Book Group Archive - Chelmsford Public Library

September 9, 2019 – The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
October 7, 2019 – The Power by Naomi Alderman
November 4, 2019 – To The Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
December 2, 2019 – The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui
January 6, 2020 – The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
February 3, 2020 – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
March 2, 2020 – One Book: Kitchen Yarns, by Ann Hood and Relish by Lucy Knisley
April 6, 2020 – Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
May 4, 2020 – This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
June 1, 2020 – An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
June 15, 2020 – Selection meeting for 2020-2021

Still to be determined is our 2020 One Book selection, so this calendar will shift depending on when our One Book pick is selected.

2018-19:

September 10, 2018 – Beneath a scarlet sky by Mark Sullivan
October 1, 2018 – Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran
November 5, 2018 – White Houses by Amy Bloom
December 3, 2018 – Let’s pretend this never happened by Jenny Lawson
January 7, 2019 –The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Counting Descent by Clint Smith 2019 One Book Chelmsford selection!
February 4, 2019 – Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward
March 4, 2019 – Killers of the Flower Moon: the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI by David Grann
April 1, 2019 – Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
May 6, 2019 – Becoming Nicole : The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt
June 3, 2019 – Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

2017-18:

September 11, 2017 – Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
October 2, 2017 – The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs
November 6, 2017 – A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest Gaines
December 4, 2017 – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
January 8, 2018 – The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
February 5, 2018 – The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – 2018 One Book Chelmsford selection!
March 5, 2018 – Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor
April 2, 2018 – Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
May 7, 2018 – Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
June 4, 2018 – The Girls by Emma Cline

2016-17:

September 12, 2016 – We are not ourselves by Matthew Thomas
October 3, 2016 – A Constellation of vital phenomena by Anthony Marra
November 7, 2016 – Our souls at night by Kent Haruf
December 5, 2016 – Daughter of time by Josephine Tey
January 9, 2017 – My grandfather would have shot me by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair
February 6, 2017 – My brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante
March 6, 2017 – Gutenberg’s apprentice by Alix Christie
April 3, 2017 – 2017 One Book Chelmsford selection!
May 1, 2017 – Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
June 5, 2017 – All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr

2015-16:

September 14, 2015 – The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
October 5, 2015 – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
November 2, 2015 – Rabbit Run by John Updike
December 7, 2015 – Can We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast
January 4, 2016 – Cascade by Maryanne O’Hara
February 1, 2016 – Euphoria by Lily King
March 7, 2016 – The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan
April 4, 2016 – 2016 One Book Chelmsford selection!
May 2, 2016 – Complications by Atul Gawande
June 5, 2016 – The Children Act by Ian McEwan

2014-15:

September 8, 2014 – 11/22/63 by Stephen King
October 6, 2014 – Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman
November 3, 2014 – The Round House by Louise Erdrich
December 1, 2014 – Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
January 5, 2015 – Good Lord Bird by James McBride
February 12, 2015 – Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
March 2, 2015 – 2015 One Book Chelmsford selection!
April 6, 2015 – Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
May 4, 2015 – Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
June 1, 2015 – One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper

2013-14:

September 9, 2013 – Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
October 7, 2013 – Stiff by Mary Roach
November 4, 2013 – The Dinner by Herman Koch
December 2, 2013 – End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
January 6, 2014 – Bartender’s Tale by Ivan Doig
February 3, 2014 – Looking for Alaska by John Green
March 3, 2014 – A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash
April 7, 2014 – Art Forger by Barbara A. Shapiro – 2014 One Book Chelmsford selection!
May 5, 2014 – Arcadia by Lauren Groff
June 2, 2014 – Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

2012-13:

September 10, 2012 – Art of fielding by Chad Harbach
October 1, 2012 – The leftovers by Tom Perrotta
November 5, 2012 – Brothers Bulger by Howie Carr
December 3, 2012 – Sense of an ending by Julian Barnes
January 7, 2013 – Death of a salesman by Arthur Miller
February 4, 2013 – People of the book by Geraldine Brooks
March 4, 2013 – Just kids by Patti Smith
April 1, 2013 – Townie by Andre Dubus III – One Book Chelmsford 2013!
May 6, 2013 – Crooked letter, crooked letter by Tom Franklin
June 3, 2013 – Trans-Sister radio by Chris Bohjalian

2011-12:

September 12, 2011 – Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – (Pevear, Volokhonsky, translators)
October 3, 2011 – The Wake of Forgiveness by Bruce Machart
November 7, 2011 – Distant Hours by Kate Morton
December 5, 2011 – Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
January 9, 2012 – Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
February 6, 2012 – 1984 by George Orwell
March 5, 2012 – A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger
April 2, 2012 – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
May 7, 2012 – Garden of the Last Days by Andre Dubus
June 4, 2012 – Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

2010-11:

September 13, 2010 – Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
October 4, 2010 – Widow of the South by Robert Hicks
November 1, 2010 – Coop: a Family, a Farm and the Pursuit of One Good Egg by Michael Perry
December 6, 2010 – Mrs. Somebody Somebody: Stories by Tracy Winn
January 3, 2011 – Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston
February 7, 2011 – Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
March 7, 2011 – Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
April 4, 2011 – One Book title
May 2, 2011 – Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
June 6, 2011 – Tinkers by Paul Harding

2009-10:

September 14, 2009 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
October 5, 2009 – The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
November 2, 2009 – Given Day by Dennis Lehane
December 7, 2009 – Lemon Tree: an Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan
January 4, 2010 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
February 1, 2010 – Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
March 1, 2010 – Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
April 5, 2010 – Beowulf by Seamus Heaney
May 10, 2010 – Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
June 7, 2010 – Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

History Book Group

2024:

January: The Sewing Girl’s Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America by John Wood Sweet
February: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
March: Agatha Christie an Elusive Woman, by Lucy Worsley
April: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond
May: Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen who Helped Win World War II, by Lena S. Andrews
June: Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues, by Jonathan Kennedy
September: Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America, by Nicole Eustace
October: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder, by David Grann
November: The Death of Caesar: The Story of History’s Most Famous Assassination, by Barry Strauss
December: A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order, by Judith Flanders

2023:

Thursday, January 26: Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure, by Menachem Kaiser
Thursday February 23: African Europeans: An Untold History, by Olivette Otel
Thursday March 30: In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin, by Erik Larson
Thursday, April 27: The Bright Ages: a New History of Medieval Europe, by David Perry and Matthew Gabriele
Thursday May 25: The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, by Stacy Schiff
Thursday June 29: River of the Gods: Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile, by Candice Millard
Thursday September 28: Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence, by Karen Armstrong
Thursday October 26: The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, by Eric Fone
Thursday November 30: How Do We Look: the Body, The Divine and the Question of Civilization, by Mary Beard
Thursday, December 21: An Indigenous People’s History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz

2022:

Thursday January 27, 2022 – Killers Of The Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Thursday February 24, 2022 – Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, by Deborah Blum
Thursday March 24, 2022 – Rope Walker: A Texas Jewish History Mystery, by Jim Yarin, copies provided by the author
Thursday April 28, 2022 – Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel
Thursday June 2, 2022 – War on the Border: Villa, Pershing, the Texas Rangers, and an American Invasion, by Jeff Guinn
Thursday July 7, 2022 – Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy, by David Zucchino
Thursday September 22, 2022 – Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, by Manning Marable
Thursday October 27, 2022 – Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age, by Annalee Newitz
Thursday November 17, 2022 Conquering the Pacific: An Unknown Mariner and the final great voyage of the Age of Discovery by Andrés Reséndez
Thursday December 22, 2022 Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom by Thomas E. Ricks

2021:

Feb 18, 2021 – American Dialogue: the Founders and Us by Joseph Ellis
Mar 25, 2021 – The Race Underground: Boston, New York and the Incredible Rivalry that Built America’s First Subway by Doug Most
Apr 22, 2021 – The Pioneers: the Heroic Story of the Settlers who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough
May 27, 2021 – Jane Austen at Home: a biography by Lucy Worsley
June 24, 2021 – Bread and Roses: Mills Migrants and the Struggle for the American Dream by Bruce Watson
September 23, 2021 – Madame Fourcade’s Secret War: the Daring Young Woman who led France’s Largest Spy Network against Hitler by Lynne Olson
October 28, 2021 – The Boys in the Boat: nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

2020:

Jan 30, 2020 – Forgotten: the Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes at Home and at War by Linda Hervieux
Feb 27, 2020 – The Invisible History of the Human Race: how DNA and History Shape our Identities and our Futures by Christine Kenneally

The group was on hiatus from March 2020 until February 2021.

