, fateful time. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
This book can be found on Bookshare at this link:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/5490294?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPXRoZSUyQnBhcmlzJTJCZGF1Z2h0ZXI
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
This book is not available on Bookshare, but the commercial version is on BARD. The BARD synopsis is below.
When Ellie Fields accepts a teaching job in a tiny Louisiana town deep in Bayou country in 1949, she knows her life will change—but she could never imagine just how dramatically_ Though rightfully suspicious of outsiders, who hathreatenedted both their language and their unique culture, most of the residents come to appriciate the young and idealistic schoolteacher and she’s soon teaching just about everyone, despite opposition from both the school board and a poltician with ulterior motives. Yet itthethd lessons Ellie herself will learn—from new friends, a captivating Cajun fisherman, and even a legendary white alligator haunting the bayou—that will make all the difference. Take a step away from the familiar and enter the shadowy waters of bayou country for a story of risk, resilience, and romance.Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
We had a great discussion of Haven in September. When we meet October 20th, we will be discussing The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride by Joe Siple. DB 104366 This book is not on Bookshare but is on Audible for those who have Audible accounts. The annotation from BARD is below.
The five wishes of Mr. Murray McBride DB104366Siple, Joe Reading time: 8 hours, 22 minutes.David Hartley-Margolin
General
With all his family and friends gone, one-hundred-year-old Murray McBride is looking for a reason to live. He finds it in Jason Cashman, a ten-year-old boy with a terminal heart defect and a list of five things he wants to do before he dies. Some strong language. 2018.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be taking the summer off. We hope everyone has a great time whether you’re attending conventions, taking a vacation, or just enjoying a staycation at home.
When we meet in September, we will be discussing the book Haven by Sherry Gomes. DBC 00693. This book is currently not available on Bookshare but is available on Audible with a different narrator for those with Audible accounts. The synopsis from BARD is below.
She would not give up not ever. Holding her head high, she vowed that somehow someday Rosie would be with her again.
Elizabeth Bennet arrives in Haven Valley seeking healing after her emotionally abusive unscrupulous ex-husband uses his family’s political influence to gain sole custody of their daughter solely on the basis that Elizabeth is blind.
At Haven Valley church, Michael Kelly’s grief for his wife is fresh as when he lost her three years ago, but he focuses on his love for the son he is now raising alone. A good man, a good father, and a good Pastor to the community, he deeply longs for companionship and love.
These two people nearly broken by disaster meet on a snowy night that will change their lives. Through this town its people and two very special children, Michael and Elizabeth begin to create their safe haven though the past relentlessly places stumbling blocks in their path. Can they keep the love and healing they’ve found?
September’s discussion will have a different format than usual. We will be joined by the author who will start us off with a brief presentation followed by questions and conversation with the audience. We hope to see you there.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
The synopsis from bookshare is below.Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice. It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live. From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise? As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they'll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge? The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn't have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything. Enchanting and deeply uplifting, The Measure is a sweeping, ambitious, and invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest.Host: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be taking a break from reading fiction for the month of April. We will be reading Being Heumann: An unrepentant Memoir by Judith Heumann. DB 100399 The synopsis from Bookshare is below.One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human. A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy's struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a "fire hazard" to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license because of her paralysis, Judy's actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people. As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples' rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann's memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.Host: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
