The One Man by Andrew Gross

Karolina’s Twins by Roland Balson. (He has written several on the war/holocaust)

The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain ( many topics besides the war; very well-done)

The German Girl by Armando Lucas Cortes – reading now

Coming later is Moonglow by Michael Chabon

The Velvet Hours by Alyson Richman

Nonfiction. The Mathews Men and the war against Hitler’s U-boats by William Geroux

and if that isn’t enough here’s a link with more:

https://media.bookbub.com/blog/2016/10/14/world-war-ii-novels-to-read-this-fall/

One of my favorites from this link is The Book Thief which was our first Maynard Reads Together selection.

I discovered after our meeting that I can’t be at the Nov 15th one because I am having an eye fixed and raised the possibility that we might have to change the date.

NO WE DON’T

Lynette has graciously agreed to lead the discussion and I am so grateful.  She has agreed to send me your recommendations so I’ll just miss your company  – not your book lists – but I am really grateful that we don’t have to reschedule.

Thank you Lynette

Next meeting – Nov 15 at 2:30 in the Trustees Room at the Maynard Library (77 Nason Street) – just a hint that you are invited even if you haven’t been to the library before. We’ll be discussing WWII books and there are so many of all varieties:

Here are a few suggestions from Lynette.

Nonfiction

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
The Lady in Gold. By Anne-Marie O’Connor
Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides
Lost in Shangri-la by Mitchell Zuckoff
A higher call. By Adam Makos
Citizens of London. By Lynne Olson

Fiction

The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silvia,  stand alone on WWII in UK
The guernsey literary and potato peel society by Annie Barrows

**********

If you like mysteries consider the series by Susan Elia MacNeal which begins with Mr. Churchill’s Secretary

For a classic satire check out Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

If you are a sci fi and fantasy fan you might consider Connie Willis’ futuristic duo – Blackout and All Clear where the time-traveling research staff at Oxford University return to Britain during the WWII bombings.

And mentioned in our discussions today:

Two – count ’em – two book groups at the Maynard Library this week.

On Monday the Cookbook Club meets with our very topical apple cookbook – The Apple Lover’s Cookbook.  I can’t wait to try making the Pork and Apple Pie with Cheddar-Sage Crust. Our apple detective Carol has found 11 varieties of apple for our tasting – many of which I have never tried.  Going to be a great lunch.  What are you planning on making?

On Tuesday at 2:30 in the Trustees Room we will be starting our fall/winter session of Books and Bagels.  We’ll be talking about the books that we have read and loved or hated or were just very bored with since our last meeting.  AND we’ll be choosing topics for the rest of our series.  The only suggestion I have come up with is perhaps a month with the classics but I hope you have been thinking and will have some possibles. And – as always – there will be tea and cookies to help us with our serious considerations.

Hope to see everyone at both these groups.

TOLD YOU!

Our first meeting of this group this fall is in just a couple of weeks.  I hope you are planning on joining us to share what you have been reading over the last few months and that you are thinking about what you’d like to read.

I got a list from University of St Thomas (I have a granddaughter there) of books that their professor has selected as the 10 most important American novels and it made me think that maybe we’d like to choose a classic for one of our monthly subjects.  Let me know what you think.  And if we did that, should we limit it to America or go world-wide?

Here’s the list with a few I haven’t read – are these familiar to you?

10. The Professor’s House, Willa Cather.

9. Beloved, Toni Morrison.

8. All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren.

7. Quicksand, Nella Larsen.

6. Tracks, Louise Erdrich.

5. The Bostonians, Henry James.

4. Daughter of Earth, Agnes Smedley; The Disinherited, Jack Conroy (tie).

3. The Awakening, Kate Chopin.

2. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald.

1. Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison.