Cavendon Hall by Barbara Taylor
Bradford. St. Martin’s Press, 2014. For
centuries two families have lived side-byside
beneath the backdrop of the imposing
Yorkshire Manor. However, with World
War I looming, they find themselves tested
in ways they never thought possible and
betrayals are set in motion.
Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally.
Atria Books, 2013. Joining the war effort
as nurses in 1915, two spirited Australian
sisters, carrying a secret, become the friends
they never were at home, and find courage
in the face of danger as they serve alongside
other remarkable women.
The First of July by Elizabeth Speller.
Pegasus Books, 2013. This is the sweeping
chronicle of World War I as seen through
the eyes of four different men: a London
carpenter and bicycle messenger, a
homosexual musician, a Manhattan-based
industrialist, and a French blacksmith
apprentice, who experience the worst of war
in this gritty, moody novel that culminates
in the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916.
18 SHAKERONLINE.COM | SUMMER 2014
A Question of Honor: A Bess Crawford
Mystery by Charles Todd. HarperCollins,
2013. When a dying soldier professes to
have seen a disgraced officer long thought
to be dead, World War I nurse Bess
Crawford tries to find him and bring him to
justice. The truth, however, is much more
complicated than it seems.
Stella Bain by Anita Shreve. Little,
Brown and Company, 2013. Suffering from
shell shock and memory loss while serving
as a nurse’s aide on a French battlefield,
American Stella Bain is taken in by London
surgeon August Bridge and his wife.
To the Last Man by Jeff Shaara.
Ballantine Books, 2004. In the spring of
1918, when America enters World War I,
the world waits to see if the tide of war
can be turned with the renewed spirit
and strength of the untested American
Expeditionary Force under General John
“Blackjack” Pershing.
What’s the Buzz about Books?
Shaker librarian Lynda Thomas leads a
morning book discussion from 10 to 11:30
am on the second Tuesday of the month.
Thomas reads and reviews many books,
taking into consideration national events
and current trends, before she chooses
her annual Book Buzz list. She chooses
books that are both relevant and will incite
discussion among participants. (Spoiler
alert! Next season all the books will relate to
American history and culture.)
Thomas encourages everyone to
express his or her opinions. She tactfully
reminds the group that “everyone reads
a different book.” At the end of each
discussion, the group rates the book on a
scale of one to 10 as another way to engage
everyone in the conversation. Readers are
always welcome for the entire series or to
come for a single book that interests them.
On July 8, the group will discuss The
Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro, a story about an
artist who agrees to forge a painting, until she
realizes the painting may itself be a forgery.
@ Shaker Library