The Synopsis from Bookshare is below.One of Newsweek's 20 New Books to Cozy Up With this FallDefending Britta Stein is a story of bravery, betrayal, and redemption—from Ronald H. Balson, the winner of the National Jewish Book AwardChicago, 2018: Ole Henryks, a popular restauranteur, is set to be honored by the Danish/American Association for his many civic and charitable contributions. Frequently appearing on local TV, he is well known for his actions in Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II—most consider him a hero.Britta Stein, however, does not. The ninety-year-old Chicago woman levels public accusations against Henryks by spray-painting "Coward," "Traitor," "Collaborator," and "War Criminal" on the walls of his restaurant. Mrs. Stein is ultimately taken into custody and charged with criminal defacement of property. She also becomes the target of a bitter lawsuit filed by Henryks and his son, accusing her of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.Attorney Catherine Lockhart, though hesitant at first, agrees to take up Mrs. Stein's defense. With the help of her investigator husband, Liam Taggart, Lockhart must reach back into wartime Denmark and locate evidence that proves Mrs. Stein's innocence. Defending Britta Stein is critically-acclaimed author Ronald H. Balson's thrilling take on a modern day courtroom drama, and a masterful rendition of Denmark's wartime heroics.Host: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.comCo-Host Ruth ann Acosta,E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
We had a good discussion of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post in January. In February we'll be discussing Sawbones by Melissa Linhardt. DB 88004 The synopsis from Bookshare is below. Note from Alan: Those present at the 1/20/23 meeting be aware that the incorrect DB number for Sawbones was given at the meeting.Outlander meets post-Civil War unrest in this fast-paced historical debut.When Dr. Catherine Bennett is wrongfully accused of murder, she knows her fate likely lies with a noose unless she can disappear. Fleeing with a bounty on her head, she escapes with her maid to the uncharted territories of Colorado to build a new life with a new name. Although the story of the murderess in New York is common gossip, Catherine's false identity serves her well as she fills in as a temporary army doctor. But in a land unknown, so large and yet so small, a female doctor can only hide for so long.Host: Randi SheltonE-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.comCo-Host Ruth ann Acosta,E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood's biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweather Post lived an epic life few could imagine. Marjorie's journey began gluing cereal boxes in her father's barn as a young girl. No one could have predicted that C. W. Post's Cereal Company would grow into the General Foods empire and reshape the American way of life, with Marjorie as its heiress and leading lady. Not content to stay in her prescribed roles of high-society wife, mother, and hostess, Marjorie dared to demand more, making history in the process. Before turning thirty she amassed millions, becoming the wealthiest woman in the United States. But it was her life-force, advocacy, passion, and adventurous spirit that led to her stunning legacy. And yet Marjorie's story, though full of beauty and grandeur, set in the palatial homes she built such as Mar-a-Lago, was equally marked by challenge and tumult. A wife four times over, Marjorie sought her happily-ever-after with the blue-blooded party boy who could not outrun his demons, the charismatic financier whose charm turned to betrayal, the international diplomat with a dark side, and the bon vivant whose shocking secrets would shake Marjorie and all of society. Marjorie did everything on a grand scale, especially when it came to love. Bestselling and acclaimed author Allison Pataki has crafted an intimate portrait of a larger-than-life woman, a powerful story of one woman falling in love with her own voice and embracing her own power while shaping history in the process.Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book. Host: Randi Shelton E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta, E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas meets with an open forum to discuss a Christmas book, movie, or other Christmas topic of your choice.
The synopsis from Bookshare is below.
Nothing prepares Jaya, a New York journalist, for the heartbreak of her third miscarriage and the slow unraveling of her marriage in its wake. Desperate to assuage her deep anguish, she decides to go to India to uncover answers to her family’s past. Intoxicated by the sights, smells, and sounds she experiences, Jaya becomes an eager student of the culture. But it is Ravi—her grandmother’s former servant and trusted confidant—who reveals the resilience, struggles, secret love, and tragic fall of Jaya’s pioneering grandmother during the British occupation. Through her courageous grandmother’s arrestingly romantic and heart-wrenching story, Jaya discovers the legacy bequeathed to her and a strength that, until now, she never knew was possible.
Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta, E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
The synopsis from Bookshare is below.
‘I can tell we’re going to be the best of friends…’ When Louisa Sullivan takes her little boy to his first playdate at a new friend’s house she doesn’t realise life is about to change for her family. Because she’s about to meet Darcy Lane. Darcy is a woman who has everything – a dream house, a powerful husband and enviable wealth. She’s the perfect wife. The perfect friend. The perfect liar. From the top ten bestselling author of The Secret Mother and The Child Next Door, this utterly gripping psychological thriller will have you up all night reading. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Wife Between Us this book is for you.
Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Our first Friday free for all went well in June. We hope to repeat it again at a future meeting. Novel Ideas will be taking July and August off. We hope everyone has a wonderful summer.
