HearthFire Books and Treats
2015 Annual Book Club Evening
WELCOME
Randy Hickernell – Hachette
THE GOLDFINCH - Donna Tartt
Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his
father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue,
disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his longing for his mother,
he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws
Theo into the underworld of art.
LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson
What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?
On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born, the third child of a wealthy English banker
and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula
Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as
she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in any number of ways. Ursula's world is in turmoil, facing the
unspeakable evil of the two greatest wars in history. What power and force can one woman exert over
the fate of civilization -- if only she has the chance?
THE BLESSINGS by Elise Juska
Elise Juska's THE BLESSINGS is an extraordinary novel about an ordinary family. The Blessings rally around
one another in times of celebration and those of sorrow, coming together for departures and arrivals, while
its members harbor private struggles and moments of personal joy. College student Abby ponders
homesickness in her first semester away from her Philadelphia home, while her cousin Stephen commits a
petty act of violence that takes a surprising turn, and their aunt Lauren faces a crisis in her storybook
marriage she could never have foreseen. Through the lens of one unforgettable family, this beautifully
moving novel explores how our families define us and how we shape them in return.
THE END OF ALWAYS by Randi Davenport
Marie Reehs, the child of German immigrants, comes of age in Waukesha, Wis., in the first decade of the
20th century. When she's 17, Marie loses her mother to a gruesome injury; though the death is deemed
an accident, awareness of her father's violence make the naturally questioning, even visionary girl
doubt that convenient explanation. Later, working grueling days as a laundress, Marie reencounters
August Bethke, one of the passersby who helped bring her mother home as she was bleeding to death
from a stab wound. Soon trysting with him in the woods at night, she finds herself in conflict with her
family, her employer, her coworkers, and her fellow townspeople, who look down on her affair with
August. Her elemental passion seems to promise a less constricted future, but Marie finds that neither
her family's painful legacy nor her own female vulnerability is easily escaped.
ANCILLARY SWORD by Anne Leckie
The sequel to "Ancillary Justice, "winner of the Hugo, Nebula, British Science Fiction, Locus and Arthur C.
Clarke Awards.
Breq is a soldier who used to be a warship. Once a weapon of conquest controlling thousands of minds, now
she has only a single body and serves the emperor.
With a new ship and a troublesome crew, Breq is ordered to go to the only place in the galaxy she would agree
to go: to Athoek Station to protect the family of a lieutenant she once knew - a lieutenant she murdered in cold blood.
TALE OF THE DUELING NEUROSURGEONS by Sam Kean
From the author of the bestsellers "The Disappearing Spoon" and "The Violinist's Thumb," fascinating
tales of the brain and the history of neuroscience.
Early studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strikestrokes, seizures, infectious diseases, lobotomies, horrendous accidents-and see how the victim
coped. In many cases survival was miraculous, and observers could only marvel at the
transformations that took place afterward, altering victims' personalities. An injury to one section can
leave a person unable to recognize loved ones; some brain trauma can even make you a pathological
gambler, pedophile, or liar. But a few scientists realized that these injuries were an opportunity for
studying brain function at its extremes. With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explains
the brain's secret passageways while recounting forgotten stories of common people whose
struggles, resiliency, and deep humanity made modern neuroscience possible.
AMERICAN SPRING by Walter Borneman
When we look back on our nation's history, the American Revolution can feel almost like a foregone
conclusion. In reality, the first weeks of the war were much more tenuous, and a fractured and ragtag group
of colonial militias had to coalesce to have even the slimmest chance of toppling the mighty British Army.
Focusing on colorful heroes John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Benjamin Franklin, and
Patrick Henry, plus ordinary Americans caught up in the revolution, AMERICAN SPRING follows a fledgling
nation from Paul Revere's little-known ride of December 1774 and the first shots fired on Lexington Green
through the catastrophic Battle of Bunker Hill, culminating with a Virginian named George Washington
taking command of colonial forces on July 3, 1775.
