05/15/2026
❤️To all those who were under the weather, you were missed and we hope you feel better as soon as possible!🥰
NO PRESSURE BOOK CLUB REVIEW
WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY by Michiko Aoyama
GENERAL DISCUSSION
This book was generally well liked. It dealt with life’s complication for 5 different individuals at different stages in life, their acquaintances and families. The thing that all these different characters had in common is they were able to find a path out of their circumstances by visiting the library and receiving help from the Reference Librarian, who engaged in her felting hobby and gave felted gifts to library patrons. These characters were loosely connected in they were all wanting something different or better in life and were willing, sometimes reluctantly, to use the information from the library to begin their change in behavior. The transitions between chapters was sometimes a little bumpy but the author slid in references to the characters in the other chapters and they all enjoyed cookies in a yellow container. An overall theme was the characters did not know how an encounter will affect others over the short or long term. It was a believable story line that showed the relationship between people and how their actions influenced others.
FAVORITE CHARACTERS
Favorite Character: Daughter Chie in the last chapter. A very believable character. Least Favorite Character: Lady who wanted to have people fired.
GRADES
Character Development - A
Pace -A
Setting - A, Good, the library was a community center and a safe place.
Writing - A , Very good translation. It was folksy and easy to read
QUOTES
(In every chapter when the character meets the librarian): "What are you looking for?"
Page 217 - ‘“Kids pick up on that kind of thing. They can sense when someone’s different or delicate. It wasn’t that I was actually bullied so much as sort of ignored. I began to feel like I had no right to be in the classroom.”
Page 226 - “You have to remember that it is merely one version of events, and only the parties involved can ever know the real truth. There are always numerous interpretations, and hearsay, about who said or did what. Misunderstandngs occur even in real time; you can see that on the internet. So when it comes to events deep in the past it’s very difficult to be sure of what is accurate.”
Page 235 - "Working here has given me a glimpse into how much thought and care goes into making life better for residents of the ward through this place. Some where they can feel safe and spend a bit of quality time, with opportunities for learning and entertainment.”
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS BOOK
Yes, with 5 characters there would be at least one someone could relate to.
WHAT ELSE ARE YOU READING
SOMEONE WE KNOW by Shari LaPena
Started with a teenage boy who is able to access computers in different homes, which he uses to send emails to different people. His mother becomes aware of his behavior. This is a page turner, with different neighbors having affairs, drinking too much but the characters, through different circumstances, all end up by a lake where the wife of one of the neighbors is found dead.
ISOLA by Allegra Goodman
A captivating story of survival and faith. Marguerite de la Rocque de la Roberval was a 16th century noblewoman. Her guardian uses her fortune and on his voyage to New France in 1542, he maroons her on a remote island in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River where she lives for 2 years. There are 2 contemporary accounts about her ordeal used by the author as well as other historical maps and works.
BEFORE DOROTHY By Hazel Gaynor
Beginning in 1922 and covering the time when people lived through the Depression and Dust Bowl, this story tells about how Auntie Em lived. It’s the story of Dorothy as a little girl with many “Easter eggs” hinting at the Wizard of Oz and a place called home.
HOW TO READ A BOOK by Monica Wood
A novel about second chances, unlikely friendships and life-changing power of sharing stories. 22 year-old Violet Powell from rural Abbott Falls, Maine is being released from prison after serving 22 months for a drunk driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher. Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest. Frank Daigle, a retired machinist hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed. When the 3 encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portand, Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain in prison and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyandyman - their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.
WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS: A STORY OF HOPE AND THE BEST GIFT OF ALL by Lynn Austin
The year is 1901 and it is the holiday season on New York’s Fifth Avenue. For the first time Adelaide Forsythe won’t be swept up in it. She had recently transitioned from Miss to Mrs. and married for love instead of wealth and is woefully unprepared to run her own household. Then on the first Sunday of Advent, things change when a young orphan boy, hiding near Adelaide’s front step and a seasoned housekeeper appear. The boy, Jack claims he isn’t an orphan and wants to reunite his family when his father, a sailor, returns home. Adelaide and her husband desperately try to help Jack and Adelaide is introduced to a world that she never knew existed in her former privileged lifestyle. As Christmas approaches, small glimmers light the way toward answers Adelaide seeks and a miraculous gift of all.
BREAKING POINT by Casey Watson
A memoir about experience as a foster parent to a troubled boy. It takes place in United Kingdom.
A series of books for or about youth with a biblical slant:
“Braver, Stronger and Worry Free” A Girl’s Guide to Overcoming Worry and Anxiety by Sissy Goff
“Raising Worry-Free Girls: Helping Your Daughter Feel Braver, Stronger and Smarter in an Anxious World by Sissy Goff
“Doodle Devotions for Kids” by Nancy Taylor -A devotional book, 152 pages with fun illustrations.
“Wolfcoat for Kids” by Lynda DuBois is an historical novel released in February 2026
“Strong and Smart” by David Thomas. A boy’s guide to building healthy emotions for boy 9 - 12.
‼️The next book is THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN by Marie Bostwick. We will be meeting June 25th, the last Thursday in June, at 7 PM in the Snow Memorial Building boardroom.
We had talked about reading the book about the murder in Scriba by a local author, but Nikole was not able to obtain enough copies. Maybe we will have better luck later.
Happy reading!!!!!
