Books & Beans Meetup

142 King St.
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Phone: (904) 217-3094 (Arlene & Melanie)
Parfait Pastry Shop | Home

NOTE: There are six parking spaces in the front of the building and on the side, but I spoke with the owner, Arlene, and she said she will allow us to park in employee parking behind the building. There is also a large lot at the St. Augustine Winery, a block away (catty-corner to Carmelo's).

This month we will be reading a member selection. Caroline, thank you so much for the suggestion. I'm always excited to read new books and learn.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
The Sparrow: A Novel (The Sparrow Series): Russell, Mary Doria: 9780449912553: Amazon.com: Books
Length: 408 pages

FROM THE BACK COVER:
A visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry, The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: to make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end.

Praise for The Sparrow
“A startling, engrossing, and moral work of fiction.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Powerful . . . The Sparrow tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Provocative, challenging . . . recalls both Arthur C. Clarke and H. G. Wells, with a dash of Ray Bradbury for good measure.”—The Dallas Morning News

“[Mary Doria] Russell shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense.”—USA Today

142 King St.
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Phone: (904) 217-3094 (Arlene & Melanie)
Parfait Pastry Shop | Home

PARKING: There are six parking spaces in the front of the building and on the side, but I spoke with the owner, Arlene, and she said she will allow us to park in employee parking behind the building. There is also a large lot at the St. Augustine Winery, a block away (catty-corner to Carmelo's).
~~~

We are celebrating one of Gail's recommendations this month. Thank you so much for the high praise for The Midnight Library. We look forward to reading your book!

And no, Gail's choice didn't make me think of next month's choice (Midnight in the Blackbird Cafe). That one has been on the schedule since last year. 🥰 The pairing will give us a chance to talk about the significance of midnight.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Amazon.com: The Midnight Library: A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel) (Audible Audio Edition): Matt Haig, Carey Mulligan, Penguin Audio: Books
Length: 299 Pages

From Amazon:

The number one New York Times best-selling worldwide phenomenon
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick

Independent (London) 10 Best Books of the Year

"A feel-good book guaranteed to lift your spirits." (The Washington Post)

The dazzling favorite about the choices that go into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How to Stop Time and The Comfort Book.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig's enchanting blockbuster novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

We will meet at The Parfait Pastry Shop, downtown St. Augustine.
142 King St.
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Phone: (904) 217-3094 (Arlene & Melanie)
Parfait Pastry Shop | Home

PARKING: There are six parking spaces in the front of the building and on the side, but I spoke with the owner, Arlene, and she said she will allow us to park in employee parking behind the building. There is also a large lot across the street.
~~~

# The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North

Get it from Amazon:
Amazon.com: The Sudden Appearance of Hope: 9780316335966: North, Claire: Books

FROM AMAZON:
The World Fantasy Award-winning thriller about a girl no one can remember, from the acclaimed author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and 84K.

My name is Hope Arden, and you won't know who I am. But we've met before -- a thousand times.

It started when I was sixteen years old. A father forgetting to drive me to school. A mother setting the table for three, not four. A friend who looks at me and sees a stranger.

No matter what I do, the words I say, the crimes I commit, you will never remember who I am.

That makes my life difficult. It also makes me dangerous.

The Sudden Appearance of Hope is a riveting and heartbreaking exploration of identity and existence, about a forgotten girl whose story will stay with you forever.

142 King St.
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Phone: (904) 217-3094 (Arlene & Melanie)
Parfait Pastry Shop | Home

PARKING: There are six parking spaces in the front of the building and on the side, but I spoke with the owner, Arlene, and she said she will allow us to park in employee parking behind the building. There is also a large lot at the St. Augustine Winery, a block away (catty-corner to Carmelo's).
~~~

Middlesex by Jeffrey Euugenides: Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club): Jeffrey Eugenides: 9780312427733: Amazon.com: Books $11.27 New / $5.00 Used
Length: 544 Pages

This book won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 2003. Some of you may know him from his short novel, The Virgin Suicides. Have you ever read a book and thought: This person is talented? And I mean like gifted in knowing exactly where to place the perfect string of words on the page. I won't fib, the plot can be confusing and hard to keep up with in places. However, it is worth the read, just give yourself some time. I thought with school starting back, we should do something challenging and studious.

FROM THE BACK COVER:

The breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of 1967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Primarily a coming-of-age story (Bildungsroman) and family saga, the 21st-century gender novel chronicles the effect of a mutated gene on three generations of a Greek family, causing momentous changes in the protagonist's life. According to scholars, the novel's main themes are nature versus nurture, rebirth, and the differing experiences of what society constructs as polar opposites, such as those found between men and women. It discusses the pursuit of the American Dream and explores gender identity. The novel contains many allusions to Greek mythology, including creatures such as the Minotaur, half-man and half-bull, and the Chimera, a monster composed of various animal parts.