Fly Me to the Moon

We kicked off the new year by looking to the past with the nonfiction book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly. Book discussion group members enjoyed some light refreshments, including some candy glass representing the glass ceiling the women of Hidden Figures bumped against and helped to shatter.

Here are additional resources for those wishing to learn more.

Author Bios & Interviews 

• http://www.hiddenfigures.com/bio/
• https://www.nasa.gov/larc/from-computers-to-leaders-women-at-nasa-langley
• https://www.npr.org/2016/09/25/495179824/hidden-figures-how-black-women-did-the-math-that-put-men-on-the-moon
• https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/hidden-figures-the-true-story-of-the-black-women-at-nasa-daring-fearlessly-to-pursue-their-dreams/#!
• http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/hidden-figures-margot-lee-shetterly-oscar-box-office-katherine-johnson-nasa-a7580266.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/magazine/margot-lee-shetterly-wants-to-tell-more-black-stories.html

Book Reviews 

• https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/26/books/review/glass-universe-dava-sobel-hidden-figures-margot-lee-shetterly.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/books/on-being-black-female-math-whizzes-during-the-space-race.html
• https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/roots-of-unity/review-hidden-figures/
• https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/margot-lee-shetterly/hidden-figures/
• https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-236359-6

Discussion Questions  

• https://b0f646cfbd7462424f7a-f9758a43fb7c33cc8adda0fd36101899.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/teaching-guides/TG-9780062363596.pdf
• http://galesburglibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Kit-Hidden-Figures.pdf
• http://bondedmagazine.com/2017/02/28/bonded-book-club-hidden-figures-discussion/

Historical Background

• http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a24429/hidden-figures-real-story-nasa-women-computers/
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/forgotten-black-women-mathematicians-who-helped-win-wars-and-send-astronauts-space-180960393/
• https://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/crgis/images/4/4a/MaryJackson.pdf
• http://www.greenbrier.com/Activities/The-Bunker/Bunker-History
• https://archive.org/details/introcelestial00moulrich

Movie Tie-In

• https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/01/hidden-figures-review/512252/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/movies/taraji-p-henson-octavia-spencer-hidden-figures-rocket-science-and-race.html?_r=0
• http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/hidden-figures-review-1201936516/
• https://medium.com/@kenficara/the-hidden-truth-behind-hidden-figures-42c9cbe01d41
• https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2017/feb/13/film-hidden-figures-nasa-black-women-mathematicians-book
• https://www.techbridgegirls.org/assets/files/what/publications/DiscussionGuideforHiddenFigures.pdf
• https://dx35vtwkllhj9.cloudfront.net/twentiethcenturyfox/hidden-figures/images/family-discussion-guide.pdf

Haunted by Mysteries

For December, our group read and discussed the spooky tale The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. Members of the group also enjoyed molasses cookies and tea. In addition, everyone snacked on chocolates provided by a couple of members. And, in giving with the seasonal spirit, one book group member presented everyone with their own wintery candle holder to take home.

Below are additional resources about the book for those who are interested in learning more.


Author Bios & Interviews 

• https://jennifer-mcmahon.com/biography/
• http://knopfdoubleday.com/2015/01/14/qa-jennifer-mcmahon-on-the-winter-peoples-haunted-world/
• http://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=276#m4975
• http://nationalpost.com/afterword/the-afterword-reading-society-the-winter-people-by-jennifer-mcmahon

Book Reviews 

• https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jennifer-mcmahon/winter-people/
• https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-53849-7
• https://bookpage.com/reviews/16066-jennifer-mcmahon-winter-people#.WjLFOVWnFMw
• http://www.townandcountrygazette.com/2015/07/14/read-on-the-winter-people-by-jennifer-mcmahon/
• https://sqmag.com/2014/12/31/edition-18-book-review-the-winter-people-by-jennifer-mcmahon/

Discussion Questions  

• http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/fiction/9638-winter-people-mcmahon?start=3

Further Reading
Here is a list of other suspenseful books written by Jennifer McMahon (to date):

• Burn Town
• Dismantled
• Don't Breathe a Word
• Island of Lost Girls
• The Night Sister
• The One I Left Behind
• Promise Not to Tell

Miscellany

We talked about how aspects of the books reminded us of darker fairy tales. One member mentioned a new NPR podcast about fairy tales, more information about which can be found here: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/532788972/circle-round

New Year, New Reading

Here are the books we will be reading in the first few months of 2018. All meetings will be held in the library's Sivess room at 7pm. Feel free to join us for any or all of these discussions!

