Books and Adventures: Novel Tourists Cecil & Nearby Counties

June’s theme is Pets! NOW IT'S TIME TO VOTE for June’s Member Choice Book! Cast your vote here: https://forms.gle/v9ESgYeLcZ5JVjDv6
(copy and paste to your browser if needed)

This is not an "event" it is just a post to share the link to vote for the Member Choice Book.

Thank you to everyone who submitted suggestions! So many good ones! We've narrowed it down to four (4) and now it's time to pick just one! You have your choice between an coffee serving cats, a rescue dog, a pack of dogs and their cat friend, and a time traveling dog.

Each book is available as an audio, paper, and ebook. Stay tuned for the paired in person adventure AND online discussion!
The poll will close soon so without further ado - cast your vote!
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Each month we put out a call for ideas for one book that will have both an online discussion event as well as an inperson event. After you share your ideas, we'll pick four to put out for vote as the Member Choice Book for the month. After the book is chosen…well that’s when the fun begins! Stay tuned for the exciting paired online discussion and in person event!

Thanks for participating! Reading books and doing stuff together as a book club brings us all so much joy. 🤩

• Diane and Audrey

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NO NEED TO READ BELOW - it’s just for the algorithm 😝
Book Club is so much fun. I love going to Book Club and voting for books and these events are perfect for book lovers who like to socialize and meet other people and practice hobbies. All over Maryland we read books there’s so many fun things to do to meet other people like going to restaurants and dining out and voting for books and it’s just the best Book Club in the world. Meet friends and hang out reading books and practicing hobbies while we socialize with book lovers.

The Gardens de Grace Club invites you to the 19th Annual Secret Garden Tour of Havre de Grace. This self-guided tour in historic Havre de Grace showcases a variety of amazing private secret gardens.
Tickets are limited and can be purchased at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, Havre de Grace Visitor’s Center or online: Buy Tickets
The Tour starts at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum. On the day of the Tour, register at the Museum to receive the program featuring the locations of the Secret Gardens.
In addition to the Tour, visit the FREE Garden Mart & Plant Sale featuring the Chesapeake Festival & Green Expo from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with native plants, nature inspired vendors, and environmental educators. Master Gardeners will be available to answer your questions. Admission to the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum will also be FREE during this event.

We'll meet at Tidewater Grille for lunch at 12:00 where we'll discuss May's novel. Then we can either walk or drive to the Maritime Museum for the self-guided tour. We will pick up the addresses of the gardens at the visitor center.

LUNCH: Tidewater Grille, 300 Franklin Street, Havre de Grace
TIME: 12:00 MENU

EVENT: Secret Garden Tour, Maritime Museum, 100 Lafayette Street, Havre de Grace
TIME: 1:30
If you are not joining us for lunch, meet at the museum at 1:30.

PLEASE DON'T RSVP UNTIL YOU HAVE PURCHASED YOUR TICKET

NOVEL: A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor
FROM GOODREADS: In 1912, twenty-year-old Tilly Harper leaves the peace and beauty of her native Lake District for London, to become assistant housemother at Mr. Shaw’s Home for Watercress and Flower Girls. For years, the home has cared for London’s flower girls—orphaned and crippled children living on the grimy streets and selling posies of violets and watercress to survive.

Soon after she arrives, Tilly discovers a diary written by an orphan named Florrie—a young Irish flower girl who died of a broken heart after she and her sister, Rosie, were separated. Moved by Florrie’s pain and all she endured in her brief life, Tilly sets out to discover what happened to Rosie. But the search will not be easy. Full of twists and surprises, it leads the caring and determined young woman into unexpected places, including the depths of her own heart.

Happy Reading,

Diane

We have a winner!!! It was really close this month! You picked A Memory of Violets as the member choice book for the theme of a book with flowers in the title. Woot woot!

This unforgettable historical novel tells the story of two long-lost sisters—orphaned flower sellers—and a young woman who is transformed by their experiences.

Our online discussion will be the last Monday of May at 7 PM! The event with zoom link will be posted soon!

Stay tuned for the paired inperson adventure to a flower garden!

This is our online book club discussion night (last Monday of each month). Zoom link will be posted on the day of the event.

NOVEL: A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor
Genre: Historical Fiction
Flower: Violets

"For little sister. . . . I will never stop looking for you."

1876. Among the filth and depravity of Covent Garden's flower markets, orphaned Irish sisters Flora and Rosie Flynn sell posies of violets and watercress to survive. It is a pitiful existence, made bearable only by each other's presence. When they become separated, the decision of a desperate woman sets their lives on very different paths.

1877. Twenty-one-year-old Tilly Harper leaves the peace and beauty of her native Lake District for London to become assistant housemother at one of Mr. Shaw's Training Homes for Watercress and Flower Girls. For years, the homes have cared for London's orphaned and crippled flower girls, getting them off the streets. For Tilly, the appointment is a fresh start, a chance to leave her troubled past behind.

Soon after she arrives at the home, Tilly finds a notebook belonging to Flora Flynn. Hidden between the pages she finds dried flowers and a heartbreaking tale of loss and separation as Flora's entries reveal how she never stopped looking for her lost sister. Tilly sets out to discover what happened to Rosie—but the search will not be easy. Full of twists and surprises, it leads the caring and determined young woman into unexpected places, including the depths of her own heart.

Happy Reading!
Audrey

-------------------The below is silly babble just for the algorithm - no need for book club members to read this!-------------------------------
Reading books everywhere including is such a fun way to make new friends and be social with book loving book club members who like to read and explore urban areas and try new activities such as hiking, reading, craft, hobbies, museums and more! It's especially