The BVA Book Club Interest Group has recently seen increased attendance at its monthly virtual meetings and greater enthusiasm to read the works selected by the group. The reading occurs via the audio Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled Downloadable Books and Magazines. The book just completed was John Grisham’s 2001 novel The Painted House, a departure from Grisham’s legal thrillers.

Having enjoyed one Grisham novel, the group determined to come back to a legal thriller, The Appeal, to be read in November. The book treats a lawsuit against a chemical company whose toxic waste caused a cancer cluster in a small town. It explores the influence of money in politics and its impact on the judicial system, with a notable theme being the corruption of justice when political and financial interests override the rule of law. 

The group meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm to discuss the selected book. The next scheduled meeting date is approximately five weeks away on November 26. Stay tuned for a possible re-scheduling due to the Thanksgiving holiday the following day.