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Canine Companions

Celebrating and Understanding Our Furry Friends


Following Atticus: Forty-eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship

by Tom Ryan

After a close friend died of cancer, middle-aged, overweight, acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan decided to pay tribute to her in a most unorthodox manner. Ryan and his friend, miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch, would attempt to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire’s four-thousand-foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. It was an adventure of a lifetime, leading them across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland.

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Women’s History Month Recommendations

Celebrating Women Throughout History

To celebrate Women’s History Month, check out our recommendations below for fiction, nonfiction, and young adult books that showcase writing by and about women. Adventure, acts of daring-do, triumph in the face of great odds, bravery, ingenuity, ferocity of  spirit—you’ll find it all in these pages that aren’t just for Women’s History Month but are great stories to read and discuss year round.

Nonfiction Recommendations

Wonder WomenWonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History
by Sam Maggs

Smart women have always been able to achieve amazing things,

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Black History Month Recommendations

Honoring the Achievements of African Americans

In honor of Black History Month, check out these books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that celebrate African-American stories, artistry, and history.

 

CitizenCitizen: An American Lyric

by Claudia Rankine

National Book Award Finalist

Rankine’s bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in 21st-century daily life and in the media. Some encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket,

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The March Spotlight Group Is …

March Spotlight:
The Saddlestone Court Ladies Social Book Club!

The March Spotlight Group is The Saddlestone Court Ladies Social Book Club!

SpotlightThe Saddlestone Court Ladies Social Book Club was formed in October 2003. Our neighborhood book club meets one evening per month in members’ homes for food, fellowship and discussion of a book.

We select books of any genre every few months, based on a vote of members’ suggestions. In April, we bring poetry to share to celebrate National Poetry Month. In December, we party and have a gift exchange of wrapped new or used books.

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Introducing Poetry To Your Reading Group!

Poetry?

We hear from many groups that would like to explore reading poetry but aren’t quite sure how to pick a book, where to start discussion, or how to have fun with it. Not to fear! Read below for tips on how to make poetry fun and how to start your discussion. And don’t forget to check out our post that features some of our favorite poetry books for discussion.

image courtesy of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Ideas From Other Reading Groups

1. Read a book by a local poet, and have them come and speak with your group.

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Poetry Books For Great Conversation

If your group is interested in introducing poetry to your reading list, but isn’t sure how, take a look at the books below for a variety of approaches. Beyond just reading collections of poems, you can also explore essays about poetry, novels written in verse, and memoirs that feature lyric, poetic language. Here are our recommendations for where to start!

If you’d also like some suggestions for fun ways to integrate poems into your group or for approaches to discussing poetry, check out our post that addresses these very questions.

 

Upstream

by Mary Oliver

In Upstream,

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