Book Club I

Book Club I to meet May 17

Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17. 

Book Notes | ‘The Scarlet Letter’

Event Date: April 19, 2024, at 2:00 PM

Set in the 1600s in a small town in Puritan New England, 'The Scarlet Letter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story of sin, cowardice, and survival. Members of the UMRA Book Club found the writing to be laborious, riddled with many words no longer in use, and wondered why the novel was on high school reading lists.

Book Notes | ‘The Other Einstein’

Event Date: March 15, 2024, at 2:00 PM

In 'The Other Einstein,' an historical novel about the life of Albert Einstein’s first wife, Mileva Marić, author Marie Benedict speculates that Marić contributed significantly to the papers and relativity theory that are attributed to Einstein. The book raises several questions.

Book Club I to discuss E. M. Forster's masterpiece 'Howards End'

Pat Tollefson will lead the discussion of  E. M. Forster’s classic work Howard’s End when the UMRA Book Club meets on Friday, February 16.  

Book Notes | ‘Fox Creek’

Event Date: January 19, 2024, at 2:00 PM

Set in the Northwoods of Minnesota, 'Fox Creek,' the 19th book in the Cork O’Connor mystery series by William Kent Krueger, is about the conflict between Native and white people in the use of natural resources in both the U.S. and Canada.

Book Notes | ‘Strongmen from Mussolini to the Present’

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

The topic covered by this well-researched and carefully documented history is depressing but very important as the battle between democracy and autocracy continues around the world today.

'The Dictionary of Lost Words'

Mary Jane Towle will lead the discussion of The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams.

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.

June Book Club I

Beth Bedell will lead the discussion of Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 16.

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.