Join a book club that is reading How to Read a Book: A Novel!

Books on Tap

Book discussion group sponsored by the Scarborough Public Library that used to meet at O'Reilly's Cure in Scarborough, Maine, but has now moved to the Seadog Brewing in Scarborough, near Cabella's.

How to Read a Book: A Novel

"The perfect pick to really light a fire under my book club, and yours....A reminder that goodness, and books, can still win in this world." —New York Times Book Review

"A beautiful, big-hearted treasure of a novel." —Lily King

National Bestseller * From the award-winning author of The One-in-a-Million Boy comes a heartfelt, uplifting novel about a chance encounter at a bookstore, exploring redemption, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.

Our Reasons meet us in the morning and whisper to us at night. Mine is an innocent, unsuspecting, eternally sixty-one-year-old woman named Lorraine Daigle…

Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher.

Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest.

Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.

When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.

How to Read a Book is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives. With the heart, wit, grace, and depth of understanding that has characterized her work, Monica Wood illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living. 

"A deeply humane and touching novel; highly recommended for book clubs and fans of Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures." — Booklist

BUY THE BOOK

288 pages

Average rating: 7.99

140 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Tara Y
Mar 30, 2025
10/10 stars
Simply fabulous!
EileenMatz
Feb 20, 2025
8/10 stars
Loved the weekly book club - prison group idea. The in-depth look into the lives/crimes of the female prisoners, and especially the civilian/leader's life.
Anonymous
Feb 17, 2025
8/10 stars
I really loved this! I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the story. These characters are very human, imperfect and unique in their own ways, and I loved discovering the connections they made.
Dew
Jan 22, 2025
8/10 stars
book club book for December/January... interesting viewpoints and human relationship study
STower
Dec 31, 2024
8/10 stars
We go to unsuspecting places showing the power of reading and redemption. Light, delightful read.

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