Book Discussion Group
Attention: The location of the book discussion group has changed to the Main Library at 449 Front St.
Chicopee Main Library
449 Front St
(413) 594-1800
Meeting: Third Tuesday of the Month- 7:00pm
Title List for 2012- 2013
Sept 18
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
Reviewer: Chris Wrona
Publisher's Summary: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this classic book is generally regarded as the finest novel ever written on american politics. It describes the career of Willie Stark, a back-country lawyer whose idealism is overcome by his lust for power.
Oct. 16
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Reviewer: Pat Rogalski
Publisher's Summary: In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
Nov. 20
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Reviewer: Pat Kusiak
Publisher's Summary: A researcher at a pharmaceutical company, Marina Singh must step out of her comfort zone when she is sent into the heart of the Amazonian delta to check on a field team that has been silent for two years--a dangerous assignment that forces Marina to confront the ghosts of her past.
Dec. 18
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson
Reviewer: Barbara Pronovost
Publisher's Summary: On the eve of the publication of a sex-trafficking exposé, two reporters responsible for the magazine story are murdered, and the fingerprints on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander, a genius hacker, prompting the magazine's publisher, Mikael Blomkvist, to launch his own investigation to vindicate Salander, just as she becomes the prey of a murderous hunt. From the author of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Jan. 15
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Reviewer: Judy Chelte
Publisher's Summary: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man portrays Stephen Dedalus's Dublin childhood and youth, providing an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce. At its center are questions of origin and source, authority and authorship, and the relationship of an artist to his family, culture, and race. Exuberantly inventive, this coming-of-age story is a tour de force of style and technique.
Feb. 19
One Summer by David Baldacci
Reviewer: Heidi Rubeck
Publisher's Summary: Jack, terminally ill and preparing to say goodbye to his family, has a miraculous recovery after his wife is killed in a car accident and struggles to reunite his family at her childhood home on the South Carolina oceanfront.
Mar. 19
Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo
Reviewer: Kathy Bowler
Publisher's Summary: When his sister tricks him into taking her guru on a trip to their childhood home, Otto Ringling, a confirmed skeptic, is not amused. Six days on the road with an enigmatic holy man who answers every question with a riddle is not what he'd planned. But in an effort to westernize his passenger-and amuse himself-he decides to show the monk some "American fun" along the way. From a chocolate factory in Hershey to a bowling alley in South Bend, from a Cubs game at Wrigley field to his family farm near Bismarck, Otto is given the remarkable opportunity to see his world-and more important, his life-through someone else's eyes. Gradually, skepticism yields to amazement as he realizes that his companion might just be the real thing.
Apr. 16
Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer
Reviewer: Craig Hutchinson
Publisher's Summary: A tale inspired by the life of teacher George Mallory follows his brilliant education and service in World War I before he died during an attempt to summit Mt. Everest, in a fictionalized account that invites readers to decide if he achieved his goal. Reprint. A best-selling book.
May 21
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
Reviewer: Gerry Cove
Publisher's Summary: Developments on board an American naval destroyer during World War II compel the crew members to relieve the captain of his command.