January 18: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

Summary: Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, "Hidden Figures" follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances, and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country's future. [NONFICTION]

Year Published: 2016

Length: 346 pages

February 15: The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman

Summary: When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw--and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants--otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes.With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her. [NONFICTION]

Year Published: 2007

Length: 368 pages

March 15: All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani

Summary: The movie business is booming in 1935 when twenty-one-year-old Loretta Young meets thirty-four-year-old Clark Gable on the set of The Call of the Wild. Though he's already married, Gable falls for the stunning and vivacious young actress instantly. Far from the glittering lights of Hollywood, Sister Alda Ducci has been forced to leave her convent and begin a new journey that leads her to Loretta. Becoming Miss Young's secretary, the innocent and pious young Alda must navigate the wild terrain of Hollywood with fierce determination and a moral code that derives from her Italian roots. Over the course of decades, she and Loretta encounter scandal and adventure, choose love and passion, and forge an enduring bond of love and loyalty that will be put to the test when they eventually face the greatest obstacle of their lives.

Year Published: 2015

Length: 453 pages

April 19:  Choose Your Own! Siblings Biographies

Once again, we'll be having a book discussion in which each group member chooses her or his own book to read and reports back to the group on it. In honor of National Siblings Day in April, the book should be a biography about siblings. You are free to choose any book you'd like, but here are some examples you could use if you wish.

• The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests To The Modern World by Jack Zipes 
• Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend by Ted Yeatman
• The Jacksons Legacy by Fred Bronson
• Monkey Business: The Lives and Legends of the Marx Brothers by Simon Louvish
• The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy by Jean Kennedy Smith
• Sisters: The Story of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine by Charles Higham
• Swing It!: The Andrews Sisters Story by John Sforza
• The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

Plagued by the Past

In November, members of the South River Book Discussion Group met to talk about the 2008 book The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich. This book is the first in a loose trilogy; the other two titles are The Round House (2012) and LaRose (2016). This first title covers many generations within the same town (and often, within the same family lines) as they deal with the fallout of a heinous crime and a vicious reprisal.

In addition to discussing The Plague of Doves, members enjoyed a treat of frybread with honey, a traditional Native American food mentioned in the book several times. Below are some resources to further your understanding of the book.

"... from the KC kitchen ovens great roasters of meat soup, baked beans, frybread, potatoes, and roasted chicken were being lugged to the serving table. We’d pass by and fill our plates, eat in an exciting good-natured garble of cheer." 

Author Bios & Interviews 

• http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04092010/profile.html
• https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/louise-erdrich
• https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=90167624
• https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/books/louise-erdrich-on-her-new-novel-larose-and-the-psychic-territory-of-native-americans.html
• https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6055/louise-erdrich-the-art-of-fiction-no-208-louise-erdrich

Book Reviews 

• https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/may/18/fiction.reviews 
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/24/AR2008042403018.html
• http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/books/29kaku.html
• http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/27/books/bk-frase27
• http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/books/review/Barcott-t.html

Discussion Questions  

• http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/fiction/790-plague-of-doves-erdrich?start=3 
• http://www.thefriends.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/plague-of-doves.pdf

Historical Background 

• Louis Riel: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/louis-riel/ 
• Mustache Maude: http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/the-real-cowboys-of-n-d/article_976b59e8-353d-5c29-8fa8-1d8e5a88f8cb.html
• Erdrich said the book's core story of the murder/lynching was inspired by true events. This one she specifically referenced in an interview: https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18971115.2.4. I suspect this one had a role to play in her imagination as well, given the similarities of some details: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-wolf-family-murders-north-dakotas-most-brutal_us_57fbe48ae4b0b665ad818798

Miscellany

• Frybread recipe: https://thestayathomechef.com/authentic-indian-fry-bread/
• A couple of readers' attempts at making a family tree for the novel's many characters:
• https://bookclubcats.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/plague_of_doves_family_tree_.pdf
• https://prezi.com/esb8g1jvnldm/copy-of-copy-of-plague-of-doves-family-tree/
• The short story version of a chapter in this book (other parts of the book were also previously published in magazines and anthologies): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/06/28/the-plague-of-doves
• Review of Erdrich's most recently published novel: https://www.npr.org/2017/11/14/562339935/louise-erdrich-delivers-a-dystopian-feminist-thriller-in-future-home

Looking Ahead to a New Year

Please take a moment to help us pick our future book titles. Fill out our survey to decide which books we will read for January, February, and March of 2018. The survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YWTY8LG and will be open until November 30.