SONS OF WICHITA by Daniel Schulman
Mother Jones senior editor Schulman's group portrait of the amazingly wealthy, strong-minded
Koch brothers is a critical, but surprisingly nuanced tale of money and influence. Casting new light
on one of America's most ambitious families, this "unauthorized" biography will disappoint Koch
haters. The Wichita-based Koch money (now totaling billions of dollars) comes from oil grown into a
closely held conglomerate with a mixed environmental record. David and Charles have used their
wealth to fund the libertarian Cato Institute and more recently, contribute to the Republican Party,
LIVING WITH A WILD GOD by Barbara Ehrenrich
"A smart and enjoyable read... Ehrenreich maintains a grip on a sensible skepticism about religious matters and a positive hostility toward the idea of unthinking faith - while avoiding the narrow-minded excesses that
more zealous atheists sometimes fall victim to." ""The Chicago Tribune"""
DAVID AND GOLIATH by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell's provocative new #1 bestseller -- now in paperback.
Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior
with nothing more than a pebble and a sling-and ever since, the names of David and Goliath have stood
for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He "shouldn't "have won. Or should
he?
Meg Sherman – W.W.Norton
Dry Bones in the Valley – Tom Bouman
When an elderly recluse discovers a corpse on his land, Officer Henry Farrell follows
the investigation to strange places in the countryside, and into the depths of his own
frayed soul.
The Resurrectionist
A young doctor wrestles with the legacy of a slave resurrectionist owned by his
South Carolina medical school.
The Last Summer of the Camperdowns - Elizabeth Kelly
Set on Cape Cod during one tumultuous summer, Kelly's gothic family story will
delight readers of "The Family Fang" and "The Giant's House."
Strangers on a Train - Patricia Highsmith
Two men, a tennis star and a psychopath, meet by chance on a train and "swap"
murders. "Strangers on a Train", Highsmith's first novel, was the source for Alfred
Hitchcock's classic masterpiece.
Talented Mr. Ripley - Patricia Highsmith
A dark reworking of Henry James's "The Ambassadors, The Talented Mr. Ripley"-immortalized in the 1998 film--is an unforgettable introduction to this debonair
confidence man, whose talent for self-invention and calculated murder is chronicled in
four subsequent novels.
Hold the Dark - William Giraldi
Paper in Aug 2015
At the edge of civilization, nature and evil collide in what stands out as
one of the decade s best books of its kind
All the Wild that Remains - David Gessner
An homage to the West and to two great writers who set the standard for all who
celebrate and defend it.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Caitlin Doughty
Paper in August
A young mortician goes behind the scenes, unafraid of the gruesome (and
fascinating) details of her curious profession.
HearthFire Books Favorite Reads
All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
PAPER AUGUST 2016
It's August 1944 in the last Nazi stronghold in Brittany. Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Private Werner Pfennig are
both trapped within Saint-Malo as the Allies prepare to destroy it. Marie-Laure--a blind 16-year-old, unable
to read the leaflet urging residents to depart--is preoccupied with keeping her great-uncle's house safe from
intruders. Werner, an 18-year-old German soldier, is holed up only five streets away, desperate to find the
source of one particular radio transmission. This desire, we learn, has nothing to do with national allegiance
and perhaps everything to do with Marie-Laure. These two exceptional innocents share a strange, starcrossed history. Flicking back and forth between 1944 and the protagonists' very different 1930s childhoods,
Doerr writes in the historic present throughout.
Emerald Mile - Kevin Fedarko
The epic story of the fastest boat ride in history, on a hand-built dory named the "Emerald Mile,"
through the heart of the Grand Canyon on the Colorado river.
Kling Family Household All Time Favorite
Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown
A beloved story about the Greatest Generation freshly adapted for the next generation
Berlin, 1936. The Olympic finals of the eight-oared rowing race. Germany, Italy, USA. The American boat
touches the finish line first, beating all odds and sending Hitler away in a silent rage. In the midst of the Great
Depression, the nine rowers showed the world what true grit really meant. They were western, working-class
boys who never expected to beat the elite teams of the East Coast and Great Britain, yet they did. At the center
of the tale is Joe Rantz, whose personal struggle--and ultimate triumph--captures the spirit of his generation,
the one that would prove in the coming years that the Nazis could not prevail over American determination
and optimism.
