All members in CNY are invited to join this engaging book club experience where we meet virtually to discuss reading adventures throughout the year. Check out our upcoming line-up below and use the form to sign up to join us!
Upcoming Selections

January-February 2025

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics [Book]The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Nine Americans from the University of Washington rowing team compete as prohibitive underdogs in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
 

 

 


March-April 2025 - Conference Connection!

Haven: The Dramatic Story of 1,000 World War II Refugees and How They Came to America: Gruber, Ruth: 9781453206331: Amazon.com: BooksHaven by Ruth Gruber. The inspiring story of 982 Jewish and Christian refugees from Europe during World War II who found sanctuary in Oswego, NY in 1944.
Additional recommended reading: Holocaust Refugees in Oswego by Ann Callaghan Allen.

 

 


Join us at the Conference of Champions, Hilton Downtown Albany, April 4-6, for this book discussion during a breakout session led by the additional reading selection's author, Ann Callaghan Allen. The discussion will be followed by a visit to the nearby New York State Museum for an exhibit on the topic (as well as all of the other museum features!).


May-June 2025

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store: A Novel [Book]Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. About a small, diverse community
centered around a Jewish-owned grocery store and the big events – love, death, murder,
kidnapping – that mark the lives of the people connected to it.
 
 



July-August 2025

Heart Of Gold [Book]Heart of Gold by Samuel Colabufo. Set on the shores of Oneida Lake, it is based on a real, but very strange RH Null blood type, and the chase to find its carriers.
 
 
 
 
 
 


September-October 2025

Chesapeake: A NovelChesapeake by James A. Michener. Brings his grand epic tradition to bear on the four-hundred-year saga of America’s Eastern Shore, from its Native American roots to the modern age.
 
 
 
 
 


November-December 2025

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx | GoodreadsThe Shipping News by Annie Proulx. A vigorous, darkly comic, and at times magical portrait of a contemporary family set in Newfoundland. (Pulitzer Prize, 1994)

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    Summer 2024 Field Trip in Review

     
    Beyond the Underground: Aunt Harriet, Moses of Her People, by Joyce Stokes Jones and Michele Jones Galvin, depicts a family, from which an American heroine is born, that survives slavery, gains freedom, and begins the journey of creating a new life beyond the shackles of human bondage. The saga tells the story of seven generations of women of African descent tied by bloodline to Harriet Tubman.
     
    Co-author and Syracuse Rotarian Michele Jones Galvin arranged a field trip to the Harriet Tubman Home and Museum on July 27th. A direct descendant of Harriet Tubman, Michele gave a reading from her book in the historic church that Harriet Tubman attended.
     
    Scroll down for photos from that day, click the image of her book above to order a copy, and consider using the form on this page to join the book club so you be part of interesting activities too!

    Past Selections

    November-December 2024

    The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and MurderThe Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann. A page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery,  culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. “The most gripping sea yarn I’ve read in years. A tour de force of narrative nonfiction. Mr. Grann’s account shows how storytelling, whether to judges or readers, can shape individual and national fortunes – as well as our collective memories.” — Wall Street Journal
     
     

    September-October 2024

    The Lincoln Highway: A Read with Jenna Pick (A Novel)The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. The story follows four boys who set out to travel the country in search of a fresh start. There’s train hopping and car stealing, and with that comes the inevitability of trouble sparked from both good and bad intentions. Each of these young men is chasing his dreams, but their pasts—whether violent or sad—are never far behind.
    “Mischievous, wise and wildly entertaining.”Chris Batcheldor, New York Times Book Review

     

    August 2024 - Special 1-Month Beach Read

    The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Book 1)The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Divorced from an abusive husband and parentless when her beloved father dies, Precious Ramotswe uses the money from their cattle farm to buy a small building and start her own little detective agency in Botswana.
    “I really enjoyed this book, I found it thoroughly entertaining. Sometimes, while reading, I'd get so involved with the case Mma Ramostwe was solving that I wouldn't leave my chair until the case got over.” Betsy Reed Editor, Guardian