When we meet in September, we will be discussing The Secrets of us. DB 105447 by Lucinda Berry. This book isn't on Bookshare. The BARD synopsis is below.
Foster sisters Krystal and Nichole have always had each other’s back. When Nichole is committed to a psychiatric hospital after trying to kill her husband, Krystal drops everything to defend her. As Krystal investigates, their shared dark past resurfaces, and they must fight for their lives.
Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be trying something different in June. If all goes well, we hope to repeat this event periodically. Have you read a good book you'd like to share? Come join our first Friday Free-forAll on June 17th and tell us about it! Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind. Novel Ideas is a fiction book group. In keeping with that, the book you choose needs to be fiction. It must also be on BARD. When you give your review, please also give the DB number in case others want to read it. Come join us for what we hope will be the first of many Friday Free-forAll events.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America. In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett's intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden's car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett's future, one that will take them all on a fateful journey in the opposite direction—to the City of New York. Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles's third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes.
Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
The Bookshare synopsis is below.
The Vatican announces that the Virgin Mary will return to Lourdes this year to perform a miracle cure! Will it be a miracle? Or will it be a fraud? Precious lives, loves, and happiness are at stake: Ken Clayton: the young American who abandons medical treatment for the chance of miracle; Edith Moore: the Englishwoman whose miracle cure has made her famous against her will; Gisele Dupree, the French girl whose desperation to escape Lourdes will lead to violence; Liz Finch: the hard-bitten journalist who wants to "expose" Lourdes and its miracles... At the climax comes a surprise twist that only master storyteller Irving Wallace could pull off. Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Adrian Rizzo is seven when she meets her father for the first time. That was the day he nearly killed her—before her mother, Lina, stepped in. A decade later Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, but she starts getting threatening messages.
Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
The synopsis from Bookshare is below.
1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline offers a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events, the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome'''in the creeping shadow of fascism What war destroys, only love can heal.
Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differences. Elisabetta is a feisty beauty who dreams of becoming a novelist; Marco the brash and athletic son in a family of professional cyclists; and Sandro a Jewish mathematics prodigy, kind-hearted and thoughtful, the son of a lawyer and a doctor. Their friendship blossoms to love, with both Sandro and Marco hoping to win Elisabetta's heart. But in the autumn of 1937, all of that begins to change as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy's Fascists with Hitler's Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. In time, everything that the three hold dear—their families, their homes, and their connection to one another—is tested in ways they never could have imagined. As anti-Semitism takes legal root and World War II erupts, the threesome realizes that Mussolini was only the beginning. The Nazis invade Rome, and with their occupation come new atrocities against the city's Jews, culminating in a final, horrific betrayal. Against this backdrop, the intertwined fates of Elisabetta, Marco, Sandro, and their families will be decided, in a heartbreaking story of both the best and the worst that the world has to offer. Unfolding over decades, Eternal is a tale of loyalty and loss, family and food, love and war—all set in one of the world's most beautiful cities at its darkest moment. This moving novel will be forever etched in the hearts and minds of readers.
Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and that 2022s a much better year for all of us. To kick off the new year, guest host Carla Hayes will lead us in the discussion of the book The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. DB 100906. The synopsis from Bookshare is below.
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?" A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time. Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig's enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place. Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Guest host Carla Hayes E-Mail: lengual@verizon.net
It's hard to believe the holidays are upon us. As we do every year, Novel Ideas will be discussing a Christmas book. This year it will be Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah. DBC16784 Here is the Bookshare link to this book:
https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/1868087?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPUNvbWZvcnQgJmFtcDsgSm95
The synopsis from BARD is below. School librarian Joy Candellaro takes an impromptu vacation during the holidays when she learns that her ex-husband and her sister are having a baby. After surviving a crash landing in a remote pacific-northwest forest, Joy discovers reclusive Daniel and his eight-year-old son Bobby. Or did she imagine them? Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
From legendary storyteller and #1 bestseller Stephen King, whose "restless imagination is a power that cannot be contained" (The New York Times Book Review), comes a thrilling new novel about a good guy in a bad job. Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He's a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he'll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong? How about everything. This spectacular can't-put-it-down novel is part war story, part love letter to small town America and the people who live there, and it features one of the most compelling and surprising duos in King fiction, who set out to avenge the crimes of an extraordinarily evil man. It's about love, luck, fate, and a complex hero with one last shot at redemption. You won't put this story down, and you won't forget Billy. Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be discussing The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. DB 102287 The Synopsis from Bookshare is below.
