The St Mark Book Club meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 4:00 pm to discuss the specific book selection and also fellowship with each other. The club started in 2008 and we read Christian and secular books as recommended by our members. Our first selection was The Shack and over the years we’ve read classics- To Kill a Mockingbird, memoirs- Unbroken, and popular novels- My Sister’s Keeper (we went to the theatre to watch this when it came out as a movie). We’re a small group and invite any and all interested readers to join us!
Listed below are the monthly readings
The St Mark Book Club meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 4:00 pm to discuss the specific book selection and also fellowship with each other. The club started in 2008 and we read Christian and secular books as recommended by our members. Our first selection was The Shack and over the years we’ve read classics- To Kill a Mockingbird, memoirs- Unbroken, and popular novels- My Sister’s Keeper (we went to the theatre to watch this when it came out as a movie). We’re a small group and invite any and all interested readers to join us!
Listed below are the monthly readings
Book Club Selections for 2025
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January Book Club meeting will be on January 21st at 4:00 pm
This will be a planning session for 2025 We encourage you to attend and bring copies of books you recommend for reading in 2025 
February Book
An Hour Before Daylight: Memories Of A Rural Boyhood by Jimmy Carter (Author) “An American classic.” --The New Yorker In An Hour Before Daylight, Jimmy Carter, bestselling author of Living Faith and Sources of Strength, recreates his Depression-era boyhood on a Georgia farm before the civil rights movement forever changed it and the country. Carter writes about the powerful rhythms of countryside and community in a sharecropping economy, offering an unforgettable portrait of his father, a brilliant farmer and a strict segregationist who treated black workers with respect and fairness; his strong-willed and well-read mother; and the five other people who shaped his early life, three of whom were black. Carter's clean and eloquent prose evokes a time when the cycles of life were predictable and simple and the rules were heartbreaking and complex. In his singular voice and with a novelist's gift for detail, Jimmy Carter creates a sensitive portrait of an era that shaped the nation and recounts a classic, American story of enduring importance. |
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March Book
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven
by Fannie Flagg
Combining southern warmth with unabashed emotion and side-splitting hilarity, Fannie Flagg takes readers back to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where the most unlikely and surprising experiences of a high-spirited octogenarian inspire a town to ponder the age-old question: Why are we here?
Life is the strangest thing. One minute, Mrs. Elner Shimfissle is up in her tree, picking figs, and the next thing she knows, she is off on an adventure she never dreamed of, running into people she never in a million years expected to meet. Meanwhile, back home, Elner’s nervous, high-strung niece Norma faints and winds up in bed with a cold rag on her head; Elner’s neighbor Verbena rushes immediately to the Bible; her truck driver friend, Luther Griggs, runs his eighteen-wheeler into a ditch–and the entire town is thrown for a loop and left wondering, “What is life all about, anyway?” Except for Tot Whooten, who owns Tot’s Tell It Like It Is Beauty Shop. Her main concern is that the end of the world might come before she can collect her social security.
In this comedy-mystery, those near and dear to Elner discover something wonderful: Heaven is actually right here, right now, with people you love, neighbors you help, friendships you keep. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is proof once more that Fannie Flagg “was put on this earth to write” (Southern Living), spinning tales as sweet and refreshing as iced tea on a summer day, with a little extra kick thrown in.
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven
by Fannie Flagg
Combining southern warmth with unabashed emotion and side-splitting hilarity, Fannie Flagg takes readers back to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where the most unlikely and surprising experiences of a high-spirited octogenarian inspire a town to ponder the age-old question: Why are we here?
Life is the strangest thing. One minute, Mrs. Elner Shimfissle is up in her tree, picking figs, and the next thing she knows, she is off on an adventure she never dreamed of, running into people she never in a million years expected to meet. Meanwhile, back home, Elner’s nervous, high-strung niece Norma faints and winds up in bed with a cold rag on her head; Elner’s neighbor Verbena rushes immediately to the Bible; her truck driver friend, Luther Griggs, runs his eighteen-wheeler into a ditch–and the entire town is thrown for a loop and left wondering, “What is life all about, anyway?” Except for Tot Whooten, who owns Tot’s Tell It Like It Is Beauty Shop. Her main concern is that the end of the world might come before she can collect her social security.
In this comedy-mystery, those near and dear to Elner discover something wonderful: Heaven is actually right here, right now, with people you love, neighbors you help, friendships you keep. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is proof once more that Fannie Flagg “was put on this earth to write” (Southern Living), spinning tales as sweet and refreshing as iced tea on a summer day, with a little extra kick thrown in.
