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Entries 1–10 of 88, most recent first

October 2026 -- The Turn of the Screw

by Henry James

October 2026

Amazon link [The Turn of the Screw|https://www.amazon.com/Turn-Screw-Henry-James/dp/B09FNP49NV].

Published in 1898 in serial form, this is a short book (~100 pages).

The Turn of the Screw is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in Collier's Weekly (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in The Two Magics, published by Macmillan in New York City and Heinemann in London. The novella follows a governess who, caring for two children at a remote estate, becomes convinced that the grounds are haunted. The Turn of the Screw is considered a work of both Gothic and horror fiction.

In the century following its publication, critical analysis of the novella has undergone several major transformations. Initial reviews regarded it only as a frightening ghost story, but, in the 1930s, some critics suggested that the supernatural elements were figments of the governess' imagination. In the early 1970s, the influence of structuralism resulted in an acknowledgement that the text's ambiguity was its key feature. Later approaches incorporated Marxist and feminist thinking.

Quoting from Amazon's page.

Man's Search for Meaning

by Viktor E. Frankl

August 2026

From the list "https://www.shortform.com/best-books/genre/best-short-books-of-all-time"

Description from this list:
Man's Search for Meaning has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 psychiatrist Viktor Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the stories of his many patients, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory—known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")—holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful. In the decades since its first publication in 1959, Man's Search for Meaning has become a classic, with more than twelve million copies in print around the world. A 1991 Library of Congress survey that asked readers to name a "book that made a difference in your life" found Man's Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America. At once a memoir, a meditation, a treatise, and a history, it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living.

Symphony of Secrets

by Brendan Slocumb

March 2026

Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Symphony-of-Secrets/dp/B0B9T5WWVY.

The Dark is Rising

by Susan Cooper

September 2018

Next book club will be a fun night out at Tomato Head in West Knoxville at 7:30 on Sept 21. We are reading The Dark Is Rising.

Year of Wonders

by Geraldine Brooks

August 2018

This month's book was recommended by Jen.

Next club meeting is set for August 20th.

It is an historical novel set in the year 1666 in a village in England affected by the plague.

Descent Into Hell

by Charles Williams

July 2018

This month's book was recommended by Leslie.

It is written by Charles Williams who was one of the Inklings.

A Brief History of Vice

by Robert Evans

June 2018

Next meeting is June 25th.

Quoting from Amazon description:

A celebration of the brave, drunken pioneers who built our civilization one seemingly bad decision at a time,

A Brief History of Vice

explores a side of the past that mainstream history books prefer to hide. History has never been more fun—or more intoxicating.

Guns, germs, and steel might have transformed us from hunter-gatherers

into modern man, but booze, sex, trash talk, and tripping built our

civilization.

Cracked

editor Robert Evans brings his signature

dogged research and lively insight to uncover the many and magnificent

ways vice has influenced history, from the prostitute-turned-empress who

scored a major victory for women’s rights to the beer that helped

create—and destroy—South America's first empire.

What Do You Care What Other People Think?

by Richard Feynman

May 2018

The successor to "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman," this book is more serious in tone.  It was published after Feynman's death in 1988.  (

Wikipedia

biography of Feynman.)  We chose this book because we wanted another science book to discuss after Brief History.  This year, May 11th, marked the 100th birthday of Feynman.

10 Quotes from Feynman

on his 100th Birthday.

A Briefer History of Time

by Stephen Hawking

April 2018

With the passing of Professor Hawking in March 2018, we read the revised version of his popular text "A Brief History of Time."  The text is approachable and can be followed by the interested layperson.  "You feel smarter after reading it." It is a personal introduction to the mysteries of the Universe from one of the great physicists.

This also resulted in a lively, 2.5 hour discussion.