From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them. "My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family." Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman's only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa's tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive. In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa―like so many of her neighbors―must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family. The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it―the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.
Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta, E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
We will be discussing the last two books in the trilogy. The Sugarhouse Blues, (DB 94303) and The Goodbye Cafe (DB 97130) Both books are on Bookshare, and the synopsis for each is below. Have a wonderful summer, and we'll see you in September.
The Sugarhouse Blues In the second novel of the Hudson Sisters series. Allie, Des, and Cara, each having her own reasons for wanting a share of their father's estate, meet in the grand Victorian home in which he grew up, only to be greeted by another secret he purposely hid from them: his sister Bonnie. The women reluctantly band together to take on Fritz's challenge, working with a local contractor to begin the renovations financed by an account Fritz had set up for the task. While the restoration appears to go smoothly at first, it soon becomes apparent that the work will be more extensive than originally thought, and Des, elected to handle the money, needs to find ways to stretch out the remaining savings while searching for new sources of funding. As strangers linked only by their DNA try to become a family, the Hudson sisters also try to come to terms with the father they only thought they knew. In the process, each woman discovers her own capacity for understanding, forgiveness, love, and the true meaning of family.
The Goodbye Cafe California girl Allie Hudson Monroe can't wait for the day when the renovations on the Sugarhouse Theater are complete so she can finally collect the inheritance from her father and leave Pennsylvania. After all, her life and her fourteen-year-old daughter are in Los Angeles. But Allie's divorce left her tottering on the edge of bankruptcy, so to keep up on payments for her house and her daughter's private school tuition, Allie packed up and flew out east. But fate has a curve-ball or two to toss in Allie's direction—she just doesn't know it yet. She hadn't anticipated how her life would change after reuniting with her estranged sister, Des, or meeting her previously unknown half-sister, Cara. And she'd certainly never expected to find small-town living charming. But the biggest surprise was that her long-forgotten artistry would save the day when the theater's renovation fund dried up. With opening day upon the sisters, Allie's free to go. But for the first time in her life, she feels like the woman she was always meant to be. Will she return to the West Coast and resume her previous life, or will the love of "this amazing, endearing family of women" (Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author) be enough to draw her back to the place where the Hudson roots grow so deep? Join us in this zoom to discuss these great books.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
The synopsis from bookshare is below.
From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes the first novel in her all-new series, The Hudson Sisters, following a trio of reluctant sisters as they set out to fulfill their father's dying wish. In the process, they find not only themselves, but the father they only thought they knew.When celebrated and respected agent Fritz Hudson passes away, he leaves a trail of Hollywood glory in his wake—and two separate families who never knew the other existed. Allie and Des Hudson are products of Fritz's first marriage to Honora, a beautiful but troubled starlet whose life ended in a tragic overdose. Meanwhile, Fritz was falling in love on the Delaware Bay with New Age hippie Susa Pratt—they had a daughter together, Cara, and while Fritz loved Susa with everything he had, he never quite managed to tell her or Cara about his West Coast family. Now Fritz is gone, and the three sisters are brought together under strange circumstances: there's a large inheritance to be had that could save Allie from her ever-deepening debt following a disastrous divorce, allow Des to open a rescue shelter for abused and wounded animals, and give Cara a fresh start after her husband left her for her best friend—but only if the sisters upend their lives and work together to restore an old, decrepit theater that was Fritz's obsession growing up in his small hometown in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. Guided by Fritz's closest friend and longtime attorney, Pete Wheeler, the sisters come together—whether they like it or not—to turn their father's dream into a reality, and might just come away with far more than they bargained for. Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth Ann Acosta, E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will have a slightly different format for May. We will start with a brief discussion led by Judy Wilkinson about the program Library users Of America has planned for the ACB Convention. If anyone from Library Users of America would like to join us in June to discuss the program for the NFB Convention, please contact me at the email address below. We look forward to hearing from you.
