Book Club
Rector's Readers
The next book up for discussion:
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
Thurs, April 23rd at 2:00 pm
Paris, 1939. Odile Souchet is obsessed with books and the Dewey Decimal System, which makes order out of chaos. She soon has it all – a handsome police officer beau, an English best friend, and a job at the American Library in Paris, a thriving community of students, writers, diplomats, and book lovers. Yet when war is declared, there's also a war on words.
Montana, 1983. Widowed and alone, Odile suffers the solitary confinement of small-town life. Though most adults are cowed by her, the neighbor girl will not let her be. Lily, a lonely teenager yearning to break free of Froid, is obsessed by the French woman who lives next door.
As the two become friends, Odile sees herself in Lily – the same love of language, the same longings, the same lethal jealousy. The Paris Library’s dual narratives explore the relationships that make us who we are – family and friends, first loves and favorite authors.
The wit, empathy, and meticulous research that brings The Paris Library to life also brings to light a cast of lively real-life characters and a little-known chapter of World War II history: the story of the American librarian, Miss Reeder, who created the Soldiers’ Service to deliver books to servicemen, and who later faced the Nazi ‘Library Protector’ in order to keep her library open. She and her colleagues defied the Bibliotheksschutz by delivering books to Jewish readers after they were forbidden from entering the library. -- From the book's website
Saint Augustine once wrote, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” This group is a space to assemble and share a love of literature. It’s a time in our busy lives to converse over coffee and tea about our favorite authors and books, what we like about literature, and what we don’t like! We gather in the Minister’s Office (in the upper level of the parish hall, 61 Dundas Street) on selected days at 2:00 pm.
If you wish to join our group please contact the parish office at 902.466.4270 or christchurch@christchurchdartmouth.com
Book List for 2025-2026
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
October 23 at 2pm
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
November 27 at 2pm
The Mistletoe Mystery: A Maid Novella by Nita Prose
December 18 at 2pm
January: Jennie's Boy: A Newfoundland Childhood by Wayne Johnston
January 22 at 2pm
February: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
February 26 at 2pm
March: Cracking the Nazi Code: The Untold Story of Canada's Greatest Spy by Jason Bell
March 26 at 2pm
April: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
April 23 at 2pm
May: Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
May 28 at 2pm
June: In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom
June 25 at 2pm
