Book Club Pix

Contributed by Mary Anne Ellis, Southern History Department, Birmingham Public Library
  The End of Summer

By Rosamunde Pilcher

Jane Marsh lost her mother at an early age and has been living in America with her father. However, she retains vivid memories of her earlier life in Scotland, her grandmother’s estate, and her handsome cousin Sinclair, the object of her love dreams from childhood onward. Now Jane is a woman of twenty-one and all she thought that she remembered looks different to adult eyes. Is Sinclair still the man for her, or is it time to think of finding a new love?
Cover Nine Months in August

By Adriana Bourgoin

Gretchen Fox is a caterer and a well-organized woman, making to-do lists and checking off items, keeping every aspect of life under control . . . until she discovers she is pregnant. She is completely unprepared for how radically her life changes. Fighting her way through morning sickness, uncertainty, and envy of other pregnant women who are blissfully happy over their condition, Gretchen slowly finds her way back to stability and then to anticipation of her child’s arrival.
Cover September, September

By Shelby Foote

Shelby Foote, who is generally remembered for his scholarly works on the American Civil War, proves that he is also a formidable novelist in September, September. Setting his story in the tension-filled days of 1957 and the attempt to prevent the racial integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, Foote spins a tale of bigotry, abduction, dark humor, and suspense framed by a kidnapping scheme directed against a black businessman.
Cover The Hunt for Red October

By Tom Clancy

“Captain First Rank Marko Ramius of the Soviet Navy was dressed for the Arctic conditions . . .” So begins the novel that catapulted Tom Clancy to fame and engaged thousands of readers in the saga of Captain Ramius of the Soviet submarine Red October. Ramius, however, is no ordinary captain. He has left a letter behind announcing that he is stealing the submarine, but no one is certain whether his purpose is to defect or to start a war with the United States. It is up to CIA consultant Jack Ryan to figure out Ramius’ intentions and then make contact with him or destroy him. Vividly reminiscent of the Cold War era, Clancy’s thriller is still as nail-biting as the day it first saw print.
Cover Autumn Blue

By Karen Harter

Everything is going wrong for Sidney Walker. Her son Ty is in trouble with the law and Sidney is convinced that she would have less trouble with him if there were a strong father figure in their home; instead, she must cope with being a single mom and accept what help she can get from her family and friends, while simultaneously exploring possibilities for romance and supporting her son, who insists he is innocent of a crime with which he has been charged. Fans of Christian fiction who prefer a good dose of reality in their reads will appreciate a novel that is not all sweetness and light. There are plenty of harsh situations in Autumn Blue, but also the hope that even the most unpromising circumstances and people can be redeemed.