Beyond Words
 
JANUARY BOOK CLUB NEWS
 
Book Club will meet on January 8 in the Fitzgerald Room downstairs.
Heartwood (a Read with Jenna Pick)<br>by Amity Gaige<br>Our January 2026 book selection by Amity Gaige
Heartwood
by Amity Gaige

The best thriller of 2025. --The Boston Globe * Genius. --The Washington Post A literary thriller of the highest order (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Couple), Heartwood takes you on a gripping journey as a search and rescue team race against time after an experienced hiker mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping. At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie's disappearance may not be accidental. Heartwood is a gem of a thousand facets--suspenseful, transporting, tender, and ultimately soul-mending, (Megan Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning) that tells the story of a lost hiker's odyssey and is a moving rendering of each character's interior journey. The mystery inspires larger questions about the many ways in which we get lost, and how we are found. At its core, Heartwood is an unputdownable (Real Simple) and redemptive novel, written with both enormous literary ambition and love.
 
Information about the book:
 
SuperSummary of the book, all the information you could ever want or need!!!
 
Based on a true story: Hiker who went missing on Appalachian trail survived 26 days before dying
 

Geraldine Largay’s Wrong Turn: Death on the Appalachian Trail

Readers Guide from publishers Simon & Schuster
 

Author Amity Gaige talks inspiration behind new novel ‘Heartwood’ (YouTube interview with Jenna Bush)

 
Author interview on Substack
 
Deep Dive into Heartwood by Amity Gaige | Literary Themes, Characters & Review - Full Podcast
 
Seven questions, no wrong answers, with seven authors (including Amity Gaige)
 
Explore New England: Episode 41: "On the Trail," Maine's Appalachian Trail
 
 
This is your fearless leader on the Appalachian Trail in Hot Springs, North Carolina on December 25, 2025. Couldn't let the opportunity pass! Only 1,924.7 miles to the end up North in the Maine woods!
 
2026 Book Selections
 
January 8:
Heartwood by Amity Gaige
February 5:
The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes
March 5:
The Names by Florence Knapp
April 2:
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
May 7:
Isola by Allegra Goodman
June 4:
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
July 2:
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
August 6:
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
September 3:
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
October 1:
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
November 5:
The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King
December 3:
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
 
Happy Reading!!

ENJOY THESE FABULOUS JANUARY PROGRAMS!
Multiple chances to register. January 7th is full. Registration for Jan. 14 linked here. January 21 here. January 28 here. No need to take all lessons, but at least one will bring you peace of mind!
 
Basic Knit Lessons, register here     
 
 
The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes
The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes is our February 5th book selection - it is available on HOOPLA
Hoover Public Library
200 Municipal Dr., Hoover, Alabama 35216
205-444-7800

https://www.hooverlibrary.org