PSCA Book Club

Are you passionate about reading and eager to share your thoughts on captivating books? We're excited to announce the launch of our very own Painted Sky book club, where literary enthusiasts can come together for discussions, gain new perspectives, and build connections with fellow readers!

Our book club will meet as a group on March 8th and again at the end of the term on May 30th. On March 8th will be to introduce our spring term facilitators, Heidi Brooks and Lizz Blackburn, answer any questions, exchange contact info and decide on book specific reading meetups. After March 8th, Heidi and Lizz will schedule optional but encouraged monthly reading meetups for interested participants. On May 30th we will again meet as a group and discuss summer term books and facilitators. Participants are not limited to one book, if both books catch your eye, please read both and attend any meet up you’d like!

PSCA membership is strongly encouraged. Participants are responsible for acquiring their own book. Please contact Lizz Blackburn if you have any trouble finding a copy.

Book Title: The Deception

Author: Kim Tylor Blakemore

Genre: Historical Fiction

Description: A sleight of hand. A trick up the sleeve. A call for the dead. It’s all part of the game in this twisty tale by the bestselling author of After Alice Fell.

New Hampshire, 1877. Maud Price was once a celebrated child medium, a true believer in lifting the veil between the living and the dead. Now penniless, her guiding spirits gone, the so-called “Maid of Light” is desperate to regain her reputation—but doing so means putting her faith in deceiving others.

Clementine Watkins, known in spiritualist circles for her bag of tricks and utmost discretion, creates the sort of theatrics that can fill Maud’s parlor again, and with each misdirection, Maud’s fame is restored. But her guilt is a heavy burden. And the ruse has become a risk. Others are plotting to expose the fraud, and Clem can’t allow anyone—even Maud—to jeopardize the fortune the hoax has made her.

When the deception hints at a possible murder, Maud realizes how dangerous a game she’s playing. But to return to the light from which she’s strayed, she must first survive the darkness created by Clem’s smoke and mirrors.

Facilitator: Heidi Brooks

Heidi Brooks’ passion is researching local and cultural history and sharing stories of the past. Historical Fiction is her favorite genre because it blends historical events and characters with imagination. Some of her favorite authors are Jane Kirkpatrick, Sandra Dalles, Kathleen Grissom, and Sadeqa Johnson. Another favorite is the author of this quarter's book club, K.T. Blakemore.

Book Title: Starter Villain

Author: John Scalzi

Genre: Science Fiction

Description: Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.

(Contains foul language and violence) 

Facilitator: Lizz Blackburn

In 2020, Lizz embarked on a reading journey, discovering solace in the enchanting world of Harry Potter amidst the global pandemic. Since then, she's become an avid reader delving into various genres but consistently gravitated towards fantasy. She loves discussing books, some of her favorite reads in 2023 stemmed from engaging conversations at Painted Sky. Thrilled by a love for literature and a desire to build community, she is excited to kick off Painted Skies' very own Book Club alongside Heidi this quarter.