Talking Books Library Book Discussion

Join Talking Books Library staff and members for a lively discussion on selected books. Book discussions will take place every other month on the 4th Tuesday of the month from 2 - 3 pm. If a book title has no available hard copies, you can request a duplicate copy by calling the Talking Books Library staff at (401)574-9310 or by emailing talking.books@olis.ri.gov or you may download the title from BARD.

Call (401)574-9310 or email us at talking.books@olis.ri.gov to receive the Zoom information and dial-in phone numbers.

Book Discussion Schedule 2024

January 23, 2024
2:00 - 3:00 pm

North Woods: A Novel by Daniel Mason DB 116389 - 11 hours 5 minutes

When two young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know that their humble cabin in the woods will become the home of an extraordinary succession of human and nonhuman characters alike. An English soldier, destined for glory, abandons the battlefields of the New World to devote himself to growing apples. A pair of spinster twins navigate war and famine, envy and desire. A crime reporter unearths an ancient mass grave-only to discover that the earth refuse to give up their secrets. A lovelorn painter, a sinister con man, a stalking panther, a lusty beetle: As the inhabitants confront the wonder and mystery around them, they begin to realize that the dark, raucous, beautiful past is very much alive." -- Provided by publisher.  --  Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Romance. Historical Fiction. 2023.
 

March 26, 2024
2:00 - 3:00 pm

The Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand DB 103607 - 13 hours 29 minutes

Novelist Vivian Howe was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Nantucket. In the afterlife, she is allowed one last summer to watch what happens below. As she observes her three adult children and ex-husband, she worries about the reaction to her final book, which reveals personal secrets. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Secrecy. Fiction. 2021.

May 28, 2024
2:00 - 3:00 pm

Victory City: A Novel by Salman Rushdie DB 112519 - 11 hours 52 minutes

In the wake of an unimportant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for a goddess, who begins to speak out of the girl's mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana's comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga-"victory city"-the wonder of the world. Over the next 250 years, Pampa Kampana's life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga's, from its literal sowing from a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in the most human of ways: the hubris of those in power. Whispering Bisnaga and its citizens into existence, Pampa Kampana attempts to make good on the task that the goddess set for her: to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from their creator, and Bisnaga is no exception. As years pass, rulers come and go, battles are won and lost, and allegiances shift, the very fabric of Bisnaga becomes an ever more complex tapestry-with Pampa Kampana at its center." -- Provided by publisher.  --  Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Historical Fiction. Fantasy. 2023.
 

July 23, 2024
2:00 - 3:00 pm

If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisters By Gregg Olsen DB 98239 - 13 hours 9 minutes

True crime story of the Knotek family in rural Raymond, Washington. After being abused for years by their sadistic mother Shelly, the two eldest sisters left. But when they learned their young half-sister was suffering, they finally reported their mother and stepfather for multiple murders. Violence and strong language. True Crime. Detective. Some Violence and strong language. 2019.

September 24, 2024
2:00 - 3:00 pm

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde DB 56794 - 8 hours 42 minutes

First published in the late nineteenth century. A beautiful youth has his portrait painted by an artist with a flair for the morbid. The portrait becomes the mirror of its innocent-appearing subject's inner life. Introduction by Edmund White. Occult, Ghosts, Supernatural. Classic. 1999. 

November 26, 2024
2:00 - 3:00 pm

Small Things Like These by Clare Keegan DB 109147 - 1 hour 59 minutes

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church." -- Provided by publisher.  --  Some strong language. Commercial audiobook. Irish Interest. Christmas Holiday. 2021.

To receive link and session information call (401)574-9310, or email talking.books@olis.ri.gov.