2019:

Jan 31, 2019 – Curse of the Narrows: The Halifax Explosion 1917 by Laura MacDonald
Feb 28, 2019 – The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb by Neal Bascomb
Mar 28, 2019 – The Woman’s Hour: the Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss
Apr 25, 2019 – Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
May 30, 2019 – The Good Soldiers by David Finkel
Jun 27, 2018 – Secret Token: Myth, obsession and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke by Andrew Lawler
Sep 26, 2019 – Grant by Ron Chernow
Oct 24, 2019 – Black Flags, Blue Waters: the Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates by Eric Jay Dolin
Nov 21, 2019 – Boston’s Massacre Eric Hinderaker by Eric Hinderaker
Dec 19, 2019 – Starving the South: How the North Won the Civil War by Andrew F Smith

2018:

Jan 28, 2018 – SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard
Feb 22, 2018 – Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for Renaissance Florence by Lauro Martines
Mar 29, 2018 – In The Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
Apr 26, 2018 – Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
May 31, 2018 – Constantine’s Sword: The Church and The Jews, A History by James Carroll
Jun 28, 2018 – Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World by Maya Jasanoff
Sep 27, 2018 – Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress by Douglas Brinkley
Oct 25, 2018 – Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
Nov 29, 2018 – Dead Wake: the Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
Dec 20, 2018 – A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage

2017:

Jan 27, 2017 – The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan
Feb 23, 2017 – Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
Mar 30, 2017 – The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America by John Demos
Apr 27, 2017 – Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick
May 25, 2017 – Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott
Jun 29, 2017 – Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff
Sep 28, 2017 – The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry
Oct 26, 2017 – Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson
Nov 16, 2017 – The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War by Fred Anderson
Dec 21, 2017 – The True History of Chocolate by Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe

2016:

Jan 28, 2016 – Isabelle: The Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey
Feb 25, 2016 – The Map that Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester
Mar 31, 2016 – An Imperfect God: George Washington, his slaves and the Creation of America by Henry Wiencek (title changed)
Apr 28, 2016 – Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad by Eric Foner
May 26, 2016 – A Man Called Intrepid: The Secret War by William Stevenson
Jun 30, 2016 – A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare, 1599 by James Shapiro
Sep 29, 2016 – 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus by Charles Mann
Oct 27, 2016 – A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America’s First Presidential Campaign by Edward Larson
Nov 17, 2016 – West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776 by Claudio Saunt
Dec 15, 2016 – The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

2015:

Jan 29, 2015 – The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832 by Alan Taylor
Feb 26, 2015 – Leningrad: The Epic Siege of World War II, 1941-1944 by Anna Reid
Mar 26, 2015 – When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs and Money in the Age of Sail
by Eric Jay Dolin
Apr 30, 2015 – The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America by Russell Shorto
May 28, 2015 – Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth Power and Civilization by Steven Solomon
Jun 25, 2015 – Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson
Sep 24, 2015 – Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Oct 29, 2015 – Making Haste from Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World: A New History by Nick Bunker
Nov 19, 2015 – Bad Girls Go Everywhere: The Life of Helen Gurley Brown, the Woman Behind Cosmopolitan Magazine by Jennifer Scanlon
Dec 17, 2015 – The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War by James Bradley

2014:

Nov 20, 2014 – The Black Count: Glory, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss
Dec 18, 2014 – Ninja: 1,000 Years of the Shadow Warrior by John Man
Jan 30th – Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose
Feb 27th – White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth Century India by William Dalrymple
Mar 27th – The Year without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History by William K. Klingaman
Apr 24th – New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan by Jill Lepore
May 29th – Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived by Andrew Wilson
Jun 26th – Betsy Ross and the Making of America by Marla R. Miller
Sep 25th – Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
Oct 30th – The Exchange Artist: A Tale of High-Flying Speculation and America’s First Banking Collaps by Jane Kamensky

2013:

January 31st – Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Montefiore
February 28th – Genghis Khan by Jack Weatherford
March 28th – The Great Plague by A Lloyd and Dorothy Moote
April 25th – Changes in the Land by William Cronon
May 30th – People’s History of the American Revolution by Ray Raphael
June 27th – George Washington’s False Teeth by Robert Darnton
September 26th – Champlain’s Dream by David Hackett Fischer
October 24th – Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz
November 21st – 1861: The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart
December 19th – The Whites of their Eyes by Jill Lepore

