The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

“The Soul of an Octopus” surprised me.  If I’m honest, I’m not even entirely sure of what brought me to pick this book up in the first place, but in the end, I’m glad I did.  “The Soul of an Octopus” follows author Sy Montgomery’s interactions with octopuses both in captivity and in the wild.  … Continue reading →

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

‘Salem’s Lot is like any small town, everyone knows everyone’s business and you don’t have to lock your doors when you leave your house. However, an evil had rolled into ‘Salem’s Lot, but only a few are able to truly see it (HINT it’s vampires). Soon, people in the town start mysteriously dying and falling … Continue reading →

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

The non-fiction book discussion participants were very interested in reading this. The group was given two and a half months to do so, but only two actually finished it. So first, let’s get the negativity out of the way. Here are those comments: “WAY, WAY, WAY too long.” OK, that is true. “WAY, WAY, WAY … Continue reading →

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

It’s always interesting in seeing a young person evolve from child to adult and Anne Frank is no different. Her world was very different from that of a normal 13 year old, but her process of maturation was not. She talked too much, often disliked her mother, thought everyone believed her older sister was perfect, … Continue reading →

Cookbook Club – Super Salads

This month the group got ready for summer (despite meeting on a very un-summery day) and tried out some salad recipes from this Super Salads cookbook.While the salads were all enjoyed the book seemed to be more of a 3.5 out of 5 star rating. Some great ideas, but several members said if they made … Continue reading →

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Bunny dies at the start of the book. We know how but not why. Who was invovled, why he seemingly had to die, and what were the consequences create the rest of the story. Narrated by Richard, an intelligent but not always smart California transplant to a small Vermont college, the story unfolds from his … Continue reading →

Tribe by Sebastian Junger

Rarely has so short a book, 165 pages/ 3 audio discs, affected me so much. Sebastian Junger’s Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, is a fascinating look at how tribal societies functioned in the past as well as today. In it he posits how in today’s developed societies, this sense of belonging and value to society … Continue reading →