What we’re about
Welcome to the Harrisburg Book Club. If you enjoy reading and discussing good books and getting to know interesting new people, this club is for you! We meet on the third Wednesday of each month to discuss a book with new found friends. The meetings are held in the evening at a local area restaurant or at a member's home. We usually read modern fiction but we also consider reading non-fiction books depending on our members' interests. We try to choose a variety of books and everyone is welcome to make suggestions and vote on the books we read.
Anyone is welcome to join - more members lead to better discussions and more friends! Please feel free to come to the next meeting even if you haven't read the book. We look forward to discussing interesting books and eating great food with as many people as possible.
Upcoming events (2)
See all- The Secret History by Donna TarttRookie's Craft Burger Bar, Harrisburg, PA
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Secret-History-Donna-Tartt/dp/1400031702/
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29044.The_Secret_History
Synopsis:
A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME • INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A contemporary literary classic and "an accomplished psychological thriller ... absolutely chilling" (Village Voice), from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Goldfinch.One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years
Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries. But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path, beyond human constructs of morality. And when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last – inexorably - into evil.
“A remarkably powerful novel [and] a ferociously well-paced entertainment . . . Forceful, cerebral, and impeccably controlled.” —The New York Times
About the Author:
Donna Tartt is an American author who has achieved critical and public acclaim for her novels, which have been published in forty languages. Her first novel, The Secret History, was published in 1992. In 2003 she received the WH Smith Literary Award for her novel, The Little Friend, which was also nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction. She won the Pulitzer Prize and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Fiction for her most recent novel, The Goldfinch.Author Q&A:
https://thequeensreadingroom.co.uk/qa-with-donna-tartt/ - The Names by Florence KnappRookie's Craft Burger Bar, Harrisburg, PA
The Names by Florence Knapp
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Names-Novel-Florence-Knapp/dp/0593833902
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217245618-the-names
Synopsis:
The extraordinary novel that asks: Can a name change the course of a life?In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son's birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she'd like to call the child, Cora hesitates...
Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora's and her young son's lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.
With exceptional sensitivity and depth, Knapp draws us into the story of one family, told through a prism of what-ifs, causing us to consider the "one . . . precious life" we are given. The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional, gut-wrenching power are certain to make The Names a modern classic.
About the Author:
FLORENCE KNAPP is a writer whose short stories have been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and won the Bath Short Story Award’s Acorn Award. She is the author of a non-fiction book about a centuries-old method of quilt-making and has also contributed to a book for the Victoria and Albert Museum. She is passionate about children’s literacy and has worked alongside her husband for the past fifteen years creating educational apps for use in schools. Florence lives in Kent with a dog, Nell, and her musician husband, who, thankfully, is absolutely nothing like the one in her novel. Her two children have recently flown the nest. The Names is her first novel.Author’s Website: https://www.florenceknapp.com/
Article – Breakfast with Florence Knapp:
https://us.toa.st/blogs/magazine/florence-knapp
