Cocktails & Conversation

It’s not just a festival—it’s a marathon of merriment, where the only rule is: Prost often and never let go of that pretzel. 🍻🥨

❎ Oktoberfest: Where Beer Flows, Dignity Goes & Your Liver Questions Your Life Choices
Bavaria’s annual ‘hold my beer’ moment. For 16 glorious days, Munich becomes a beer-fueled wonderland where giant steins of beer clink as strangers become friends, oom-pah bands drown out regrets, dancers in traditional gear somehow make polka look cool, and proof that ledelhosen are always a good idea—at least until 3 a.m. Zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi.

✅️ Oktoberfest-Lite: All the Bratwurst, Beer & Pretzels, None of the Regrets!
We’re going to celebrate the tamer version at The Garden Grill in Smithtown. I’ve heard they host an amazing outdoor Oktober Festival. And we’re gonna Prost responsibly! 🍻

What’s on tap:

• German-inspired eats (brats, schnitzel, warm pretzels—hold the yodeling)
• Seasonal brews (or wine/cider for the beer-averse)
• Good company (mandatory)

You don’t need a German passport to join the fun—but you do need to raise your glass and ‘Prost!’ like you mean it.

Menu: [https://www.thegardengrill.com/oktoberfest]
Payment: You add up your items and multiply that sum by 1.3% to get the total amount owed.

Join us as we read the winner of our latest book vote. Picture a creaky old mansion, secrets lurking in every shadow, and a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Everyone believes that Lenora Hope is a mass murderer.

When the Hope family was massacred decades ago, she was the only one left after that tragic night.

Mute, paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora hasn't been able to tell her side of the story.

Until her new live-in caregiver Kit brings her a typewriter. And with one working finger Lenora begins to type:

I want to tell you everything . . .

383 pages
Gothic/Thriller

Plot Twist: The Universe Just Picked Our November Book for Us!
While hunting for this month’s read, I stumbled upon a déjà vu moment—a book with the exact same cover as last year’s pick. Coincidence? Nah. It’s a sign. Either we’re destined for a great read, or the literary gods are messing with us. Either way, I’m taking it as a cosmic nudge.

A charming, deeply moving novel about second chances, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.

Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher.

Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest.

Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.

When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.

This book illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living.

288 pgs
Up Lit/Contemporary

• Sara Josepha Hale Award (2024)