Fourth Friday Book Club to meet August 26
Fri, Aug 26 2022, 2pm
Where the Crawdads Sing is the selection for the Fourth Friday Book Club meeting on August 26 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CDT via Zoom.
It is an unusual and beautifully rendered debut novel by Delia Owens, a retired wildlife biologist whose previous published works chronicled the decades she spent in the deserts and valleys of Botswana and Zambia, where her subjects had been hyenas, lions, and elephants.
Where the Crawdads Sing is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative, and a compelling celebration of nature.
Owens surveys the marshlands of the North Carolina coast through the eyes of an abandoned child, Kya. It is in that isolation that Kya compels us to view and wonder at the majesty of her private world.
It is the first of two timelines that eventually intertwine.
The other timeline follows an investigation into the apparent murder of a local townsperson. Kya, as “the swamp girl,” comes under suspicion; outright bigotry fuels incrimination of her in the murder investigation.
Where the Crawdads Sing has been the recipient of numerous awards, among them a Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2018, and is one of the best-selling books of all time. It promises to make for a very engaging discussion by Fourth Friday Book Club attendees on August 26.
Please contact Dorothy Marden at [email protected] or Margaret Catambay at [email protected] for information about how to join the meeting.
—Dorothy Marden, UMRA Fourth Friday Book Club
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
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