Bedfordshire Book Group

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BedfordShire Book Group

Next meeting:

Monday, July 14, 2008 7:30 pm
Host: Elizabeth

Broken for You
by Stephanie Kallos

Author's website

Reader's guide

About the June meeting

BedfordShire and Orchard House
Future and past book selections
Date	Title / Rating	Author	Description	Host
August 11 2008	They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky	Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak, Judy Bernstein	Harrowing but inspiring true story of three "Lost Boys of Sudan." Web site about the book and the boys	Eliza
July 14 2008	Broken for You	Stephanie Kallos	Quirky characters populate this story of the extraordinary friendship between an elderly woman and her artistic tenant. Readers's guide	Elizabeth
June 9 2008	Beneath a Marble Sky ****1/2	John Shors	Love stories behind the building of the Taj Mahal. About the meeting	Rosie S.
May 12 2008	The Double Bind ********	Chris Bohjalian	A Vermont girl's obsession with photos by a homeless man leads her to The Great Gatsby's Long Island. About the discussion	Rose K.
April 14 2008	Fair and Tender Ladies ***1/2	Lee Smith	Letters from Ivy in early 20th-century Appalachia tell her heartwarming story. About our meeting	Linda
March 10 2008	Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time ***3/4	Greg Mortenson and David Relin	Inspiring story of one man's successful crusade bringing education to girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Our thoughts on the book	Roz
February 11 2008	Water for Elephants ****1/2	Sara Gruen	Elderly vet looks back on his life in a Depression-era circus, with an unforgettable cast of characters. Reading Guide	Mary
January 14 2008	Life Happens: And Other Unavoidable Truths ********	Connie Schultz	Eloquent and engaging comments on everyday life by Pulitzer-prize-winning columnist. Connie's blog	Gail
December 10 2007	Little Chapel on the River	Gwendolyn Bounds	A post 9/11 story of "A Pub, a Town and the Search for What Matters Most". Reading Guide	Shirin
November 12 2007	The Omnivore's Dilemma ***1/2	Michael Pollan	You'll never look quite the same way at your food choices again after you read this book. Author's web site Whole Foods Response to the book	Elizabeth
October 8 2007	The Shadow of the Wind ********	Carlos Ruiz Zafon	A magical mystery literary romance, beginning with a boy's discovery at the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Reading Group Guide	Marie
September 10 2007	The Lace Reader	Brunonia Barry	Special visit from the author to discuss her as-yet-unpublished mystery, set in Salem. About the meeting	Marcia K
August 13 2007	Suite Française ********	Irene Nemirovsky	Extraordinarily moving novel about France in WWII, discovered 60 years after the author's death at the hands of the Nazis. About our discussion	Mary
July 9 2007	Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress *******	Dai Sijie	The power of storytelling against the strictures of Mao's Cultural Revolution. Our discussion	Jeanette
June 11 2007	The Professor and the Madman ***1/2	Simon Winchester	A tale of murder, insanity, and the making of The Oxford English Dictionary About the meeting	Gail
May 14 2007	The Physician ****1/2	Noah Gordon	Because this book is so long, we decided to split the discussion over two months. About our discussion	Linda
April 9 2007	The Physician: Parts 1 & 2	Noah Gordon	A young Englishman diguises himself as a Jew to study medicine in 11th-century Persia. Author's web site	Rosie
March 12 2007	Self-Made Man **1/2	Norah Vincent	One woman's year disguised as a man. About the meeting	Shirin
February 12 2007	A Thread of Grace ********	Mary Doria Russell	Moving and dramatic novel about the courage of Italian villagers in saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis. About the meeting	Elizabeth
January 8 2007	The Constant Princess ********	Philippa Gregory	Historical fiction about Queen Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. About the meeting	Roz
