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Many of the books recently read by Central Oregon book groups are successful debut novels for the authors. This seems very appropriate as this is my debut with the What We’re Reading column. My talented predecessor, Bunny Thompson, has moved on to pursue some long-delayed projects that have been calling her name recently. I love good stories and look forward to sharing with the readers what some of the latest picks are by our local bibliophiles.

Good reading!

“The Rosie Project”

by Graeme Simsion

Redmond Couples Book Group

Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman come from different worlds and it seems very improbable that the two will meet. But love has a way of changing the best-laid plans. Don, a socially challenged geneticist, designs a logic-driven approach to finding a wife. His plan is hijacked by disorganized bartender Rosie’s desire to find her biological father. Simsion’s debut novel focuses on both the humor and significance of what makes us human. The couples in the Redmond Book Group thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it interesting hearing what the men thought of Rosie and the women thought of Don. They also explored the myriad ways people demonstrate their feelings for one another, since there is no one correct way.

“The Roots of the Olive Tree”

by Courtney Miller Santo

Bend Bookies

Deep ancestral roots are mirrored in the roots of the trees in the California olive grove that is home to five generations of Keller women. The matriarch, Anna, is 112 years old and is intent on setting the Guinness World Record as the oldest living human. A geneticist, who wants to study the family’s unusual longevity, threatens to expose family secrets known only to Anna’s 90-year-old daughter, Bets. In her debut novel, Santo captures the love, secrets, jealousies, forgiveness and disappointments that are all part of what ties families together. The book group thought the storyline was drawn from the five distinct characters and was “definitely not plot driven.” With the theme of age and aging running throughout the story, the Bookies discussion turned in that direction leading to the question, “Is there a point when ‘old’ becomes ‘too old’, even if you’re healthy?”

“Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher”

by Timothy Egan

Read, Wine and Bleu

In the nonfiction category, and not a debut book, popular historian Timothy Egan takes a fascinating look at the early 1900s in the U.S., as he tells the story of photographer (the Shadow Catcher) Edward Curtis’s three decades-long obsession with creating a photographic record of all the Native American tribes before their old ways disappeared. Egan does a masterful job of creating evocative descriptions and emotions providing inspiration, heartbreak, adventure, and awe that bring history alive. Curtis fulfilled his vision, at the cost of everything else in his life, ending up penniless and alone. Among his subjects were Chief Joseph, Geronimo, the Hopi Snake Dancers, native Alaskans and Blackfeet, all preserved in his 20-volume edition, which sold about 300 sets. The RWB group reported, “We now have another field trip on our radar, to the Rare Book Library at the University of Oregon, which houses the Curtis family set of the entire 20 volumes of ‘The North American Indian.’”