Join librarian Judy O’Connell at the Robert Reid Recreation Center (Defense Hill Road and 25A, Shoreham). This lively group meets on Tuedays, 9:15 AM, monthly May through December. Please call 631-929-4488 Ext. 225 for upcoming titles and dates. You must have a library card to participate.
Copies of the books are available at the reference desk. Everyone is welcome!
World Literature Discussions
Moderated by Professor Bill Schiavo
**For a full list of Bill Schiavo’s past book discussions, please click here!**
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne
Thursday, October 11 at 2:00 PM
Verne’s classic science fiction tale takes place in 1866, when ships from several nations spot a mysterious sea monster in the ocean. French Marine Biologist Pierre Aronnax and his two companions join an expedition to find and destroy it, only to discover that the “monster” is the high powered submarine Nautilus. Captured by its Captain, Captain Nemo, they are trapped aboard as it travels the world under the sea.
The Keys of the Kingdom, by A.J. Cronin
Thursday, November 8 at 2:00 PM
Recognized as Cronin’s best novel, this is an enthralling tale of a compassionate, humble priest sent to China to maintain a mission despite poverty, civil war and plague. In the face of constant danger and hardship, he finds the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
The Immoralist, by Andre Gide
Thursday, December 6 at 2:00 PM
Considered a literary landmark, The Immoralist is the confessional account of a young anthropologist who journeys from sickness to health to debauchery in a rebellion against his Protestant upbringing. Seeking the truth to his own nature, he awakens both sexually and morally as he finds new freedom in living according to his own desires.
Contemporary Evening Book Discussions
Moderated by Professor Michael Boecherer of SCCC
The Windfall, by Diksha Basu
Thursday, September 27 at 7:30 PM
The author’s debut novel about the challenges facing a poor New Delhi family as they learn to navigate their sudden, unexpected windfall of wealth is both a social satire and a heartfelt comedy of manners, as the family discovers the turmoil of what takes to “make it” in modern India.
The Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Stedman
Thursday, October 25 at 7:30 PM
Returning home after fighting in WWI, an Australian lighthouse keeper and his wife discover a baby in a shipwrecked boat, and must face the consequences of their decision to raise the child as their own. This beautiful, award winning historical novel captures us from the first page.
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
Thursday, November 15 at 7:30 PM
A fantasy novel about teenage best friends and their nightmarish experience with a traveling carnival that comes to their Midwestern town, this novel combines elements of fantasy and horror, and analyzes the conflicting natures of good and evil as the boys learn to combat fear.
Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance
Thursday, December 13 at 7:30 PM
This illuminating memoir of a young man growing up in the “hillbilly culture” of the heart of Appalachia is a powerful account of a life on the edge of plausibility, shedding light on overlooked lives and the impossibility of upward mobility for most. The author, who “escaped” into the Marines, then to college and Yale Law School, writes a moving, passionate portrayal of a culture in crisis and the loss of the American dream.