The Art Forger by B. A. Shipiro: We had a large turnout for this discussion and based on our sample, you will either really like this book or really not like this book about a painter who gets involved in 'forging' a famous stolen painting. The 'like' camp appreciated the art world stories and environment and the technical descriptions of forging paintings (I don't think any plan to try it, though). The 'dislike' camp didn't care much about those things and found the story implausible. Which camp are you?

Deep South by Paul Theroux: Six people came to this group to discuss Theroux's travels throughout the southern United States over 4 seasons. The three who read the book liked it. They felt they received some insight as to why the South is so different and special to our country.  The prevalence of discrimination remaining in the South is shocking and appalling and not much hope for change is found in this book. Very thought provoking and worth reading.

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman: Over a dozen came to discuss this book about the heroic actions of the Warsaw zookeeper and his family during WWII to save lives throughout the war. Most of us were happy to learn this story of every day courage, but many got bogged down because of Ackerman's style. Wonderful insights into how ordinary people survived and showed great courage or cowardice, but many side tracks that made the story uneven and often hard to follow.