2012:

November 29th A City so Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850-1900 by Stephen Puleo
December 20th The Shoemaker and the Tea Party : Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred F. Young
March 29th Grant and Sherman: The Friendship that won the Civil War by Charles Bracelen Flood
April 26th The Murrow Boys : Pioneers on the Front Lines of Broadcast Journalism by Stanley W. Cloud
May 31st Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 by Pauline Maier
June 28th A voyage Long and Strange : Rediscovering the New World by Tony Horwitz
September 27th Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of WWII by John W. Dower
October 25th Cleopatra : A Life by Stacy Schiff
January 26, 2012: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
February 23, 2012: A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of The American Nation by Catherine Allgor

2011:

November 17th, 2011 – The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis
December 15th, 2011 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton by Lori Ginzberg
Oliver Wiswell by Kenneth Lewis Roberts
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
A Midwife’s Tale by Laurel T. Ulrich
Nothing like it in the World by Stephen Ambrose
The Peabody Sisters by Megan Marshall
Masters of the Air by Donald Miller
Tried by War by James McPherson
The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed
The Scratch of a Pen by Collin C. Halloway
Paul Revere’s Ride by David Hacket Fisher
The Last Apocalypse by James Reston
The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman
Vanished Smile by Rita Scotti
Salt by Mark Kurlansky

Knit Lit

2024-2025:

September: The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand
October: The Library Book by Susan Orlean
November: At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen
December: Delicious! A Novel by Ruth Reichl

2023-2024:

September 8, 2023: Rules for Visiting, by Jessica Francis Kane
October 13, 2023: The Late Bloomer’s Club, by Louise Miller
November 10, 2023: Sourdough, by Robin Sloan
December 8, 2023: The Stars are Fire, by Anita Shreve
January 12, 2024: The Island of Sea Women, by Lisa See
February 9, 2024: The Ministry of the Utmost Unhappiness, by Aruhdhati Roy
March 8, 2024: Chelmsford One Book: The Kind Worth Killing, by Peter Swanson
April 12, 2024: The Last Year of the War, Susan Meissner
May 10, 2024: The Girl in White Gloves: a novel of Grace Kelly, by Kerri Maher
June 14, 2024: The Lions of Fifth Avenue, by Fiona Davis

2022-2023:

September 9: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
October 14: That Summer by Jennifer Weiner
November 10: Golden Girl by Elin Hildebrand
December 9: The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
January 13: Northern Spy by Flynn Berry
February 10: By Her Own Design: A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register by Piper Huguley
March 10: Beautiful World, Where Are You? By Sally Rooney
April: Chelmsford’s One Book
May 12: Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
June 9: The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

2021-2022:

September: When We Meet Again, by Kristin Harmel
October: The Restaurant, by Pamela Kelley
November: From Scratch, by Tembi Locke
December: The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, by Colleen Oakley
January: Anything is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout
February: The Lost and Found Bookshop, by Susan Wiggs
March: The Confession Club, by Elizabeth Berg
April: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong (2022 One Book Selection)
May: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
June: The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah
September 2022: The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict

2020-2021:

September: The Masterpiece, by Fiona Davis
October: Carnegie’s Maid, by Marie Benedict
November: The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan
December: Queen Bee, by Dorothy Benton Frank
January: Life and Other Inconveniences, by Kristan Higgins
February: Night of Miracles, by Elizabeth Berg
March: The Oysterville Sewing Circle, by Susan Wiggs
April: How to be a Good Creature: A memoir in 13 animals, by Sy Montgomery
May: Becoming Mrs. Lewis, by Patti Callahan
June: The Chelsea Girls, by Fiona Davis

Morning Group

2024-2025:

September: Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco
October: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
November: If the Creek Don’t Rise by Leah Weiss
December: Family Family by Laurie Frankel

2023-24:

July 19, 2023: 50 Words for Rain, by Asha Lemmie
August 16, 2023: Geisha, a life, Mineko Iwasaki
September 20, 2023: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, by Eva Jurczyk
October 18, 2023: Mad Honey, by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
November 15, 2023: Killers of a Certain Age, by Deanna Raybourn
December 20, 2023: The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd
January 17, 2024: Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein
February 21, 2024: The Holdout, by Graham Moore
March 20, 2024: One Book, The Kind Worth Killing, by Peter Swanson
April 17, 2024: Our Missing Hearts, Celeste Ng
May 15, 2024: Horse, Geraldine Brooks
June 19, 2024: Selection meeting

