Book Discussion Group Books for 2010-2011
*To order books please contact me by clicking on my email address on the right side of this page or phone me at (520) 398-9650.
Here are the book discussion group selections for this year. All books carry a 15% discount for group members if I have your list on file. Shipping is free for orders over $25. (Prices on this page reflect book group price)
Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan $6.79
Letters sent to Washington, D.C., from Oklahoma Indians begging for help go unanswered–until Native American government official, Stace Red Hawk, travels west to investigate. “I wish everyone would read Mean Spirit”.–Tony Hillerman. Winner of the 1990 Oklahoma Book Award for Fiction.
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell $11.90
This haunting, multi-generational tale of the horrors that have been done to women under the guise of mental health is the creepy Victorian tale of two elderly sisters who reveal more than a few family secrets after a lifetime of forced seclusion.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese $13.56
A stunning debut novel from the author of “My Own Country, Cutting for Stone” offers an enthralling family saga of Africa and America, fathers and sons, doctors and patients, exile and home.
In this stunning personal story of growing up in Iran, Nafisi shares her memories of living in thrall to a powerful mother against the backdrop of a country’s political revolution. This beautiful memoir reminds us of why we read in the first place.
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay $11.86
Haunting and suspenseful, life-affirming and beautiful, “Sarah’s Key” offers a compelling portrait of occupied Paris and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this little-known episode in French history.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett $21.21
In Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962, there are lines that are not crossed. With the civil rights movement exploding all around them, three women start a movement of their own, forever changing a town and the way women–black and white, mothers and daughters–view one another. ** Available in paperback 1/4/11
Pavilion of Women by Pearl Buck $12.70
On her fortieth birthday, Madame Wu carries out a decision she has been planning for a long time: she tells her husband that after twenty-four years their physical life together is now over and she wishes him to take a second wife. The House of Wu, one of the oldest and most revered in China, is thrown into an uproar by her decision, but Madame Wu will not be dissuaded and arranges for a young country girl to come take her place in bed. Elegant and detached, Madame Wu orchestrates this change as she manages everything in the extended household of more than sixty relatives and servants. Alone in her own quarters, she relishes her freedom and reads books she has never been allowed to touch. When her son begins English lessons, she listens, and is soon learning from the “foreigner,” a free-thinking priest named Brother Andre, who will change her life.
Once in a Promised Land byLaila Halaby $11.90
This dramatic tale is the story of Jassim and Salwa, a couple who left the deserts of their native Jordan for those of Arizona. Although they live far from Ground Zero, its impossible to escape the nationwide fallout from 9/11.
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See $12.75
From the author of the bestsellers “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” and “Peony in Love” comes a stunning novel about two sisters who leave Shanghai to find new lives in 1930s Los Angeles.
Crossing with the Virgin by Kathryn Ferguson $15.26
“Crossing with the Virgin” collects 39 stories heard from migrants about the treacherous and even deadly treks they have made across the desert into America. This work raises important questions about underlying assumptions and basic operations of border enforcement, helping readers to see past political positions to view migrants as human beings.
Pearl of China by Anchee Min $20.40
From the bestselling author of “Red Azalea” and “Empress Orchid” comes the powerful story of the friendship of a lifetime, based on the life of Pearl S. Buck.
***not yet available in paperback
Latehomecomer: Hmong Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang $12.71
Destined to touch every reader’s heart, this riveting memoir parallels thousands of untold Hmong stories.
