book club

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN By: Garth Stein Published: May 5, 2008 Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny…

THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS By:  Rebecca Skloot Published:  February 2, 2010 Non-Fiction Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine.…

SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME By: Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent Published: June 15, 2006 Non-Fiction From the back of the book: A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery.  An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel.   A gutsy woman with a…

CUTTING FOR STONE By Abraham Verghese Published February 3, 2009 Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother’s death in childbirth and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural…

MR ROSENBLUM DREAMS IN ENGLISH By Natasha Solomons At the start of World War II, Jack and Sadie Rosenblum flee Berlin for London with their baby daughter, Elizabeth. Upon arrival, Jack receives a pamphlet from the German Jewish Aid Committee on how to act like a proper Englishman. He follows it to the letter—Saville Row…

Berlin 1942 When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall…

When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn’t happen. In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of…

Today my bookclub and I are blogging at BookingMama for her feature, Book Club Exchange. Please check it out here!

This is how wars are fought now: by children traumatized, hopped-up on drugs, and wielding AK-47s. Children have become the soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty violent conflicts going on worldwice, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. At the age of…

Thanks to www.readinggroupguides.com our book club won an author chat with Joshua Henkin, author of Matrimony. About the book…It’s the fall of 1986, and Julian Wainwright, an aspiring writer, arrives at Graymont College in New England. Here he meets Carter Heinz, with whom he develops a strong but ambivalent friendships, and beautiful Mia Mendelsohn, with…