The Columbus Affair = Dud

Book Club members met to discuss best-selling author Steve Berry’s 2012 historical thriller, The Columbus Affair. All agreed that the book was a disappointment. The story about the hidden history of Christopher Columbus was repetitive and too long -- 80 chapters of 3 to 4 pages each. Some said that it didn’t hold their interest enough to care about the ending and was not even interesting as a thriller.

The discussion generated by the book was about life in Third World countries compared to that in Western Europe and the United States and how the quest for power and control generates violence and unequal economic circumstances.

This quote by Confucius emphasizes the author’s passion and dedication to history that is at the heart of his writing, “Study the past if you would define the future.”

Have you read The Columbus Affair? What did you think?

We are looking forward to a discussion about another popular author at the next meeting on June 11 when we read Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods. Woods' suave hero, Stone Barrington, takes on organized crime in this exciting story.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane Discussion

A crime lost to time. A secret buried deep. One book unlocks an unimaginable truth. A novel about a contemporary family connection to the Salem witch trials and a physick book containing secrets and lost knowledge.

The Afternoon Book Club (ABC) met Tuesday afternoon, April 16, for an interesting discussion of April’s book selection, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. Assorted witch hats were available for club members who forgot to bring their own! The group generally agreed that the novel was an interesting read. Everyone had positive comments. One said that it was "wordy" in the beginning but then became more complex as the story moved along in the second half. The tie between actual historical characters and the author’s own personal connection to them enhanced the believability of the fictional story.

An interview with author Katherine Howe in the Boston Globe, “Boston’s Weirder Past,” was discussed in relation to the novel. The author said that her intention in The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane was to show that almost all of the people involved in the Salem story, town officials and residents believed that witchcraft was real and what it looks like if having a witch trial was a reasonable thing to do. The author’s latest book The House of Velvet and Glass tells the story of a Boston family and their involvement in spiritualism after the sinking of the Titanic. One hundred years ago, interest in the paranormal was mainstream in Boston. Meeting times for séances appeared in the newspapers right along church service times.

The discussion continued with comments about local connections and personal stories about ghosts and haunted locations in Halifax. Many of these stories were familiar to members. Some spoke about premonitions as well. It was decided that spiritual beliefs will always be recognized and present in society.

One of several favorite quotes from the book discussed by ABC members was the following:

“But, remember, just because you don’t believe in something doesn’t mean it isn’t real.”

Have you read The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane? Please feel free to share your comments!

This Month's Selection: The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry

This month we are reading The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry.

Join us May 14th at 1 pm for a face-to-face discussion or read along with us and add your comments to the discussion online starting May 15th.

From Random House:

A family’s secret, a ruthless fanatic, and a covert arm of the American government—all are linked by a single puzzling possibility: What if everything we know about the discovery of America was a lie? What if that lie was designed to hide the secret of why Columbus sailed in 1492? And what if that 500-year-old secret could violently reshape the modern political world?

Read an excerpt to see how you like the beginning. Pick up your copy at the Holmes Public Library and share your thoughts!