I’m on page 31 of “The Goldfinch.” Only 753 pages to go until the meeting of the library’s fiction book group in November. That translates to a solid three months to complete my journey into the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that’s received more than its share of attention. And, that’s a solid three months for you to prepare to join us on November 13 at 10:30 am when we convene for what’s sure to be a vibrant discussion. Evgenia Peretz’s piece in July’s Vanity Fair takes a look at why some highly esteemed literary critics are dismayed by Tartt’s runaway success.
In the meantime, if you’ve already read Tartt’s latest, we do have a line-up of provocative selections with which to pace yourself. On August 7, join us for our New Yorker fiction podcast short story discussion group. Our first meeting, we listened to Louise Erdrich read “Mastiff,” by Joyce Carol Oates. Next up, we’ll be listening to Joshua Ferris read a piece by George Saunders, whose “Tenth of December” received great praise from the New York Times. September 11 brings the library’s fiction group to Neil Gaiman’s “The Ocean at the End of the Lane,” followed by Anthony Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See” on October 9.
If mysteries are more your thing, join us on September 8, at 7:30 pm when librarian Gayle Stratton leads a discussion of “The Andalucian Friend” by Alexander Soderberg. On the calendar for October 6 is Robert Galbraith’s (a.k.a. JK Rowling) popular “The Cuckoo’s Calling.” And, on November 6 is “The Hangman’s Daughter” by Oliver Potzsch.
Don’t forget to keep tabs on what some of our local independent groups are reading in our Book Group Spotlight, a regular feature in every issue of our quarterly magazine, Connections.