[NFBV-Potomac-Announce] Potomac Chapter Book Club Selections 2024-2025

[John Halverson]

Hello friends and book lovers,

A group of us met last week and mapped out a series of books for this year's book club.

As usual we plan to meet by Zoom at 7:00 PM on the first Wednesday of the month.

A reminder, we need volunteers to lead the May and June discussions.

John


November 5: The demon of unrest: a saga of hubris, heartbreak, and heroism at the dawn of the Civil War DB120675<https://nlsbard.loc.gov/bard2-web/search/DB120675/?prevPage=search_books&from=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2F%3Ftype%3Dbook%26initialLanguage%3Den%26language%3Den%26initialFormat%3Dall%26format%3Dall%26inField%3D%26search%3Dlarson>
Author: Larson, Erik
Reading Time: 17 hours, 22 minutes
Read by: Erik Larson, Will Patton
Subjects: U.S. History, Government and Politics, Biography of Heads of State and Political Figures
Downloaded: 06/11/2024
"On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln's election and the Confederacy's shelling of Sumter-a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were "so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them." At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter's commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between them. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable-one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans. Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink-a dark reminder that we often don't see a cataclysm coming until it's too late
 John will lead the discussion.

December 3, 2025: Connecting dots: a blind life DB127356<https://nlsbard.loc.gov/bard2-web/search/DB127356/?prevPage=search_books&from=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2F%3Ftype%3Dbook%26initialLanguage%3Den%26language%3Den%26initialFormat%3Dall%26format%3Dall%26inField%3D%26search%3Dconnecting%2Bdots>
Authors: Miele, Joshua Alexander, Jamieson, Wendell
Reading Time: 9 hours, 36 minutes
Read by: Barnett, Greg D.
Subjects: Biography of Persons with Disabilities, Disability, Computers
"When Joshua Miele was four years old, he answered his front door, and a mentally disturbed neighbor poured a cup of acid over his head, horrifically burning him and blinding him for life. It was a tragedy that could've destroyed him, but instead, Miele--naturally curious, and a born engineer--not only recovered, but flourished, finding increasingly inventive ways not only to help himself thrive in a world built for the sighted, but to help others to do the same. In "Connecting Dots"--a reference to braille and a metaphor for Miele's explorations and discoveries--readers are treated to a memoir that is as illuminating as it is entertaining, and ultimately as triumphant as they come: in 2022, Miele fulfilled a nearly lifelong dream when he won a MacArthur genius Grant. "Connecting Dots" comes at a time when disability is finally starting to get the recognition (and legislation) that it deserves, and entering the popular culture in a huge way, from Coda to Crip Camp and beyond. We are at an inflection point in addressing those who have historically been marginalized--a conversation that must include those with disabilities. This is the moment for a book like this in so many ways, and Miele is, apart from the obvious reasons, the perfect person to write it. He is funny, pragmatic, and direct--with a healthy dose of attitude. In telling his own story--spanning from the 1970s to today--he also speaks to how the world has changed (and how it hasn't) when it comes to blindness, and to disability and accessibility more broadly. Miele has always considered his challenges to be opportunities, and that is something we can all learn from.
Karin

January 7, 2026: Black cake DB106558<https://nlsbard.loc.gov/bard2-web/search/DB106558/?prevPage=search_books&from=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2F%3Ftype%3Dbook%26initialLanguage%3Den%26language%3Den%26initialFormat%3Dall%26format%3Dall%26inField%3D%26search%3Dblack%2Bcake>
Author: Wilkerson, Charmaine
Reading Time: 12 hours, 4 minutes
Read by: Simone Mcintyre
Subjects: Family, Historical Fiction
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett's death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two estranged children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake and a voice recording. In the message, she shares the story of escaping her island home under suspicion of murder. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2022.
Sue

February 4, 2026: Endurance: Shackleton's incredible voyage DB119061<https://nlsbard.loc.gov/bard2-web/search/DB119061/?prevPage=search_books&from=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2F%3Ftype%3Dbook%26initialLanguage%3Den%26language%3Den%26initialFormat%3Dall%26format%3Dall%26inField%3D%26search%3Dshackleton>
Author: Lansing, Alfred
Reading Time: 10 hours, 23 minutes
Read by: Simon Prebble
Subjects: World History and Affairs, Adventure, Geography, Biography, Travel
Downloaded: 05/20/2024
"Bound for Antarctica, where polar explorer Ernest Shackleton planned to cross on foot the last uncharted continent, the Endurance set sail from England in August 1914. In January 1915, after battling its way for six weeks through a thousand miles of pack ice and now only a day's sail short of its destination, the Endurance became locked in an island of ice. For ten months the ice-moored Endurance drifted northwest before it was finally crushed. But for Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men the ordeal had barely begun. It would end only after a near-miraculous journey by Shackleton and a skeleton crew through over 850 miles of the South Atlantic's heaviest seas to the closest outpost of civilization. This astonishing tale of survival by Shackleton and all twenty-seven of his men for over a year on the ice-bound Antarctic seas, as Time magazine put it, "defined heroism." Alfred Lansing's brilliantly narrated book has long been acknowledged as the definitive account of the Endurance's fateful trip." -- Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
Leroy

