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Every so often, we at the ol’ book club like to dig into something a little bit bigger than a monthly book. Okay, a lot bigger. So we came up with the challenge read, whereby we read a much longer work over the course of six months. Although we’ll be checking in from time-to-time at regular meetings, it’s a separate undertaking. Note the July meeting date! Our next challenge read is “1Q84” by the venerated Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, whom we’ve been individually meaning to read for some time. It’s about a young woman who begins to notice discrepancies in the world around her and an aspiring writer whose life begins to unravel after taking on an unusual project. Over the course of the novel, their narratives intertwine and connect and we get to read all about it. There’s a link to a fuller description below.

We’ll meet in the back room (behind the children’s section) of the Midtown Scholar. Please RSVP and/or send questions to Joe Foner at joefoner1@gmail.com.  See you there, and happy reading!

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10357575-1q84?ac=1&from_search=true

Continuing with the theme of young protagonists, February’s book is Ender’s Game, the celebrated sci-fi story by Orson Scott Card. In a future where parents are typically allowed two children, and the world is constantly in peril from the threat of an alien force, a new type of military mind is needed. Enter “Ender” (real name Andrew), a third child, who at age six, has to start military training, all the while moderating aggressiveness with mercy.

We meet in the back room (behind the children’s section) of the Midtown Scholar. Please RSVP and/or send questions to Joe Foner at joefoner1@gmail.com.  See you there, and happy reading!

Programming Note: In addition, we’re starting another challenge read. The challenge read is a separate book adventure, whereby we pick a (much) longer book than usual and read it over 6 months, periodically checking in at regular meetings. In the end, we’ll have a separate stand-alone meeting to discuss that book. The book is Haruki Marukami’s “1Q84.” The challenge read runs from January to June, and we’ll meet in July TBD. There will be a separate posting for the challenge read, but feel free to e-mail Joe at joefoner1@gmail.com for further details.

It’s a new year, so book club is doing something new – reading off a list on Goodreads (well, for at least our first two books).

The topic is adult fiction with young protagonists/point of view, and the book is “The Book Thief,” Markus Zusak’s beloved story about a girl in 1939 Nazi Germany who begins a love affair with books and language. She finds a book by accident in the snow and is so taken that she begins to ‘borrow’ books wherever she can find them. But then a stranger arrives on her family’s doorstep, and the family must hide him, and everything changes. We meet in the back room (behind the children’s section) of the Midtown Scholar. Please RSVP and/or send questions to Joe Foner at joefoner1@gmail.com.  See you there, and happy reading!

Programming Note: In addition, we’re starting another challenge read. The challenge read is a separate book adventure, whereby we pick a (much) longer book than usual and read it over 6 months, periodically checking in at regular meetings. In the end, we’ll have a separate stand-alone meeting to discuss that book. The book is Haruki Marukami’s “1Q84.” The challenge read runs from January to June, and we’ll meet in July TBD. There will be a separate posting for the challenge read, but feel free to e-mail Joe at joefoner1@gmail.com for further details.