Volume 4, Issue 3 SYOSSET PUBLIC LIBRARY 225 South Oyster Bay Road, Syosset NY 11791 August 2015 The Book Club Insider Inside This Issue: - Romance Writers of Monthly Newsletter America National Conference Romance Writers of America National Conference - Celebrate The Romance Writers of America held their annual conference in New Int’l Women’s York City on July 22-25, 2015. After attending more than 150 work- Friendship Month shops the authors and industry professionals look forward to a mag- - A National Treasure nificent award ceremony where the following books were recog- nized as the Best Romance Books of 2015: Reopens Best Contemporary Romance (long): Baby, It’s You by Jane Graves - Runaway bride Kari Worthington gets more than she bargained for when her search for a job— To register your book club and a new life—brings her to the doorstep of a gorgeous winery owner in Texas hill and receive this newsletter country. straight into your inbox, contact any Best Contemporary Romance (mid-length): One in a Million by Jill Shalvis - Wed- Readers’ Services Librarian ding planner Callie, the founder of TyingTheKnot.com, returns home to Lucky Har- bor where she, after an encounter with her still sexy high school crush, rethinks her Upcoming Events decision to remain single. For Readers Best Romantic Suspense: Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb - When her husband discovers evidence of 12 murders while demolishing a former New York shelter for Evening Book Club will troubled teens, Lieutenant Eve Dallas tracks down the stories of each victim only to discuss Looking for Alas- realize that they are connected by someone Eve knows. ka by John Green on Tuesday, August 4, 2015 Best Historical Romance: Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran - When Olivia Mather at 7:30PM. realizes that the Duke of Marwick might hold the secrets of her family's past, she does the unthinkable, infiltrating his household as a maid, and gets unexpected results. Afternoon Book Club will discuss The Ministry of The following link provides more information about the conference and a complete Special Cases by Nathan list of of winners: https://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1640 Englander on August 25 All summaries are from the publishers. - Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers’ Service Librarian 2015 at 1:30 PM. A National Treasure If your Book Club would like to recommend a book Reopens to our readers, Sagamore Hill, home to our 26th President, please send us an email at Theodore Roosevelt from 1885 until his Readersservices death in 1919, reopened on July 12, 2015 @syossetlibrary.org after a 3 year 10 million dollar renovation. and we will share it in Dubbed the “Summer White House” while a future newsletter. T.R. was in office, this National Historic Site sits on 83 acres in beautiful Oyster Bay, NY. www.syossetlibrary.org The project included restoring the old mansion’s leaking roof and cracked foundation. Ap- proximately 13,000 items owned by Roosevelt including 10,000 books were removed from the 28 room home and repaired. The Visitor Center at Sagamore Hill is open 7 days a week 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; tours of T.R.’s home are also offered 7 days a week from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm and would make a great outing for your book club. For additional information regard- ing admission fees and tickets please visit www.nps.gov/sahi/. (continued on page 2) The Book Club Insider August 2015 Page 2 Celebrate International Women’s Friendship Month Sue Margolis, author of Coming Clean, Best Supporting Role and most recently Losing Me, offered a new per- spective on why being unhappy is sometimes okay and even warranted. “Having to be constantly happy is one pressure too many and I refuse to pretend anymore,” she recently stated in an article on the website http://dearreader.typepad.com/. Margolis also said, “So that’s what I’m trying to teach myself – to enjoy and remember small moments of happiness and to stop aiming for an all over happiness tan, which most likely isn’t there to be had...” Whether we agree with Margolis’ view or not, it is true that finding people to turn to in difficult times can really make a difference. For many people, friendships become the coping mechanism to help with the unhappy times life sometimes offers. Interestingly, September is International Women’s Friendship Month, and it might be a good time to have your book discussion read a book on the topic. Here are some suggested titles you may find interesting to commemorate International Women’s Friendship Month: Blue Stars by Emily Gray Tedrowe Ellen, a Midwestern literature professor whose legal ward is a Marine, and Lacey, a proud Army wife and young mother, form an unlikely friendship at the Walter Reed Army Hospital as they each care for their wounded soldiers. NW by Zadie Smith Growing up in the same 1970s urban planning development in Northwest London, four young people pursue independent and reasonably successful lives until one of them is abruptly drawn out of her isolation by a stranger who is seeking her help. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah Inseparable best friends Kate and Tully, two young women who, despite their very different lives, To read a book for the have vowed to be there for each other forever, have been true to their promise for thirty years, until first time is to make events and choices in their lives tear them apart. the acquaintance of a The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer new friend; to read it a Forging a powerful bond in the mid-1970s that lasts throughout subsequent decades, six individuals second time is to meet an old one. pursue respective challenges into their midlife years, including an aspiring actress who harbors jeal- -Chinese Proverb ousy toward friends who achieve successful creative careers. The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar Follows four friends who met as university students in Bombay in the late 1970s as they struggle to reconnect and reunite at the deathbed of one of their group. - Jean Simpson, Readers’ Services Librarian A National Treasure Reopens (continued from page 1) Here are some noteworthy books on Theodore Roosevelt your book club may wish to explore: The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Theodore Roosevelt and the Assassin: Madness, Vengeance, and the Campaign of 1912 by Gerard Helferich. Heir to the Empire City: New York and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt by Edward P. Kohn. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris A Most Glorious Ride: The Diaries of Theodore Roosevelt 1877-1886 by Theodore Roosevelt, edited by Edward P. Kohn. The Roosevelts: An Intimate History by Geoffrey C. Ward (based on the documentary film by Ken Burns). - Lisa Jones, Readers’ Services Librarian “BULLY!” - Theodore Roosevelt .