Book clubs plan May meetings

Several local book clubs have meetings scheduled for early May:

The Friends of the Flathead County Library Book Club meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, to discuss “Cleopatra: A Life,” by Stacy Schiff.

The story is a new interpretation of the life of one of history’s most enduringly intriguing women. Rather than a devastatingly beautiful femme fatale, Cleopatra, according to Schiff, was a shrewd power broker who knew how to use her manifold gifts, including wealth, power and intelligence, to negotiate advantageous political deals and military alliances.

The book group meets at the main library in Kalispell.

Two novels are up for discussion at this month’s meeting of the Flathead Valley Community College Reading Group.

“Winter in the Blood,” by James Welch, and “The Phantom Tollbooth,” by Norton Juster, are on tap this month.

Welch’s novel tells the story of a young American Indian man on the Fort Belknap Reservation who is haunted by tragedy, the dissolution of his heritage and the vast land. Juster’s classic children’s fantasy follows bored Milo on his journey through the gates of a tollbooth in his room.

The reading group is open to the public and meets monthly, except during the summer months. This month, it meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 9.

The only cost involved is the purchase of the books.

For further information or to sign up, call Sharon Randolph at 756-3981.

The Montana History Book Club will learn about a historical sports team during this month’s discussion. The book is “Full Court Quest: The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School, Basketball Champions of the World,” by Linda Peavey and Ursula Smith.

The girls from the Indian boarding school were Montana’s first basketball champions. When they took their game to the World’s Fair in St. Louis in 1904, they introduced the game to an international audience and took home a trophy declaring them champions.

The group meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at the Museum at Central School in Kalispell. This month’s discussion will continue in June.

The book is available at the museum gift shop.

Bad Rock Books meets at 7 p.m. May 10 at Bad Rock Bookstore, 615 Nucleus Ave., Columbia Falls.

This month, the group will discuss “Cutting for Stone,” by Abraham Verghese. The novel tells the story of twin brothers growing up as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution, and the issues that drive them apart.

The discussion is free; drop-ins are encouraged. Refreshments are provided.

Contact Kasey Kephart at 888-5601 or kckep36@cyberport.net for further information.