Contemplating Immortality

To kick off our fall reading, book discussion group members met at the library to discuss The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This nonfiction text raised many questions about bioethics and the group had a lively discussion about the implications. Members also enjoyed a rice pudding, like Henrietta Lacks used to make for her family. Below are additional resources for those wishing to learn more about the book.

Author Bios & Interviews

• http://rebeccaskloot.com/about/bio/
• https://www.avclub.com/rebecca-skloot-author-of-the-immortal-life-of-henriett-1798225778
• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/magazine/rebecca-skloot-feels-indebted-to-henrietta-lacks.html
• http://www.thedailybeast.com/rebecca-skloot-how-i-write
• http://www.cc.com/video-clips/4h8104/the-colbert-report-rebecca-skloot [VIDEO]
• http://www.oregonlive.com/books/index.ssf/2010/04/like_father_like_daughter_rebe.html

Book Reviews

• http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/books/review/Margonelli-t.html?pagewanted=all
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012902147.html
• https://www.wired.com/2010/02/book-review-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks/
• http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/01/25/review-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-by-rebecca-skloot/#.WcMniYjytPY
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/7837654/The-Immortal-Life-of-Henrietta-Lacks-by-Rebecca-Skloot-review.html
• http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2010/02/the_consent_conundrum.html

Discussion Questions

• http://rebeccaskloot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/HenriettaLacks_RGG_questions.pdf
• http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/14-non-fiction/1251-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-skloot?start=3
• http://libguides.library.ncat.edu/content.php?pid=132289&sid=1180100
• http://www.losgatosca.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/2813
• http://mnliteracy.org/sites/default/files/attachments/the_immortal_life_of_henrietta_lacks_book_discussion_questions_related_resources.pdf
• https://www.abss.k12.nc.us/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=29229&dataid=24076&FileName=HeLa_Discussion.pdf

Movie Tie-In

• http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-oprah-20170420-story.html
• https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2017/04/20/oprah-winfrey-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-hbo-rebecca-skloot/100653868/
• https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/04/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks/523962/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/arts/television/review-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-condensed.html?mcubz=1
• https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/04/weve-been-bamboozled-the-immortal-life-of-henriett.html
• http://www.npr.org/2017/04/20/524833630/tv-movie-review-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks

Miscellany

• Argument for patients' rights - https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/medical-and-genetic-privacy/henrietta-lacks-story-powerful-lesson-patients
• BBC documentary on Henrietta Lacks & HeLA - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0lMrp_ySg8
• Book banning controversy - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/09/henrietta-lacks-book-rebecca-kloots-porn-allegation-tennessee-parent
• Family rift regarding the book/movie -https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/on-the-eve-of-an-oprah-movie-about-henrietta-lacks-an-ugly-feud-consumes-the-family/2017/03/28/d33d3418-1248-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html?utm_term=.6cd8c78630e5
• The Henrietta Lacks Foundation - http://henriettalacksfoundation.org/
• Rolling Stone magazine article mentioned often in the book - http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/the-double-edged-helix-19760325

Who's Ready for Some Reading?

Here is an update on what we'll be reading this fall:

October 19 - With ComicCon rolling into New York City this month, we'll get in the spirit of things by reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. In this novel, Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just pulled off his greatest feat to date: smuggling himself out of Nazi-occupied Prague. His cousin, Brooklyn's own Sammy Clay, is looking for a collaborator to create the heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit the American dreamscape: the comic book.As the shadow of Hitler falls across Europe and the world, the Golden Age of comic books has begun.




November 16 -  In honor of National Native American Heritage Month, we'll be reading a novel from the vast catalog of books by Chippewa author Louise Erdrich. In The Plague of Doves, Erdrich writes about the unsolved murder of a farm family that haunts the small, white, off-reservation town of Pluto, North Dakota. The vengeance exacted for this crime and the subsequent distortions of truth transform the lives of Ojibwe living on the nearby reservation and shape the passions of both communities for the next generation.






December 21 - Winter is coming! We'll enter in the Winter Solstice by discussing The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. In this paranormal novel, nineteen-year-old Ruthie begins a search for her agoraphobic mother and discovers the century-old diary of her farmhouse's long-ago resident, a grieving mother named Sara who died under mysterious circumstances. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's fate, she discovers that she's not the only person who's desperately looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.




All book discussion meetings begin at 7pm. Light refreshments will be served at each. Please feel free to join us for any or all of these upcoming discussions!

And in case you were wondering -- no, you did not miss a survey. This time around the books were chosen by the book group's moderator. Starting in the new year, we will go back to our more democratic selection process of suggesting and voting for books as a group.