Books & Banter (Traveling) Book Club

Not every gift is a blessing . . .

In the near future, a scientist, a teacher, and a young girl named Melanie attempt to survive in their new world.

Melanie is a VERY special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius" but is this ten-year-old child their beacon of hope or a ticking time bomb . . . ?

405 pgs

Read the book or watch the movie version and we can compare.

• Best Audie Award (2015)
• BFA Finalist for Best Horror (2015)
• James Herbert Finalist (2015)
• a BAFTA Award-nominated movie (2016)

• Pulitzer Prize Finalist (2023)
• Libby Award Nominee for Best Historical Fiction (2023)
• National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction (2023)

This Thanksgiving season I picked a book that honors the land around us.

FOUR CENTURIES.
A SINGLE HOUSE DEEP IN THE WOODS OF NEW ENGLAND.

This mesmeric tale takes a single house in the woods of Massachusetts (and those who inhabit it) across 400 years to explore the countless ways in which the past lives on in nature, memory, language and the human heart.

We are introduced to North Woods when a pair of young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know that their humble cabin will become the home of an amazing series of human and inhuman characters alike.

An English soldier who has a vision. Inseparable twin sisters. A lovelorn painter. A lusty beetle. A desperate mother and her haunted son. A ruthless con man. A stalking panther. Buried secrets. Madness. And hope.

The story is told in seasons and shows all the magical ways in which we're connected to our environment, to history and to each other. It reads like short stories but all are connected and show us how the past is very much alive.

North Woods will change the way you see the world.

384 pgs
historical fiction/literary fiction
[mash-up of publisher blurbs]

A story about connection, community, and the kindness of strangers.

Six strangers with one thing in common: their lives aren't always what they make them out to be.

What would happen if they told the truth instead?

Julian Jessop decided lying made life so much easier. Until it didn't. He got tired of pretending. And lonely. So he begins The Authenticity Project - a small green notebook containing the raw truth about his life.

Leaving the notebook on a table in his friendly neighborhood cafe, Julian never expects Monica (the owner) to be inspired to write down her own story and leave it at the shop across the street for others to discover, and add their own truths.

Little do they realize that such small acts of honesty hold the power to impact all those who discover the notebook and change their lives completely.

357 pgs
Contemporary/Up-Lit

Just published and already bought by TriStar Pictures to be filmed next year!

It's a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island when Phoebe Stone arrives at the beach-side hotel wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people, but she's actually the only guest who isn't there for the big event.

Phoebe has dreamed of coming here for celebrations that never happened and now that she has nothing else planned except more gin & tonics, decides why not today.

When the bride hears about this sad stranger, she is furious. Lila will not let anyone ruin her perfect wedding day! She decides to take care of it herself.

But not everything in life goes according to plan and fate has other ideas for both these women . . .

A funny and moving story about love, friendship, dysfunctional families, and the unexpected paths that lead to happiness.

384 pages
Contemporary Fiction/Humor