Where They Found Her - Kimberly McCreight
HARDCOVER
An idyllic suburban town. A devastating discovery. Shocking revelations that will change three lives
forever. Kimberly McCreight's taut and profoundly moving novel unwinds the tangled truth behind a
tragedy in a small New Jersey suburb, revealing that its residents have far more in common than they
could have ever known. That the very worst crimes are committed against those we love. And that-sooner or later--the past catches up to all of us.
Brain on Fire - Susannah Cahalan
When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and
unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she'd gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the
threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major
New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened?
In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her
family's inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn't happen.
Storied Life of AJ Fikry – Gabrielle Zevin
Zevin has done something old-fashioned and fairly rare these days. She has written an
entertaining novel, modest in its scope, engaging and funny without being cloying or
sentimental. On top of all that, it is marvelously optimistic about the future of books and
bookstores and the people who love both.
Wives of Los Alamos – Tarasha Nesbit
The "haunting . . . impressive" national bestseller--imagining the untold human history of the making of the
atomic bomb.
Book Talks at HearthFire Books and Treats
Rocky Mountain Literary Festival Authors
3rd Tuesday of the Month at 7PM
Led by RMLF Volunteers
TUESDAY, MAY 19th 7PM
Trapline – Mark Stevens
A chewed-up corpse high in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area leaves Colorado hunting guide Allison Coil
mystified. Obvious signs suggest the dead man is the victim of a mountain lion attack, but Allison's instincts
tell her otherwise. Miles away in down- town Glenwood Springs, a controversial candidate for U.S. Senate is
shot during a campaign stop as news-paper reporter Duncan Bloom watches, dodging the long-range
gunfire. Trapline follows Coil and Bloom as their investigations collide, exposing the dark depths of human
indifference.
TUESDAY, JUNE 16th 7PM
Everest: The West Ridge – Dr. Thomas Hornbein,
“Not only did Hornbein play a crucial role in one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in the history of mountaineering,
his account of the feat is one of the finest things ever written about this peculiar, hazardous, and uncommonly engaging
pursuit.” – Jon Krakauer
Outside Magazine’s Ten Best Everest Books (#1)
TUESDAY, JULY 21st 7PM
Contrition - Maura Weiler
In this sweeping, heart-wrenching, and inspiring tale, twin sisters separated at birth reconnect through art,
faith, and a father who touched the world through his paintings.
When journalist and adoptee Dorie McKenna learns that her biological father was a famous artist, it comes with
another startling discovery: she has a twin sister, Catherine Wagner, who inherited their father's talent. Dorie
is eager to introduce her sister's genius to the public, but Catherine is a cloistered nun with a vow of silence
who adamantly refuses to show or sell the paintings she dedicates to God.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18th 7PM
Behind the Lines: - Jeffrey Miller
Part one of a three-part examination of the conditions in Belgium during WWI under the German occupation,
Miller's book covers only the first five months: August to December 1914. His primary focus is the origin of the
Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB), led by American businessman and future president Herbert Hoover.
Miller also examines the beginnings of the Belgian resistance and the experiences of the Bunge family, who
were participants in both the resistance and the activities of the Belgian relief. Miller's excellent research is
extensive and strongly supports his thesis that Hoover and the CRB were instrumental in saving the lives of
untold numbers of Belgian civilians.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15th 7PM
Too Bad to Die - Francine Matthews
In this historical thriller, Ian Fleming, tired of being a deskbound intelligence officer, spends his spare time
writing stories featuring a British agent known as 007. But in November 1943, Fleming's real life becomes
much more exciting than his imaginary one. He accompanies Winston Churchill's retinue to Egypt, where
they convene with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, before heading on to Iran to meet with Joseph Stalin. Fleming
intercepts a message implying that a high-ranking Nazi spy known as the Fencer, who has been outwitting
the Allies for years, plans to infiltrate the Tehran summit and kill the three world leaders. In his race to stop
the assassinations, Fleming will have to overcome the doubts of his superiors, the daggers of his enemies
and the determination of the Fencer. Both an intense thriller and the gripping life story of a complicated man.