Each month a group of book enthusiasts meet up to talk about recent reads they loved.
On Jan. 22 ten readers participated and shared their recommended reads including:
- The Bridge Kingdom and Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen, are two books that tell the story of Lara, a princess sent to be the bride of the king of the neighbouring rival kingdom. While sent under the guise of peace, in reality, she is there to infiltrate her new home and gain information to give back to her kingdom so that they can gain the upper hand in the war to possess the bridge. However, as things change and Lara falls for her betrothed, she has to decide which kingdom she wants to save.
- The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros follows Georgia Stanton, a twenty-eight-year-old woman starting over after a brutal divorce. Living in her late great-grandmother's estate in Colorado she comes face-to-face with a bestselling author Noah Harrison, a man who wants to finish her grandmother's final novel. While Georgia doesn't want Noah to finish the novel as the two of them read the words of the manuscript along with a box of letters, they begin to realize why the grandmother never finished the book.
- White Bird by R.J. Palacio can be read as a novel or a graphic novel. In this book, a boy named Julian decides to talk to his Grandmère for a school assignment. For the assignment Julian asks his Grandmère to tell him about her past, growing up in Nazi-occupied France. This book is Grandmèrè Sara's story of how she survived the war thanks to a boy in her class named Julien.
-The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley follows Maia D'Apliese, one of six sisters who gather in their childhood home after their adoptive father passes away. At their childhood home, each sister is handed a clue to their true heritage. Maia's clue leads her on a journey to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she learns how she was born and adopted by her father. This book is book one in a series with each book following a different sister.
- Starfish by Lisa Fipps follows Ellie, a girl who has been bullied about her weight since her fifth birthday party when she wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash. To cope with the bullying she lives by a list of rules she calls 'Fat Girl Rules' and she has found her safe space in a swimming pool. While in the pool she can stretch out like a starfish taking up all the room she wants, and she can also get away from her mom who criticizes her about her weight. This book tells the story of a girl learning to be herself in a world where most people try to bring her down.
- Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven follows a girl named Libby Strout who once held the title of being 'America's Fattest Teen.' Following the passing of her mother, Libby has been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, and she becomes ready for high school deciding she wants to be a girl who can do anything. Then there is Jack Masselin a boy who can't recognize faces. When he and Libby get tied up in a cruel high school game that lands them in group counselling and community service by spending time together their worlds change.
Scars and Stars by Jesse Thistle. In this book of poetry, Thistle charts his history, the stories of people from his past, the intensity of love, the beauty of parenthood, and more. Throughout the collection, prose complements the poems and creates further intimacy with the work.
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb follows the author as she works as a therapist to help patients at her Los Angeles practice. As she works with her patients she realizes that she has similar questions and struggles that she ends up bringing up with her therapist. In this nonfiction book, Gottlieb shares her experience as both a clinician and a patient.
- Brain On Fire by Susannah Cahalan. In this book, the author recounts her experience from when she was twenty-four years old and woke up in a hospital room, stepped onto a bed, and was unable to move or speak. In this memoir, Chalan tells her story of the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn't happen.
- Our Crumbling Foundation: How We Solve Canada's Housing Crisis by Gregor Craigie. In this book, Craigie a CBC journalist in Victoria shares the interviews he did with renters, owners, and homeless people exploring their varying viewpoints. Craigie then compares profiles of people across the globe and how other North American and international jurisdictions are housing their citizens better, and faster. Craigie also proposes a potential solution on how Canada can find a way out of the housing crisis.
More information and past recommendations from the Bring Your Own Book Club can be found on the Sylvan Lake Municipal Library website, prl.ab.ca/SylvanLake/Library-Services/Books-and-Film/Bring-Your-Own-Book-Club-Recommends.
Bring Your Own Book Club takes place at Lakeshore Cafe on the third Wednesday of every month. New readers are always welcome.