Book Notes

Book notes | ‘Lessons in Chemistry’

Event Date: September 15, 2023, at 2:00 PM

The UMRA Book Club discussion of Elizabeth Zott’s novel brought to light several real-life examples of discrimination against women close to home, including their exclusion from full participation in the University of Minnesota Marching Band until 1972 and the landmark Rajender v. University of Minnesota sex discrimination lawsuit filed in 1973.

Book Notes | ‘The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane’

Event Date: August 18, 2023, at 2:00 PM

Although it represents exhaustive research and is engrossing, Lisa See’s novel about a young woman who becomes a tea entrepreneur in China and the daughter she gives up for adoption by a family in Southern California drew mixed reactions from members of UMRA’s Book Club I.

Book Notes | ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’

Event Date: July 21, 2023, at 2:00 PM

Carson McCullers’ debut novel enjoyed a rapid rise to the top of the bestseller lists when first published in 1940, and ranks high on many current lists of best novels. But members of UMRA’s Book Club I found it to be dark and bleak and would not recommend the book to others.

Book Notes | ‘Flight Behavior’ by Barbara Kingsolver

Set in a poverty-stricken Appalachian town in rural Tennessee, Barbara Kingsolver’s novel delves into the climate change culture wars and the pressures of striving to be an individual while living in a close-knit community.

Book Notes | ‘Miss Benson’s Beetle’

Event Date: May 19, 2023, at 2:00 PM

The power of friendship, the destructive impact of war, and genuine appreciation of the natural world are the overriding themes in this quirky, historical novel about an unlikely expedition by two women in search of an elusive golden beetle.

Book Notes | ‘Elephant Company’

Event Date: April 21, 2023, at 2:00 PM

Set in Burma after World War I, this “spellbinding” true story about James Howard Williams and his love for elephants provides lessons in courage, trust, and gratitude.

Book Notes | ‘A House Among the Trees’

Event Date: March 17, 2023, at 2:00 PM

The fictional story and characters portrayed in 'A House Among the Trees' are based on the last will of Maurice Sendak, the renowned author and illustrator of children’s books who died in 2012 and left his entire estate to his longtime personal assistant.

Book Notes | 'Nomadland'

Event Date: February 17, 2023, at 2:00 PM

For several years, journalist and author Jessica Bruder followed a group of retirees who lived in their vehicles, everything from small cars to worn out RVs, as they tried to piece together a subsistence lifestyle. Her book chronicles the challenges, the hardships, and the community these modern nomads created for themselves.

‘Prof Notes: Wry Observations on Academic Life’

UMRA member and Professor Emerita Melissa Anderson has published a collection of five-line observations— peculiar, delightful, humorous and poignant—on academic life, based on her 36 years at the University.

Book Notes | A story of war and the valiant persons who risk their lives to help others

Event Date: January 20, 2023, at 2:00 PM

The story told by author Kristin Harmel in "The Book of Lost Names" is set in the Vichy area of France, where there was an underground network to help Jews and children escape to Switzerland during World War II.

Book Notes | ‘Being Mortal’

Event Date: December 2, 2022, at 2:00 PM

"Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End" by Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, inspired a spirited and sometimes somber discussion by members of UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club about end-of-life health challenges.

Book Notes | 'West with Giraffes'

Event Date: November 18, 2022, at 2:00 PM

At age 105, Woodrow Wilson Nickel is living in a nursing home. He decides he needs to write his life story, and what a story it is. It’s the story of a destitute young man during the Great Depression who found a reason to keep living against all odds: driving two giraffes from New York City to San Diego.

Book Notes | This Tender Land

Event Date: October 21, 2022, at 2:00 PM

This Tender Land is an epic coming-of-age story set in Minnesota during the summer of 1932. It chronicles a mesmerizing journey of four children who escape the horrors of the Lincoln Indian Training School and sneak away in a canoe in search of a home.

Book Notes | The Personal Librarian

Event Date: September 16, 2022, at 2:00 PM

This historical novel tells a compelling story about the archivist and librarian who developed the Pierpont Morgan Library into a world-class collection in the early 20th century and kept secret her African American heritage her whole professional life.

‘A cornucopia of riches’ brought to life with UMRA grant support

Joanne Eicher’s new book, Global Trade and Cultural Authentication, published with support from UMRA’s grant program, is the capstone of a stellar career launched by serendipity.