2022-23:

July 20, 2022 – Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg
August 17, 2022 – The Other Black Girl, by Zakiya Delila Harris
September 21, 2022 – The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
October 19, 2022 – Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
November 16, 2022 – The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave
December 21, 2022 – Finding Freedom, by Erin French
January 18, 2023 – The Radium Girls, by Kate Moore
February 15, 2023 – The Vanishing Half, by Britt Bennett
March 15, 2023 – The Music of Bees, by Eileen Garvin
April 19, 2023 – One Book Chelmsford: Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy
May 17, 2023 – The Lost Apothecary, by Sarah Penner
June 21, 2023 – Selection meeting

2021-22:

July 21, 2021 – Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
August 18, 2021 – American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
September 15, 2021 – Blankets by Craig Thompson
October 20, 2021 – A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
November 17, 2021 – Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
December 15, 2021 – The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
January 19, 2022 – There There by Tommy Orange
February 16, 2022 – Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
March 16, 2022 – This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel
April 20, 2022 – 2022 One Book Chelmsford selection!
May 18, 2022 – The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
June 15, 2022 – Selection meeting

Alternates:

How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior
The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey

2020-21:

July 15, 2020 – Alice Network by Kate Quinn
August 19, 2020 – Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata
September 16, 2020 – Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
October 21, 2020 – Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
November 18, 2020 – Britt Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
December 16, 2020 – Less by Andrew Sean Greer
January 20, 2021 – The Library Book by Susan Orlean
February 17, 2021 – Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
March 17, 2021 – 2021 One Book Chelmsford selection!
April 21, 2021 – Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
May 19, 2021 – Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
June 16, 2021 – Selection meeting

Alternates:

Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

2019-20:

August 21, 2019 – The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
September 18, 2019 – A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
October 16, 2019 – The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve
November 20, 2019 – A Separate Peace by John Knowles
December 18, 2019 – Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
January 15, 2020 – My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
February 19, 2020 – 2020 One Book Chelmsford selection!
March 18, 2020 – I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
April 15, 2020 – The Library Book by Susan Orlean
May 20, 2020 – Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
June 17, 2020 – Selection meeting
July 15, 2020 – The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Alternates:

Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris
The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick

2018-19:

August 15, 2018 – Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
September 19, 2018 – Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
October 17, 2018 – Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
November 21, 2018 – The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
December 19, 2018 – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
January 16, 2019 – 2019 One Book Chelmsford selection!
February 20, 2019 – Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
March 20, 2019 – LaRose by Louise Erdrich
April 17, 2019 – The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict
May 15, 2019 – Everything You Want Me To Be by Mindy Mejia
June 19, 2019 – Selection meeting
July 17, 2019 – The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Alternates:

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

2017-18:

August 16, 2017 – Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
September 20, 2017 – Unseen World by Liz Moore
October 18, 2017 – Walden by Henry David Thoreau
November 15, 2017 – All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
December 20, 2017 – Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
January 17, 2018 – The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – 2018 One Book Chelmsford selection!
February 21, 2018 – Book that Matters Most by Ann Hood
March 21, 2018 – Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger
April 18, 2018 – 11/22/1963 by Stephen King
May 16, 2018 – Mischling by Affinity Konar
June 20, 2018 – Fortune’s Rocks by Anita Shreve
July 18, 2018 – Selection meeting

2016-17:

August 17, 2016 – Accused by Lisa Scottoline
September 21, 2016 – Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
October 19, 2016 – Out by Natsuo Kirino
November 16, 2016 – Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin
December 21, 2016 – East of Eden by John Steinbeck
January 18, 2017 – Bishop’s Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison
February 15, 2017 – Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
March 15, 2017 – 2017 One Book Chelmsford selection!
April 19, 2017 – Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
May 17, 2017 – Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
June 21, 2017 – Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
July 19, 2017 – Selection meeting

2015-16:

The August discussion will take place on Aug 26th (not the 19th) because the library will be closed that morning for staff training.

