Holiday Sip & Swap: A Literary Feast!

We invite you to an evening filled with holiday cheer, wine, cheese and lively conversation around Ariel Lawhon's ***The Frozen River (***2024 Goodreads Choice Award: Nominee for Readers Favorite Historical Fiction). Inspired by the life of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into history.

*Please bring a wrapped book to swap. Wrapping should be plain. On the wrapping, share a short, legible, intriguing blurb about the book without revealing the title. Guests will choose books based upon the blurb, and after everyone has picked, we'll unwrap and reveal titles!*

From Goodreads: Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town's most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon's newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. *The Frozen River* is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.

As always, please feel free to join even if you have not finished the book - no stress:-)

All attendees are asked to please bring one of the following:

1. A bottle of wine 2. Cheese and crackers or holiday themed food for a festive touch 3. An alternate beverage or nosh of your choice

Host will provide glasses, wine opener, plates & napkins.

To enhance the opportunity for great conversation, we would like to keep the group small. Please feel free to sign-up to meet us along with up to 2 friends.

In the future, we will vary books by genres, settings, eras, awards, themes, etc.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMMITTED TO ATTEND WHEN YOU RSVP FOR THIS EVENT. We ask that ALL folks honor their RSVP. If you are unable to attend after sending in a YES, please update your status so that others may join us. In the event you do not communicate and are a no-show, your ability to RSVP for future events will be restricted. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

If you are unable to join us in December, we hope you'll remain interested and join us for an evening in the future. Looking forward to wine & cheese with you soon - happy reading!