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A selection
of challenging and entertaining discussion books plus a binder
full of reviews and information about the authors is available
for a checkout period of 6 weeks.
Ali, Monica.
Brick Lane
After an
arranged marriage to Chanu, a man twenty years older, Nazneen
is taken to London, leaving her home and heart in the Bangladeshi
village where she was born. Her new world is full of mysteries.
How can she cross the road without being hit by a car (an operation
akin to dodging raindrops in a monsoon)? What is the secret
of her bullying neighbor Mrs. Islam? What is a Hell's Angel?
And how much she can comfort the naïve and disillusioned
Chanu? (pub. info.) Books donated by SAU-Read.
Ambrose,
Stephen. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas
Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
Discussing
this book would be a good way to celebrate the bicentennial
of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804-1806. This is nonfiction
but it reads like fiction. There was only one death on this
expedition and that man is buried in Iowa. Topics for discussion
could include the treatment of Native Americans, of blacks,
of women, the passion for exploration and the westward movement,
the different ways of life in different parts of the country,
and the characters of Lewis, Clark, and Jefferson.
Bank, Melissa.
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing
Maps the
progress of Jane Rosenal as she sets out on a personal and spirited
expedition through the perilous terrain of sex, love, and relationships,
and the treacherous waters of the workplace. Books purchased
by The Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library.
Barrett,
Andrea. The Voyage of the Narwhal
The setting
is the mid-1800s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in the Arctic.
There are two parallel stories: one concerns the male explorers
and the Inuit in the Arctic and the other concerns the women
back in the United States waiting for them and traveling only
in their imaginations. The time period is strongly evoked with
ideas of race, culture, and evolution.
Bloom, Stephen.
Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America
In 1987,
a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews opened a kosher slaughterhouse
just outside Postville, Iowa (pop. 1,465), both reviving and
dividing the town. Award-winning journalist Bloom expertly documents
the conflict and gains new perspective on the troubles haunting
many American communities today. (publisher info.)
Brown, Dan.
The Da Vinci Code
An ingenious
code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. A desperate race
through the cathedrals and castles of Europe. An astonishing
truth concealed for centuries...unveiled at last. (pub. info.)
Capote,
Truman. In Cold Blood
As Capote
reconstructs the apparently motiveless 1959 murder of the Clutter
Family in rural Kansas, followed by the capture, trial, and
execution of the killers, he generates suspense and empathy
in what he called a "nonfiction novel". Books purchased
by The Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library
Chapman,
Fern Schumer. Motherland
In 1938,
when Edith Westerfeld was 12, her parents sent her from Germany
to America to escape the Nazis. Edith survived, but most of
her family perished in the death camps. Unable to deal with
the loss of her family and homeland, Edith closed the door on
her past, refusing to discuss even the smallest details. Fifty-four
years later, she returned to Stockstadt with her grown daughter
Fern to reconnect and reconcile with her past. (publisher info.)
Chevalier,
Tracy. Girl With a Pearl Earring
Set in the
prosperous Holland of the 1660s in the painter Vermeer's Delft
household, a 16-year-old hired servant named Griet becomes increasingly
involved with her employer. This book has been called a "fascinating
piece of speculative historical fiction and an appealingly new
take on an old master." It is definitely a book club favorite.
Conrad,
Joseph. Heart of Darkness
Marlow,
a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical and psychological
journey into the African continent in search of the enigmatic
Kurtz. This classic explores the workings of consciousness as
well as the grim realities of imperialism. Books donated
by SAU-READ.
Danticat,
Edwidge. The Dew Breaker
We meet
him late in life: a quiet man, a good father and husband, a
fixture in his Brooklyn neighborhood, a landlord and barber
with a terrifying scar across his face. As the book unfolds,
moving seamlessly between Haiti in the 1960s and NYC today,
we enter the lives of those around him, and learn that he has
also kept a vital dangerous secret. (pub. info.)
Dai Sijie. Balzac and the Little
Chinese Seamstress
In this enchanting tale about the magic
of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening, two hapless
boys are exiled to a remote mountain village for re-education
during China's infamous Cultural Revolution. There they meet
the daughter of the local tailor and discover a hidden stash
of Western classics in Chinese translation. (publisher info.)
The books in this DIBS were donated by SAU-Reads.
Diamant,
Anita. The Red Tent
The little
known Biblical story of Dinah, daughter of the patriarch Jacob
and his wife Leah. In Chapter 34 of the Book of Genesis, Dinahs
tale is a short, horrific detour in the familiar narrative of
Jacob and Joseph. Diamant imaginatively tells this story from
the perspective of its women.
