Book Notes
Book notes | A Confederacy of DuncesEvent Date: For those with contemporary 2021 sensibilities, "A Confederacy of Dunces"—acclaimed as a literary masterpiece after it was published posthumously in 1980—is a canonical work of modern literature, best understood as a period piece. More... |
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Book notes | Braiding SweetgrassEvent Date: In Braiding Sweetgrass, author Robin Wall Kimmerer, a trained botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, shows how other living things like plants offer us lessons to live by. The culture of gratitude is a key theme. More... |
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Book notes | Invisible ManEvent Date: First published in 1952, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is not a one-dimensional novel about racial unrest. Members of URMA’s Fourth Friday Book Club found it to be a book rich in ideas. More... |
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Book notes | Marcel’s LettersEvent Date: Marcel’s Letters, by Minnesota author and graphic designer Carolyn Porter, is a fascinating journey from a small river town to war-torn Europe. More... |
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Book notes | House on Endless WatersEvent Date: When Yoel Blum travels from his home in Israel to Amsterdam, where he was born, he begins a journey of finding out the many things his mother kept from him, which leads to a new understanding of who he is. More... |
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Book notes | Just MercyEvent Date: Although at times emotionally difficult, Just Mercy is an important book about the problems of our legal system and the amazing work of the Equal Justice Initiative. More... |
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Book notes | Pale Horse, Pale RiderEvent Date: More than a century after the timeframe of this tale of harrowing illness and intertwined heartbreak, the parallels with today’s COVID-19 pandemic and current wars struck Book Club II participants as eerie. More... |
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Book notes | The Last TycoonEvent Date: The Last Tycoon is a beautifully rendered story about the tension of a culture aspiring to creativity but dominated by cynicism, greed, and commercial imperatives. More... |
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Book notes | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, SpyEvent Date: Of all the books by John Le Carré, this novel about secrets, lies, and shifting identities is regarded as the most entertaining. More... |
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Book notes | The Big BurnEvent Date: The Big Burn is an educational, breathtaking story about the largest wildfire in U.S. history, the men whose heroic actions worked to save people and land, and President Teddy Roosevelt’s embattled efforts to “save America.” More... |
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Book notes | The Black TulipEvent Date: Although not as well-known as the author’s earlier novels The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas père is a beautifully crafted novel, rich in its telling with themes of love, courage, honesty, politics, and the destructive capacity of jealousy. More... |
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Book notes | CasteEvent Date: Author Isabel Wilkerson weaves her experiences and those of others with fact and history to help the reader grasp the extensive impact the caste system has had, and continues to have, in India and the United States. More... |
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Book notes | Red PillEvent Date: There is plenty to deal with for the unnamed narrator of this contemporary novel, from ghosts and mystical rhetoric to politics. More... |
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Book notes | The Color of WaterEvent Date: The Color of Water is James McBride’s tribute to his remarkable mother. He skillfully alternates chapters relating his life story growing up in New York City projects with chapters conveying his mother’s life, told in her voice. More... |
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Recommended readingParticipants in Ted Bowman’s provocative “Resilient coping” workshop requested suggestions for books to help address the changes and challenges we’re all facing, from retirement to social upheaval. Published:More... |
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