Bethany Church

Bethany Book Club

is a small group that usually meets on the third Friday of each month and is open to all men and women of the congregation.  Our standard meeting time is 10 AM in Bethany’s Fellowship Hall.  Meetings last about two hours and a light breakfast is served.  We love our lively discussions. 

Books are selected from group members’ recommendations.  A variety of fiction and non-fiction genre make up the choices. 

2024 BETHANY BOOK CLUB SCHEDULE
(All meetings are held at 10 a.m. in Fellowship Hall)

January 19            West with Giraffes – Lynda Rutledge
                             Recommended by Ruth McCulloch

Inspired by true events in 1938, we have a wonderful story that is part adventure, part historical saga, & part coming-of-age love story. West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, & the passing of time.

February 16           ‘Billion-Dollar Ball’ – Gilbert M. Gaul        
                             Recommended by Sue Pepper

An “awareness” book that explores the author’s question: “Why are some of America’s largest & most prestigious universities spending 10 times more on football players than on their smartest, most ambitious students?”

March 15               The Heart Mender – Andy Andrews
                             Recommended by Jeanne Thamer

A story of life, loss & reconciliations that reminds us of the power of forgiveness & the universal healing experience of letting go.

April 19                Cops & Doughnuts – as told to Ann Stanton by the
                            Cop Owners 
                            Recommended by Marci Davis

The true story of how nine local policemen in Clare, Michigan, bought and saved the Clare City Bakery and possibly the downtown area.  A fun read!

May 17                  The Great Alone – Kristin Hannah
                             Recommended by Sandy Lewis

A Vietnam veteran takes his wife & family to live in the Alaskan wilderness.  The family is desperate to seek a new beginning, only to find that their unpredictable environment is less threatening than the erratic behavior found in human nature caused by the effects of war on mental stability. 

June 21                 Dictionary of Lost Words – Pip Williams
                             Recommended by Lottie Jespersen

Motherless & irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the area where her father & a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the first Oxford English Dictionary.  This is a delightful & slyly subversive historical fiction story of the real women whose work on the Dictionary went largely unheralded. 

July 19                  The Last Rescue – Howard Wasdin
                             Recommended by Donna Dankert

A wonderful true story of how the healing power of faith & love saved a Navy Seal sniper.  It reminds us that a warrior’s deepest scars are often invisible to the world.

August 16              The Little Liar – Mitch Albom
                             Recommended by Louise Aebersold

The story is of four interconnected characters: three of them Jews living in Salonika, Greece, at the onset of Germany’s invasion, & the fourth, a Third Reich devotee carrying out Hitler’s orders on the Mediterranean island. Nico is the title character. It’s his journey from being a boy who has never told a lie to becoming a Nazi pawn that drives the novel.  Nico & his brother, Sebastian, are just boys when the story begins. By the end, they’re middle-aged men who have lived lives defined by their choices made during the war.   

September 20        Hang the Moon – Jeanette Walls   
                             Recommended by Diane Meyer

Sallie Kincade, a woman ahead of her time lives in Virginia during Prohibition.  People thought she’d amount to nothing, but she had other plans.  This is a story about families & buried secrets.  There are a lot of twists & turns, & issues like racism & gender inequality.  A great read!

October 18            The Secret Life of Sunflowers – Marta Molar &
                             Dana Marton
                             Recommended by Louise Aebersold

This novel switches from present-time Emsley Wilson, who found the letters written by Johanna Bonger (Theo van Gogh’s wife/widow & sister-in-law to Vincent van Gogh) to the van Gogh family.  It’s a story of strength & resilience that is both lighthearted & heartbreaking.

November 15          Stuck in Manistee – Dennis Cuesta
                              Recommended by Marci Davis & Nelson Haynes

A laugh out loud novel involving a wild mix of characters beginning with Mark who lives in Chicago, but is in Manistee to settle the inheritance of his aunt’s B&B.  He figures a couple of days & he’s out of there.  Ha!  The descriptions of the Upper Peninsula & the characters are particularly engrossing.  All the characters are so much fun – from the locals to the ones who somehow happen to arrive at the B&B.  Reviews say it has one of the best endings ever read. 

December 13          Children’s Books & Pajamas

Sharing time to show our books & PJs to be donated to Grace Centers Of Hope Children’s Program

(Note change from 3^rd Friday to 2^nd Friday of the month to avoid being so close to Christmas)