Join a book club that is reading How to Age Disgracefully: A Novel!
How to Age Disgracefully: A Novel
“An uproarious romp!” —People
“Pooley weaves together the most cleverly flawed and lovable characters and then sets them free to prove that we are limitless at any age.” —Annabel Monaghan, bestselling author of Summer Romance
A senior citizens’ center and a daycare collide with hilarious results in the new ensemble comedy from New York Times-bestselling author Clare Pooley
When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens’ Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she’ll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards.
The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign—but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide.
When the city council threatens to sell the doomed community center building, the members of the Social Club join forces with their tiny friends in the daycare next door—as well as the teenaged father of one of the toddlers and a geriatric dog—to save the building. Together, this group’s unorthodox methods may actually work, as long as the police don’t catch up with them first.
“Pooley weaves together the most cleverly flawed and lovable characters and then sets them free to prove that we are limitless at any age.” —Annabel Monaghan, bestselling author of Summer Romance
A senior citizens’ center and a daycare collide with hilarious results in the new ensemble comedy from New York Times-bestselling author Clare Pooley
When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens’ Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she’ll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards.
The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign—but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide.
When the city council threatens to sell the doomed community center building, the members of the Social Club join forces with their tiny friends in the daycare next door—as well as the teenaged father of one of the toddlers and a geriatric dog—to save the building. Together, this group’s unorthodox methods may actually work, as long as the police don’t catch up with them first.
BUY THE BOOK
These clubs recently read this book...
Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *How to Age Disgracefully* is a humorous, heartfelt story celebrating found family and community across generations. Reviewers praise Clar...
thenextgoodbook.com
What’s it about?
When a group of pensioners join a new Senior Social Club- you never know what will happen. The club is housed in the Mandel Community Center along with a nursery, AA, and a karate club. When the council threatens to tear down the Community Center to make way for a new project, the seniors devise a plan.
What did it make me think about?
Not quite like the seniors I know….
Should I read it?
This book started slow for me. I enjoyed the characters and the story was quite clever—lots of humor and lots of hope. Don’t overthink this one. Just enjoy!
Quote-
“Lydia helped herself to another celebratory slice of cake. Maybe it would help plump out some of her wrinkles. Like a cosmetic filler, but more tasty.”
What’s it about?
When a group of pensioners join a new Senior Social Club- you never know what will happen. The club is housed in the Mandel Community Center along with a nursery, AA, and a karate club. When the council threatens to tear down the Community Center to make way for a new project, the seniors devise a plan.
What did it make me think about?
Not quite like the seniors I know….
Should I read it?
This book started slow for me. I enjoyed the characters and the story was quite clever—lots of humor and lots of hope. Don’t overthink this one. Just enjoy!
Quote-
“Lydia helped herself to another celebratory slice of cake. Maybe it would help plump out some of her wrinkles. Like a cosmetic filler, but more tasty.”
An enjoyable read. While the characters and their actions might not be completely believable, they were creatively presented and their antics were entertaining.
I adored this funny book that was set in a senior center. Lydia, age 55, is desperately trying to do well in this new job working at a senior center. There she meets some quirky characters, notably Daphne, who is always grumbling and taking her first venture into the real world in over 15 years. There's also a day-care center using the other half of the building and a single dad with a baby frequents the center since he is still in high school. When the roof collapses and kills one of the seniors on the first day, there is a question about whether or not to repair the community center or tear it down and use the land for another purpose. The seniors, the children at the day care, and members of the other groups that use the center band together to fight to keep the center open and get the city council on board with renovation. There is a wonderful nativity play with toddlers and a hysterical bus trip (opening scene from the book). Throughout it all, Daphne's daring attitude and quick witted thinking is seeming to work wonders.
“How could you create a future when you had no present you enjoyed and no past you would admit to?” (14%)
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.