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Readers' Night Out (NIC)
Monday, December 2, 7:00 pm
Quigley's Irish Pub 43 E. Jefferson Ave. Socialize with other readers at Quigley's Irish Pub in downtown Naperville and share recent reads and favorite titles. Arrive at 6:15 p.m. to purchase dinner or join the group at 7 p.m. for the discussion only. *Register here!
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Out Of This World Book Club (NIC)
Wednesday, December 4, 7:00 pm
Program Room
"Downbelow Station" by C.J. Cherryh
Winner of the Hugo Award. The Beyond started with the Stations orbiting the stars nearest Earth. The Great Circle the interstellar freighters traveled was long, but not unmanageable, and the early Stations were emotionally and politically dependent on Mother Earth. The Earth Company which ran this immense operation reaped incalculable profits and influenced the affairs of nations. Then came Pell, the first station centered around a newly discovered living planet. The discovery of Pell's World forever altered the power balance of the Beyond. Earth was no longer the anchor which kept this vast empire from coming adrift, the one living mote in a sterile universe. But Pell was just the first living planet. Then came Cyteen, and later others, and a new and frighteningly different society grew in the farther reaches of space. The importance of Earth faded and the Company reaped ever smaller profits as the economic focus of space turned outward. But the powerful Earth Fleet was sitll a presence in the Beyond, and Pell Station was to become the last stronghold in a titanic struggle between the vast, dynamic forces of the rebel Union and those who defended Earth's last, desperate grasp for the stars.
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Readers' Rendezvous Daytime Book Club (NIC)
Tuesday, December 10, 11:00 am
Program Room
"The Taster" by V.S. Alexander
Amid the turbulence of World War II, a young German woman finds a precarious haven closer to the source of danger than she ever imagined--one that will propel her through the extremes of privilege and terror under Hitler's dictatorship. In early 1943, Magda Ritter's parents send her to relatives in Bavaria, hoping to keep her safe from the Allied bombs strafing Berlin. Young German women are expected to do their duty--working for the Reich or marrying to produce strong, healthy children. After an interview with the civil service, Magda is assigned to the Berghof, Hitler's mountain retreat. Only after weeks of training does she learn her assignment: she will be one of several young women tasting the Fèuhrer's food, offering herself in sacrifice to keep him from being poisoned. Perched high in the Bavarian Alps, the Berghof seems worlds away from the realities of battle. Though terrified at first, Magda gradually becomes used to her dangerous occupation--though she knows better than to voice her misgivingsabout the war. But her love for a conspirator within the SS and her growing awareness of the Reich's atrocities draw Magda into a plot that will test her wits and loyalty in a quest for safety, freedom, and, ultimately, vengeance.
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Readers' Choice Book Club (95th)
Wednesday, December 11, 10:30 am
Lookout Room
"Did You Ever Have a Family" by Bill Clegg The stunning debut novel from bestselling author Bill Clegg is a magnificently powerful story about a circle of people who find solace in the least likely of places as they cope with a horrific tragedy. On the eve of her daughter’s wedding, June Reid’s life is completely devastated when a shocking disaster takes the lives of her daughter, her daughter’s fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend, Luke—her entire family, all gone in a moment. And June is the only survivor. Alone and directionless, June drives across the country, away from her small Connecticut town. In her wake, a community emerges, weaving a beautiful and surprising web of connections through shared heartbreak. From the couple running a motel on the Pacific Ocean where June eventually settles into a quiet half-life, to the wedding’s caterer whose bill has been forgotten, to Luke’s mother, the shattered outcast of the town—everyone touched by the tragedy is changed as truths about their near and far histories finally come to light. Elegant and heartrending, and one of the most accomplished fiction debuts of the year, Did You Ever Have a Family is an absorbing, unforgettable tale that reveals humanity at its best through forgiveness and hope. At its core is a celebration of family—the ones we are born with and the ones we create. | |
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Read Aloud Book Club (95th)
Thursday, December 12, 10:00 am
Lookout Room
Open to all adult readers, especially those who are learning English. Short stories will be read at a pace determined by the group.
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Criminal Spines (NBL)
Thursday, December 12, 7:00 pm
Program Room
"A Shot of Murder" by J.A. Kazimer
Ten years after leaving the small town of Gett, Florida, for Hollywood stardom, Charlotte "Charms" Lucky—who has never quite lived up to her surname—returns home to run the Lucky Whiskey distillery while her grandfather recovers from a heart attack.
Making whiskey is harder than Charlotte imagined, especially with longtime rivals and resentful townsfolk interfering at every turn. She'll need more than a lucky charm to keep the family afloat, especially when she discovers her high school boyfriend's pickled corpse in a Lucky Whiskey cask and her grandfather is arrested for the murder. Charlotte has one shot to clear his name and save the family business, and that is to find the real killer among a town full of suspects.
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Great Books Reading and Discussion Group (NBL)
Tuesday, December 17, 7:00 pm
Conference Room
The Bible, The Gospel of Mark, from the Great Books Reading and Discussion Program, Third Series, Volume 1. The Gospel According to Mark is attributed to St. Mark the Evangelist, an associate of St. Paul and a disciple of St. Peter, whose teachings the Gospel may reflect. It is the shortest and the earliest of the four Gospels, presumably written during the decade preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ce. Most scholars agree that it was used by St. Matthew and St. Luke in composing their accounts. As the earliest Gospel, it is considered the primary source of information about the ministry of Jesus.
For more information contact Dr. Steven Papagiannopoulos at stevepapagi@gmail.com.
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