Friends of the Hunterdon County Library Book Club
Welcome to our monthly discussion! We meet on the 4th Thurs. of the month at 7:00 pm.
Here’s what we’re reading in 2Q 2017:
Apr. 27th
May 25th
Jun. 22nd
Roughing It is a book of semiautobiographical travel literature written by
American humorist Mark Twain. He wrote it
during 1870–71 and published in 1872, as
a prequel to his first book.
The book opens with a restless Isaac Cline
on the night of September 7, 1900, the eve
of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane’s landfall.
Isaac, despite all of the meteorological
signs saying otherwise, cannot shake the
uneasy feeling that something is amiss.
Larson follows this prologue with a look at
the science of hurricanes and all of the
unusual factors that may have led to the
hurricane that season.
Double Whammy is a dark comedy by
writer Carl Hiaasen. R.J. Decker is a downon-his-luck private investigator that is hired
to catch a cheating bass fisherman. Not
knowing anything about fishing, Decker
turns to an eccentric recluse to help him
with the case. This man, Skink, is a famous
politician
living
incognito,
who
is
determined to stop the cheater, but for
different reasons.
The meteorologists of Cuba are shown to
be very skilled in the art, but are
completely ignored by the overconfident
Weather Bureau and its meteorologists.
The hurricane passes over Cuba, and the
Cubans predict it to be heading towards
Texas. The Weather Bureau, however,
disagrees and believes that the storm will
track towards Florida. Larson, meanwhile,
looks at the lives of multiple Galveston
residents on the eve of the storm,
specifically Isaac Cline.
Together
Skink
and
Decker
find
themselves embroiled in a world of murder
and mayhem, going from investigators to
fugitives on the run. Double Whammy is a
suspenseful comedy that will appeal to
readers of all backgrounds, even those
who cannot tell a lunker from a hawg.
Roughing It follows the travels of young
Mark Twain through the Wild West during
the years 1861–1867. After a brief stint as
a Confederate cavalry militiaman (not
included in the account), he joined his
brother Orion Clemens, who had been
appointed Secretary of the Nevada
Territory, on a stagecoach journey west.
Twain consulted his brother's diary to
refresh his memory and borrowed heavily
from his active imagination for many
stories in the book.
Roughing It illustrates many of Twain's
early adventures, including a visit to Salt
Lake City, gold and silver prospecting, realestate speculation, a journey to the
Kingdom of Hawaii, and his beginnings as
a writer.
North Branch, Clinton
HQ, Flemington
North Branch, Clinton
nd
Grandin Room (2 Floor) 2nd Fl. Conference Room Grandin Room (2nd Floor)
No registration is required. If you have any questions, please email Renée at [email protected]. We look forward to meeting you!