Doug Barnes, a junior high student in Asquont, New York, in 1960, tells about a memorable Christmas Eve on which the beloved family pet died, his dad got a flat tire, the church ceiling fell down, and a stray dog adopted his sister.

Doug Barnes, a junior high student in Asquont, New York, in 1960, tells about a memorable Christmas Eve on which the beloved family pet died, his dad got a flat tire, the church ceiling fell down, and a stray dog adopted his sister.

Recent college graduate Lizzie Nichols takes the money intended for a downpayment on a New York apartment and travels to London to be with Andrew who she thought was her dream man, and upon learning her mistake moves on to France to stay with a friend who is working at a chateau for the summer, where her unability to keep secrets leads to big trouble and a better love. Contains adult content.

Fed up with telemarketers and suffering from manic-depressive illness, Honey Santana plans to teach salesman Boyd Shreave a lesson and arranges a meeting with him in the Florida Everglades, but when she arrives, she realizes she isn’t the only one using the remote site to deal with their problems.

Thirteen-year-old Anna, conceived specifically to provide blood and bone marrow for her sister Kate who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia at the age of two, decides to sue her parents for control of her body when her mother wants her to donate a kidney to Kate.

Liz says:

“I selected this as our first book because everyone was raving about it. The group, for the most part, seemed to really enjoy it. I, however, did not. The premise is interesting enough but the characters are not well-drawn and the ending is contrived.”

The rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo as told through the history of the Buendia family.

Liz says:

“O.K., I have to admit it, I DID NOT like this book. However, I do appreciate the literary value and complexity of the story. Many people love this book and I’m thinking they must have read it in an English course with the benefit of having a professor to analyze and discuss the symbolism that abounds in this story. By the way only 2 of us were able to get through this and the other book group member felt the same way.”

Mary Boleyn comes to the court of King Henry VIII, where she falls for the dashing king, and begins to enjoy her growing role as unofficial queen, however, she soon realizes she is merely a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to turn towards her best friend and rival, her sister, Anne.

Liz says:

“The court of King Henry VIII is the perfect setting for scandal and intrigue, romance and lurid affairs. If you like a good soap opera, you’ll love this.”

Recreates the slaying of the Clutter family of Kansas, and the capture, trial, and execution of their murderers.

Liz says:

“This groundbreaking book could be called a documentary novel or a work of creative non-fiction. It absolutely raises the level of crime reportage to literary genius as it is written with gripping details, masterful pacing and multi-dimensional characters. You will feel deep sorrow, fear and anger.”

Anju and Sudha, cousins in an upper-caste Calcutta family, grow up together, bonded by fate and heart, but their lives take opposite turns when they are urged into arranged marriages, until tragedy brings them back together again.

Liz says:

“Beautifully written book about family, loyalty, and cultural pressures. This is one of the group’s favorites”

Rachel Kalama, forcibly removed from her idyllic Honolulu home in the 1890s when it is discovered she has leprosy, grows up in the isolated leper colony on the island of Moloka’i where she forms a family of friends, and meets the man who will one day become her husband.

Liz says:

“This is the only book I was not able to read with the group due to being uncomfortably pregnant with my 3rd child. I have to read it at some point because it is almost unanimously the favorite book of the group.”