Book Club Selections for April, May, and June

Welcome to the fabled Gold Coast, that stretch on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America. Here two men are destined for an explosive collision: John Sutter, a disillusioned Wall Street lawyer holding fast to a fading aristocratic legacy; and his distinctly unwelcome new neighbor Frank Bellarosa, a Mafia don who has entered the Gold Coast's world of money, mansions, and manners with all the grace of a barbarian chief.

 

Soon Bellarosa infiltrates the lives of John and his regally beautiful wife, Susan, drawing them into his violent criminal world. Told from Sutter's sardonic and often hilarious point of view, and laced with sexual passion and suspense, THE GOLD COAST is Nelson DeMille's enduring fan favorite.

 

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve, hoping to escape her stifling life in England.  But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Rooseveltโ€™s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky. 

What happens to them--and to the men they love--becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity, and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, theyโ€™re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.

Based on a true story rooted in Americaโ€™s past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic--a richly rewarding novel of womenโ€™s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.

 

Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillianโ€™s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dreamโ€”heโ€™s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he canโ€™t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music.  When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competitionโ€”the Olympics of classical musicโ€”the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin but prove to himselfโ€”and the worldโ€”that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.

 

Our Clubhouse Library has copies of this book available on loan from the Tulsa City-County Library.

โ€ข For updates and corrections email Jim Weems โ€ข

www.HydePark55.com is a private homeowner website.

It is not available for public viewing.