March 4, 2026: James" A Novel"
By Percival Everett<https://www.audiobooks.com/browse/author/176865/percival-everett>
7 hours 49 min
A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. From the "literary icon" (Oprah Daily), Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime

When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

any narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river's banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin...), Jim's agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.

Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a "literary icon" (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.
Patty

April 1, 2026: The peacock and the sparrow: a novel DB123386<https://nlsbard.loc.gov/bard2-web/search/DB123386/?prevPage=search_books&from=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2F%3Ftype%3Dbook%26initialLanguage%3Den%26language%3Den%26initialFormat%3Dall%26format%3Dall%26inField%3D%26search%3Dthe%2BPeacock%2Band%2B%2Bthe%2Bsparrow>
Author: Berry, I. S. (Ilana S.)
Reading Time: 11 hours, 40 minutes
Read by: Pete Simonelli
Subjects: Spy Stories, Human Relations
"Shane Collins, a world-weary CIA spy, is ready to come in from the cold. Stationed in Bahrain off the coast of Saudi Arabia for his final tour, he has little use for his mission--uncovering Iranian support for the insurgency against the monarchy. Then Collins meets Almaisa, a beautiful and enigmatic artist, and his eyes are opened to a side of Bahrain most expats never experience, to questions he never thought to ask. When his trusted informant inside the opposition becomes embroiled in a murder, Collins finds himself drawn deep into the conflict. His budding romance with Almaisa--and his loyalties--are upended; in an instant, he's caught in the crosswinds of a revolution. Drawing on all his skills as a spymaster, he sets out to learn the truth behind the Arab Spring, win Almaisa's love, and uncover the murky border where Bahrain's secrets end, and America's begin."--Publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
New York : Simon & Schuster Audio, 2023.
Sandy

May 6, 2026: In the garden of beasts: love, terror, and an American family in Hitler's Berlin DB73470<https://nlsbard.loc.gov/bard2-web/search/DB73470/?prevPage=search_books&from=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2F%3Ftype%3Dbook%26initialLanguage%3Den%26language%3Den%26initialFormat%3Dall%26format%3Dall%26inField%3D%26search%3Din%2Bthe%2Bgarden%2Bof%2Bbeasts>
Author: Larson, Erik
Reading Time: 13 hours, 18 minutes
Read by: Erin Jones
Subjects: Bestsellers, World History and Affairs
Downloaded: 01/02/2023
Follows the lives of U.S. ambassador William E. Dodd and his family, who moved to Berlin, Germany, in 1933. Discusses their attitudes toward the Nazi Party, obliviousness to Hitler's true character, and naive reactions to the persecution of Jews and Americans and the enforcement of stringent laws. Bestseller. 2011.
New York : Crown, c2011.

I do not remember who volunteered to lead the discussion.

June 3, 2026: Countdown 1960: the behind-the-scenes story of the 312 days that changed America's politics forever DB125433<https://nlsbard.loc.gov/bard2-web/search/DB125433/?prevPage=search_books&from=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2F%3Ftype%3Dbook%26initialFormat%3Dall%26search%3Dcountdown%2B1960%26initialLanguage%3Den>
Authors: Wallace, Chris, Weiss, Mitch
Reading Time: 14 hours, 14 minutes
Read by: Dylan Baker, Chris Wallace
Subjects: Government and Politics, Biography, U.S. History, World History and Affairs, Bestsellers
Downloaded: 10/14/2025
"It's January 2, 1960: the day that Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy declared his candidacy; and with this opening scene, Chris Wallace offers readers a front-row seat to history. From the challenge of primary battles in a nation that had never elected a Catholic president, to the intense machinations of the national conventions--where JFK chose Lyndon B. Johnson as his running mate over the impassioned objections of his brother Bobby--this is a nonfiction political thriller filled with intrigue, cinematic action, and fresh reporting. Like with many popular histories, readers will be familiar with the story, but few will know the behind-the-scenes details, told here with gripping effect."-- Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.
[New York, New York] : Penguin Random House, [2024]

Noone has been selected to lead the discussion.


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