December 11 2006	March ***1/2	Geraldine Brooks	The Pulitzer-prizewinning story of the father of Little Women during the Civil War. Our discussion	Pat
November 13 2006	The Memory Keeper's Daughter ***1/2	Kim Edwards	A doctor keeps a shocking secret from his wife about their daughter. About the meeting	Marcia B.
October 9 2006	The Devil in the White City ********	Erik Larson	The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 is the background for a serial murderer. About the meeting	Jeanette
September 11 2006	Snow Flower and the Secret Fan *****	Lisa See	A 1000-year-old secret language binds two Chinese women in a haunting tale of friendship. About the meeting	Mary
August 14 2006	My Sister's Keeper ****1/2	Jodi Picoult	What happens to a family when a child is conceived as a bone marrow donor for her sister. About the meeting	Linda
July 10 2006	Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised our Nation *******	Cokie Roberts	Stories of the wives, sisters, and mothers who influenced America's Founding Fathers. What we thought	Mary
June 12 2006	Saturday ***1/2	Ian McEwan	An ordinary day for a London surgeon leads to chilling consequences. About our discussion	Shirin
May 8, 2006	The Reader *******3/4	Bernhard Schlink	Thought-provoking coming-of-age story set in post- WWII Germany. Our discussion	Rosie
April 10 2006	The Stone Diaries ****1/2	Carol Shields	Fiction disguised as autobiography explores the life of a woman spanning the 20th century. Reading Group Guide	Gail
March 13 2006	A Life of Her Own ********	Emilie Carles	Autobiography of an extraordinary Frenchwoman. What we thought	Pat
February 13 2006	Breathing Lessons *******	Anne Tyler	One day in the life of a marriage; winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize. Report on the meeting	Roz
January 9 2006	The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio ***1/2	Terry Ryan	One of 10 children describes how her mother kept the wolf from the door by winning essay, slogan, and jingle contests. Our thoughts on the book	Elizabeth
December 12 2005	Pride and Prejudice *****	Jane Austen	Revisiting a favorite classic, newly adapted to film. About our meeting	Mary
November 14 2005	Mountains Beyond Mountains ****1/2	Tracy Kidder	Inspiring true story of a doctor who sets out to cure (and change) the world. About the meeting	Marcia B
October 10 2005	The Namesake *******3/4	Jhumpa Lahiri	Clash of cultures and generations in an Indian immigrant family. Report on the meeting	Shirin
September 12 2005	Mr. Emerson's Wife ****	Amy Belding Brown	Amy met with our group for a discussion of her novel about Lidian Emerson. About the meeting - including photos	Linda
August 8 2005	The Lady and the Unicorn ***1/2	Tracy Chevalier	Tale of artistic creation and medieval amours. Report on the meeting	Marcia K
July 11 2005	What's the Matter with Kansas *******	Thomas Frank	How conservatives won the heart of America. Report on the meeting	Karen
June 13 2005	The Kite Runner *****	Khaled Hosseini	Eloquent and moving story of friendship and family in Afghanistan. Our thoughts on the book	Pat
May 9 2005	July's People **	Nadine Gordimer	Chilling story of racial tensions in South Africa. Our discussion	Wendy
Apr 11 2005	Pompeii *******	Robert Harris	Intrigue, suspense, drama, and romance in the shadow of Vesuvius. Report on the meeting	Gail
Mar 14 2005	Becoming Madame Mao *******	Anchee Min	Novel about the woman known as the White Boned Demon during her reign of terror in China. Our verdict	Rosie
Feb 14 2005	The Life of Pi ***1/2	Yann Martel	Fantastical tale of a zookeeper's son in a lifeboat with a tiger. Meeting report	Roz
Jan 10 2005	Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time ****	Mark Haddon	Autistic boy investigates a murder. Report on the meeting	Marcia B
Dec 13 2004	Middlesex ****1/2	Jeffrey Eugenides	Amazing 80-year saga of a Greek-American family. Our discussion	Shirin
Nov 8 2004	Gracefully Insane ****	Alex Beam	Life and Death Inside America's Premier Mental Hospital (McLean in Belmont, MA) Report on our meeting	Elizabeth
