Everyone Is Welcome!
Summit Avenue Readers will reconvene in the fall. Titles and dates for 2024 and 2025 books are listed below! Haven’t joined us yet for a book discussion? We would love to see you!
For more information contact Julie Ditzler or Deb Varner (email addresses in your membership directory). Thank you!
2025-2026 Book List
NOTE: All book summaries are sourced from information on Amazon.com.
September 9, 2025 @ 9:30 a.m.
All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley
“A moving, revelatory portrait of one of the world’s great museums and its treasures by a writer who spent a decade as a museum guard. Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. Bringley brings readers on a journey of ruminating in the stillness of his grief to reentering the busier, louder world which he finds full of renewed meaning.”
-Discussion led by Arna Yetter
October 14, 2025 @ 9:30 a.m.
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
“In this stunning novel, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich tells a story of love, natural forces, spiritual yearnings, and the tragic impact of uncontrollable circumstances on ordinary people’s lives. This story centers around the Red River Valley, its land and geography, and where Louise Erdrich grew up. The characters depict the farming industry, financial losses and gains, plus the long-term effects of humans on this part of the earth!”
-Discussion led by Gay Bartholic
November 11, 2025 @ 9:30 a.m.
Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Mid Century by Drew Gilpin Faust
“This New York Times Best Seller is a memoir of a Southern white girl born into a privileged segregated society in the 1940s and 50s. She writes of how she came to confront the true nature of the pervasive racism in our country and how she became an activist, historian, and president of Harvard University!”
-Discussion led by Nancy Scanlon
January 13, 2025 @ 9:30 a.m.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
“This is a 2023 historical fiction thriller about an 18th century midwife set in a small town in Maine. Martha Ballard is thrust into a murder investigation after a corpse is found trapped in an icy river in their community. Martha is a respected individual who many rely on for her help and opinion on a variety of health issues and accidents. The book also explores the aftermath of an alleged rape committed by two respected gentlemen from the community.”
-Discussion led by Linda Woodstrom
February 10, 2025 @ 9:30 a.m.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Set on Long Island during the Roaring Twenties, The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s enduring exploration of wealth, desire, and the disillusionment of the American Dream. The novel unveils the tragic pursuit of lost love by the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby, set against the backdrop of Jazz Age excess and East Coast elite society. Recognized as a cornerstone of American literature and regional commentary, this classic novel captures the social divides, moral decay, and cultural shifts of post–World War I America. With its richly drawn characters and lyrical prose, The Great Gatsby remains a powerful critique of class, identity, and ambition in 1920s America — making it essential reading for fans of literary fiction, American classics, and modern literary criticism.”
-Discussion led by Shannon LeClair
March 10, 2025 @ 9:30 a.m.
The Last Life Boat by Hazel Gaynor
“Inspired by a remarkable true story, this book describes a young teacher who evacuates children to safety across perilous waters. Alice King is not brave or daring – she’s happiest finding adventure through the safe pages of a book. It tells the harrowing story from the alternating perspectives of Lily, a mother in England faced with the excruciating dilemma of whether to send her children away, and Alice the escort, who finds herself charged with helping a small group of them survive in a lifeboat for eight days.”
-Discussion led by Julie Ditzler
April 14, 2025 @ 9:30 a.m.
The Queen of Paris by Pamela Binnings Ewen
“Legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel is revered for her sophisticated style—the iconic little black dress—and famed for her intoxicating perfume Chanel No. 5. Yet behind the public persona is a complicated woman of intrigue, shadowed by mysterious rumors. This new novel from an award-winning author vividly imagines the hidden life of Chanel during the four years of Nazi occupation in Paris in the midst of WWII, as discovered in recently unearthed wartime files.”
-Discussion led by Barbara Waldschmidt
2022-2025 Book List
September 2022: The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness by Gregory Boyle
October 2022: The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
November 2022: The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
January 2023: The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
February 2023: Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
March 2023: Jefferson’s Daughters by Catherine Kerrison
April 2023: Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
September 2023: West with the Night by Beryl Markham
October 2023: Finding Me, A Memoir by Viola Davis
November 2023: River of the Gods by Candice Millard
January 2024: Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel
February 2024: Round House by Louise Erdrich
March 2024: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
April 2024: Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
September 2024: The Women by Kristin Hannah
October 2024: The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
November 2024: Trust by Hernan Diaz
January 2025: James by Percival Everett
February 2025: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
March 2025: Solito by Javier Zamora
April 2025: An American Beauty by Shana Abe
Updated: 5/27/25