April Book
The Enchanted April
by Elizabeth von Arnim
A recipe for happiness: four women, one medieval Italian castle, plenty of wisteria, and solitude as needed.
The women at the center of The Enchanted April are alike only in their dissatisfaction with their everyday lives. They find each other—and the castle of their dreams—through a classified ad in a London newspaper one rainy February afternoon. The ladies expect a pleasant holiday, but they don’t anticipate that the month they spend in Portofino will reintroduce them to their true natures and reacquaint them with joy. Now, if the same transformation can be worked on their husbands and lovers, the enchantment will be complete.
The Enchanted April was a best-seller in both England and the United States, where it was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and set off a craze for tourism to Portofino. More recently, the novel has been the inspiration for a major film and a Broadway play.
The Enchanted April
by Elizabeth von Arnim
A recipe for happiness: four women, one medieval Italian castle, plenty of wisteria, and solitude as needed.
The women at the center of The Enchanted April are alike only in their dissatisfaction with their everyday lives. They find each other—and the castle of their dreams—through a classified ad in a London newspaper one rainy February afternoon. The ladies expect a pleasant holiday, but they don’t anticipate that the month they spend in Portofino will reintroduce them to their true natures and reacquaint them with joy. Now, if the same transformation can be worked on their husbands and lovers, the enchantment will be complete.
The Enchanted April was a best-seller in both England and the United States, where it was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and set off a craze for tourism to Portofino. More recently, the novel has been the inspiration for a major film and a Broadway play.
May Book
This Rock
by Robert Morgan
From the author of Gap Creek-an international best-seller and winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award-comes the gripping story of two brothers struggling against each other and the confines of their mountain world in 1920s Appalachia.
The Powell brothers-Muir and Moody-are as different as Cain and Abel. Muir is an innocent, a shy young man with big dreams. Moody, the older and wilder brother-embittered by the death of his father, by years of fighting his mother, and by his jealousy of Muir's place in the family-takes to moonshine and gambling and turns his anger on his brother. Muir escapes by wandering, making his way around the country in attempts to find something-an occupation, a calling-to match his ambition.
Through it all, their mother, Ginny, tries to steer her boys right, all the while remembering her own losses: her husband (whose touch still haunts her), her youth, and the fiery sense of God that once ordered her world.
When Muir, in a drunken vision, decides that his purpose in life is to clear a space on a hill and build a stone church with his own hands, the consequences of his plan are far-reaching and irrevocable: a community threatens to tear itself apart, men die, and his family is forever changed. All that's left in the aftermath are the ghosts and the memories of a new man.
This Rock
by Robert Morgan
From the author of Gap Creek-an international best-seller and winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award-comes the gripping story of two brothers struggling against each other and the confines of their mountain world in 1920s Appalachia.
The Powell brothers-Muir and Moody-are as different as Cain and Abel. Muir is an innocent, a shy young man with big dreams. Moody, the older and wilder brother-embittered by the death of his father, by years of fighting his mother, and by his jealousy of Muir's place in the family-takes to moonshine and gambling and turns his anger on his brother. Muir escapes by wandering, making his way around the country in attempts to find something-an occupation, a calling-to match his ambition.
Through it all, their mother, Ginny, tries to steer her boys right, all the while remembering her own losses: her husband (whose touch still haunts her), her youth, and the fiery sense of God that once ordered her world.
When Muir, in a drunken vision, decides that his purpose in life is to clear a space on a hill and build a stone church with his own hands, the consequences of his plan are far-reaching and irrevocable: a community threatens to tear itself apart, men die, and his family is forever changed. All that's left in the aftermath are the ghosts and the memories of a new man.
June Book
Eight Weeks Later
by G. I. London
A key to paradise isn’t the same thing as entry.
After a tumultuous childhood, Roy Fernsby now runs a quaint London coffee shop that his friends frequent, cycles on Sundays . . . and keeps his distance from romantic relationships. Though Roy’s charming and well-liked, being single suits him—if only because it helps him avoid the sting of abandonment. Besides, Roy likes his life exactly as it is.
Then a lawyer in Hawai’i calls Roy to inform him that he’s just inherited a beach house in Nalu from his grandparents. There’s just one a former foster child, Roy never knew he had grandparents.