Oct 11 2004	The Known World ****	Edward Jones	Pulitzer-prize winner about a slave-owning black man in Virginia. Report on our meeting	Karen
Sept 13 2004	Under the Banner of Heaven *****	Jon Krakauer	"Divinely inspired" murder among Mormon fundamentalists. Report on the meeting	Pat
August 9 2004	Eats, Shoots and Leaves **1/2	Lynne Truss	Witty discourse on punctuation. Report on the meeting	Rosie
July 12 2004	A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance **1/2	Jane Juska	True adventures of a retired English teacher who set out to prove that sex and romance did not have to end in her 60s. Meeting report (with pictures)	Mary
June 14 2004	The Samurai's Garden ****1/2	Gail Tsukiyama	A Chinese man recovering from TB in Japan learns how friendship and love can transcend cultural differences. Report on our Japanese evening	Marcia #1
May 3 2004	The Five People You Meet in Heaven *******	Mitch Albom	The meaning of Eddie's life is revealed to him by five key people in it. What we thought	Gail
April 12 2004	Plainsong ****	Kent Haruf	Beautifully simple writing reveals the complex community in several intertwined lives. About our discussion.	Roz
March 8 2004	The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo ********	Paula Huntley	A shared literary experience brings hope and humanity to people in a war-ravaged country. Our thoughts; additional links	Shirin
February 9 2004	Mary, Called Magdalene **1/2	Margaret George	Historical novel about a fascinating and controversial Biblical woman. What we thought	Elizabeth
January 12 2004	Three Junes ********	Julia Glass	Three fateful summers in the lives of a Scottish family. Our discussion of the book	Karen
December 8 2003	The Fourth Hand *******	John Irving	A TV journalist loses his hand to a lion and sets off a bizarre chain of events. Our opinions on the book	Rosie
November 10 2003	The Color of Water: A black man's tribute to his white mother. ********	James McBride	Inspiring story of a remarkable Polish Jewish woman, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Summary of our discussion	Mary
October 13 2003	When I Am an Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple	Sandra Martz	Award-winning anthology of stories and poems about what time brings to us all. Report on the meeting	Pat
September 8 2003	Bel Canto *****	Ann Patchett	South American terrorists take hostage an international group of party guests, with complex and unexpected results. What we thought about the book	Peggy
August 11 2003	The Secret Life of Bees ********	Sue Monk Kidd	Coming-of-age story set in the early 1960s against a background of racial violence and unrest. Discussion and recipes	Roz
July 14 2003	Perilous Friends Perilous Relations	Carole Epstein	Special event: Author Carole Epstein met with us to discuss her books, mysteries featuring amateur sleuth Barbara Simon in Montreal. Report on the meeting	Wendy
June 9 2003	The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency ****	Alexander McCall Smith	Precious Ramotswe, 'the African Miss Marple,' solves village mysteries in Botswana. Our thoughts on the book	Gail
May 2003	Forbidden Truth: U.S.-Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy, Saudi Arabia and the Failed Search for bin Laden *******	Jean-Charles Brisard, Guillaume Dasquié	A best-seller in Europe, this exposé by French intelligence experts describes "political channels, financial networks, oil stakes and secret diplomatic deals" that led up to 9/11. What we thought about the book	Elizabeth
Apr 2003	Martyrs' Crossing *******	Amy Wilentz	A tragic event involving a young Palestinian mother and an Israeli soldier makes them unwilling pawns of Mideast politics. What we thought about the book	Rosie
Mar 2003	The Unwanted: A memoir of childhood *****	Kien Nguyen	Haunting and harrowing account of a young Amerasian boy growing up in Vietnam. Our comments on the book.	Marcia
Feb 2003	The Lovely Bones ****	Alice Sebold	Susie, victim of a horrible murder, looks down on her family and friends from heaven, as they grapple with life after her death. More about the book.	Mary
Jan 2003	Visit from Michelle Blake		Read more about our evening with Michelle	Pat
