All Book Club discussions are held at 9:30 AM at Page II in Gunbarrel.
September 12 | Eleanor Roosevelt : Volume 2 , The Defining Years, 1933-1938 by Blanche Wiesen Cook If you are interested in Eleanor Roosevelt start reading now for this a long haul, but well worth your time. 4.5 out of 5 stars
October 10 | Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jaime Ford. I found this an amazing and sweet book on so many levels. If want to know more about the Japanese internment during WWII, Japanese/Chinese relationships here in the US, father/son relationships, children as caregivers for their parents, a love story that spans decades, or for me, I was born in the Northwest with many close Japanese friends (who were members of the United Methodist Church) whose families were sent away during the war. It is just a lovely book on so many levels. I look forward to reading it again! 4.5 out of 5 stars
November 14 | Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby Powell and Shadra Strickland. In 1955, in Caroline County, Virginia, amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love. Their life together broke the law, but their determination would change it. Richard and Mildred Loving were at the heart of a Supreme Court case that legalized marriage between races, and a story of the devoted couple who faced discrimination, fought it, and won. 5 out of 5 stars
December 12 | A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is a feel-good story. This novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. “If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,’ this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down.” 4.5 out of 5 stars
January 9 | The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker. A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, it spans the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains. 4.5 out of 5 stars
February 13 | Alchemy of the Afterlife: A Memoir by local author Linda Kinnamon is a very gripping and spiritual story of life as a hospice nurse, told through the real-life experiences. Enjoy the parallel tales of her early life with her parents and other relatives, and how these life experiences influenced her choice of profession. Character development of her patients and their loved ones is excellent. Told with great compassion as she helps her patients and their families through their final days. Her treatment of the notion of an afterlife is free from religious bias- hence Alchemy of the Afterlife has broad appeal believers and non-believers alike. 5 out of 5 stars
March 13 | TBD
April 10 | Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, AND a #1 New York Times bestseller is a magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave’s adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. 4 out of 5 stars
May 8 | Mosaic: A Chronicle of Five Generations by Diane Armstrong. Starting in Krakow, Poland in 1890, and spanning more than one hundred years, five generations, and four continents, Mosaic is Diane Armstrong’s moving account of her remarkable, resilient family. 4.5 out of 5 stars