Saturday Samplers Book Group to Discuss "The Shelter Collector: Stories"

Bernardsville Library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, April 1 at 3:30 pm to talk about "The Shell Collector: Stories (2003) by Anthony Doerr. [The author will not be present.]

The exquisitely crafted stories in his debut collection take readers from the African Coast to the pine forests of Montana to the damp moors of Lapland, charting a vast physical and emotional landscape. Doerr explores the human condition in all its varieties—metamorphosis, grief, fractured relationships, and slowly mending hearts—conjuring nature in both its beautiful abundance and crushing power. Some of the characters in these stories contend with hardships; some discover unique gifts; all are united by their ultimate deference to the ravishing universe outside themselves. Doerr is also the author of "All the Light We Cannot See" (2014) which was a New York Times bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015.

Led by Program/PR Assistant Evelyn Fischel, Saturday Samplers is a book discussion group dedicated to sampling various kinds of literature, including short stories, nonfiction, new and old novels, and teen fiction. Its goal is to search out interesting, noteworthy, and sometimes overlooked literary and narrative works. Readers can find information about the group and about the books and authors on the reading list at http://saturdaysamplers.blogspot.com. No sign-up is needed to join the discussion. Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.