Enger, Leif. Peace Like a River
A father and his two young children
go on a journey into the Badlands in the heart of winter in
the 1960s. They are searching for the oldest son, who escaped
from jail in Minnesota. The reader experiences many facets of
belief from what seem like coincidences to downright miracles.
This title is the first "All Iowa Reads" selection.
This DIBS also contains a CD of the Leif Enger interview from
"About Books" on WVIK.
Erdrich,
Louise. The Master Butchers Singing Club
Drawing
on her paternal German ancestry, Erdrich tells the story of
Fidelis Waldvogel, a WWI sniper and master butcher with a "talent
for stillness" and for singing. After marrying Eva, the
pregnant fiancée of his best friend, who was killed in
the war, he emigrates to America, settling in Argus, North Dakota.
All Iowa Reads choice for 2005 Books purchased by The Friends
of the Bettendorf Public Library
Fredriksson,
Marianne. Hanna's Daughters: A Novel of Three Generations
Fredriksson
is Swedish, and the story is set in Sweden from the 1870s through
the 1980s. Anna is holding vigil at her mother Johanna's bedside
and longs for reconciliation not only with her but also with
her grandmother Hanna. She tries to piece together the fragments
of her past through tattered letters, diaries, and old photographs.
Eventually, her ancestors' pasts become vivid. This saga should
be of special interest to anyone intrigued by family history.
Gaines,
Ernest. A Lesson Before Dying
Jefferson,
a young black man, is an unwitting party to a liquor store shoot
out in Bayonne, Louisiana, in the 1940s. He is convicted of
murder and sentenced to death. Grant Wiggins, who teaches at
the plantation school, is compelled by his aunt and Jefferson's
Godmother to impart his learning and pride to Jefferson before
he dies. He does this very grudgingly, but in the end he and
Jefferson seem to forge a bond in order to do what is unexpected.
Gaines' writing is subtly simple, but powerful.
Highsmith, Patricia. The Talented Mr. Ripley
Tom Ripley
is sent to Italy in order to coax Dickie Greenleaf back home
to the United States. Ripley becomes very fond of Tom. In fact,
he's so fond that he wants to be like him-EXACTLY like him.
The important thing about identity is not who you are, but who
you think you are. Suave, agreeable, and utterly immoral, Ripley
sets a tone of menace and paranoia that keeps readers on the
edge of their seats.
Hosseini,
Khaled. The Kite Runner
A story
of fierce cruelty and fierce, yet redeeming, love. Both transform
the life of Amir who comes of age during the last peaceful days
of the Afghan monarchy, just before his country's revolution
and its invasion by Russian forces. (NY Times Bk. Review)
Books donated by SAU-Read
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes
Were Watching God
Arguably the best-known and perhaps
the most controversial of Hurston's fiction, this novel follows
the fortunes of Janie Crawford, a woman living in the black
town of Eaton, Florida. Hurston's use of dialect which this
book was first published in 1937 outraged other African American
writers who accused her of pandering to white readers by giving
them the black stereotypes they expected. Decades later, however,
outrage has been replaced by almost universal admiration for
her depictions of black life. (from Amazon.com)
Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood
Bible
This story is told by the wife and
four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist
who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959.
It is a compelling exploration of religion, conscience, imperialist
arrogance, and the many paths to redemption over the course
of three decades.
Lahiri,
Jhumpa. Interpreter of Maladies
Winner of
the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. In stories that travel
from India to America and back again, Lahiri speaks with universal
eloquence to everyone who has ever felt like a foreigner. Books
donated by SAU-Read
Mahfouz,
Naguib. Palace Walk
This is
the first part of Nobel Prize winner Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy.
His descriptions of the streets, alleys, houses, palaces, and
mosques of Cairo in the 1920s are reminiscent of Charles Dickens'
descriptions of 19th century London. All the senses are aware.
There are very few novels translated from Arabic into English,
so this is a really unusual look into the historic customs and
culture of a relatively unfamiliar society.
Mason, Daniel.
The Piano Tuner
In 1886
a shy, middle-aged piano tuner named Edgar Drake receives an
unusual commission from the British War Office: to travel to
the remote jungles of northeast Burma and there repair a rare
piano belonging to an eccentric army surgeon who have proven
mysteriously indispensable to the imperial design. (pub. info.)