August 26, 2015 – Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
September 16, 2015 – The Round House by Louise Erdrich
October 21, 2015 – Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
November 18, 2015 – Fever by Mary Beth Keane
December 16, 2015 – Spare Parts by Joshua Davis
January 20, 2016 – Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm by Erin Byers Murray
February 17, 2016 – Before I go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
March 16, 2016 – 2016 One Book Chelmsford selection!
April 20, 2016 – The Supremes at Earl’s all-you-can-eat by Edward Kelsey Moore
May 18, 2016 – The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani
June 15, 2016 – The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows
July 20, 2016 – Selection meeting

2014-15:

August 20, 2014 – And then there were none by Agatha Christie
September 17, 2014 – The elegance of the hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
October 15, 2014 – The last runaway by Tracy Chevalier
November 19, 2014 – Life after life by Kate Atkinson
December 17, 2014 – Where’d you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
January 21, 2015- The art of hearing heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
February 18, 2015 –Chelmsford One Book selection, The Sandcastle Girls” by Chris Bohjalian
March 18, 2015 –The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
April 15, 2015 – Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini
May 20, 2015 – Burial rites by Hannah Kent
June 17, 2015 – The boys in the boat : nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

2013-14:

August 21, 2013 – Lost in Shangri La by Mitchell Zuckoff
September 18, 2013 – Cutting for Stone by A. Verghese
October 16, 2013 –Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamidr
November 20, 2013 – Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland
December 18, 2013 – My Antonia by Willa Cather
January 15, 2014 – Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
February 26, 2014 – Quiet:the Power of Introverts by Susan Cain (NOTE: this is on the 4th Wednesday)
March 19, 2014 – The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro
April 16, 2014 – Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walte
May 21, 2014 – Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
June 18, 2014 – The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
July 16, 2014 – selection meeting

2012-13:

August 15, 2012 – Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
September 19, 2012 – Silver Lotus by Thomas Steinbeck
October 17, 2012 – Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
November 14, 2012 – Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
December 19, 2012 – Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
January 16, 2013 – Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
February 27, 2013 – Way the Crow Flies by Ann Marie MacDonald
March 20, 2013 – Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
April 10, 2013 – Between the Bridge & the River by Craig Ferguson
May 15, 2013 – State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
June 19, 2013 – Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
July 17, 2013 – Selection meeting

2011-12:

August 17, 2011 – Ape House by Sara Gruen
September 21, 2011 – The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
October 19, 2011 – Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg
November 16, 2011 – Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
December 21, 2011 – The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
January 18, 2012 – A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
February 15, 2012 – Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
March 21, 2012 – Without a Map: A Memoir by Meredith Hall
April 18, 2012 – The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
May 16, 2012 – The Help by Kathryn Stockett
June 20,2012 – Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

2010-11:

8/18/2010 – Peace like a River by Lief Enger
9/15/2010 – Leisure Seekers by Michael Zadoorian
10/20/2010 – Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
11/17/2010 – Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
12/15/2010 – Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
1/19/2011 – Run by Ann Patchett
2/16/2011 – Testimony by Anita Shreve
3/16/2011 – Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
4/20/2011 – Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
5/18/2011 – Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay
6/15/2011 – Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Alternates:
- Without a map Meredith Hall
- Alchemist Paulo Coelho Alternate

2009-10:

August 19, 2009 – Senator’s Wife, by Sue Miller
September 16, 2009 – Beneath a Marble Sky, by John Shors
October 21, 2009 – Eat Pray Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert
November 18, 2009 – Secret Between Us, by Barbara Delinsky
December 16, 2009 – Skeletons at the feast, by Chris Bohjalian
January 20, 2010 – Women of the Silk, by Gail Tsukiyama
February 24, 2010 – Stealing Athena, by Karen Essex
March 17, 2010 – Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
April 21, 2010 – Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker
May 19, 2010 – The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
June 16, 2010 – Heretic’s Daughter, by Kathleen Kent
July 21, 2010 rescheduled to July 28, 2010 – Title selection meeting for the next year, beginning with August, 2010.

