Princess Cruises Book Club

The Princess Cruises Book Club offers an opportunity for fascinating literary discussions among passengers. Book selections are drawn from the New York Times best-sellers list offering a variety of titles that are reflective of the interest of the ship’s passengers.

Depending on the length of the voyage, one or more Book Club meetings will be scheduled. For those who wish to participate on their voyage but haven’t yet read the selection, multiple copies of the book will be available at the ship’s library.

November

BELOVED by Toni Morrison

In this tale set in Reconstruction Ohio, Morrison paints a dark and powerful portrait of the dehumanizing effects of slavery. Inspired by an actual historical incident, Beloved tells the story of a woman haunted by the daughter she murdered rather than have returned to slavery. Part ghost story, part realistic narrative, the novel examines the mental and physical trauma caused by slavery as well as the lingering damage inflicted on its survivors.

After publishing four novels, Toni Morrison had already established herself as one of the most popular and successful black female writers of her time. With the publication of her fifth novel, Beloved, critics worldwide recognized that here was an author with a depth and brilliance that made her work universal.

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MY BROTHER JACK by George Johnston

Through the story of the two brothers George Johnston creates an enduring exploration of two Australian myths: that of the man who loses his soul as he gains worldly success, and that of the tough, honest Aussie battler whose greatest ambition is to serve his country during the war.

Australian author George Johnston’s acclaimed novel My Brother Jack was first published in 1964. My Brother Jack is considered to have made a major contribution to Australian literature, winning the prestigious Miles Franklin Award in the first year of its publication.

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CLOUDSTREET by Tim Winton

Hailed as a classic, Tim Winton's masterful family saga is both a paean to working-class Australians and an unflinching examination of the human heart's capacity for sorrow, joy, and endless gradations in between.

Tim Winton was born in 1960 in Western Australia where he still lives. This novel won "The Miles Franklin Award."

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December

THE QUICKIE by James Patterson

NYPD cop Lauren Stillwell leads a fairly ordinary life - until she sees her husband entering a hotel with a beautiful blonde. These few seconds set a string of events in motion that will keep readers digging for the truth until the conclusion of The Quickie, the most recent addition to the laundry list of best-selling James Patterson novels - and one that truly belongs there.

James Patterson holds the New York Times best-sellers list record with 39 New York Times best-selling titles overall. Patterson has sold more than 150 million books worldwide.

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THE ALCHEMIST by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and above all, following our dreams.

Brazilian author Paulo Coelho was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janiero.  Before dedicating his life completely to literature he worked as a theatre director, actor, journalist and lyricist.

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THE LAST LECTURE by Randy Pausch

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”—wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment because “time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think.”  

Randy Pausch was a professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. Randy lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008.

Featured on the Sun Princess

January

THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY by Alexander McCall Smith

This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to "help people with problems in their lives." Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witchdoctors.

British author Alexander McCall Smith is a Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. McCall Smith has become internationally known as a writer of fiction and is most widely known as the creator of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

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STEP ON A CRACK by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Bestsellers Patterson and Ledwidge spin a fantastic tale of an audacious mass kidnapping and the unlikely detective thrust into the primary role of negotiator, sleuth and hero.

Step On A Crack is James Patterson's most fiendishly terrifying thriller yet.

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THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger

A dazzling novel in the most nontraditional fashion, this is the story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time and, Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap.

In 1997, Audrey Niffenegger had an idea for a book about a time traveler and his wife. She began to work on the project as a novel and published The Time Traveler's Wife in 2003. It was an international best seller and has been made into a movie.

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February

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger

A dazzling novel in the most nontraditional fashion, this is the story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time and, Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap.

In 1997, Audrey Niffenegger had an idea for a book about a time traveler and his wife. She began to work on the project as a novel and published The Time Traveler's Wife in 2003. It was an international best seller and has been made into a movie.

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JUST TAKE MY HEART by Mary Higgins Clark

In her new thriller, America's #1 best-selling Queen of Suspense delves into a legal battle over the guilt or innocence of a man accused of murdering his wife.

Mary Higgins Clark is best known for her suspense novels and is the best-selling author of 19 novels and three collections of short stories.

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March

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, their five daughters, and the various romantic adventures at their Hertfordshire residence of Longbourn. Austen's tale is spurred on by the arrival of the young and wealthy bachelor Charles Bingley and his friend Fitzwilliam Darcy. It is the story of the various affections, affectations and engagement shenanigans that develop due to Mrs. Bennet's relentless matchmaking and the dashing Darcy's tempestuous relationship with Elizabeth Bennet, who Jane Austen claimed was amongst her favorite literary offspring.

Jane Austen was an English novelist whose realism, biting social commentary and use of free indirect speech, have earned her a place as one of the most widely read and most beloved writers in English literature.

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THE LAST LECTURE by Randy Pausch

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”—wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment because “time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think.”  

Randy Pausch was a professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. Randy lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008.

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NORTHERN LIGHTS by Nora Roberts

In Northern Lights, Nora Roberts takes you away to the harsh beauty of the Alaskan wilderness and the lives of its hearty and resilient inhabitants. Roberts weaves a compelling tale about murder, redemption, and two lost souls who find each other and a chance at love, all set against the backdrop of small-town life in Lunacy, Alaska.

Nora Roberts is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry.

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April

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of time shared with Morrie Schwartz, Mitch's college professor from nearly twenty years ago. Rediscovering Morrie in the last months of the older man's life and knowing he was dying; Morrie visits with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.

Mitch Albom is the author of six previous books. He serves on numerous charitable boards and has founded two charities in metropolitan Detroit. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.

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SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S by James Patterson

With the breathtaking momentum and gripping emotional twists that have made James Patterson a best-selling author all over the world, Sundays at Tiffany's takes an altogether fresh look at the timeless and transforming power of love.

James Patterson holds the New York Times best-sellers list record with 39 New York Times best-selling titles overall. Patterson has sold more than 150 million books worldwide.

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