CHECK IT OUT:Two authors appearing at Oasis book group

Looking for a good book to read and a lively group book discussion to go with it? Join the book group at Oasis Community Center on the second Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m.

Offered free and open to the public, this exciting group reads and discusses a new book each month from September to May 2008.

This season, two selected books and the authors who wrote them will be featured in tandem. Author Katharine Weber will make an appearance at the Central Library on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m., and author William Mann on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. Their appearances are part of the Manuscripts Literary Events sponsored by the Newport Beach Library Foundation. What a great opportunity to read books, make new friends and see authors in your own backyard.

Here is the reading list for the new season at Oasis.

“Triangle” by Katharine Weber, Sept. 19: This historical fiction recounts the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire as remembered by a 106-year-old survivor and questions posed by her granddaughter. Read the book in September, and you’ll be ready to meet author Katharine Weber at her free lecture and book signing on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.

“The Swallows of Kabul” by Yasmina Khadra, Oct. 17: Translated from the original French, diplomat Moshen and lawyer Zunaira find the Taliban ascendancy a nightmare when Zunaira is arrested and condemned to death.

“Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn” by William Mann, Nov. 21: This new biography uses interviews and previously unavailable material to present a study of the woman behind the Hollywood legend. Author William Mann will be speaking at the Central Library on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. Don’t miss this free lecture and book signing.

“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd, Dec. 19: Teenage Lily Owens joins her “stand-in mother” Rosaleen on a trip to Tiburon, S.C., where they are taken in by three bee-keeping sisters.

“The Piano Tuner” by Daniel Philippe Mason, Jan. 16, 2008: English piano tuner Edgar Drake travels to Burma in 1886 to repair a piano owned by a British officer who uses music to help keep peace among warring princes.

“The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” by Kim Edwards, Feb. 20, 2008: A doctor makes a rash decision to give away one of his twin daughters, afflicted with Down’s Syndrome, and have her raised secretly by a nurse to protect his wife.

“Cane River” by Lalita Tademy, March 19, 2008: Follow four generations of black women from the Cane River region of rural Louisiana as they struggle from slavery to freedom in search of security for their families.

“Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro, April 16, 2008: Employed by a Nazi-duped British lord, a young housekeeper and a proper butler fall in love. The Merchant Ivory film based on this title had a screenplay written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, featuring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins in an all-star cast.

“Snow” by Orhan Pamuk, May 21, 2008: Translated from the original Turkish, this fictitious title was banned in Turkey due to its subject matter concerning the suicides among young girls forbidden to wear head scarves in Istanbul.