2008-09:

August 20, 2008: Blindness by José Saramago
September 17, 2008: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
October 15, 2008: Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
November 19, 2008: The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
December 17, 2008: The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
January 21, 2009: A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
February 18, 2009: Beloved by Toni Morrison
March 18, 2009: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
April 15, 2009: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
May 20, 2009: Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
June 17, 2009: Miscarriage of Justice by Kip Gayden

Mystery Group

2024:

January: The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
February: Fall Guy, by Archer Mayor
March: One Book The Kind Worth Killing, by Peter Swanson
April: The Golden Spoon, by Jessa Maxwell
May: Long Road to Mercy, by David Baldacci
June: Searching for Sylvie Lee: a novel, by Jean Kwok
July: Before the Fall, by Noah Hawley
August: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, by Jesse Q. Sutanto
September: Daisy Darker, by Alice Feeney
October: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, by Benjamin Stevenson
November: City Under One Roof, by Iris Yamashita
December: Mastering the Art of French Murder, by Colleen Cambridge

2023:

Wednesday January 25, 2023 – The Kept Woman, by Karin Slaughter
Wednesday February 22, 2023 – Murder in Chianti, by Camilla Trinchieri
Wednesday March 23, 2023 – Sworn to Silence, by Linda Castillo
Wednesday April 26, 2023 – The Ruin, by Dervla McTiernan
Wednesday May 24, 2023 – Still Life, by Louise Penny
Wednesday June 28, 2023 – Slightly Shady, Amanda Quick
Wednesday July 26, 2023 – False Witness, Karin Slaughter
Wednesday August 23, 2023 – The Searcher, by Tana French
Wednesday September 27, 2023 – The Cruelest Month, by Louise Penny
Wednesday October 25, 2023 – Miracle Creek, by Angie Kim
Wednesday November 29, 2023 – The Jewel That Was Ours, by Colin Dexter (last week of the month for the holiday)
Wednesday December 27, 2023 – The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman, and selection meeting

2022:

Wednesday January 26, 2022 – A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
Wednesday February 23, 2022 – A Death of No Importance by Mariah Fredericks
Wednesday March 23, 2022 – The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanet Khan
Wednesday April 27, 2022 – On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (One Book 2022)
Wednesday May 25, 2022 – Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner
Wednesday June 22, 2022 – When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole
Wednesday July 27, 2022 – Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
Wednesday August 24, 2022 – We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
Wednesday September 28, 2022 – Sidney Chambers & the Shadow of Death James Runcie
Wednesday October 26, 2022 – Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
Wednesday November 30, 2022 – The Last Child by John Hart

2021:

Wednesday February 24, 2021 – Faithful Place by Tana French
Wednesday March 24, 2021 – Bad Axe Country by John Galligan
Wednesday April 28, 2021 – The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair
Wednesday May 26, 2021 – Paper Son by S.J. Rozan
Wednesday June 23, 2021 – Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Wednesday July 28, 2021 –The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
Wednesday August 25, 2021 – The Dry by Jane Harper
Wednesday September 22, 2021 – The Highway by C.J. Box
Wednesday October 27, 2021 – Heaven My Home by Attica Locke
Wednesday November 24, 2021 – Black Coffee by Agatha Christie

Novel Conversations

2024-2025:

September: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett and Our Town- 3 Act Play by Thornton Wilder
October: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
November: Absolution by Alice McDermott
December: Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

2022-2023:

September 2, 2022 – The Day the World Came to Town, by Jim Defede
October 7, 2022 – Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
November 4, 2022 – The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich
December 2, 2022 – The Guncle, by Steven Rowley
January 6, 2023 – Oh William!, by Elizabeth Strout
February 3, 2023 – The Sunflower Sisters, by Martha Hall Kelly
March 3, 2023 – The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah
April 7, 2023 – Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy (One Book Chelmsford selection)
May 5, 2023 – The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes
June 2, 2023 – The Beekeeper of Aleppo, by Christy Leteri

2021-2022:

September: Beartown, by Fredrik Backman
October: The Book of Lost Names, by Kristin Harmel
November: The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett
December: Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
January: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
February: The Rose Code, by Kate Quinn
March: The Children’s Blizzard, by Melanie Benjamin
April: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong, One Book Chelmsford’s 2022 selection
May: This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
June: This is How it Always is, by Laurie Frankel

2020-2021:

September: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
October: An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
November: A Spark of Light, by Jodi Picoult
December: Lost Roses, by Martha Hall Kelly
January: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens
February: Olive Again, by Elizabeth Strout
March: Educated, by Tara Westover
April: How to Be A Good Creature, by Sy Montgomery
May: The Guest Book, by Sarah Blake
June: My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry, by Frederik Bachman

Real Reads

2024 Titles:

September: This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein
October: The Star Builders: Nuclear Fusion and the Race to Power the Planet by Arthur Turrell
November: Cobalt Red : How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara
December: Ruin their Crops on the Ground : The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch by Andrea Freeman