Roy doubts this newly discovered “family” ever cared about him. But a tropical island—complete with a beach house inheritance—beckons. He takes a chance and flies to Hawai’i, expecting to stay a week and sell the beach house. Fast. What he isn’t anticipating is the resentment and painful childhood memories that resurface as he uncovers the roots of a close-knit family he never knew he had. Why didn’t any of these folks, whom everyone adored, look for him?
Then he meets Amy, a former New Yorker and single mother who works as a snorkeling guide. Though the pair are from opposite worlds—literally—and neither is looking for a relationship, their connection is instant, and they’re soon spending a lot of time together.
Roy tells himself that Amy’s only a nice distraction, even as he falls for her. But Amy has her own secrets . . . and a hidden agenda that involves Roy and his beach house.
As Roy grapples with life-changing secrets regarding his past, he must make difficult decisions about his Can he embrace his roots and let go of resentment? Can he trust Amy? Can he stay and seek the truth about where he belongs—no matter the cost to his guarded heart?
Eight Weeks Later
by G. I. London
A key to paradise isn’t the same thing as entry.
After a tumultuous childhood, Roy Fernsby now runs a quaint London coffee shop that his friends frequent, cycles on Sundays . . . and keeps his distance from romantic relationships. Though Roy’s charming and well-liked, being single suits him—if only because it helps him avoid the sting of abandonment. Besides, Roy likes his life exactly as it is.
Then a lawyer in Hawai’i calls Roy to inform him that he’s just inherited a beach house in Nalu from his grandparents. There’s just one a former foster child, Roy never knew he had grandparents.
Roy doubts this newly discovered “family” ever cared about him. But a tropical island—complete with a beach house inheritance—beckons. He takes a chance and flies to Hawai’i, expecting to stay a week and sell the beach house. Fast. What he isn’t anticipating is the resentment and painful childhood memories that resurface as he uncovers the roots of a close-knit family he never knew he had. Why didn’t any of these folks, whom everyone adored, look for him?
Then he meets Amy, a former New Yorker and single mother who works as a snorkeling guide. Though the pair are from opposite worlds—literally—and neither is looking for a relationship, their connection is instant, and they’re soon spending a lot of time together.
Roy tells himself that Amy’s only a nice distraction, even as he falls for her. But Amy has her own secrets . . . and a hidden agenda that involves Roy and his beach house.
As Roy grapples with life-changing secrets regarding his past, he must make difficult decisions about his Can he embrace his roots and let go of resentment? Can he trust Amy? Can he stay and seek the truth about where he belongs—no matter the cost to his guarded heart?
July Book
Book Club meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 4:00 p.m. A “field trip” to NHC Healthcare is planned for the July15th meeting and Residents have been invited to join us. We’ll meet in the lobby inside the first entrance at 4:00 pm. Call Dot Ping or Diane Mason with questions. NHC Healthcare 2300 Coleman Road Anniston, AL 36207 Discussion book will be “The Blue Castle” by L. M. Montgomery Everyone welcome. Hope to see you there!
The Blue Castle
by L. M. Montgomery
An unforgettable story of courage and romance. Will Valancy Stirling ever escape her strict family and find true love?
Valancy Stirling is 29, unmarried, and has never been in love. Living with her overbearing mother and meddlesome aunt, she finds her only consolation in the "forbidden" books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle--a place where all her dreams come true and she can be who she truly wants to be. After getting shocking news from the doctor, she rebels against her family and discovers a surprising new world, full of love and adventures far beyond her most secret dreams.
Book Club meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 4:00 p.m. A “field trip” to NHC Healthcare is planned for the July15th meeting and Residents have been invited to join us. We’ll meet in the lobby inside the first entrance at 4:00 pm. Call Dot Ping or Diane Mason with questions. NHC Healthcare 2300 Coleman Road Anniston, AL 36207 Discussion book will be “The Blue Castle” by L. M. Montgomery Everyone welcome. Hope to see you there!
The Blue Castle
by L. M. Montgomery
An unforgettable story of courage and romance. Will Valancy Stirling ever escape her strict family and find true love?
Valancy Stirling is 29, unmarried, and has never been in love. Living with her overbearing mother and meddlesome aunt, she finds her only consolation in the "forbidden" books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle--a place where all her dreams come true and she can be who she truly wants to be. After getting shocking news from the doctor, she rebels against her family and discovers a surprising new world, full of love and adventures far beyond her most secret dreams.
August Book
The Greatest Salesman in the World
by O. G. Mandino
What you are today is not important... for in this runaway bestseller you will learn how to change your life by applying the secrets you are about to discover in the ancient scrolls.