Dec 2002	The Tentmaker Earth Has No Sorrow	Michelle Blake	Episcopal priest Lily wrestles with her personal demons while helping to unravel murder mysteries.	Karen
Nov 2002	In the Bedroom	Andre Dubus	How a couple handles grief after a son's death; discussed in comparison with the film.	Gail
Oct 2002	My Forbidden Face: Growing up under the Taliban, a young woman's story	Latifa	Written under a pseudonym for protection from the Taliban, this first-person account has been compared to an Afghan Diary of Anne Frank	Peggy
Sep 2002	Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America	Barbara Ehrenreich	A reporter goes undercover to experience firsthand the struggles of America's working poor.	Nancy
Aug 2002	West with the Night	Beryl Markham	Memoirs of a woman pilot in Africa -- the first person to fly east to West across the Atlantic.	Elizabeth
July 2002	The Passion of Artemisia	Susan Vreeland	Artemesia overcomes a rape and many personal tribulations to become a successful painter in 17th century Italy.	Shirley
June 2002	The Accidental Pope	Ray Flynn & Robin Moore	By a quirk of circumstance, an American fisherman with children is elected pope.	Roz
May 2002	Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood	Rebecca Wells	Laughter and sadness interweave in the lifelong friendship of 4 high-spirited Southern women.	Doris
Apr 2002	A Face at the Window	Dennis McFarland (personal visit)	Ghosts from a hotel's past haunt an American man in London, threatening to destroy his marriage.	Marcia
Mar 2002	The Tipping Point: How little things can make a big difference	Malcolm Gladwell	How ideas, products, and behaviors become “sticky” and spread like viruses through society.	Mary
Feb 2002	No reading assignment - "field trip"	Susan Vreeland	Author appearance at Concord Bookshop in connection with The Passion of Artemesia, which we read a few months later.
Jan 2002	Psychic Warrior	David Morehouse	US Army exploits psychic abilities of selected officers in a top-secret program.	Gail
Dec 2001	Nine Parts of Desire: The hidden world of Islamic women	Geraldine Brooks	An Australian woman reporter goes "behind the veils" to document the life of women in Muslim countries.	Pat
Nov 2001	Girl in Hyacinth Blue	Susan Vreeland - phone chat	Saga of a mythical Vermeer painting and the lives it affected through the years. Adapted for TV as 'Brush with Fate.' Read more ....	Roz
Oct 2001	Sally Hemings	Barbara Chase-Riboud	Biographical novel about Thomas Jefferson's slave and mistress.	Peggy
Sep 2001	Who Moved My Cheese?	Spencer Johnson	Mice chase cheese in a fable about dealing with change in business and life.
Aug 2001	Elegy for Iris	John Bayley	A memoir of John's marriage to Iris Murdoch; her decline into Alzheimer's.
Jul 2001	Pillars of the Earth	Ken Follett	Long novel centered on the building of a medieval cathedral.
Jun 2001	The Sea, The Sea	Iris Murdoch	A retired actor pursues his childhood sweetheart in a complex tale of tangled relationships.	Doris
May 2001	Ahab's Wife : The Star-Gazer	Sena Jeter Naslund	“Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last ... ” Una's voyage through life makes for a rich tapestry of adventure.	Marcia
Apr 2001	Pope Joan	Donna Cross (phone chat with author)	Legend and history combine in the story of the 9th-century female pope. Read the New York Times article about our chat with Donna	Gail / Roz
Mar 2001	Soap Opera: The Inside Story of Procter and Gamble	Alecia Swazy	Exposé of the ruthless business tactics behind your box of Tide.	Virginia
Feb 2001	The Red Tent	Anita Diamant	Old Testament story of Jacob's wives and daughters from the woman's viewpoint.	Karen
Jan 2001	Crossing to Safety	Wallace Stegner	Charts the lifelong friendship of two couples who meet in the 1930s.	Nancy
Dec. 2000	Long Fatal Love Chase	Louisa May Alcott	Posthumously published; a romance too “shocking” for the 19th century	Roz
Nov. 2000	Stones for Ibarra	Harriet Doerr	American couple starts a new life managing a mine in Mexico.	Roz

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