On Thursday, January 12, from Noon-1:00 PM we'll be discussing:

Room: a novel by Emma Donoghue — Five-year-old Jack has spent his life living in an eleven-by-eleven foot space his mother calls Room and while Jack uses his imagination to create wondrous fantasies to entertain himself, his mother dreads the day her son begins to question why they must remain in Room and tries to find a way to escape.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins — September 8th — 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.

The adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain — May 12. A young boy living in mid-nineteenth century Missouri relates the many adventures that he and his friend Jim, an escaped slave, experience as they travel down the Mississippi River on a raft.

Cutting for stone by Abraham Verghese — June 9. Twin brothers born from a secret love affair between an Indian nun and a British surgeon in Addis Ababa, Marion and Shiva Stone come of age in Ethiopia on the brink of revolution, where their love for the same woman drives them apart.

Sarah's key by Tatiana de Rosnay — January 13 On the sixtieth anniversary of the 1942 roundup of Jews by the French police in the Vel d'Hiv section of Paris, American journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article on this dark episode during World War II and embarks on investigation that leads her to long-hidden family secrets and to the ordeal of Sarah, a young girl caught up in the raid.

The author of the very popular Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson has had a growing role in advising the United States military personnel on cultural aspects of Afganistan, according to a recent article in The New York Times. This book has been a book club favorite, including the Canton Library's Lunch and a Book group, had a "young readers" edition for students produced, spawned a sequel Stones into Schools, and according to the NYTs article, has over 4 million copies in print.

The chosen; a novel by Potok, Chaim — (July 8, 2010) — A baseball game between two different Jewish schools becomes the catalyst that starts a bitter rivalry between two boys and their fathers.

The help by Kathryn Stockett — (August 12, 2010) — Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project against a backdrop of the budding civil rights era.

The road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway — (September 9, 2010) — A woman of intellect and ambition describes growing up on an Australian ranch, coping with her father's death and her mother's depression, her intellectual awakening at the university, and her path to becoming the first woman president of Smith College

Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr — (October 14, 2010) — Richard and Sara Everton move to Ibarra, Mexico to reopen Richard's grandfather's copper mine and learn that Richard is dying of leukemia.

Mennonite in a little black dress: a memoir of going home by Rhoda Janzen — (November 11, 2010) — A poet describes how, after her husband left her for a relationship with a man and she subsequently was seriously injured in a car crash, she returned home to her close-knit Mennonite family and came to terms with her failed marriage and her choices in life.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. Traces how the author, having been rescued and resuscitated by Himalayan villagers after a failed attempt to climb K2, worked to build schools that would particularly benefit the young girls who were forbidden an education by Taliban restrictions, an endeavor for which his life has been repeatedly threatened.

The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian. Recognizing that the final stage of their lives is upon them, John and Ella Robina, the former an Alzheimer's patient, the latter succumbing to cancer, sneak away from their over-protective children and doctors to embark on an RV vacation along Route 66.

March by Geraldine Brooks. In a story inspired by the father character in "Little Women" and drawn from the journals and letters of Louisa May Alcott's father, a man leaves behind his family to serve in the Civil War and finds his beliefs challenged by his experiences.  See the Program Calendar for more details.

Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. An English butler reflects — sometimes bitterly, sometimes humorously — on his service to a lord between the two world wars and discovers doubts about his master's character and about the ultimate value of his own service to humanity.

Everyone's Reading Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow. The tables are turned when Rusty Sabich, a prosecuting attorney investigating the murder of Carolyn Polhemus, his former lover and a prominent member of his boss's staff, finds himself accused of the crime.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town and in the world at large, but she doesn't always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance... a former student who has lost the will to live... Olive's own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities... and Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

Every Monday morning, my email contains a special book. The email book club sends out a few pages every day in email. By the end of the week, you have read two to three chapters of a new book. You can then decide whether you want to check it out at the library or purchase it. It's a great way to discover new authors and genres. There are twelve categories from which to choose - pick one or all of them, including fiction, audio, romance, teen, good news, thrillers, classics and more. Your only requirement is an email account. The next Monday, it starts all over again with new books. What a great idea! This service is sponsored by the Friends of the Canton Public Library and is free to our patrons. Just log onto our web site at www.cantonpl.org, go to the column on the left and click on services. Next, click on book clubs and scroll down to email book club.

Metro Detroit Book and Author Society will present their 75th luncheon on Monday, October 19th at the Burton Manor in Livonia. Our guest authors include Nicholson Baker, The Anthologist; Rita Mae Brown, Animal Magnetism; Bruce Feiler, America's Prophet; David Alan Grier, Barack Like Me; and Jacquelyn Mitchard, No Time to Wave Goodbye.
Tickets are $30. each and are available by mail order only at Book & Author Luncheon, P.O. Box 82013, Rochester Hills, MI 48308. If you wish to sit together, please send your checks together made out to MDB&A Society.

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. With her tousled blond hair and upturned nose, dark glasses and chic black dresses, Holly Golightly is top notch in style and a sensation wherever she goes. Her brownstone apartment vibrates with martini-soaked parties as she plays hostess to millionaires and gangsters alike. Yet Holly never loses sight of her ultimate goal.

Stealing Buddha's Dinner: a memoir by Bich Minh Nguyen. As a Vietnamese girl coming of age in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bich Nguyen is filled with a rapacious hunger for American identity. In the pre-PC era Midwest, where the devoutly Christian blond-haired, blue-eyed Jennifers and Tiffanys reign supreme, Nguyen's barely conscious desire to belong transmutes into a passion for American food. This selection is part of The Great Michigan Read, a state-wide reading program sponsored by the Michigan Humanities Council.

White Tiger (Aravind Adiga)  When he relocates to New Delhi to take a new job, Balram Halwai is disillusioned by the city's materialism and technology-spawned violence, a circumstance that forces him to question his loyalties, ambitions, and past.

The Pull of the Moon (Elizabeth Berg) Uncomfortable with the fit of her life, Nan gets in her car and drives across the country on back roads, following the moon.  Through conversations, letters, and her diary, Nan confronts topics long overdue for her attention. 

Get Creative!  Celebrate Adult Summer Reading by bringing in a sample of a creative project (could be stitching, jewelry, gardening, cooking) along with a book you consider an indispensible resource.  Adult Summer Reading participants will receive and extra entry in the prize drawing. 

Belong to Me (Marisa de los Santos) While Cornelia gains unexpected insight into her troubled marriage, Piper finds her carefully controlled life unraveling in the wake of a friend's crisis, and Lake tells a complex series of lies to gain her son's entry into a school for gifted students.