The Greatest Salesman in the World is a book that serves as a guide to a philosophy of salesmanship, and success, telling the story of Hafid, a poor camel boy who achieves a life of abundance.
The Greatest Salesman in the World
by O. G. Mandino
What you are today is not important... for in this runaway bestseller you will learn how to change your life by applying the secrets you are about to discover in the ancient scrolls.
The Greatest Salesman in the World is a book that serves as a guide to a philosophy of salesmanship, and success, telling the story of Hafid, a poor camel boy who achieves a life of abundance.
September Book
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck
This tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his family. Nearby, the nobles of the House of Hwang consider themselves above the land and its workers; but they will soon meet their own downfall.
Hard times come upon Wang Lung and his family when flood and drought force them to seek work in the city. The working people riot, breaking into the homes of the rich and forcing them to flee. When Wang Lung shows mercy to one noble and is rewarded, he begins to rise in the world, even as the House of Hwang falls.
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck
This tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his family. Nearby, the nobles of the House of Hwang consider themselves above the land and its workers; but they will soon meet their own downfall.
Hard times come upon Wang Lung and his family when flood and drought force them to seek work in the city. The working people riot, breaking into the homes of the rich and forcing them to flee. When Wang Lung shows mercy to one noble and is rewarded, he begins to rise in the world, even as the House of Hwang falls.
October Book
Twelve Extraordinary Women
by John Macarthur
Celebrated for their courage, vision, hospitality, and spiritual giftedness, it's no wonder women were so important to God's plan revealed in the Old and New Testaments. It wasn't their natural qualities that made these women extraordinary but the power of the one true God whom they worshipped and served.
In "Twelve Extraordinary Women," you'll learn more than fascinating information about these women, you'll discover-perhaps for the first time-the unmistakable chronology of God's redemptive work in history through their lives. These women were not ancillary to His plan, they were at the very heart of it.
Some of the women you'll come to know include:
Ruth (Ruth 1-4) Anna (Luke 2:36-38) Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42) Mary Magdalene (Matthew 27:56-61) Sarah (Genesis 11-25) Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2) The Samaritan woman (John 4 Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1-2)
You will be challenged and motivated by this poignant and personal look into the lives of some of the Bible's most faithful women. Their struggles and temptations are the same trials faced by all believers in all ages. And the God to whom they were so committed is the same God who continues to mold and use ordinary people today.
Twelve Extraordinary Women
by John Macarthur
Celebrated for their courage, vision, hospitality, and spiritual giftedness, it's no wonder women were so important to God's plan revealed in the Old and New Testaments. It wasn't their natural qualities that made these women extraordinary but the power of the one true God whom they worshipped and served.
In "Twelve Extraordinary Women," you'll learn more than fascinating information about these women, you'll discover-perhaps for the first time-the unmistakable chronology of God's redemptive work in history through their lives. These women were not ancillary to His plan, they were at the very heart of it.
Some of the women you'll come to know include:
Ruth (Ruth 1-4) Anna (Luke 2:36-38) Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42) Mary Magdalene (Matthew 27:56-61) Sarah (Genesis 11-25) Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2) The Samaritan woman (John 4 Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1-2)
You will be challenged and motivated by this poignant and personal look into the lives of some of the Bible's most faithful women. Their struggles and temptations are the same trials faced by all believers in all ages. And the God to whom they were so committed is the same God who continues to mold and use ordinary people today.
November Book
Once Upon A Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry Megs Devonshire sets out to fulfill her younger brother George’s last wish by uncovering the truth behind his favorite story. The answer provides hope and healing and a magical journey for anyone whose life has ever been changed by a book. 1950: Margaret Devonshire (Megs) is a seventeen-year-old student of mathematics and physics at Oxford University. When her beloved eight-year-old brother asks Megs if Narnia is real, logical Megs tells him it’s just a book for children, and certainly not true. Homebound due to his illness, and remaining fixated on his favorite books, George presses her to ask the author of the recently released novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a question: “Where did Narnia come from?” Despite her fear about approaching the famous author, who is a professor at her school, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with C. S. Lewis and his own brother Warnie, begging them for answers. Rather than directly telling her where Narnia came from, Lewis encourages Megs to form her own conclusion as he slowly tells her the little-known stories from his own life that led to his inspiration. As she takes these stories home to George, the little boy travels farther in his imagination than he ever could in real life. Lewis’s answers will reveal to Megs and her family many truths that science and math cannot, and the gift she thought she was giving to her brother—the story behind Narnia—turns out to be his gift to her, instead: hope. |