After the presentation, we will be discussing the book Driftwood Summer by Patti Callahan Henry. DB 71559 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
In the small seaside town of Palmetto Beach, the Sheffield sisters — responsible Riley, vivacious Maisy, and fun-loving Adalee — reunite to celebrate their mother's birthday and try to save the family bookstore, which has long been a beloved gathering place in their tight-knit community. But June also marks the return of Mack Logan, who thirteen years ago was Riley's best friend and Maisy's teenage crush. His choice of Maisy over Riley during that pivotal summer destroyed the special closeness between the sisters, and sent their lives in very different directions. Now Riley, a single mom who doubts any man will ever live up to the ideal Mack Logan, must work with her sisters while hiding a shattering secret about their mother. Maisy, a California designer, still blames Riley for ruining her one true love. And Adalee, a college coed, resents the family's intrusion into her summer plans. When Mack arrives, all three sisters are forced to confront their long-held beliefs about the conflicts that tore them apart and the bonds of love and loyalty that still draw them together. Will they allow the past to define the future? Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth Ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Synopsis from bookshare.
Hidden desires, long-held secrets, and the sacrifices people make for family are at the heart of this powerful first novel by the popular Pulitzer Prize—winning journalist.and0A moving, unforgettable story about time, progress, and how the mistakes of one generation get repeated or repaired by the next.and?—J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Saints for All Occasions 1957, Clayton Valley, Ohio. Ellie has the best grades in her class. Her dream is to go to nursing school and marry Brick McGinty. A basketball star, Brick has the chance to escape his abusive father and become the first person in his blue-collar family to attend college. But when Ellie learns that she is pregnant, everything changes. Just as Brick and Ellie revise their plans and build a family, a knock on the front door threatens to destroy their lives. The evolution of women&'s lives spanning the second half of the twentieth century is at the center of this beautiful novel that richly portrays how much people know—and pretend not to know—about the secrets at the heart of a town, and a family.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman. DBC 06250 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare. Ten years ago, Izzy Stone's mother fatally shot her father while he slept. Devastated by her mother's apparent insanity, Izzy, now seventeen, refuses to visit her in prison. But her new foster parents, employees at the local museum, have enlisted Izzy's help in cataloging items at a long-shuttered state asylum. There, amid piles of abandoned belongings, Izzy discovers a stack of unopened letters, a decades-old journal, and a window into her own past. Clara Cartwright, eighteen years old in 1929, is caught between her overbearing parents and her love for an Italian immigrant. Furious when she rejects an arranged marriage, Clara's father sends her to a genteel home for nervous invalids. But when his fortune is lost in the stock market crash, he can no longer afford her care—and Clara is committed to the public asylum. Even as Izzy deals with the challenges of yet another new beginning, Clara's story keeps drawing her into the past. If Clara was never really mentally ill, could something else explain her own mother's violent act? Piecing together Clara's fate compels Izzy to re-examine her own choices—with shocking and unexpected results. Illuminating and provocative, What She Left Behind is a masterful novel about the yearning to belong—and the mysteries that can belie even the most ordinary life. Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Book Of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult. DB 100856 Below is the synopsis from BookShare.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light comes a riveting novel about the choices that alter the course of our lives. Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She's on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: Prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.
Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, their beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, in which she helps ease the transition between life and death for her clients. But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a career Dawn once studied for but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made. After the crash landing, the airline ensures that the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation to wherever they want to go.
The obvious destination is to fly home, but she could take another path: return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways—the first known map of the afterlife. As the story unfolds, Dawn's two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried with them. Dawn must confront the questions she's never truly asked: What does a life well lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices . . . or do our choices make us? And who would you be if you hadn't turned out to be the person you are right now?
Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth Ann Acosta, E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee. DB81896. Elizabeth Lindsey will lead this discussion. Below is the synopsis from Bookshare. A historic literary event: the publication of a newly discovered novel, the earliest known work from Harper Lee, the beloved, bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird.
Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014.
Go Set a Watchman features many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some twenty years later. Returning home to Maycomb to visit her father, Jean Louise Finch—Scout—struggles with issues both personal and political, involving Atticus, society, and the small Alabama town that shaped her.
