The NEPM Book Club
Do you love to read? So do we! Join us for the NEPM Book Club — a quarterly virtual meet-up dedicated to bringing NEPM friends together to chat about new, diverse and interesting fiction.
Our next meeting will be Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. We'll be reading "North Woods" by Daniel Mason, which is set right here in western Massachusetts.
The NEPM Book Club is sponsored by Whalen Insurance and Broadside Bookshop in Northampton.
ABOUT THE NOVEL
When two young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know that their humble cabin in the woods will become the home of an extraordinary succession of human and nonhuman characters alike. An English soldier, destined for glory, abandons the battlefields of the New World to devote himself to growing apples. A pair of spinster twins navigate war and famine, envy and desire. A crime reporter unearths an ancient mass grave—only to discover that the earth refuse to give up their secrets. A lovelorn painter, a sinister con man, a stalking panther, a lusty beetle: As the inhabitants confront the wonder and mystery around them, they begin to realize that the dark, raucous, beautiful past is very much alive.
This magisterial and highly inventive novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason brims with love and madness, humor and hope. Following the cycles of history, nature, and even language, "North Woods" shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment, to history, and to one another. It is not just an unforgettable novel about secrets and destinies, but a way of looking at the world that asks the timeless question: How do we live on, even after we’re gone?
MEET THE BOOK CLUB HOST
Erin O’Neill is a dedicated bibliophile and NEPM’s digital marketing and social media manager. A lifelong obsessive reader and lover of stories, Erin hosts and organizes NEPM Book Club meetings — and comes up with discussion questions!
GET THE BOOK
Need to get your copy of the latest Book Club selection? Please consider buying from one of our local NEPM Book Club partners:
Broadside Bookshop in Northampton »
Massive Bookshop, an online bookseller in Greenfield »
Olive Tree Books-n-Voices in Springfield »
UPCOMING MEETINGS
NEPM Book Club members can help select books for us to read. Do you have a favorite novel? Is there a piece of fiction that’s on your to-read list? Email your suggestions to bookclub@nepm.org!
Though our meetings have been on Zoom, we’re looking forward to the time when we may be able to congregate in person. As we like to say at NEPM, “Stay tuned!”