Welcome back to part two of a semi-regular series that answers the question: what should my book group read next? The titles below were chosen for their complexity and ability to sustain a discussion; and for their copy count, having enough copies at the Seattle Public Library as of this writing for a book group of 8-12 members to place holds and each get a copy without too long a wait. This month’s selections feature: an ode to creativity; the recontextualization of an historical figure; a woman grappling with the weight of a family legacy; a frank examination of the new generation of fire; and a contemplation of religion and purpose.
Find these books in our catalog: Book Clubs: What to Read, or read Part One.
The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad
Jaouad testifies to the power of daily creativity, recounting her personal experience and providing 100 prompts from novelists and artists. Use this to create your own creative journaling practice, and as a jumping off point to discuss living a creative life with your fellow book group members.
The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides
In recounting the final voyage and sensationalist death of explorer Captain James Cook, author Sides examines both the Age of Exploration and the impact of imperialist mandates on Cook’s outlook and demeanor. Publishers Weekly raved “[t]his exquisitely crafted and novelistic portrait of the mercurial captain enthralls.”
A Thousand Times Before by Asha Thanki
Ayukta, in present-day Brooklyn, sits down with her wife to share a family secret: that through a tapestry and a family inheritance, she can access the memories of the women in her family who came before her. Through that ability, we see the stories of her grandmother, Amla, during the India/Pakistan partition; and her mother, Arni, during the student protests in 1974 Gujarat, India. But along with this gift comes a dilemma: based on what you know, should you try to change what comes next?
Fire Weather by John Vaillant
Journalist Vaillant digs into the story of the May 2016 fire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, that forced the evacuation of 88,000 residents, many of them barely escaping as the fire roared at their back. The fire, next to the center of Alberta’s oil sands operations, took over a year to fully extinguish. Vaillant digs into the causes of the blaze, the impact on residents, and the warning it provides of dry weather and fires to come.
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
A middle-aged woman, an atheist, leaves her life in Sydney to join a religious community in the small Australian town where she grew up. Seeking refuge and respite, she nonetheless finds upheavals: a mouse plague, the discovery of a skeleton, a visitor from her past, in this quiet novel that ruminates on powerful topics.
~ posted by Andrea G.
Discover more from DrWeb's Domain
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