Exploring how the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird are adjusting to the turbulent events transforming mid-1950s America, Go Set a Watchman casts a fascinating new light on Harper Lee's enduring classic. Moving, funny and compelling, it stands as a magnificent novel in its own right.
Join us in this zoom meeting to discuss this great book.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com Guest Host: Elizabeth Lindsey E-mail: elizabethl@comcast.net
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb. DB 71007. Below is its synopsis from Bookshare.
It’s 1964 and ten-year-old Felix is sure of a few things: the birds and the bees are puzzling, television is magical, and this is one Christmas he’ll never forget. LBJ and Lady Bird are in the White House, Meet the Beatles is on everyone’s turntable, and Felix Funicello (distant cousin of the iconic Annette!were is doing his best to navigate fifth grade—1sier said than done when scary movies still give you nightmares and you bear a striking resemblance to a certain adorable cartoon boy. Back in his beloved fictional town of Three Rivers, Connecticut, with a new cast of endearing characters, Wally Lamb takes his readers straight into the halls of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School—where Mother Filomina’s word is law and goody-two-shoes Rosalie Twerski is sure to be minding everyone’s business. But grammar and arithmetic move to the back burner this holiday season with the sudden arrivals of substitute teacher Madame Frechette, straight from QuÉbec, and feisty Russian student Zhenya Kabakova. While Felix learns the meaning of French kissing, cultural misunderstanding, and tableaux vivants, Wishin’ and Hopin’ barrels toward one outrageous Christmas. From the Funicello family’s bus-station lunch counter to the elementary school playground (with an uproarious stop at the Pillsbury Bake-Off), Wishin’ and Hopin’ is a vivid slice of 1960s life, a wise and witty holiday tale that celebrates where we’ve been—and how far we’ve come.
Host: Randi Shelton
E-Mail: rshelton820@gmail.com
Co-Host Ruth ann Acosta,
E-Mail: ruth1244@gmail.com
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. DB 09110 or 36414 or 77672. Elizabeth Lindsey will be leading our discussion of this classic. Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Two Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman. DB 97949 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare is below.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. DB 96864 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine. DB 97890 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Daybreak by Bellva Plain. DB 38852 This book is available on Bookshare. Below is the synopsis from BARD.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Vote by Sybil Downing. DBC03066 This book is not available on Bookshare. The synopsis from BARD follows. The year is 1918. The issue is American women's right to vote.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Twisted Twenty-six by Janet Evanovich. DB97352 The synopsis from Bookshare is below.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Legacy by Victoria yrsa Sigurchpardöttir Cribb DB96756 This book is not available on Bookshare. The BARD anotation is below.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Christmas Thief by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. Db 58834 The synopsis from Bookshare is below.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks, Julia Whelan, and Sarah Pekkanen. DB 93639 The synopsis from bookshare is below.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book A Spark Of Light DB 92508 by Jodi Picoult. Guest host Liz Lindsey will lead us in the discussion of this book. Below is the BARD annotation.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Other Wife by Michael Robotham. DB 93349 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
From New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand, comes a novel about the many ways family can fill our lives with love if they don't kill us first.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. DB 28784. Guest host Carla Hayes will lead us in the discussion of this classic. Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
For the month of April only, Novel Ideas will be meeting on the fourth Friday of the month since Good Friday falls on the third Friday when we would normally meet. We are also taking a break from reading Fiction this month.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Accidental Heroes by Danielle Steel. Db 90531 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book A Tree Grows In Booklyn. DB10426 or DB44769 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Away In A Manger by Rhys Bowen. Db 86129 This book is not available on Bookshare. Below is the synopsis from BARD.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Bad Daughter. Db 91035 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Best Friends forever by Margot Hunt. DB88983. Below is The synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan. DB90012. This book isn’t available on Bookshare. Below is the synopsis from BARD.
