Between the Lines Reads The Fifth Child

BTL Meets in October

If you like to read a variety of books, and if you like to discuss the books you read, check out one of the Aurora Public Library District’s adult book groups, Between the Lines!

There will be afternoon groups that meet at the Aurora Public Library on October 26 @ 1:00 pm and the Dillsboro Public Library on October 27 @ 1:00 pm. There will also be an evening meeting at the Local History Library on October 31 @ 6:30 pm. We will be discussing The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing.

In the unfettered atmosphere of the late 1960s, a couple builds a life based on their belief in the superior value of tradition and normalcy. A large house, a large family, all the expected pleasantries convince them they can remain untouched by dark events–until the birth of their fifth child, a gruesome, insatiably hungry, violent child.

This FREE program does require registration. If you would like to register, please speak to a librarian at the Aurora or Dillsboro Public Library to pick up a book and reserve your spot today.

As a reminder, this will be the last Between the Lines meeting of 2023. The club will start meeting again in January of 2024.

We can’t wait to see you there!

BTL Reads This Is How It Always Is

BTL Reads This is How It Always Is

If you like to read a variety of books, and if you like to discuss the books you read, you should join one of the Aurora Public Library District’s book groups. There will be afternoon groups that meet at the Aurora Public Library on September 28 @ 1:00 pm and the Dillsboro Public Library on September 29 @ 10:00 am. There will also be an evening meeting at the Local History Library on October 3 @ 6:30 pm. We will be discussing This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel.

This is Claude. He’s five years old, the youngest of five brothers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess.
When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl.
Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They’re just not sure they’re ready to share that with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude’s secret. Until one day it explodes.
This Is How It Always Is is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family. And it’s about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan. And families with secrets don’t get to keep them forever.

Pick up a book today to join our club and get reading!

BTL Reads Dava Shastri’s Last Day

BTL reads Dava Shsatri's Last Day in August.

If you like to read a variety of books, and if you like to discuss the books you read, you should join one of the Aurora Public Library District’s book groups. There will be afternoon groups that meet at the Aurora Public Library on August 24 @ 1:00 pm and the Dillsboro Public Library on August 25 @ 1:00 pm. There will also be an evening meeting at the Local History Library on August 29 @ 6:30 pm. We will be discussing Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti.

Dava Shastri's Last Day Book Cover

Dava Shastri, one of the world’s wealthiest women, has always lived with her sterling reputation in mind. A brain cancer diagnosis at the age of seventy, however, changes everything, and Dava decides to take her death–like all matters of her life–into her own hands.

Summoning her four adult children to her private island, she discloses shocking news: in addition to having a terminal illness, she has arranged for the news of her death to break early, so she can read her obituaries.

As someone who dedicated her life to the arts and the empowerment of women, Dava expects to read articles lauding her philanthropic work. Instead, her “death” reveals two devastating secrets, truths she thought she had buried forever.

And now the whole world knows, including her children.

In the time she has left, Dava must come to terms with the decisions that have led to this moment–and make peace with those closest to her before it’s too late.

Pick up a book today to join our club and get reading!

BTL Reads “Theatre of Marvels” by Lianne Dillsworth

If you like to read a variety of books, and if you like to discuss the books you read, you should join one of the Aurora Public Library District’s book groups. There will be afternoon groups that meet at the Aurora Public Library on May 25 @ 1:00 pm, Dillsboro Public Library on May 26 @ 1:00 pm, and an evening group at the Local History Library on May 30 @ 6:30 pm.  This month’s title is Theatre of Marvels by Lianne Dillsworth.

Crowds gather at Crillick’s Variety Theatre, where curiosity is satisfied with displays of intrigue and fear. They’re here for the star of the show – the Great Amazonia warrior. They needn’t know this warrior is in fact Zillah, a mixed-race actress from the East End fooling them each night with her thrilling performance.

