Upcoming Selections for Bernardsville Library’s Book Groups
Copies of the next selections for Bernardsville Public Library’s two book discussion groups are now available at the circulation desk. Memoirs & Coffee will read Doris Lessing’s Alfred & Emily which chronicles her parent’s unhappy relationship following World War I. Lessing adds a twist to the story by giving a speculative account of what her parents’ lives might have been like if they had not married. Alfred & Emily will be discussed on Tuesday, April 28th, at 10:30 a.m.Saturday Samplers … Continue reading
About Neil Gaiman
photo source – Kimberly Butler, 2005 Neil Gaiman will be the featured author at this month’s meeting of Saturday Samplers, a Bernardsville Public Library book discussion group, taking place today at 3:30 p.m. The book group will be discussing Neverwhere, which the author turned into a novel after first writing the story as a screenplay for the BBC. Gaiman started his writing career in England as a comic book writer who developed a world-renowned graphic novel series, The Sandman, based … Continue reading
Neverwhere: London’s Alternate Reality
Saturday Samplers, one of Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion groups, is now reading Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere for its next meeting on Saturday, December 6th, at 3:30 p.m. in the library. This urban fantasy takes place in “London Below” where the city’s noted underground stations comprise part of Gaiman’s alternate universe. Memorable, original characters inhabit this dark and menacing setting in which an everday Everyman from “London Above” suddenly finds himself. Forced by situations out of his control, this “normal” main … Continue reading
Once Upon A Time, Once Upon A Town
“Once upon a time,” the spirit of American volunteerism inspired a wildly successful war effort project. Women from the region of North Platte, Nebraska, organized a canteen at the North Platte train depot to provide refreshments and entertainment for World War II service personnel who deboarded while the trains had their scheduled servicing. At the height of this effort, over 3,000 service people were treated to nourishing homemade goods every day. Bob Greene’s book, Once Upon a Town: The Miracle … Continue reading
Comment on The Red Tent
Saturday Samplers, Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, shared a number of interesting discussion points on Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent last Saturday. We compared a reading from the book of Genesis to the main character’s storyline, learning just how divurgent the two stories of Dinah actually were. We considered how people of different faiths might react to this story and whether the reader’s gender affects perceptions and appreciation of the book.Since this has been such a widely-read and popular … Continue reading
Be Careful Which Path You Take
After a summer break, the Saturday Samplers book group will meet next on Saturday, September 6th, at 3:30 p.m. to discuss two exciting selections: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (fiction) Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (nonfiction) Coincidentally, both these stories take place during the summertime, and to a degree involve an activity any one of us might consider; that is, taking a walk in the woods. We, of course, wouldn’t make the same bad choices … Continue reading
Coffee Drinkers To Try Tea
Memoirs and Coffee, the Tuesday morning book group at Bernardsville Library, will discuss Greg Mortenson’s bestseller, Three Cups of Tea, on July 22nd at 10:30 a.m. in the library’s Community Room. Copies of the book are available at the circulation desk.Three Cups of Tea recounts Mortenson’s efforts to encourage education among the youth in the remote Karakoram region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Over a period of ten or so years, Mortenson built 55 schools, many of them for girls, as … Continue reading
Come to Our Book Group Fair
Are you looking for a book group to join? Would you like to start one yourself? Does your current book group need some helpful resources to make organization and book selection easier? Come to Bernardsville Public Library’s Book Group Fair tomorrow, June 12th, for some great ideas to make book group planning a breeze. The library’s Readers’ Advisory Team will be on hand in the Community Room to demonstrate online resources which will enable you to find background and biographical … Continue reading
Grendel Invades the Halls of Bernardsville Library!
Saturday Samplers, a book discussion group meeting at Bernardsville Public Library, will take on Grendel, a masterpiece of modern fiction by John Gardner, at its next meeting this Saturday, June 7th at 3:30 p.m. John Gardner was a medievalist, college professor, mentor to many authors, and a highly noted author himself. Some of his famous works include October Light, Nickel Mountain, The Sunlight Dialogues, and his last work, Mickelsson’s Ghosts, written just before he died in a motorcycle accident while … Continue reading
ZZ Packer’s Short Stories To Be Discussed
The library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, is now reading ZZ Packer’s short story collection, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. ZZ Packer’s debut collection of short fiction has won numerous awards and international acclaim and is an enjoyable, thought-provoking read. Comprised of eight stories filled with lacerating wit, insight and memorable characters, this collection should inspire an interesting discussion when Saturday Samplers meets next Saturday, May 3rd, at 3:30 p.m. Copies of Drinking Coffee Elsewhere are available at the circulation desk, and … Continue reading
