December Book Clubs at Kona Stories

Kona Stories Book Store offers a variety of book clubs that meet monthly to discuss books of fiction, travel and non-fiction.

The fiction group meets the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m., the travel group meets the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m., and the non-fiction group meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m.

The book groups are free if the books purchased are from Kona Stories or if a $5 donation is made.

You can choose to attend any of all of the groups.

Bring pupus or a beverage and come prepared to discuss the following books:

“Our Souls at Night” by Kent Haruf. Photo Courtesy.

Fiction Group is discussing: “Our Souls at Night” by Kent Haruf on Dec. 13, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.

A Best Book of the Year by The Boston Globe, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Denver Post.

In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf’s inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis’s wife.

His daughter lives hours away, her son even farther, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in empty houses, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with.

But maybe that could change? As Addie and Louis come to know each other better–their pleasures and their difficulties–a beautiful story of second chances unfolds, making “Our Souls at Night” the perfect final installment to this beloved writer’s enduring contribution to American literature.

Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country: Traveling through the Land of My Ancestors by Louise Erdrich
Photo Courtesy

Travel Group is discussing: Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country: Traveling through the Land of My Ancestors by Louise Erdrich on Dec. 20, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.

For more than three decades, bestselling author Louise Erdrich has enthralled readers with dazzling novels that paint an evocative portrait of Native American life. From her dazzling first novel, “Love Medicine,” to the National Book Award-winning “The Round House,” Erdrich’s lyrical skill and emotional assurance have earned her a place alongside William Faulkner and Willa Cather as an author deeply rooted in the American landscape.

In “Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country,” Erdrich takes us on an illuminating tour through the terrain her ancestors have inhabited for centuries: the lakes and islands of southern Ontario.

Summoning to life the Ojibwe’s sacred spirits and songs, their language and sorrows, she considers the many ways in which her tribe whose name derives from the word ozhibii’ige, “to write” have influenced her. Her journey links ancient stone paintings with a magical island where a bookish recluse built an extraordinary library, and she reveals how both have transformed her.

A blend of history, mythology, and memoir, “Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country” is an enchanting meditation on modern life, natural splendor, and the ancient spirituality and creativity of Erdrich’s native homeland a long, elemental tradition of storytelling that is in her blood.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Non-Fiction Group is discussing: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America Trade Book by Erik Larson on Dec. 27, 2016 at 6 p.m.

This is the story of two men’s obsessions with the Chicago World’s Fair, one its architect, the other a murderer.

“The Devil in the White City” draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others.

Erik Larson author of #1 bestseller, “In the Garden of Beasts” intertwines the true tale of the 1893 World’s Fair and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death.

Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.