House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Tuesday, May 26 at 2 p.m.
The first American novel to provide a devastatingly accurate
portrait of New York’s aristocracy, it is the story of the beautiful and
beguiling Lily Bart and her ill-fated attempt to rise to the heights of a
heartless society in which, ultimately, she has no part. 1905, 360pp
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Tuesday, June 30 at 2 p.m.
It is the year 2019. From an outer space listening post on
Puerto Rico come the sounds of exquisite singing—emanating from a planet that
will be known by earth as Rakhat. While the international community
debates endlessly about sending a mission, a scientific team of eight Jesuits
quietly launches its own. What they discover on Rakhat makes them question the
very basis of what it means to be human. Four decades later, Emilio Sandoz, the
sole survivor, attempts to tell what happened. (From the publisher.)
1996, 405 pp.
Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell
Tuesday, July 28 at 2 p.m.
Ree Dolly’s father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a
crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn’t show up
for his next court date. With two young brothers depending on her, 16-year-old
Ree knows she has to bring her father back, dead or alive. Living in the harsh
poverty of the Ozarks, Ree learns quickly that asking questions of the rough
Dolly clan can be a fatal mistake. But, as an unsettling revelation lurks, Ree
discovers unforeseen depths in herself and in a family network that protects
its own at any cost. (Amazon.com) 2007, 229pp.
Claire of the Sea Light by
Edwidge Danticat
Tuesday, August 25 at 2 p.m.
A stunning new work of fiction that brings us deep into the
intertwined lives of a small seaside town where a little girl, the daughter of
a fisherman, has gone missing. Claire Limye Lanme—Claire of the Sea
Light—is an enchanting child born into love and tragedy in Ville Rose, Haiti.
Claire’s mother died in childbirth, and on each of her birthdays Claire is
taken by her father, Nozias, to visit her mother’s grave. Nozias wonders if he
should give away his young daughter to a local shopkeeper, who lost a child of
her own, so that Claire can have a better life. 2013, 236pp
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Tuesday, September 29 at 2 p.m.
Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this
stirring tale of adventure, courage, and survival follows a band of very
special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain
destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey
forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by
predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect
society. (amazon.com) 1972, 476pp
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan
Safran Foer
Tuesday, October 27 at 2 p.m.
Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret
mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is
to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who
died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly
impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an
exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey.
2005, 368pp.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by
Ransom Riggs
Tuesday, November 24 at 2 p.m.
A mysterious island…. An abandoned orphanage…. A strange
collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss
Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes
fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. …..A family
tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast
of Wales….. it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They
may have been dangerous. 2011, 352 pp.
Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende
Tuesday, December 29 at 2 p.m.
In nineteenth-century Chile, Aurora del Valle suffers a
brutal trauma that erases all recollections of the first five years of her
life. Raised by her regal and ambitious grandmother Paulina del Valle, Aurora
grows up in a privileged environment but is tormented by horrible nightmares.
When she is forced to recognize her betrayal at the hands of the man she loves,
and to cope with the resulting solitude, she explores the mystery of her past.
2000, 336pp
