BOOK SELECTIONS 2025-2026
NOTE: All books are available at the public library, on Libby, as eBooks, and as audio versions. Some may be available through TCC’s library.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14: The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict 2019; 300 pp
FACILITATOR: Kathleen McCarthy
A historical novel about the 1940s film star Hedy Lamarr with a twist: During WWII, she and musician George Antheil developed a U.S. patented technology that laid the groundwork for modern wireless communications such as Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16: Long Island by Colm Toibin 2024; 304 pp FACILITATOR: Jane Hartney
Ellis Lacey is Irish, married to Tony with two teenage children, and lives in close proximity to Tony’s extended Italian American family on Long Island. One day a man comes to Ellis’ door and tells her that her husband is the father of the child that the man’s wife is carrying and he will leave the baby on Ellis’ doorstep. She then decides to return to Ireland with her children and finds connections she left behind.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21: Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff 2025; 336 pp
FACILITATOR: Janice Worobec
Set in war-torn France: A Parisian department store, a mysterious necklace, and a woman’s quest to unlock a decades-old mystery at the center of this captivating novel of love and survival.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20: An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s
by Doris Kearns Goodwin 2024; 480 pp FACILITATOR: Janice Worobec Goodwin takes the reader on the emotional journey she and her husband, Richard (Dick) Goodwin, embarked upon in the last years of his life. Their expedition gave Dick’s last years a renewed purpose and determination. It gave Doris the opportunity to connect and reconnect with participants and witnesses of pivotal moments of the 1960s. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18: Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki 2022; 385 pp
FACILIATOR: JoAnne Sundell **Holiday Celebration prior to book discussion**
Marjorie narrates her life from the time she was gluing cereal boxes for her dad’s company in her father’s barn to her final moments. Before she turned thirty, she became the wealthiest woman in America.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 22: Isola by Allegra Goodman 2025; 340pp FACILITATOR: Isabell Posner
** NOTE: Ms. Goodman is available January 22 to Zoom with us.**
A 16th century noblewoman, Marguerite, was orphaned by age 3 and forced under the guardianship of a volatile man who spends her inheritance and then insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. She is cast off to an island in the St. Lawrence and survives two years in the wilderness. Based on a true story.
THURSDAY, MARCH 26: The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali 2024; 320 pp
FACILITATOR: Isabell Posner **End-of-Evening Book Club Year Celebration prior to book discussion**
A beautiful and moving story of friendship, loyalty, courage, and betrayal, spanning decades with the Iranian revolution as a backdrop. This makes you question, what would you have done?
NOTE: The Colony Club by Shelley Noble 2024; 384 pp ranked second in the voting but isn’t available
in the variety of formats previously noted above.
BOOKS RECOMMENDED BUT NOT SELECTED
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 2012; 378 pp It’s a retelling of the Trojan War from Patroclus’ perspective, focusing on his relationship with Achilles, from their childhood friendship to their exploits during the war, culminating in a tragic love story.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey 2023; 207 pp The winner of the Booker Prize 2024, the book chronicles a day in the life of six astronauts aboard the International Space Station. They are there to do vital work, but slowly they begin to wonder: what is life without Earth?
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld 2016; 512 pp
This is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, set in contemporary Cincinnati. The novel reimagines the Bennet sisters navigating romance, family drama, and societal expectations in the 21st century. With humor and sharp social commentary, Eligible explores love, class, and identity in the modern age.
Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton 2023; 330pp
Paris may seem like a lot of fluff, but at age 16 she was ripped from her bed and placed in reform school. She is a survivor!
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten 2024; 300 pp
A fascinating memoir of family, fortune, fun, and food.
Knife by Salman Rushdie 2024; 210 pp
The book focuses on his mediations after the attempt on his life. The shortest chapter is the attack itself.
The Women by Kristin Hannah 2024; 450 pp
A story of sacrifice by forgotten veterans who were heroes every day.
The Wager: The Tale of a Shipwreck by David Grann 2023; 352 pp
From the author of Killers of the Flower Moon. True story of a shipwreck in 1742 of HMS The Wager. The vessel was chasing a Spanish galleon when it wrecked off the coast of Patagonia – two groups of survivors with two very different versions of what happened.
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis 2025; 352 pp Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland who is organizing the famous Met Gala.
The Tiffany Girls: A Novel by Shelley Nobel 2023; 416 pp New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble wows with a gripping historical novel about the real-life “Tiffany Girls,” a fascinating and largely unknown group of women artists behind Tiffany’s most legendary glassworks.