Lunch Time Book Club

Please join us for this lunchtime book club as we read and discuss great books!  We meet on the FIRST TUESDAY of each month, here at The Next Chapter, starting promptly at 12 noon and ending at 12:45, so you have time to get back to work.   Please bring your lunch, and we will provide the drinks.

This Book Club is exploring the classics of genre fiction!  We started with Romance, moved on to Westerns, then Spy Thrillers, and now, for Spring, we’ll be reading and discussing some iconic Epic Fantasy.  We always welcome new faces to the discussion — even if you haven’t read the book…yet!

Spring 2012 - Epic Fantasy!

April 3rd, 2012, 12 Noon

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

The enduring classic introduction to the world of the Lord of the Rings, many of you read it in Jr. High, but we’re going to revisit it as adults.  Written for J.R.R. Tolkiens own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when first published more than sixty years ago. Now recognized as a timeless classic with sales of more than 40 million copies worldwide, this introduction to Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Wizard, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth tells of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent.  Read More

May 1st, 2012

The Assassin’s Apprentice, by Robin Hobb

The first of 12 books (and counting) about the Six Duchies written by Hobb, this is one I’ve returned to repeatedly, loving it more each time!  It is the story of Fitz, the bastard son of a crown prince who is raised in the castle stables by the gruff Stablemaster Burrell, and shunned by the royal family while being trained in the shadowy arts of an assassin at the order of his grandfather, King Shrewd. But Fitz has a secret, in his blood runs the magic Skill–and an ability shrowded in even deeper secrecy that if discovered would put Fitz in terrible danger. Meanwhile, the kingdom is in danger, and as barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom.  Read More

June 5th, 2012

TBD

I’m really dithering on this third of the Fantasy titles — I’m leaning toward A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay.  So stay tuned, I’ll figure it out soon!

 

Here is an ongoing list of the other Genre Classics we’ve completed!

Winter 2012 -Spy Thrillers!

January 3rd, 2012, 12 Noon

Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming

This was the first book about Agent 007, James Bond, and it generated major buzz when it came out in 1953, and changed the spy genre while spawning numerous movies, TV shows, plays and influencing the popular culture landscape for years to come.  We have to start our spy excursion with 007!

February 7, 2012, 12 Noon

The Spy who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre

Hailed as the ‘Best Spy Novel of All Time’, this international bestseller, published in 1963, was written by a former British intelligence agent, and tells the gritty tale of an old Cold War spy who longs to get out of the business, but is convinced to conduct one last mission before he retires. The story highlights the a-morality of both East and West, as they battle quietly in the name of national security; and was revolutionary in its sharp contrast with the sleek, romantic view of spies in the James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming.

March 6, 2012, 12 Noon

Jackdaws, by Ken Follett

And now for a more recent entry in the genre, this WWII espionage thriller by bestselling author Follett, returning to the period of his classic Eye of the Needle, was first published in 2001.  Set during the darkest days of the war, and based on a true story, this is the action-packed adventure of a group of British women who infiltrate a Nazi telephone exchange center located in a French chateau, as the cleaning crew, so that they can disrupt communications on D-Day.  With byzantine twists and signature Follett style, this is just the page-turner to get us through the dreary evenings of late winter!

Fall 2011 – Westerns!

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

The Daybreakers, by Louis L’Amour

This was the first book L’Amour wrote in his classic series about the Sackett family.

“Tyrel Sackett was born to trouble, but vowed to justice. After having to kill a man in Tennessee, he hit the trail west with his brother Orrin. Those were the years when decent men and women lived in fear of Indians, rustlers, and killers, but the Sackett brothers worked to make the West a place where people could raise their children in peace. Orrin brought law and order from Santa Fe to Montana, and his brother Tye backed him up every step of the way. Till the day the job was done, Tye Sackett was the fastest gun alive.”  Read more about Louis L’Amour and his multitude of novels here  and here.

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Arguably the greatest American novel ever written (and believe me, I’ve heard some of the arguments), this is an epic novel in length and scope, that will, in the words of one reviewer, ‘ravish’ you with its plot and passion.  It is the story of a group of cowboys on a cattle drive, but it is also a love story, a great adventure story, and a heartbreaking story of friendship and loss.  Take your time with this one, it’s 900 pages, and worth every one!  Read more about Lonesome Dove here

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

Shane by Jack Shaeffer

The iconic western! In the summer of 1889, a mysterious and charismatic man rides into a small Wyoming valley, where he joins homesteaders who take a stand against a bullying cattle rancher, and where he changes the lives of a young boy and his parents.  You may remember the movie — but have you read the book, lately? 

Summer 2011: Romance

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon

This first book in an ongoing series with 11 entries so far, was first published 20 years ago, and it’s still going strong.  While classed as a Romance, it is also a swashbuckling time-travel adventure story, in which Claire Randall, a former WWII combat nurse is on holiday in Scotland when she innocently touches a boulder that is part of a ring of ancient standing stones, and suddenly finds herself 200 years earlier in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans.  There she encounters Jamie Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior and of course, she falls madly in love, and Claire becomes a woman torn between two men, two times, and two identities.  Delicious, un-put-downable fun!

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks

A modern classic, this is the quintessential love story of two young people in the South, who fall in love, are thwarted, temporarily, by her parents, and who eventually manage to reunite years later.  The second part of the book finds them as an elderly couple, living in a nursing home.  This novel appears on nearly every list of top Romance novels of all time, so enjoy, and gather your hankies for this one!

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Cotillion, by Georgette Hyer

Known as the Queen of the Regency Romance, Georgette Heyer was legendary for her research, historical accuracy, and her extraordinary plots and characters. This classic tale follows two distant cousins as they head for London, where a series of hilarious mishaps ensue. Young Kitty Charing stands to inherit a vast fortune from her irascible great-uncle Matthew–provided she marries one of her cousins. Kitty is not wholly adverse to the plan, if the right nephew proposes. Unfortunately, Kitty has set her heart on Jack Westruther, a confirmed rake, who seems to have no inclination to marry her anytime soon. In an effort to make Jack jealous, and to see a little more of the world than her isolated life on her great-uncle’s estate has afforded her, Kitty devises a plan. She convinces yet another of her cousins, the honorable Freddy Standen, to pretend to be engaged to her. Her plan would bring her to London on a visit to Freddy’s family and (hopefully) render the elusive Mr. Westruther madly jealous. Thus begins Cotillion, arguably the funniest, most charming of Heyer’s many delightful Regency romances.