Even if one is unable to travel, books afford the opportunity to go other places, understand other cultures, and feed the imagination. All this can be done while reclining in the comfort of your own home.
Our neighborhood book club has read and discussed the following fiction and nonfiction books this year. We would love to hear your impressions of those you have also read.
Becoming
Michelle Obama’s autobiography chronicles her life thus far starting in childhood and ending when her husband Barack left office as the 44th President of the United States.
I never thought before that I, a Southern White girl from Alabama had anything in common with Michelle, a Black girl who grew up on the Southside of Chicago. A careful reading of her book showed that we were more alike than different. Her parents, who never went to college, encouraged her and her brother Craig to pursue college dreams, just as mine had done. My dad was a steelworker; her dad worked for the City of Chicago. Both our mothers were housewives who were available to us in our formative years.
The book also shows a more human side to Michelle than the media typically shows. I was moved by her love and concern for her children, and her desire to protect them. She states that she was never particularly interested in politics, but she learned how to support Barack during his campaigns.
I commend this book to everyone, regardless of his or her political persuasion. It is a story of how African Americans have found their place in America of the 21st Century, and at the same time, how far they must go to be full and equal citizens as a group.
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian novel about a society where women (the handmaids) are valued only for their ability to procreate. Women are no longer allowed to read, and in fact, the Bible is kept under lock and key to be opened and read by the commanders. The story centers around the main character Offred, a Handmaid, who is in servitude to a Commander. The Commander’s wife is unable to have children; hence, it is Offred’s job to provide them. This book is a page-turner.
The Book of Joy – Douglas Abrams
The Book of Joy chronicles a week-long meeting between the Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu. The topic of the week was joy. More specifically, the men attempted to create a road-map for ordinary people to cultivating a lasting sense of joy in their life, regardless of their suffering. Abrams divides the book into three sections; the first is dedicated to the nature of joy, where the men create a vague definition of joy as a lasting state, not just a fleeting emotion. The second section of the book addresses the most pressing obstacles humans face to joy. The third and final section of the text defines eight pillars to joy that the men have agreed upon throughout the weeks’ worth of discussion. These pillars to joy are ultimately the discussion’s conclusion: actively practicing the eight pillars to joy are the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu’s secret to attaining true, lasting joy.
Bobby Kennedy-A Raging Spirit – Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews traces the life of Bobby Kennedy from his early boyhood through his assassination in 1968. The author’s common experience as an Irish Catholic underscores Bobby’s childhood experiences as an altar boy and member of a large, closely knit family. This book presents an in-depth and behind the scenes look at Bobby Kennedy’s life from his early naval service as a common sailor through his tragic campaign for president. This book serves to keep Bobby’s raging spirit alive for present and future generations.
Grief Cottage – Gail Godwin
Gail Godwin weaves a haunting tale of an abandoned South Carolina beach cottage and the connection between this life and the next. The novel is a kind of ghost story, but also looks at grief, remorse, and memories that haunt us. The cottage is known as “Grief Cottage” because a boy and his parents were lost during a hurricane fifty years before, and they were never found. A young boy comes to live with his aunt and he is immediately enthralled by the mysteries of the cottage. It is full of suspense in the Hitchcock tradition.
Earlene’s Parade – Judith Bohannon
The birth of Earlene Mullins, occurring on a cold February day in 1950 at the West Virginia Prison for Women, is witnessed by three people. Thirty-nine years later, her funeral is viewed by millions. From her grandparents’ small farm in southwest Virginia to becoming the wife of the vice president of the United States, her unconventional life is marked by her mother’s incarceration for murder, the tragic death of her only love, her sterile marriage to a gay politician, and a son conceived during a brief tryst with a political aide. Earlene’s only dream is born when she is eight years old and watches the Scott County Tobacco Festival parade from atop her grandfather’s shoulders. Earlene declares to her grandfather that someday, she, too, will ride in a parade. However, fate has other ideas as the extraordinary events in her life unfold, and her wish remains unfulfilled until thirty-one years later when she defies all possibilities and…well, let readers see for themselves. The surprise ending shouldn’t be spoiled here.
Perpetual Motion 