the Book Group has selected an ambitious collection of books for its summer reading while the group is on hiatus.  Its members really like to read!  The group will re-convene on Friday, September 15 at 1 o’clock in the church Lounge to discuss the three books selected.  The group welcomes new members so if your idea of a perfect summer day is to read in front of a fan or at the beach or in a hammock under a shady tree, feel free to tackle one or all of the books and join in the fun of a stimulating discussion in September.

The books selected are:

1.)    “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles the historic migration of almost six million black citizens from the South to northern and western cities in search of better opportunities during the first half of the twentieth century.  Ms. Wilkerson has done extensive original research on the topic and written a very engaging account told through the eyes of various families.  This is a long book but very readable.  The Group selected it as a follow-up to “Hillbilly Elegy”, a bestselling book which they read earlier in the season.

2.)   “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, the Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1962, tells the story of a friendship between two men who are migrant laborers on one of the large farms owned by a large agricultural conglomerate that controlled the Salinas Valley in the 1930s.  Steinbeck wrote this very short book as the middle book of a trilogy about oppressed workers that began with “In Dubious Battle” and concluded with his masterpiece “The Grapes of Wrath.”  The Group chose this book to continue its tradition of reading at least one literary classic during the summer.

3.)   “In This Grave Hour” by Jacqueline Winspear is the thirteenth novel in her series featuring Maisie Dobbs, a psychologist/detective working in the post-World War I – pre-World War II era in London.  The book begins on September 3, 1939 with Neville Chamberlain’s announcement via radio that England has declared war on Nazi Germany.  Maisie is quickly recruited by England’s Secret Service for an assignment and also becomes involved with a new kind of refugee from the previous war, a young dispossessed Belgian child.  The Maisie Dobbs books are enjoyable to read while dealing with thought-provoking issues.