McBride,
James. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His
White Mother
As an adult
the author finally persuaded his mother to tell her story. She
was a rabbi's daughter, born in Poland, and raised in the South.
She fled to Harlem, married a black man, founded a Baptist church,
and put twelve children through college. But it wasn't easy.
McCracken, Elizabeth. Niagara Falls
All Over Again
(All Iowa Reads 2004 selection)
Mose Sharp is the only boy among six sisters in a close-knit
Jewish family in Valley Junction, Iowa. Dad dreams of Mose taking
over the family business, but Mose has other plans. He heads
for the vaudeville circuit and teams up with Rocky Carter. Carter
and Sharp is what is known as a knockabout act, with Mose (now
called Mike) playing straight man. (from Booklist) The
books in this DIBS were purchased by The Friends of the Bettendorf
Public Library.
Munro, Alice. Hateship, Friendship,
Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
In the nine breathtaking stories that
make up her celebrated tenth collection, Alice Munro achieves
new heights, creating narratives that loop and swerve like memory,
and conjuring up characters as thorny and contradictory as people
we know ourselves. Nationalist Book Critics Award Finalist and
one of Time Magazine's Five Best of the Year in Fiction (publisher
info.) The books in this DIBS were donated by SAU-Reads.
Nabokov,
Vladimir. Lolita
The story
of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed
passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Nabokov's most famous
and controversial novel (publisher info.) Books donated by
SAU-Read
Nafisi,
Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Every Thursday
morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Tehran, a bold
and inspired teacher secretly gathered seven of her most committed
female students to read forbidden Western classics....a remarkable
exploration of resilience in the face of tyranny and a celebration
of the liberating power of literature. (publisher info.) Books
donated by SAU-Read.
Oates, Joyce Carol. We Were the Mulvaneys
Set in the
Chautauqua Valley, upstate New York, the Mulvaneys were blessed
with everything that makes life good. But something happens
on Valentine's Day 1976 that changes everything, their relationships
with each other and their places in the social and economic
structure of the town. Oates uses lots of details creating a
wonderful geography, not only physical but mental. The story's
narrator seems to be in everybody's head at one time or another
and sometimes outside his own head and simply omniscient. Look
for answers to those great universal questions of What is death?
What is love? What is truth? What is family?
Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar
This is a chronicle of the crack-up
of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented,
and successful, but slowly going under-maybe for the last time.
Such is Plath's skill that Esther's insanity becomes completely
real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience
as going to the movies. The Bell Jar is a haunting American
cult classic with a movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow soon to be
released. (publisher info.)
Robinson,
Marilynne. Gilead
(All Iowa
Reads book 2006) In 1956, toward the end of Rev. John Ames's
life, he begins a letter to his young son, an account of himself
and his forebears. This is also the tale of wisdom forged during
his solitary life and how history lives through generations,
pervasively present even when betrayed and forgotten. Books
purchased by The Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library.
Roth, Philip.
The Plot Against America
In an alternate
version of American history, Charles Lindbergh, heroic aviator
and rabid isolationist, is elected President in 1940. For one
Jewish boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the
first in a series of ruptures that threatens to destroy his
small, safe corner of America. (pub. info.)
Seiffert, Rachel. The Dark Room
Seiffert's absorbing, internationally
acclaimed debut explores the modern German psyche through the
experiences of three ordinary people: a young photographer's
assistant kept out of the war due to a physical disability,
a teenage girl whose parents have been taken into Allied custody
and must lead her siblings on a harrowing journey to find their
grandmother, and (two generations later) a teacher searching
for the reason why the Russians imprisoned his beloved grandfather
(publisher info.) Books donated by SAU-Reads
Trevor,
William. The Story of Lucy Gault
The Gault
family leads a life of privilege in early 1920s Ireland, but
the threat of violence leads the parents of 9-year-old Lucy
to leave for England. Lucy runs away, hoping to convince her
parents to stay. Instead, she sets off a series of tragic misunderstandings
resulting in a brilliant, subtle, and moving story of love,
guilt, and forgiveness. (publisher info.) Books donated by
SAU-Read.
Welty, Eudora.
The Ponder Heart
Uncle Daniel
Ponder, whose fortune is exceeded only by his desire to give
it away, is the talk of Clay County and a constant source of
vexation for his niece, Edna Earle, whose determined efforts
to thwart his generosity prove inadequate to his ingenuity.
This DIBS includes the Masterpiece Theatre videocassette version
of the book. ("QC Area Reads" book for 2005-2006)
Books purchased by The Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library.
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