Host An Unforgettable Book Club Party

Nina thinks again, as she will from now on: My city looks best in winter, everything hidden under snow.

Russian Winter is Daphne Kalotay’s debut novel. It is a story about Nina Revskaya, a prima ballerina for the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. Nina defects to America in the 1950′s and is forced to face her past when she decides to auction her jewelry collection.

In The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, Truly Plaice has a huge girth, but feelings of insignificance. Tiffany Baker’s folksy Truly keeps her feelings in check to buffer her heart from the indignities she has suffered. When Truly solves an age old family mystery she gains a sense of empowerment.

Christy is an eleven year old Irish traveller, a Pavee, in the 1950′s. He travels with his dad, his grandda and granny, Uncle Finty and Aunt Bridget and his cousins. This is his family. Wherever they “camp” is his home. He never knew his mam. He only shared seven minutes of breath with her.

Juliet by Anne Fortier is the story of a grad school drop out drawn to Shakepeare summer camps who inherits a key when her aunt passes away. The key takes her on a journey to Siena, Italy where she discovers the truth about her ancestors and her own past.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a profoundly moving novel about the relationships of privileged Amir and his devoted best friend and household servant Hassan, and between Amir and his wealthy father Baba. The novel begins in 1975 in the final days of the monarchy in Afghanistan. Amir and Hassan are inseparable until a devastating attack and a fateful choice tears the two boys apart. Amir and Baba are eventually forced to flee Afghanistan leaving all behind, including Hassan.

Get into the Christmas spirit with Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews. Weezie Foley is a funky Southern antiques dealer who owns Maisie’s Daisy, a shop in Savannah’s historic district. Weezie is determined to win this year’s Christmas decorating contest. When her blue Christmas tree pin goes missing from her truck and her shop decorations get vandalized, Weezie can’t help but think the hoity toity owners of Babalu are planning to put her out of business. But this is only the beginning of Weezie’s mystery. Are Manny and Cookie behind the mishaps or is someone else up to no good?

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is about listening to your heart and believing in your dreams. This fable tells the story of an Andalucian shepherd named Santiago who travels to Morocco and then to the pyramids of Egypt to find his treasure. Along the way he learns many life lessons that you will find brings inspiration to your own life.

In Francesca’s Kitchen, Francesca Campanile is a widow with adult children preoccupied with their own lives. Not being able to shake this my-kids-don’t-need-me-anymore feeling, Francesca decides to apply for a nanny position to get herself get out of the house and start living her life instead of just passing the time. Through her food, Francesca wins the hearts of her newfound friends, a struggling single mom named Loretta and two young children, Penny and Will.

The Widower’s Tale is the story of Percival Darling. He still lives in the house where his daughters grew up – “the house of her mother’s heart” according to Clover, Percy’s eldest daughter. Percy is a 70 year old who runs everyday to get in shape to die and who fantasizes of a quasi-Luddite retirement – “Cursed be the cursors; farewell to iEverything and its pertly nicknamed apps.”

The Cross Gardener is about an orphaned boy named John Bevan who learns about life, love and loss while growing up on an apple farm. He finds a man tending to crosses on the side of the road and through him he learns in times of tragedy, you are never alone.