Chapter One Book Group
Chapter One is a community of friends committed to enriching our lives through shared experience of the written word and meaningful discussion. The group was established in January 2008 and is currently celebrating its sixteenth year.
Each month, Chapter One dives into a new book selected directly from group nominations. Selections can vary as much as our members.
The group continues to meet and celebrate literature each month in the Chillicothe area of Ohio.
July 2025
Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield
Horror
Published in 2025
Beta Vulgaris is a haunting and evocative exploration of the human condition, set against the backdrop of a decaying agricultural community. The novel follows Iris, a young woman who returns to her childhood home in the rural Midwest to care for her ailing mother. As Iris reconnects with her past, she is confronted by the disintegration of the family farm and the fracturing relationships within her own lineage. The titular Beta Vulgaris, the scientific name for the common beetroot, serves as a symbolic anchor throughout the narrative—representing both the resilience and the rot that define the characters' lives. The novel examines themes of inheritance, survival, and the stark realities of life in a town that is slowly being forgotten by the world.
Sarsfield’s lyrical prose creates an atmosphere that is at once intimate and ominous, pulling the reader into a world where personal histories are intertwined with the fate of the land. The tension between the past and the present is palpable, as Iris grapples with the weight of family secrets and the inescapable pull of her rural roots. The beets, once the lifeblood of the community, now symbolize a vanishing way of life, and Sarsfield’s writing masterfully captures the bitter taste of nostalgia and the harsh truths of economic decline. Beta Vulgaris is a meditation on what it means to belong to a place—and what it costs to leave it behind.
This meeting for discussion of Book #211 is currently scheduled for July 19 at 5 PM.
August 2025
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Fantasy
Published in 2022
This meeting for discussion of Book #212 is currently scheduled for August 9 at 5 PM.