But something is amiss, and when Crillick’s new act goes missing Zillah feels compelled to investigate, knowing the fates that can befall women in Victorian London.

From the bustle of the West India Docks to the coffee houses of Fleet Street to the parlours of Mayfair, Zillah’s journey for answers will find her caught between both sides of her own identity, and between two men: her wealthy white admirer, and an African merchant appalled by her act.

Will Zillah be forced to confront the price of her own performance? And in risking everything can she also save herself?

Pick up a book today at the Aurora or Dillsboro Public Library to join our club and get reading!

Between the Lines Reads The Tobacco Wives

Do you LOVE to read? Do you love trying new books and discussing them with friends? Pick up your book for the next Between the Lines Book Club today!

This March, BTL is reading The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers, a historical drama about the cost of friendship and secrets.

Maddie Sykes is a burgeoning seamstress who’s just arrived in Bright Leaf, North Carolina—the tobacco capital of the South—where her aunt has a thriving sewing business. After years of war rations and shortages, Bright Leaf is a prosperous wonderland in full technicolor bloom, and Maddie is dazzled by the bustle of the crisply uniformed female factory workers, the palatial homes, and, most of all, her aunt’s glossiest clientele: the wives of the powerful tobacco executives.

When a series of unexpected events thrusts Maddie into the role of lead dressmaker for the town’s most influential women, she scrambles to produce their ornate gowns for the biggest party of the season. But she soon learns that Bright Leaf isn’t quite the carefree paradise that it seems: A trail of misfortune follows many of the women, including substantial health problems. Although Maddie is quick to believe that this is a coincidence, she inadvertently uncovers evidence that suggests otherwise.

Maddie wants to report what she knows, but in a town where everyone depends on Big Tobacco to survive, she doesn’t know who she can trust—and fears that exposing the truth may destroy the lives of the proud, strong women with whom she has forged strong bonds.

Follow this riveting tale of the power of truth along with your fellow readers this March.

We have added a new meeting to our schedule to better suit your life! In addition to our March 30th meeting at 1:00 pm at the Aurora Public Library, we will also be meeting on April 4th at 6:30 pm at the Aurora Public Library! As always, we will be meeting at the Dillsboro Public Library on March 31st at 1:00 pm. Please feel welcome to attend any meeting that you wish, and keep an eye out for some delicious themed treats coming to your meeting this year!

We cannot wait to see you there! You can check out a BTL book at the Aurora or Dillsboro Public Libraries with a library card.

Between the Lines Returns!

Do you LOVE to read? Do you love trying new books and discussing them with friends? Pick up your book for the next Between the Lines Book Club today!

This January, BTL is reading Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak, perfect for reading in this cozy holiday season.

It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years, the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.

For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…

See how the Birch Family’s holiday plays out in this delightful domestic family drama.

We have added a new meeting to our schedule to better suit your life! In addition to our January 26th meeting at 1:00 pm at the Aurora Public Library, we will also be meeting on January 31st at 6:30 pm at the Aurora Public Library! As always, we will be meeting at the Dillsboro Public Library on January 27th at 1:00 pm. Please feel welcome to attend any meeting that you wish, and keep an eye out for some delicious themed treats coming to your meeting this year!

We cannot wait to see you there! You can check out a BTL book now at the Aurora or Dillsboro Public Libraries with a library card.

Between the Lines Reads “Other People’s Children”

If you like to read a variety of books, and if you like to discuss the books you read, you should consider joining one of the Aurora Public Library District’s book groups. There will be afternoon groups that meet at the Aurora Public Library on July 28th @ 1:00pm and at the Dillsboro Public Library on July 29th @ 1:00pm. Both will be discussing Other People’s Children by Jeff Hoffman.

Pick up a book today to join our club and get reading!

Other People’s Children has been described as an “engrossing debut” novel (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me) about a couple whose dreams of adoption push them to do the unthinkable when their baby’s birth family steps into the picture.