A Walk in the Woods:rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

It's a simple premise -what would happen if you attempted to hike the entire Appalachian Trail with nothing more than the stuff you could keep on your back? Memoirist Bill Bryson decided to try such a feat and A Walk in the Woods was created. As Bryson and his trusty friend Katz struggle to make their way across the Northeast, they encounter lots of random people, animals and hidden towns along the way which make for amusing anecdotes. Bryson also spends a fair portion of the book discussing the history of the Trail itself and the National Park Service.

This book was chosen for the February Adult Book Club - it'll be interesting to see what everyone has to say about it (and if they have hiking stories to add themselves!)

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The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

For some reason, I felt like it took me forever to finish this one, which is strange because it was a rather cute little story. Truly is a heroine of enormous proportions - she was born big (which ultimately kills her mother and turns her father into an alcoholic) and continues to just grow and grow throughout her life in upstate New York. All of this is compounded by the fact that her older sister, Serena Jane, is beloved by the rest of the town for being little, dainty, beautiful and perfect. Despite all of these hardships, Truly remains a kind figure, if something of an outcast. However, after her sister's untimely demise, Truly must move in to take care of Serena's nefarious husband and child. And this is where things start to get a little...crazy. There's lots more to this story than I'm describing - betrayal, murder, mysticism and true love. The pacing is quick and Baker does a nice job of characterization. Overall, a good read.

OCFPL Book Club - January

Welcome to the 2023 OCFPL Book Club season. We chose quite the range of books this year. We hope you can join us in our monthly virtual discussions as we set off on this year's reading adventure. This month we discussed The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. Overall many members of our book club enjoyed this book. They loved how the stories of the various characters intertwined with each other. Bridging the past to the present. Going back and forth with these stories at first does not make sense until the end, when the final puzzle piece is placed do you see the whole picture and it is quite delightful to see all that unfold. One of the elements of this book is the story of how random things that are found have stories to them. A lost puzzle piece found on the road or a random hair bobble found on the ground in the park may mean nothing to a simple person who may walk right past it. Yet for Anthony, our keeper of lost things, revered these items. Carefully recorded where and

OCFPL Book Club - February

This month we discussed Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Most of our discussion group enjoyed this book. They loved how the story started with two sisters and how the lineage grew with each of them but at the end, those who were once separated have found their way back to each other. Also, seeing the impact and development of history throughout the generations in this story. While the book only touched the beginnings of the history of Ghana, we discussed how through this book we learned more about slave history that what we knew before. It was eye opening and though provoking. The element of trauma that can cause a generational fear in the family was interesting to see unfold through the story. How the fear of water was caused by a drowning from the past and the fear of fire was caused from a massive fire from another past trauma through in the family. It may seem insignificant but it led to the discussion of how we reflect on our own fears and the fears off our parents or family members

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