Between the Covers: Professionally Led Book Discussions

The light you bring to the world in the form of literature and language is so special.

I enjoyed listening to the discussion and found the book fascinating.

It was a great discussion last night . . . this book really gave me deep understanding.

We’ve just wrapped up our second year of Between the Covers with Alice & Ann (formerly Talking Books with Alice & Ann), with readers from all over the country joining us every other month for enlightening conversations (sometimes with cocktails). We began in October 2022 with Feast Your Eyes by Myla Goldberg, a literary novel about art and motherhood, then read Songbirds by Christy Lefteri, suspenseful fiction about migrants on the island of Cyprus, and delved into the shadow history of adoption with American Baby by Gabrielle Glaser. We challenged ourselves with A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin, a collection of 43 short stories by an underappreciated writer, and then discussed When the Stars Go Dark by Paul McLain, a mystery informed by the author’s own experiences in the foster care system. We finished the year with Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, a modern classic.

In response to feedback from our terrific subscribers, we’re making some changes to our literary series for the upcoming year (2023-24). Between the Covers has transitioned to a CONVERSATION ONLY format. Here’s how it works:

• You receive six “surprise” announcements of our hand-selected, under-the-radar titles — one every other month.
• You can buy the book at your choice of bookstore, purchase the audio version, or borrow it from the library.
• On alternate months, you receive a Zoom link to a 60-minute live Siskel & Ebert style conversation where book facilitators Alice and Ann discuss, dissect, and debate the work.
• If you can’t join us live, you have access to the recorded conversations for two months.

The fee is now $100 for an entire year — six emailed title announcements and six talks. To subscribe, please send payment via Venmo (@alice-moody) or Zelle (alice.moody@comcast.net) by September 1. If you prefer to send a check, let us know and we’ll provide a mailing address. You can reach us by email at bksonthetable@gmail.com or phone/text at 847.843.6321.

We hope you’ll join us for another year of enriching literature and thought-provoking conversations!