Discussion led by Kathryn Bishop
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September
Book of the Month 
Date: Thurs. October 1st
Time: 8:30 - 10:00 AM Price: €12,00 per meeting or block of 5 for €50,00 includes discussion and a coffee or tea. What's Next in 2026
October 1st - The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde November 5th - Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë December 3rd - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo |
The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde Wilde's only novel, first published in 1890, is a brilliantly designed puzzle, intended to tease conventional minds with its exploration of the myriad interrelationships between art, life, and consequence. From its provocative Preface, challenging the reader to believe in 'art for art's sake', to its sensational conclusion, the story self-consciously experiments with the notion of sin as an element of design. Yet Wilde himself underestimated the consequences of his experiment, and its capacity to outrage the Victorian establishment. Its words returned to haunt him in his court appearances in 1895, and he later recalled the 'note of doom' which runs like 'a purple thread' through its carefully crafted prose. The story revolves around a portrait of Dorian Gray painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian's and an artist infatuated with Dorian's beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfilment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Knowing that he will lose his beauty with time, Dorian impulsively chooses to sell his soul and asks for the portrait, rather than himself, to age and fade. His wish granted, Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied immoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian's sins. Books We've Read in 2026 January – Winter Break February - The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz March - Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party by Edward Dolnick April -Mrs. England by Stacey Hall May -The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston June- Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh July - Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman August - Summer Break September 10th - The Names by Florence Knapp Books We Read in 2025 January – Winter Break February - Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer March - The Maid by Nita Prose April - The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim May – James by Percival Everett June - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows July - 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff August – Summer Break September - The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict October - The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird by Louisa Morgan November - Crimson Snow by Martin Edwards December - Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Books We Read in 2024 January - Winter Break February - Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia March - All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater April - Mad Woman's Ball by Victoria Mas May - Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote June - Circe by Madeline Miller July 4th - In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. August - Summer Break September -Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James MC Bride. October - The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill November - Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia. December - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Books We Read in 2023 January - Winter Break February - People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks March - The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa April - The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict May - The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page June - The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak July - The Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier August - Summer Break September - All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle October - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie November - The Glovemaker by Ann Weisgarber December - Charlotte's Web by E.B. White Books We Read in 2022 January - Winter Break February - Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson March - The Midnight Library by Matt Haig April - Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy May - Mitz: The Marmoset of Bloomsbury by Sigrid Nunez June – The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave July – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie August - Summer Break September – Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro October - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke November - Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan December – Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie Books We Read in 2021
January - Winter Break February - Hintersee by Gregory Maguire March - Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne April - The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs May - The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo June - Anxious People by Fredrik Backman August - Summer Break October - The Thing Around Your Neck by C.N. Adichie October - The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton November - The Guest List by Lucy Foley December - Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva |