[NFBV-Potomac-Announce] Book Club Books for the Remainder of 2022-2023

[John Halverson]

Hello,

A reminder.

At last Wednesday’s book club meeting we indicated we will meet at 7:00 PM on Monday November 7, 2022 to discuss books for December through June.

Below are all of the suggestions I received.

I will send out Zoom information later this weekend.

John
Here are Rachel’s suggestions.

There should be questions for each of these.


Fifty words for rain DB 100587
Lemmie, Asha. Reading time 13 hours, 15 minutes.
Read by Sarah Skaer. A production of National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress.

Subjects: Historical Fiction

Description: Kyoto, 1948. Eight-year-old Nori--the daughter of a married Japanese aristocrat and her African-American GI lover--is abandoned at her grandparents' estate. When she meets her older half-brother Akira, she finds in him an unexpected ally, and must battle for her place in the world as she grows up. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.

A woman is no man DB 95201
Rum, Etaf. Reading time 10 hours, 17 minutes.
Read by Susan Nezami. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Subjects: Human Relations

Description: Palestine, 1990. All seventeen-year-old Isra wants to do is hide away and read instead of entertaining potential suitors. But in the course of one week, she finds herself betrothed, married, and moving to Brooklyn. Eighteen years later, her daughter Deya butts heads with her grandmother over suitors. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.

A man called Ove: a novel DB 84392
Backman, Fredrik. Reading time 9 hours, 7 minutes.
Read by David Hartley-Margolin. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Subjects: Unified English Braille; General

Description: Ove has always been a grumpy man, and when he loses his wife and his job, he decides to commit suicide. But a lively family of new neighbors and a stray cat might give Ove a reason to keep living. First published in Swedish in 2012. 2013. Some strong language and some violence.

Leroy's books.
These are the ones we have not yet read.

1.  The Spy and the Traitor.
By: Ben MacIntyre. Narrated by: Ben Macintyre.
Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins.
2018
nonfiction

on a warm July evening in 1985, a middle-aged man stood on the pavement of a busy avenue in the heart of Moscow, holding a plastic carrier bag. In his grey suit and tie, he looked like any other Soviet citizen. The bag alone was mildly conspicuous, printed with the red logo of Safeway, the British supermarket.


from deep within the Soviet intelligence machine. No spy had done more to damage the KGB. The Safeway bag was a signal: to activate his escape plan to be smuggled out of Soviet Russia. So began one of the boldest and most extraordinary episodes in the history of spying. Ben Macintyre reveals a tale of espionage, betrayal and raw courage that changed the course of the Cold War forever..

discussion questions are available..

2. The Vanishing half
•             By: Brit Bennett
•             Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
•             2020
•             fiction
•             The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, Southern black community and running away at age 16, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities.
Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same Southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' story lines intersect?
Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires and expectations and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

The next books are recommended by Annette. The last one is my recommendation.


1 In an instant DB106111
Redfearn, Suzanne; March, Mary Reading time: 10 hours, 34 minutes.
Mary March

General
Psychological Fiction

Life is over in an instant for sixteen-year-old Finn Miller when a devastating car accident tumbles her and ten others over the side of a mountain. Suspended between worlds, she watches helplessly as those she loves struggle to survive. Strong language and some violence. 2020.

I have not found questions.


2 The personal librarian DB103929
Benedict, Marie; Murray, Victoria Christopher Reading time: 12 hours, 25 minutes.
Robin Miles

Historical Fiction

In 1906, Belle da Costa Greene was hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society, but she is African American passing as white. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

I think there are questions.

3 There's a hole in my bucket: a journey of two brothers DB105838
Tolkien, Royd Reading time: 9 hours, 48 minutes.
Stephen Van Doren

Biography of Writers
Biography
Health and Medicine
General
Family

Memoirs of J. R. R. Tolkien's great-grandson, Royd, whose brother Mike was diagnosed with ALS. They went on a whirlwind tour to check as many things off Mike's bucket list as possible. Then Royd finds the bucket list Mike assigned him for after his death. Strong language. 2021.

After a quick look I found no questions.

4 Eyes to the wind: a memoir of love and death, hope and resistance DB106562
Barkan, Ady Reading time: 9 hours, 46 minutes.
Bradley Whitford

Biography
Health and Medicine
Social Sciences

In this memoir, the author reflects on receiving a fatal diagnosis of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Ady explores his determination to make the most of his remaining time, live a life of purpose, and commit himself as an advocate for social justice. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.

Could not quickly find questions.

5 The things we keep DB83812
Hepworth, Sally Reading time: 9 hours, 51 minutes.
Barrie Kreinik; Thérèse Plummer A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Human Relations

Thirty-eight-year-old Anna moves to a residential care facility after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. There she bonds with Luke, a fellow "young" resident suffering from dementia. Eve works at the facility after her husband loses all their money, but meeting Anna gives her perspective on loss. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2016.

There are questions.

6 True biz DB107579
Nović, Sara Reading time: 10 hours, 25 minutes.
Lisa Flanagan

Friendship Fiction

Charlie is a transfer student at the River Valley School for the Deaf who has never met another deaf person before. When Charlie has trouble adapting, the headmistress asks the school's golden boy, Austin, to help her settle in. But Austin is dealing with troubles of his own, and the school itself is in danger of closing. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2022.

Probably need generic questions.

7 Answer Creek DB100020
Sweeney, Ashley E Reading time: 11 hours, 54 minutes.
Jessica Wortham

Historical Fiction

1846. Ada loses her parents to the dangers of traveling west to California. She decides to continue on with the Donner party. But misfortune follows the group, and Ada faces hard choices about what she needs to do to survive. Violence and strong language. 2020.

Can not find good book club questions


John
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