Novel Ideas took a break during the month of July. We met in August, we will be discussing the book Carnegie�s Maid by Marie Benedict. DB 89953 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Burning Sky by Lori Benton. DB90335 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The River At Night by Erica Ferencic. DB87114 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas discussing the book The Sight Of The stars by Belva Plain. DB 57821 Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Before We were Yours. DB 88202 Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Wonder by R. J. Palacio. DB74228 Guest host Carla Hayes will lead us in the discussion of this great book. Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book A Magical Christmas by Heather Graham. DB47384 Below is the synopsis from BARD.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Any Day Now by Robyn Carr. DB87789 Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Crescent City by Belva Plain. DB20948 below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Guest host Liz Lindsay will be leading us in a discussion of the book What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. DB74519 Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. DB84732 Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict. DB 86012 Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Inside The O’Briens by Lisa Genova. DB81500 Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
In February, Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. DB66232 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Special Note: For our discussion of this profound book, we have invited a wonderful woman of color to give her reactions and to answer our questions. She has taken numerous African-American classes in college.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Once we were brothers By Ronald Balson. DBC08183 Below is the publisher's summary.
Novel Ideas discussing the book 11/22/63 by Stephen King. DB73931 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Discuss the book Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult. DB80304 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. DB75820 Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant. DB 80645 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The House we Grew Up in by Lisa Jewell. DB81292 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson. DB58826 below is the bookshare synopsis.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the Book Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler. DB76861 This book is not available on Bookshare. Below is the NLS annotation.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks. DB54857 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel ideas will be discussing the book Sheltering Rain by Jojo Moyes. DB78012 Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Carla Hays will lead us in the discussion of this great book. Below are her comments and the synopsis from bookshare.
Novel Ideas discusses the book Whiskey Island DB58098. Below is the synopsis from bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Hold Tight by Harlan Coben. DB66538 Below is the synopsis from Bookshare.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. DB76746 This book is also available on bookshare. Below is a synopsis taken from the author's website.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book House Rules by Jodi Picoult. DB71010 This book is also available on Bookshare. Below is the bookshare synopsis.
Novel Ideas discussing the book The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. DB66900 This book is also available on bookshare. Below is the bookshare synopsis.
Please come and join us for a discussion of the perfect summer novel, Joyland by Stephen King, DB 76799. This book is also available on Bookshare.
The Novel Ideas discussion group will be discussing the book Suspect by Robert Crais. This novel is available on Bookshare and BARD, and the DB number is 76115.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown (DB 67478). This novel is also available on bookshare, and here is Bookshare's synopsis of this novel.
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book Don't go by Lisa Scottoline DB76450 This book is also available on bookshare. Let's look at the synopsis.
It's the Christmas season, and Novel Ideas will be discussing the book 1225 Christmas Tree Lane DB73750 also available on Bookshare.
Have you ever been totally disgusted with the materialistic madness that Christmas has become? Have you ever considered skipping Christmas altogether?
Novel Ideas will be discussing the book The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty DB75235. This book is also available on bookshare.
We had a discussion on the novel The Fault in our Stars by John Green and Kate Rudd, DB 74112. This book is also available on Bookshare. Here is a brief synopsis of this novel, courtesy of Bookshare.
Before I go to Sleep by S. J. Watson, DB 73374. This book is also available on Bookshare. Here is what BARD and Good Reads has to say about this intriguing, suspenseful novel.
To kick off the summer season, Novel Ideas will be discussing the Book sweetgrass by Mary Alice Monroe. DB71068 This book is also available on bookshare.
on Friday, March 15th at 9:00 PM EST. This book is available on Bookshare and BARD, and the DB number is 67037, with a reading time of 5 hours and 47 minutes. Here is a brief synopsis of the novel from Bookshare.
Winner of the 2007 book browse Diamond Award for most popular book, Water For Elephants is an atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of Riding Lessons.
The Novel Ideas group will be discussing Defending Jacob by William Landay. DB74312 This book is also available on bookshare. This book is categorized as a mystery on BARD, but it is more than a tale of suspense.
The Novel Ideas group will be discussing Light A Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy. The BARD book number is 43536. This book is also available on bookshare.
We will be discussing Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen DB65395. This short, whimsical novel combines various genres, and is the perfect end-of-the-summer read. Here is the synopsis from Bookshare.
This novel by Leila Meacham has been likened to such novels as Gone with the Wind and The Thorn Birds. It is a novel that spans the 20th century and three generations of the Toliver and Warwick families.